Lessons From Solomon

 ​Solomon is the wisest man mentioned in the Bible. Almost everyone is familiar with the fact that Solomon is the wisest man who ever lived. In fact, the Bible mentions some men who were considered wise that lived around the time of Solomon, but you've probably never even heard of them!

I Kings 4:29-31- And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.

Solomon is a person that we can go to if we want to get some understanding. We can gain some wisdom of our own from the things he wrote about.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon looks at various aspects of life from a human perspective, life under the sun, and he comes away with some interesting insights.

In Chapter 1, he speaks of the circuit of the sun, the water cycle, and the atmospheric circulation patterns of the wind. He is giving us just a glimpse of how smart he is, and he is living around the 900's BC!

What is his conclusion regarding his knowledge?

Ecclesiastes 1:13-14- And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Basically, having a head full of knowledge can't bring you happiness.

Ecclesiastes 1:18- For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Moving on to Chapter 2, he speaks about all of his possessions that he came to own. Anything he wanted, he acquired it. I mean, he was the richest man to ever live!

I Kings 10:23,27 - So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.

I've never lived in a place where there was so much silver that it looked at as a common commodity! But, life was like that under Solomon's reign.

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11- And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

Solomon's end conclusion to possessions was that they couldn't bring happiness. Eventually, you will die and leave them all behind, and you don't know who will benefit from them.

Ecclesiastes 2:18-19- Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

Solomon seems to be a real downer in this book! But, he is just pointing out the end conclusion of matters. Anyone who has devoted their life to the pursuit of knowledge or possessions will eventually come to the same conclusions.

In Chapter 3,  he expounds on the limitations of time. There is an ebbing and a flowing. There are joys and sorrows. There are victories and defeats. And, what is his conclusion?

Ecclesiastes 3:19-22- For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Everyone is bound by time. We are all locked in the present. We can look back and see where we messed up, but we can't look forward to see what will come next.

Next, he turns his attention to humanity. It's not a pretty picture. Our history is riddled with oppression, sickness, and travail.

Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 -So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 

Solomon can only say that it is best to live life with someone than to live it alone. That really shouldn't come as a surprise. Loneliness is a terribly depressing thing. 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10- Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

Solomon goes on to point out the folly of riches.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-11- He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

That saying, "He who dies with the most toys wins" is foolishness, because you can't take any of that stuff with you!

Solomon seems to be pretty depressed. The next chapter talks about the futility of life. And in Chapter 7, he contrasts some paradoxes that he has noticed.

Ecclesiastes 7:1,5,8,20,29- A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

Then Solomon makes an interesting statement.

Ecclesiastes 7:26-28- And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

I don't think Solomon is pulling an arbitrary number out here. He had a thousand wives! He knew something about women.

I Kings 11:3- And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

Solomon knew that women had a certain power over the men in their life. They could use that power for good or evil. Solomon certainly had a lot of regret where women were concerned!

In Chapter 8, he goes back to his consensus regarding judgment.

Ecclesiastes 8:6,11- Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

You can choose to live life however you please, but you cannot escape the consequences of your choices. Every person alive will one day battle with death, and they will lose.

Ecclesiastes 9:3- This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

We all know that will die, but not everyone is conscious of the judgment that he will face after death. He comes to the conclusion that how you will be judged by God is the main thing that should guide your actions.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14- Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Solomon observed many people, and he knew about many things. If all his knowledge boiled down to this one point, don't you think it would be wise for us to ponder it, too?

Revelation 20:12- And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Daniel 12:2- And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

How have we lived our lives? Are we ready for what comes after death?

Wall of Prayer (song)

The Wrath To Come book review

 I really like history. I enjoy learning how people lived in the past. I like knowing how we got to where we are. In James L. Melton's book, The Wrath To Come, you will not only get some history, but also some prophesy.

Have you ever wondered about the universal monetary system that is talked about in Scriptures? How about the one world government that is mentioned in Revelation? Did you ever wonder if there was anything around today that could easily slip us into those global positions?

If you're curious, I highly recommend you check out this book. It shows how very subtly throughout different countries people have working for hundreds of years to slowly build the foundation that would be required to enable the one world system to rise to power.

The entire text of  THE WRATH TO COME is on his web site as a pdf available to download for free. This is the 65 page condensed version of his 2004 book, SATAN'S NEW WORLD ORDER. 

Hard copies can be ordered by following this link.

Chocolate Chip Chocolate Muffins recipe

 2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup cocoa powder

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 TBS vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.

Add in the warmed coconut oil; you want it to be a liquid, but not too hot.

Add in the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Mix thoroughly.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop batter into a lined muffin tin.

Bake at 375* for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

NOTE: These are also good with peanut butter chips.

The Great White Throne Judgment (video sermon)

Remember Lot's Wife

 Christ is speaking to his disciples warning about the time when the Antichrist will show up, and he says "remember Lot's wife".

Luke 17:31-32- In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. 

This retelling in Matthew doesn't mention fleeing. In Matthew's version it's talking about the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew gives his memoirs through the lens of the King of the Jews and focuses on Christ's being the king.

Matthew 24:30- And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Luke, however, focuses on Christ being the Son of man, or human. And in his version he is focusing on Christ's mortality.

Luke 17:25- But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

Christ is warning that He didn't come to set up His earthly kingdom at that time, He came to die for the sins of the world. But the disciples just couldn't grasp that concept.

The memoir that Luke gives of this story is that the Jews are told to flee away from the coming destruction that will rain down on the world during the time of the Tribulation.

If we look at the story of Lot, we will see what Christ is warning about.

God had visited Abram and explained that He was going down to Sodom to see if the wickedness that He was hearing in heaven was as great as it seemed. Abram had gotten God to agree to sparing the entire wicked city if there were just ten righteous people in it.

Now, we know that Lot and his wife and two of his daughters were in the city, along with at least two other married daughters. So Abraham supposed there were at least 6 righteous in Lot's family, possibly 8 if the two married daughters were with righteous men. That would leave only 2 people that would need to be righteous for the city to be spared.

Unfortunately, it is far more likely that corruption happens. The two daughters didn't marry good men, and because of that they were corrupted and not considered to be righteous.

Genesis 19:14- And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

Lot was physically removed from the city by the angels.

Genesis 19:15-17- And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

Lot had moved in with these sinners and now he was finding it hard to leave. Who wouldn't? His daughters were there. His possessions were there. His business was there.

We won't go into details about how low he sank while he was there. Suffice it to say that he lost at least two daughters when the judgment fell, and ended up a single dad with two daughters who didn't exactly make very wise choices (all because of the influence of the wicked city on his family).

II Peter 2:7-8- And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

But, that wasn't where he should stay if he wanted to flee from the wrath to come. In Lot's day, the Lord was merciful and removed him before the judgment fell.

Genesis 19:24-26- Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

They were outside the destruction zone, and yet when his wife looked back to all that she lost she was struck by the judgment.

In the future, the people are warned to flee from the wrath to come, but if they don't fun they will end up suffering when it falls! 

Revelation 18:4- And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

God tells the people to flee and hide when the Antichrist goes into the rebuilt temple and sits on the ark of the covenant and proclaims himself to be god.

Matthew 24:15-21- When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

It's going to be an awful time. Many will die. Many will suffer bereavement. And many more will accept the mark of the beast and lose their soul.

Heed the warning that was given. Don't try to gather things up or save your possessions. He isn't just talking about the salvation of your physical life, He's warning about the possible damnation of your eternal soul. Run and don't look back!

Don't think for a minute that God will withhold his righteous judgment because you don't want to obey.

The Testament of Archaeology

 Some may think that the geological evidence given isn't enough to prove the factuality of the flood. Others may wonder if global tribal accounts of a catastrophe are reliable. And still more may not believe that just because there is no testable proof of evolution doesn't mean that the theory is incorrect.

So, I will now turn my attention to archaeology. 

The Bible is more of a history book than it is a religious book. It mentions cities, kingdoms, rulers, and wars. There are many archaeological sites that are mentioned in the Bible that have been found.

The Famine Stela is an Egyptian hieroglyphic inscription on Sehel Island in the Nile, near Aswan, Egypt, that tells of a seven-year famine and drought that occurred during the reign of Pharaoh Djoser of the Third Dynasty.  It says that the Nile failed to flood annually for seven years during Djoser's reign, causing the drought and famine.  The inscription's unique reference to the famine, along with the tax and land claims, fit with the biblical account of Joseph, who told Pharaoh that seven years of abundance would be followed by seven years of famine.

Genesis 41:29-31- Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.

Genesis 47:13-20- And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate. And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.

Ron Wyatt began investigating underwater off the coast of Neweiba Beach in 1978. One of the first things he found was a beautiful gold plated chariot wheel, very fragile but clearly visible in the clear waters of the Red Sea! Four, six and eight-spoked wheels were found in the Red Sea. These wheels were typical of the wheels used in the 18th Dynasty at the time of Moses and the Red Sea Exodus. Later, Wyatt and his sons found numerous other man-made artifacts and chariot wheels. The shapes of the battle debris were still intact because coral had attached themselves to the wood, preserving evidence of the historical accuracy of the Biblical account of the Exodus and the destruction of Pharaoh’s army, estimated to be as many as 250,000 soldiers and horse drawn chariots.

Exodus 14:5-7- And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. 

Exodus 14:21-28- And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

The walls of Jericho were built purely for military purposes. These 13-foot tall walls were intended to protect the town and the citizens inside. Ancient Jerico/Tell es-Sultan is located northwest of present-day Jericho in the Jordan Valley in Palestine, the property is an oval-shaped Tell, or mound, that contains the deposits of human activity, and includes the adjacent perennial spring. The meticulous work of Kathllen Kenyon in the 1950's showed that Jericho was indeed heavily fortified and that it had been burned by fire. Kenyon's work was the most detailed. She found a heap of bricks from the fallen city walls! The renewed Italian-Palestinian excavations found exactly the same thing at the southern end of the mound in 1997. Nothing remains of the mud brick city wall at other points investigated, showing that it had collapsed everywhere else. Remnants of the collapsed city wall were actually found still in place in three places at Jericho.

Joshua 6:1-5- Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

Joshua 6:20,21,24- So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.

Tel Megiddo was a Canaanite city, and later a royal city in the Kingdom of Israel. Megiddo, also known as Armageddon, is prophesied to be the site of the end-times battle in the Book of Revelation. Archaeologists have found 26 layers of human occupation at the site.

Judges 1:27- Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

Revelation 16:16-21- And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Archaeologists working at the northern site of Tel Shimron (between the Sea of Galilee and Haifa) discovered a massive, 3,800-year-old monumental structure. Shimron is a second millennium BC Canaanite city mentioned twice in the book of Joshua. The City covers about 48 acres. An extraordinarily well-preserved mud brick arch has been carefully uncovered at the acropolis of a Canaanite city overlooking the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel. The arch leads from a vaulted corridor deep into the tel, a layered archaeological mound. Its end has not yet been uncovered.

Joshua 11:1-5- And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west, And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

The pool of Siloam is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In John 9, Jesus heals a blind man and tells him to wash in the pool. Visitors to Jerusalem have been shown the steps that lined one side of the pool for almost two decades. The steps were accidentally uncovered during a 2004 sewer repair. But the excavation was limited to preserve an orchard. Archaeologists and local authorities were tantalized by the possibility of finding more, though, and decided to raze the orchard for a fuller dig. Nothing was found. The steps were apparently preserved when a road was built over them, but the rest of the stones of the pool are not there. They were likely taken in ancient times for other building projects.

Nehemiah 3:15- But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David.

John 9:6-7- When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

In 1868, a missionary in Jerusalem found a stone tablet for sale that appeared to be from ancient times. The sellers broke the tablet into a number of pieces to sell them one at a time to make more money. Fortunately, a copy of the tablet was made prior to the break (this copy is in the Louvre today). On the tablet is a text written in Moabite dating to the ninth century BC. The text begins, “I am Mesha son of Chemosh, king of Moab.” Prominent in the text is the king’s version of a war fought with Israel in 850 BC, in which Moab revolted against King Jehoram of the northern kingdom of Israel soon after the death of Ahab. 

II Kings 3:4-5- And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

In 1993, archaeological site surveyor Gila Cook discovered an inscribed stone within a newly excavated wall in Israel. The writing on the stone contains historical evidence of King David. Written in Aramaic, it translates as follows: “…my father went up… and my father died, he went to – there is a little bit in brackets [his fate.. Is is not in the text but it continues on …rael formerly in my father’s land…I fought against Israel and Hadad went in front of me. Hadad went in front of me .. my king. And I slew them [X number of footmen, Y number of chariots] and two thousand horsemen…The King of Israel. And I slew” . . . then a little section that is not clear” . . . and then we have got, we have to supply the word [.. the kin-]g of the house of David.”

II Samuel 5:3- So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.

I Kings 11:21- And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country.

Recently, an article published in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology by renowned Hebrew University archeologist Yosef Garfinkel, whose team has been digging four major sites in the Judean foothills since 2007. Among the finds are rectangular beams in groups of three which match descriptions of Solomon’s palace and temple and indicate that the pattern was used at the time of King Solomon’s reign. Tenth-century fortifications in the city of Lachish correspond to the biblical account of King Rehoboam. The Judean city of Khirbet Qeiyafa sits across the Elah Valley from the major Philistine city of Gath—matching descriptions of conflict between the House of David and these neighbors.   

There are many more, but just these few are proof enough that events in the Bible actually happened. They aren't just stories. They aren't myths. So, why would the first few chapters be filled with mythological tales? 

The truth is evident to anyone who is willing to review it with an open mind and an honest heart. And since these bear witness to the Bible's accuracy, then a wise man would come to the same conclusion as King Solomon.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14- Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Seeing as we will be judged. It would behoove us to ensure that the verdict is in our favor.

Job 34:4- Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.Romans 5:18- Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Romans 6:23- For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 10:13- For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.