History Confirmed

In Psalm 60, there is a narrative of victory for the people of Israel, and the Psalm closes this way:
11 Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless.
12 Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

We face a host of enemies in the world today, and we have to make sure that we are staying spiritually sharp. If we ourselves are allowing walking in unconfessed sin, that can prevent us from experiencing what God has in store for us.  We must rely on the Spirit to convict us and to fortify us, so that we have the strength to stand strong against the forces of evil which would attempt to defeat us. God has provided the invitation and the means for us to stay close to Him.

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In Joshua chapter 8, we read about a victory for the Israelites at a place called Ai, where they had previously been defeated. Once things were made right, they went into battle again, and God directed their victory. We can read these words:
30 Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal,
31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: "an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool." And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.
32 And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.

Through discoveries in a variety of areas, including physical science and archaeology, we are recognizing the validity of the what we find in the Scriptures.  I often talk about how science and faith are compatible, and we can rejoice that our faith can be reinforced through the study of how the world works.

Recently, a discovery was announced of the oldest Hebrew text that has been found. An archaeologist from Texas is "part of a team that helped to discover and identify a 'curse tablet' that is centuries older than any known Hebrew inscription from ancient Israel."  That's according to the Katy Times website, which reports:

Scott Stripling, Archaeological Studies Institute director at The Bible Seminary in Katy, worked with four scientists from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic to discover the text at Mt. Ebal, which about 100 miles north of Jerusalem.

As the story notes, Mt. Ebal is the place that, according to the book of Joshua, a temple to the Lord was constructed by Joshua, following the battle of Ai, which occurred around 1400 B.C., according to the article, which relates that...

...the archaeologists found the temple site and the altar, and it was there that they found and confirmed the curse tablet.

The translated curse text reads:

Cursed, cursed, cursed – cursed by the God YHW.
You will die cursed.
Cursed you will surely die.
Cursed by YHW – cursed, cursed, cursed.

“YHW” is for “Yahweh,” a form of the Hebrew name for God that is used in the Bible.

You may remember that Ai is where Israel was defeated because of the idolatry of one of the people. When that was purged, according to Joshua chapter 8, the Israelites had a victory, after which Joshua, we're told, built an altar.

The Katy Times article states:

Stripling said the curse, along with the blessing, were parts of covenants made in those days.

“That’s how you made a covenant in the Bronze Age,” Stripling said. (The Bronze Age ran from about 3300-1200 B.C.) “You bind yourself with an oath. If I keep the terms of the covenant, I receive the blessings, and if not, I receive the curses. You cannot have a covenant without blessings and curses.”

It goes on to say: "Stripling said the date of the tablet is consistent with other archaeological findings and synchronizes with biblical dates." It also reports: "Stripling said some scholars have questioned whether there was some sort of alphabet that people could read and understand in those days. The tablet’s existence implies that there were both." He said, “That’s one of the big implications...Jesus said that Moses wrote the Torah.”

The website for the Assemblies of God published a story on Stripling's involvement in these archaeological developments.  It states, concerning the tablet, or amulet:

The amulet also proves that during this time, the Hebrews were literate — at least Moses, Joshua, and the Levites could read and write as they made use of a proto-alphabetic writing. Again, supporting what Scripture says in such verses as Exodus 34:27 (God telling Moses to write), Exodus 38:21 (Moses telling the Levites to write), and Joshua 1:8 (God telling Joshua to read). Significant because some scholars believe the former Hebrew slaves were incapable of writing as they were thought to have no alphabet, thereby questioning the authorship of the early parts of the Old Testament.

Mount Ebal is a significant location in Biblical history, according to the report, which says:

...Stripling points to Moses’ directions to the people in Deuteronomy 27:12,13: “When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses (emphasis added): Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.”

It goes on to say:

Mount Ebal was to be the place where Moses directed six of the tribes to go to express curses on Israel if the people failed to follow God’s commands — the finding of an amulet expressing curses in that location is no coincidence. Also, there was only one people group in the world at that time who worshipped God YWH (as written in the amulet) — the Israelites.

This is fascinating material, and while we declare that we walk by faith and not by sight, it is always great to have our beliefs reinforced or authenticated.  And, certainly for a watching world, this type of material can be persuasive.  

We can also see how God continued to pass His truth from generation to generation.  He related information to Moses by His Spirit, Moses wrote it down, and it was passed on.  God has continued to preserve His Word, and that Word has power and relevance for us today. 

I also think that the progression of the events surrounding Ai provides instruction for us today. Because of sin among the people, they were defeated there - once the sin was exposed and action was taken, the Israelites went on to victory there.  And, the Bible tells us that Joshua commemorated that victory.  When we allow unconfessed sin to linger in our hearts, it becomes destructive and we do not experience the victory and joy Jesus died to give us. But, when we repent and recommit ourselves to the Lord, we can experience His sweet presence again.