Keep Digging

In the earthly ministry of Jesus, we find that he demonstrated His healing power, including causing the blind to see. In our lives today, we recognize that He opens our spiritual eyes so that we might see who He is - He rescues us from spiritual blindness. We can read in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4:
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake.
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

In Jesus, the blind see.  It is very easy to walk around blind to the circumstances around us, blind to the worldly influences that cause people to not come into a knowledge of God.  Even Christians, if we are not exercising discernment based on the Word of God, can be blind to what God has to teach us. But, through the Word Who became flesh, we can have our eyes opened and we can see who He is and discover His truth, so that we might be devoted followers of Christ.

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In the 9th chapter of the book of John, we find a snapshot of Jesus healing a man who had been born blind, resulting in consternation from the religious leaders. We can read these words:
6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
7 And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"
9 Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he."
10 Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"
11 He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight."

In that chapter, we can read about how Jesus healed a blind man at the Pool of Siloam. Well, according to Focus on the Family's Daily Citizen, actual steps of the pool have been recently uncovered.  An article notes:

The pool’s exact location was a mystery until 2004 when archeologists first made the discovery of the site. Digging has been a slow process, but the revelation of the actual steps – which have been covered for thousands of years – marks a turning point in the project.

“Theologically, it affirms Scripture,” said the Reverend Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders. “It affirms scripture; and politically, it affirms Israel’s unquestionable and unrivaled link to Jerusalem. Some discoveries are theoretical. This one is undeniable. It is proof of the story of the Bible and its people, Israel.”

“Go wash in the pool of Siloam” – which means Sent – Jesus is quoted as telling the blind man in John’s Gospel. “So he went and washed and came back seeing” (John 9:7).

Another recent archaeological discovery, on which Smithsonian Magazine reported, is relevant to the early Church; the Daily Citizen states that "archeologists have unearthed four Roman swords in an Israeli cave near the Dead Sea. Each between 24 and 26 inches long, it’s believed they were used in a Jewish uprising against the Romans in the second century."  The Magazine is quoted as saying:

The story of this incredible discovery actually began 50 years ago, when researchers noted a fragmentary [Old Testament] inscription written on one of the cave’s stalactites.

It relates that in the process of exploring the cave, one of the team members, Asaf Gayer from Ariel University, "spotted the Roman pilum nestled inside a narrow crevice of the cave’s upper level. Looking around, he also came across pieces of worked wood in another nearby crevice, which would prove to be fragments from one of the Roman sword’s scabbards."

The Daily Citizen article also reported: 

Earlier this summer, Steven Collins, Dean of the College of Archeology at Trinity Southwest University, discussed how pottery that he and his team dug up at a site in modern-day Jordan, added credence to the theory the area was the biblical city of Sodom.

Collins told popular author Joel Rosenberg the material had been impacted by “flash heat” – which would match up to the biblical account of God raining “down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah” (Gen. 19:24).

Also, there was the discovery of human skeletons which bore the signs of having been scorched and severed.

The writer of the article, Paul Batura of Focus on the Family, related:

Christians don’t rely on physical proof or archeological evidence to firm up their faith. After all, it was Jesus who said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). But it’s always affirming and encouraging when the material nevertheless matches up with our deeply held religious convictions.

These discoveries are also a good reminder for us to be patient and never panic when scientists suggest that evidence is either lacking or inconsistent with our faith. Hold on. Just wait. Science will always eventually catch up with the Bible.

I would say that we regularly hear, see, or read of scientific discoveries, and by "following the science," there is a conclusion that affirms Scripture.  Again, as Paul Batura says, we don't place our faith in what we see - but, discoveries can certainly reinforce what we believe and can send a message to a skeptical world of the work of God around us.

These archaeological discoveries reflect evidence that has been buried for years and years that is now coming to light.  The word, "uncovered," was used to describe the Pool of Siloam.  There was an initial discovery, and further digging yielded greater discovery.

What is it that the Bible says in Proverbs about digging and discovering?  This can certainly remind us that God has incredible discoveries for us contained within His Word.  And, what He teaches us can be built upon so that we can grow deeper.  But, we have to be willing to follow the thread, to walk down the path of knowing Him.