User blog:SouthWriter/Little Details

Worldview is a powerful influence. Archeology in Israel and surrounding lands is often in the hands of those that have their minds made up concerning the history of Israel. In their heyday, these skeptics were even claiming that the mighty kingdom of David and Solomon never existed. Others denied the exodus.

All along, they had the Bible at hand, and chose to ignore it. Instead, they put a spin on what the ruins tell them in order to "disprove" the recorded word of those who were there. And so, when mundane details come to light, even Christians seem surprised that the Bible accurately records the sometimes dirty details.

One thing that some with the secular anti-christian worldview like to harp on is the brutal behavior of the ancient people of God against followers of other religion. In what might have been the most brutal purge of religionists ever, an usurper in the northern kingdom named Jehu killed off the whole family of king Ahab and his queen Jezebel. In a ruse to destroy the worship of Baal in Israel, the new king called every known Baal worshipper into the pagan temple that Jezebel had built. He then had his henchmen storm the building, killing everyone inside.

In the aftermath, all the idols were destroyed and the building was defiled. From then on, the writer of 2 Kings 10:27 states, the old temple was used as a motsah - a departure point, a euphemism for "outhouse" or "latrine." An odd thing to note, except that it shamed the once pervasive Ba'al worship into the ash heap of history.

As the years passed, the building crumbled to the ground. Its stones broken to bits or recycled. Those too big to reuse were left to be buried so new buildings, or just a highway, could be put in. Almost three thousand years later, archeologists find the toilet in the temple. Why should we be surprised?

Indeed, the little details matter. And though we do not need "proof" of their verity, it is nice to see the secularists admit to the truth found even in the most obscure places of the Bible.

Read more about this discovery at the Christian Today website. This work is under copyright of the author and should not be used without his permission.