TSIYON NEWS

From Eliyahu

 

Who was King David? For a long time there was no direct evidence, other than the Bible itself, proving King David was a real person. Indeed, many archaeologists have described him as a legend, a myth, a fictitious hero figure, a sort of King Arthur folktale from the ancient past - definitely not a real person.

 

From a faithless perspective, this unbelief is understandable, given the Biblical picture of this amazing man. He was raised up from the youngest and least of his family, disregarded by them and left off by himself to tend the sheep. As a mere lad, bringing food to his brothers in the army, he heard the boasts against the God of Israel, coming out of the mouth of the pagan giant, Goliath. The army of Israel was intimidated by this 10-foot tall monster-man who was taunting them to send out a champion to fight him. While they all cowered, David was filled with indignation by the insults of the giant against the God of Israel, David's God. That's when the young shepherd boy stepped up to face down the giant in the power of the Almighty. We all know what happened, how the giant lost his head to the faith and courage of David and the power of the living God. This is just the beginning of the amazing exploits of David. No wonder the unbelieving cannot accept that all of this is real ... and yet, it is. 

 

In the course of the last three decades or so archaeology has been pulling the truth out of the ground proving that King David was a real person. The first breakthrough discovery came in 1993, when the Tel Dan Stele (pronounced: steel-lee) was uncovered near Syria. This ancient inscription in stone, celebrating a military victory of an Aramean king, claims he defeated a rival kingdom listed as “House of David.” (See 2 Kings 8–9)

 

The stele not only proves that King David was a real person, but it also affirms that a line of kings of "the House of David" was still ruling some 140 years after David’s death, when the stele was written - all of which agrees with the Biblical record. The Tel Dan Stele establishes David as the earliest biblical character specifically named in the archaeological record.

Actually, there was another stele, the Mesha Stele, discovered in 1868, which also contains a "House of David" inscription. The Mesha Stele has been dated to 840 - 810 BC and is sometimes called "the Moabite Stone" since it describes the victories of Moab's king, Mesha against the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom (see 2 Kings 3).

 

Unfortunately, this stele was damaged shortly after it was discovered. Fortunately, a paper squeeze was made of the artifact before it was damaged, and the fragments resulting from the damage were recovered and retained. Over the past few years, new digital imaging techniques have made it possible for André Lemaire and Jean-Philippe Delorme, with the help of a team from the West Semitic Research Project of the University of Southern California and the Louvre Museum, to reconstruct the damaged 34-line text, which contains the term “House of David”. Beyond that, other key Biblical figures and events are confirmed in the text, again highlighting the historical accuracy of Bible history. 

 

Then we have the discoveries of Eilat Mazar, Israeli archaeologist and granddaughter of the former president of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Benjamin Mazar, archaeologist before her. Unfortunately, Eilat Mazar died on May 25, 2021. However, before her death she made some monumental discoveries, including: King David's Palace dated to the 10th Century BC, as well as treasures at the site including a clay seal of a royal official, "Jehucal son of Shelemiah son of Shevi" mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah.

 

Other discoveries include Nehemiah's Wall, a gate and tower of Solomon, the Ophel Gold Treasure, a seal impression which reads "Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah" dated to 727–698 BC. Another seal impression was discovered which reads "Belonging to Isaiah the prophet" - and the list goes on, and on.

 

So why am I telling you about all of this proof that David and the House of David, as described in Scripture, are real? Indeed, why does YHWH want you to know that now, since He is the One behind all of this evidence being discovered? Because He wants you to know that the everlasting covenant that He made with David and David's House is real. Since that covenant is everlasting, it remains in force. It is, therefore, presently relevant for all of us. Yet, very few people know much about the Davidic Covenant at all. Tonight, I am taking steps toward fixing that.

 

Join us tonight, April 15, 2024, at Tsiyon.Net, at 8 PM, Central. It is no small thing for the King of the Universe to make an everlasting covenant with someone. In fact, this covenant with David and David's House changes everything. 

 

In His Name,

 

Eliyahu

Tsiyon.Org

 

Join us for this live new panel discussion on April 22. All are invited!