Archaeologists and Elisha’s House

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

I Peter 2:6-8:

6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

Revelation 19:13:

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Jesus Christ, the world’s only way to salvation, is the chief cornerstone, the rock of offense, and His name is “The Word of God.” 

The Words of God lighten our pathway.  They are the weapons that destroy the power of the kingdom of darkness.  These stones of Light are all parts of Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone. 

I Samuel 17:32-50:

32 And David said to Saul, Let no man''s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father''s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.

39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd''s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.

42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.

43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord''s, and he will give you into our hands.

48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

David chose five smooth stones—stones polished and perfected by the waters of circumstance.  One of these smooth stones, slung in childlike faith, drops the giants of circumstance in their tracks.  Whatever our trouble, the solution is just one stone away.  But this stone is only slung with deadly accuracy by the children of faith, the born-again. 

Have you been born again—born a second time, this time of the Spirit of God?  Are you ready to embrace the power of a brand new and eternally powerful life?  Are you ready to have all your sin and guilt erased from your account?  If you said yes, today is your day of salvation.  Click onto “Further With Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  Do it now.  We will wait for you here.  NOW FOR TODAY'S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, II Kings 6:8-23:

8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.

11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?

12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.

20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.

23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

GOD SAID, II Kings 9:1-3:

1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:

2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber;

3 Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.

MAN SAID:  The accounts in the Bible are debunked by today’s archaeology.  They are hand-me-down accounts that are not accurate accounts of history.

Now THE RECORD.  The first proof pillar employed by GodSaidManSaid to defend the inerrancy of the Word of God is Archaeology.  Under the Archaeology heading on the navigation menu on your left are a host of features that certify the unflagging accuracy of Holy Writ.  Here, the amazing discoveries of archaeology, ancient history, societal records, and geology are reviewed.  Take time to review these features.  We’re confident you’ll be shocked and your faith edified.  You’ll read of marvelous discoveries from:

• Adam and Eve and the Ancient Record
• Noah''s Ark -- Fact or Fiction?
• The Tower of Babel and the World''s Once One Common Language
• Giants on the Earth
• Sodom and Gomorrah to
• The Blind Man and the Pool of Siloam
• The Tomb of Simeon
• And The Day Jesus Died and onto His Resurrection

Seventy-nine subjects in the Archaeology category are ready for your attention.

The following statement headlines a July 23, 2013 feature on CBN.com:  “Have Archaeologists Found Prophet Elisha’s House?”

Tel Rehov, Israel—During 16 years of excavating Tel Rehov in the Jordan Valley, archaeologists uncovered a 3,000-year-old, well-planned city.

They also found a unique building that might have been the house of Elisha the prophet. 

“The house was full of objects of unique types…two pottery altars that were used for burning incense,” archaeologist Ami Mazar told CBN news.

“We found there figurines, clay figurines.  We found large vessels—like big vessels that were probably used for serving food, not for just the nuclear family, but maybe for a larger community,” he said. 

Mazar also pointed out the unique structure of the house.

“Normally, the houses had one entrance leading to a large space with rooms all around,” he explained.  “This house was divided into two wings.  The two wings were connected to one another through the backroom and each one of the wings had an opening into the street.” 

Outside the backroom were incense altars that may have been used to make an offering to God before entering the house to hear the prophet’s message. 

During excavations, archaeologists discovered a special room inside the house with a table and a bench.  They also discovered a pottery shard with the name Elisha on it, dated to the 9^th century.

The discovery has led some to believe this was the room of the prophet Elisha.

“We found an ink inscription written in red ink on pottery, but it is broken, unfortunately,” Mazar said.  “But we reconstructed the name as Elisha.” 

The prophet Elisha was born about seven miles from Tel Rehov in Avel Mehola and went throughout the kingdom of Israel, from Jericho to Samaria to Shunam. 

“You know I cannot say for sure this particular Elisha that we found is the Biblical Elisha,” Mazar said.  “You know it is very difficult to say, but it is very tempting because it is exactly the period when Elisha acted—the second half of the 9^th century B.C.” 

Archaeologist Stephen Pfann calls the evidence compelling.

“With only six other people by the name of Elisha known in that time for a couple of centuries on either side, we can somehow believe that either this was just the luck that this holy man went also by the name of Elisha, or this was Elisha the prophet himself,” Pfann told CBN News.

Another discovery pointing to the prophet Elisha is two different inscriptions mentioning the family of Nimshi. 

“We remember that it was Elijah who was told to anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, to be the king,” Pfann explained.  “And he passed that on to Elisha who sent out one of his disciples to finally do the anointing.” 

Another inscription with the same name Nimshi was found about five miles away.

“So I came to this idea that perhaps the entire valley of Beit Shean, this beautiful fertile valley [with] food, springs, water, [and] good land was perhaps under rule, or property of this family,” Ami said.  

This family may also have had an unusual business:  bee-keeping.

“Perhaps they were the owners of the apiary because one of [the] Nimshi inscriptions was found inside the apiary just between the hives,” Pfann said. 

For Cary Summers, who heads Nazareth Village, it’s even more special.

“Well, it’s like any other archaeological site, in essence…every scoop of dirt it proves the Bible, one scoop at a time.  And this site is absolutely magnificent dealing with the prophet Elisha,” Summers told CBN News. 

In this day and age, he said, it’s even more important. 

“There is always the skeptic who says, ‘Show me the proof,’ and ‘When you have the proof.’ Basically, [we have] the tile that [was] found here with the name [and] also just the excavation itself,” Summers continued. [End of quote]

Knowing that the Word of God is solid and sure is central to all life.  Satan, who is the purveyor of death, consistently attempts to debunk God’s Word, and if overt action is unsuccessful, he then subliminally attempts to plant the seed of doubt.  Satan’s success ratio is enormously high, but only with the willingly ignorant. 

GOD SAID, II Kings 6:8-23:

8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.

11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?

12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.

20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.

23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

GOD SAID, II Kings 9:1-3:

1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:

2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber;

3 Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.

MAN SAID:  The accounts in the Bible are debunked by today’s archaeology.  They are hand-me-down accounts that are not accurate accounts of history.

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

Mitchell, C. and Stahl, J., “Have Archaeologists Found Prophet Elisha’s House?,” CBN.com, July 23, 2013

 

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