7 reasons to believe the Old Testament (Part 2)
Last week I provided the first three reasons why it’s reasonable to believe the Old Testament is true. This week I’m providing four more reasons I hope you’ll find convincing.
4. Archeology backs up the Old Testament:
A few of the discoveries which fit with Old Testament passages include:
The Ebla Tablet
Archaeological digs in the city of Bogzakoy, Turkey
Archeological digs in Sargon's Palace in Khorsbad
The Belshazar Tablet
The Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet
5. Historical events in the Old Testament corroborated by other sources:
a. The campaign into Israel by Pharaoh Shishak (1 Kings 11:40; 14:25-26; 2 Chronicles 12: 2-9) is recorded on the Bubasite Portal of the Temple of Amun in Thebes, Egypt.
b. The revolt of Moab against Israel (2 Kings 1:1; 3:4-27) is recorded on the Moabite Stone, also known as the Mesha Inscription. It was commissioned by Mesha King of Moab to commemorate his achievements. “Mesha makes his version of a war fought with Israel in 850 BC prominent,” says notes in the Archeology Study Bible page 519. “The two accounts differ: Mesha emphasizes his victories over Israel, while the biblical writer emphasizes Israel’s successful counterattacks.”
c. The fall of Samaria (2 Kings 17:3-6, 24; 18:9-11) to Sargon II, king of Assyria, is recorded on his palace walls.
d. The defeat of Ashdod by Sargon II (Isaiah 20:1) is recorded on his palace walls.
f. The seige of Lachish by Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:14, 17) is recorded on the Lachish reliefs. This five-minute video puts the reliefs in context. If you have 30 minutes, check out all three videos related to Lachish.
e. The campaign of Sennacherib against Judah (2 Kings 18:13-16) is recorded on the Taylor Prism.
g. The assassination of Sennacherib by his sons (2 Kings 19:37) is recorded in the annals of his son Esarhaddon.
h. The fall of Nineveh as predicted by the prophets (2 Kings 2:13-15) is recorded on the Tablet of Nabopolassar.
i. The fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:10-14) is recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles.
j. The captivity of Jehoiachin, King of Judah, in Babylon (2 Kings 24:15-16) is recorded on the Babylonian Ration Records.
k. The fall of Babylon to the Medes and the Persians (Daniel 5:30-31) is recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder.
l. This is a list of hundreds of artifacts in Biblical archeology.
6. The Old Testament has been confirmed by accurate prophecies of historical events:
Babylon will rule over Judah for 70 years.
Babylon's gates will open for Cyrus.
Babylon's kingdom will be permanently overthrown.
Babylon will be reduced to swampland.
The Jews will survive Babylonian rule and return.
The Ninevites will be drunk in their final hours.
Nineveh will be destroyed by fire.
Tyre will be attacked by many nations.
Tyre's stones, timber and soil will be cast into the sea.
The Jews will avenge the Edomites.
7. If the New Testament is true, the Old Testament must be
Dr. Frank Turek says in his book I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist that Jesus taught that the Old Testament was the Word of God in seven ways:
Divinely authoritative — Jesus quoted the Old Testament to Satan (in Matthew 4:4 Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 and in Matthew 4:7 he quoted Deuteronomy 6:16). So he must have considered it an authoritative source of truth. Turek said on 92 occasions Jesus or his apostles pointed to the Old Testament as support for what they were saying.
Imperishable — In Matthew 5:18 Jesus said the Law will remain intact until the end.
Infallible — In John 10:35 Jesus said when people are on the verge of stoning him to death that the scripture cannot be broken.
Inerrant — In Matthew 22:29 Jesus told the Sadducees that they were wrong, relying on the Scriptures as his evidence.
Historically reliable — Jesus affirmed the story of Noah in Matthew 24:37-38 and Jonah in Matthew 12:40 as well as teaching in Matthew 24:15 that Daniel was a prophet. He also quotes Isaiah in Matthew 7:6-7; 13:14-15; Luke 4:17-19 and never claims there was more than one Isaiah, as some critics argue.
Scientifically reliable — In Matthew 19:4-6 Jesus referenced the story of God creating men and women as scientific facts.
Ultimate supremacy — In Matthew 15:3 and 6 he corrected the Pharisees in claiming they should obey what today we call the Old Testament, calling them hypocrites.
Fulfilling the Law — In Matthew 5:17 and Luke 24:26-27 He said He came to fulfill the “Law and the Prophets.”
The table on page 360 showing where Old Testament texts are cited in the New Testament is by itself enough reason to buy this 436-page book by Turek and Dr. Norman L. Geisler.