Tag Archives: king david

Inscription Found From King David Times

The Israeli Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of an inscription that was traced to the time of King David.

One of the researchers called it a “once in a lifetime” find.

A large clay storage jar was found at Khirbet Qeiyafa that was dated to the Iron Age between 980 and 1020 BC.  On the jar is the name os Ishba’al son of Beda according to the research published in the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

“It is interesting to note that the name Ishbaʽal appears in the Bible, and now also in the archaeological record, only during the reign of King David, in the first half of the tenth century BCE. This name was not used later in the First Temple period,” Professor Yosef Garfinkel of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University and Saar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority said in an IAA statement Tuesday.

The researchers said it was unlikely the Ishba’al mentioned on the jar was the same as the rival to King David.

Garfinkel said that just five years ago there were no known Judean inscriptions from that period.

“Minimalists would say that writing only started in Judah in the 7th century BCE,” he said. With the discovery of a second inscription at Khirbet Qeiyafa, “you can see that it existed; before this we didn’t even have any evidence that writing or literacy existed at all.”

“Researching any culture we would like to know if the people knew to read and write,” he said. “In this specific case study it’s even more important because it’s the beginning of the biblical tradition, and then it’s not just of interest to 40 archaeologists but to billions of people.”

There’s a Rustling in the Mulberry Trees

When I came out of prison in 1994, E.V. Hill gave me a prophetic word from the Lord that I would raise up a “David’s Army”.  From the scriptures, we know that this is a fairly ragtag bunch, yet God used them in mighty ways to restore His beloved Israel.

In the Last Days, God is using whoever has a heart after Him.  You may think “well yes, He always did” and that’s a true statement.  But David’s Army came together in a time when the illegitimate authorities of the day were failing.  Saul had tried to win Israel’s battles but he did it in his own strength and with his own wisdom and he failed – but there was a time that all of Israel was enamored with him.

If you will remember, Saul’s kingship was the result of the proud and rebellious demands of a disobedient Israel that was much more concerned with how the king looked than with whom God had chosen.  The Bible says Saul stood a head taller than most men and was very handsome.  David, on the other hand, was a ruddy kid that God chose when He sent Samuel the Prophet to anoint him as King.  David was God’s choice – and Saul was the people’s choice.

Well, God gave Israel just what they asked for, but told them they would regret that choice in the years to come and they did.  But only after many of their sons had lost their lives because Saul was proud and  disobedient, and he went out to battle and made other decisions without consulting the God of Israel.  Eventually this disobedience caused him to be so hardened that he even consulted a witch.  Saul, in the end, committed suicide in a battle he could not win because God was not with him.

David, on the other hand, always consulted God before he went out to battle the enemies of Israel.  One such incident is recorded in 2 Samuel 5:24 when God spoke to David and said, “And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”  The principle is this:  Always seek God’s wisdom before you do anything and wait for His answer.  Ask God “what should I do?”  When you do that, He will go before you and move in your behalf!

In the Last Days, the true leaders of the Lord’s Army will arise, and they will inquire of the Lord what they should do.  Many of them will have been stripped of any self-importance in the valleys of life as David was, yet they go forward to do battle with the enemies of God because their heart belongs to Him alone – and God Himself has ordained them!  Man did not do it, and man cannot undo it.

As the leaders of the Lord’s Army arise, there is a “rustling in the mulberry trees” and the Lord is going out before them to move in their behalf!