Twenty-four days in the land of the Bible: Part I

Recently, I had the opportunity to make the trip of a life-time. Through a good friend, I was invited to go on an archaeological dig in Jordan and Israel. By the grace of God, I was able to make this trip and it was truly incredible. Since my return, several people have asked me about it.
While speaking with Nikki Maxwell, she suggested I share my story in the paper. The following is my response to her suggestion.
Before going into the trip, let me present some of the background that led to it. In 1996, my wife and I and a dear friend from our church were able to visit Israel. We were there for eight days, and it was a wonderful time. In addition to the obvious spiritual significance of being in the land where Jesus walked, we visited many sites where archaeological work was being done. Sites such as Megiddo, Caesarea Phillipi, Beth Shean, and Masada were not only Biblically significant, they are historically significant as well. At these, and many other sites we visited, we saw archaeological work going on. I remember laughingly commenting to my wife that I would love to do that some day. I had no idea the opportunity would one day present itself. But Scripture says /“Delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” /Now, it may not always be obvious, but I do delight in the Lord and His goodness. So, unbeknownst to me, He began to set things in order that would let me fulfill that desire.
Fast forward to the year 2004. That year I met a Bible teacher, ex-pastor, and Biblical Archaeologist named Scott Stripling. We became friends, and I began having Scott speak at our church on different occasions, (which he still does). In 2005, Scott became involved in an archeological dig located in Jordan at a site called Tall-El-Hammom. Tall-El-Hammom is believed to be the location of at least six different cities, the first being the Sodom spoken of in Genesis 10:19 in the Bible. This was at a time period just after the biblical flood. The genealogy of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, is given in this passage. One of Ham’s sons was named Canaan, and Canaan’s descendants (the Canaanites) settled in an area that included the city of Sodom.
Some 400 to 600 years later, Abraham and Lot made their home in the land of Canaan. When animosity broke out between their herdsmen, Abraham let Lot choose where he would live. Lot chose to dwell in the “plains of Jordan” and “pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.” (Genesis 13:12.) However, Sodom was an extremely wicked city, and God destroyed it with fire and brimstone from heaven. This story is told in Genesis 19. The city destroyed by God in Genesis 19 is probably a different city than the Sodom mentioned in Genesis 10, but it is built on the same site and is almost certainly a continuation of it. Artifacts found while I was there confirm this supposition.
There is no further mention of inhabitants in that area of Jordan until the time of the Exodus, when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land, a gap of about 500 years. For the record, secular archaeologists are at a loss to explain this 500 year gap between settlements in the Jordan valley. Biblical archeologists point to Genesis 19 (the judgment of Sodom) as the answer. After the destruction of Sodom, the plains were not inhabitable for another 500 years. Approximately 500 years after the destruction of Sodom, the Children of Israel left Egypt. They wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and then began making preparations to conquer the land promised to them by God. Just before crossing over the Jordan River, they camped in a place called the “Acacia Grove,” which is a place called Shittim (pronounced sha teem’) in Hebrew. From early historians and archaeological records, Shittim is known to be located at Tall-El-Hammom. (Joshua 2:10)
The next city thought to have been located at Tall-El-Hammom is an unnamed city from the time of Solomon. In I Kings 4:11-19, we learn that Solomon appointed 12 administrators to help govern various areas of his kingdom. All the cities in which these governors, or administrators, lived were located in Israel, except two. Those two are not named in Scripture, but one was located “in the country of Sihon, king of the Amorites.” Sihon’s capital was at Heshbon (Deuteronomy 4:46). Tall-El-Hammom is only a few miles from Heshbon. Since it is unlikely that Solomon would make a pagan city one of his administrative cities, and since Tall-El-Hammom had always been a significant site in Israeli history, it is safe to assume the administrative city was located there. Tall-El-Hammom’s proximity to the Jordan River contributes to this argument and there appears to be both historical and archeological evidence to support the believe that the administrative city was located there.
The next significant city located at Tall- El-Hammom is the city of Beth Haran, sometimes called Beth Ramptha. This city was build by Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed governor of Israel at the time when Jesus was born. Herod built one of his 11 palaces there. But Herod was so unpopular with the Jewish people they destroyed Beth Haran when he died.
Later, Herod’s grandson, Herod Antipas, (Antipas was the Roman-appointed ruler of Israel at the time Christ was crucified) rebuilt the city and named it after the Roman emperor’s wife, Livius. Livius was a large, very important city according to early historians, but the exact site of the city has been lost. The dig in which I participated is attempting to prove the hypothesis that Livius was the last major city built on the ruins of Tall-El- Hammom.
In support of this theory, the largest Roman building yet discovered in this area of the world has been found there. The excavations going on today are looking for conclusive evidence that this is, indeed, Livius. If the ruins of Beth Haran could be found under the ruins currently being excavated, it would confirm that Livius is located at Tall-El-Hammom. So the purpose of the portion of the excavations in which I participated is to keep people from being oblivious to Livius.
More next week.