The Wayside Pulpit No.39

31st October 1999

"Nothing new under the Sun"  

They try to tell us when lenses were first invented, but fail to realise that Adam and Eve saw the possibility as soon as they looked through a dew drop!  

They try to tell us when man first invented the wheel, but fail to realise that Adam and Eve had seen the wheels of the Cherubim from the very beginning!  

We praise ourselves for our technological advances, and homes with "all mod cons", but fail to take note of archaeological finds in Babylonia dating from the time of Abraham. Houses had mains drainage, and street lighting, amongst other conveniences. (Try reading "Babylonian Life & History" by E.A.Wallis Budge, Reprinted 1992 by Dorset Press)  

The ancient Babylonians were keen ship builders. An Akkadian dictionary of the Sumerian language contained a whole section on shipping. It catalogued as many as 105 Sumerian terms for various ships, by size, destination or purpose. A further 69 Sumerian terms connected with the manning and construction of ships were translated into the Akkadian. (Taken from "Dead Men's Secrets" by Jonathan Gray, 1988)  

They try to tell us that writing was not established until quite late, and that Moses would not have actually written the Torah. Rather would it have stemmed from the time of the Babylonian captivity. But archaeological evidence from tens of thousands of clay tablets tells another tale! Here are two examples from the many found at Nippur (the Calneh of Genesis 10) and relate to the time when Abram was still living in Babylonia. (Information gleaned from "Bible Study Monthly", Nov. 1978, Page 134)The first is from a young government official to his father.  

"To my father, from Zimri-Eramma. May the gods Shamash and Marduk keep you alive for ever. May all be well with you. I write to enquire after your health; please let me know how it goes with you. I am stationed at Dur-Sin, on the Bitun-Sikirim canal. Where I live there is no food which I am able to eat. Here is a one-third shekel piece, which I have enclosed and send you. Send me for this money fresh fish and other food to eat."  

The second is from a young man, taking up work in a distant city, writing to his girl-friend in Nippur.  

"To Bibeya, from Gimil-Marduk. May Shamash and Marduk grant you, for my sake, to live for ever. I write this in order to enquire after your health. Let me know how it goes with you. I am now settled in Babylon but I am in great anxiety because I have not seen you. Tell me when you will come, that I may rejoice. Come in the month of Arakhsamna (November). May you, for my sake, live for ever."  

The expression "may you live for ever" was used centuries later by Daniel in addressing King Darius, and was evidently a Babylonian custom of enduring usage. Casual touches such as this add weight to authenticate Biblical literature.  

The evolutionist tries to tell us about the ascent of man from stone age grunters to modern man. But the Bible paints a picture the other way round. Man lived to nearly 1000 years before the flood, and to several hundred years for a while afterwards. And in those early days he was able to build the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of the Incas, Stonehenge in England, and establish a most exacting chronological system, (the Mayas of Central America). And these are but a handful of the amazing technological achievements of the ancients.  

The thing I find most perplexing is the way in which the plethora of archaeological information is minimised, and even discarded, in favour of the evolutionary model. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun, (as Solomon observed, Ecclesiastes 1:9) and evidence points rather to "devolution" than "evolution." On the one hand, we have solid evidence from the past via all the artefacts that have been found, but a complete lack of real evidence to support the evolutionary theory. Isn't it amazing how truth is not considered to be a precious commodity?