limtaglongtree

DQ3: What is the significance of the destruction layer in an excavation mound?

            The significance of the destruction layer in an excavation mound is that this destruction layer will reveals the archeological ruin that is present in the archeological site which is very essential for archeologist to explore and evaluate the site. This will help them to gather data and evidences which are needed in the interpretation of data that will draw a valid and definite conclusion which is needed in validation and justification of a certain truth.  These archeological ruins and artifacts will give a strong evidence of an ancient life that is exiting in a certain site. Such as the mound of Jarmo which archeologist has found pots with tools and vessels of stone and traces of grains seem to support the development of Agriculture here. They found also bones of sheep, goats, pigs, and oxen that verify that there is a domestication of animals. From this standpoint, practically gives an extensive revelation about that culture of that certain village or community in that excavation site that will lead to tracing of existed life and through that archeological scientist can trace the time duration it existed and this will lead to a sound verifications of scientific hypothesis which is also needed in refining biblical evidences that would result to verifications. This will highlight chronological events in history that a certain era or age has existed in a time table which would define more clearly the pictures of history.

            Archeology is a refining tool of a certain event that is doubted or does not project a clear picture. Biblical archeology is a scientific method of verifying the events or the facts that is depicted in the bible. It is very essential in our time where the school of Gnostic is everywhere to disprove the bible. Biblical scholars Apologetics must be ready to defend the truth and this biblical archeology is one of a tool to verify the truths in the bible such as the pool of Siloam that is recently discovered and the very essentials of the destruction layers which gives a good peeping hole for the people to give the bible a good stand point.

Dev3

I am Joseph! He said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” but his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them

Gen. 45: 3

            The revealing of identity is a very personal. During my child hood years I love to watch Batman the animate series and even up to present. Batman also known as Bruce Wayne in public but when Joker his villain is up to something evil he is always on the spot to defend Gotham city. After all the years that I’ve watch I’ve notice that this Batman will reveal only himself to his love ones like Mr. Alfred and Batgirl. Our love ones are the only people that we can reveal our character and who we are as we are. Joseph revealed his character to his love ones even though these so-called love ones are the ones who betrayed him. Revealing ourselves to others is a character that we forgave the love ones who betrayed us and Joseph the Hero here can’t stop to masquerade because he can’t accommodate bitterness that would lead him to revenge but the love on his brothers has overtaken everything that result to forgiveness and reconciliation. Praise God!

DQ2: Explain why God confused the people at Babel by changing their languages.

             God confused the people at Babel by changing their language because God’s intention for them to be scattered that they will replenish the earth as it is clear and commanded in the previous passages in Gen 9:7 ( NASB) as for you (Noah) be fruitful and multiply, populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it. The people in the land of Shinar are descendants of Noah and these people has disobeyed the command of God in Gen 9:7 they wanted to centralize their system of governance that in Gen 11:4 they said “come let us build for ourselves a city and tower whose top will reach into heaven and let us make ourselves a name otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth”. That plan of the people in Shinar alone is defiance to God. God changing the language itself is a method of categorizing tribes of this earth. These tribes will be scattered and they will replenish the earth in its four corners. The result of this replenishing is the different tribes and tongues around the world. We can observe the different languages and other sub languages in a certain place. The people in shimar wanted to exalt themselves; they are wearing their pride necklaces. We can observe in this that anyone that try to exalt himself above  God , God  will eventually humble him as it is written in some passages like in Obadiah v4 it says that though you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring will bring you crashing down. This is God’s way of humbling people as it is written in James “humble yourself in the eyes of the Lord in His due time He will lift you up” and He has humbled the people in Shimar and as the Narration Goes Grace has sprung in  the person of Abraham that through Abraham all the nations will be blessed.

Dev2

“I am the God of your father Abraham:

Do not fear, for I am with you.

I will bless you and multiply your descendants

For the sake of my servant Abraham.”

            In those times of difficulties and uncertainties when our faith is challenged and our hopes are limitedly margined and the urgency of making a speeding intuition to sustain our own comfort and security is in demand God will remind us about His faithfulness, like the sun that roses from the east it and settles on its final location so is the faithfulness of the promise of God. It warms our soul in its coldness, it energizes our strength when its gone, it dries out doubt and gives hope to move on to the next level, it enhances out immature areas in our lives to be able to recover from pains and sorrows, and reminds that apart from everything I can not do nothing that He alone can move our life itself to the next stage of well like Isaac when they dug another well that will sustain their daily needs. Praise God for the wells that we dug each events of our life by His own special favor.  

DQ1: Describe the Ancient Near East during the 3rd Millenium B.C.E. (Be detailed but brief.)

The terms ancient Near East or ancient Orient encompass the early civilizations predating classical antiquity in the region roughly corresponding to that described by the modern term Middle East (Egypt, Iraq, Turkey), during the time roughly spanning the Bronze Age from the rise of Sumer and Gerzeh in the 4th millennium BCE to the expansion of the Persian Empire in the 6th century BCE. As such, it is a term widely employed in the fields of Near Eastern archaeology, ancient History and Egyptology.It has five divisions: old kingdom of Egypt, Elam, Akkad, Mari, Amorite, and troy I-V. by Lamberg-Karlovsky, C. C. and Jeremy A. Sabloff.

Starts its origin of civilization in the Old Kingdom in Egypt where it attained its continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement. Starts its point of civilization in the lower Nile Valley. The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty (2686 BC – 2134 BC). Many Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration centralized at Memphis. The Old Kingdom was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline referred to by Egyptologists as the Period. The royal capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was located at Memphis, where Djoser established his court. The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known, however, for the large number of pyramids, which were constructed at this time as pharaonic burial places. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as “the Age of the Pyramids.” as describe by Dr. Susan J. Herlin. It is categorized in three divisions: the Beginnings (third dynasty), the golden age (fourth dynasty), and the Decline and collapse (fifth to eight dynasty).

            It covers Elam. Lasting from around 2700 BC to 539 BC, is one of the oldest recorded civilizations. Elam was centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran (the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, which takes its name from Elam), as well as parts of southern Iraq. It was preceded by what is known as the Proto-Elamite period, which began around 3200 BC when Susa (later capital of Elam) began to be influenced by the cultures of the Iranian plateau to the east by Akbarzadeh, D.; A. Yahyanezhad. Elam has three periods- the old, middle and the neo-elamite.

            Covers Akkad (Sumerian: Agade), (Biblical Accad), was a city and its surrounding region (Sumerian URI.KI or ^KIURI) in central Mesopotamia. Akkad also became the capital of the Akkadian Empire, and later that of the northern division of the ancient Babylonian empire.The city was probably situated on the west bank of the Euphrates, between Sippar and Kish (in present-day Iraq, about 50 km southwest of the center of Baghdad). Despite an extensive search, the precise site has never been found.Akkad reached the height of its power between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests of king Sargon of Akkad.Because of the policies of the Akkadian Empire toward linguistic assimilation, Akkad also gave its name to the predominant Semitic dialect: the Akkadian language, reflecting use of akkadû (“in the language of Akkad”) in the Old Babylonian period to denote the Semitic version of a Sumerian text by Mish, Frederick C.

            Covers Mari, Mari was an ancient city in Syria situated on the site of Tell Hariri, 11 kilometers north-west of the modern locality of Abu Kamal on the western bank of Euphrates river, some 120 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor, Syria. It is thought to have been inhabited since the 5th millennium BC, although it flourished from 2900 BC until 1759 BC, when it was sacked by Hammurabi. Abraham is thought to have passed through Mari on his way from Ur to Harran by wikipedia.

            Covers Amorite (Hebrew ’^emōrî, Egyptian Amar, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm (corresponding to Sumerian MAR.TU or Martu) refers to a Semitic people who occupied the country west of the Euphrates from the second half of the third millennium BC, and also the god they worshipped  by Chiera

            Covers Troy (Greek: Τροία, Troia, also Ίλιον, Ilion; Latin: Troia, Ilium,Turkish: Truva) is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer. Trojan refers to the inhabitants and culture of Troy.Today it is the name of an archaeological site, the traditional location of Homeric Troy, Turkish Truva, in Hisarlık in Anatolia, close to the seacoast in what is now Çanakkale province in northwest Turkey, southwest of the Dardanelles under Mount Ida by Carter, Jane Burr; Morris, Sarah P

Cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.

                                               Gen 3:17

            Technology has the ability to give us a well-processed life. It servers us instantly in the way we live our life conveniently. A canned good is readily served in the middle of a forest. The speed of train can readily transport people instantly. Information in our own finger tips. A chicken cloned. Hydro Dams giving lights to a barrios and lot of uplifts this technology has served us like we were gods but even to this kind of service technology has served us it cannot surpass the beautiful creation that God has intended for us.

            The blot of sin has stained the humanity. It results to instant death, the eternal separation of God and mankind that has lost its intimate relationship. Sin has infected the life of every individuals it resulted to hardships that we are serving technology to serve us back because of the blot of sin the ground is cursed that a man would have to toil. We are fated to toil to survive. As we look around us may we find our humble situations that our life is situated with toiling because of sin. May we realize that our situation is reliance to the grace of God all the days of our life. Praise and Glory to the Lord of all creations!