Is the Bible trustworthy? Seeing is Believing. Plus Washington DC's finest--my friends.
- Christine DiGiacomo
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Knowing they were there, I had to see them!
And knowing where they came from, I can visualize their home...
And oh, knowing I could get to them, I had to go!
I had to see with my own eyes the Dead Sea Scrolls--
hosted by the incomparable Museum of the Bible.
So this past Thursday, I drove to Washington, D.C., about a four and a half hour drive. When I pulled off the highway in D.C. mid afternoon, I ran into street closures immediately. Now sometimes road closures thwart one's efforts, but this time, just the opposite happened. My GPS had me turning left onto a street approaching the museum, though a manned police car was blocking the lanes, lights flashing... (setup for the big Grand Prix event), yet, one lane was open, so I slowly turned into that lane only to have the officer hit his siren, and motion for me to get out of there.
I backed up and then pulled alongside him, smiled and said, 'But Sir, please tell me then how I can get to the Museum of the Bible?' Of course, I proceeded to tell him why it was so very important to me: I've been in that Judaean desert very near the Dead Sea, peering up at the caves, and had to see the fragments of the parchments, the pictures of the magnificent find and its backdrop.
Answering the puzzled look on his face, I continued, "I have to teach about this, don't you see?" and urgently explained what I do. "These scrolls are one more piece of evidence to support the truth of the Bible; actually, they are undoubtedly the most important archaeological find in history!" And yes, by now I was getting animated.
From a distance, a commanding officer saw my vehicle, and approached to ask about the trouble (I've been called that before)... to which the first cop said, "She's a teacher, and she needs to get in the Museum of the Bible," and then came the response. "Well, let her in--what's the problem?" I smiled, thanked them both profusely and then as they cleared the way, pulled up right in front of the museum and parked my car. The parking meters were not even working as the streets were blocked off. God's favor? Without doubt.
As for my dogged determination? One of the objections I hear about the Bible is that it ‘couldn’t possibly be reliable because of how it was transmitted—having been copied and recopied for thousands of years, from language to language’. [In truth, I have found that most skeptics bandy about things they have heard from others though most of the time, they haven’t even done any homework on the matter themselves.] Turns out, that objection does not hold much weight.
In brief, here's the story of the scrolls: In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd threw a stone into a cave on the west side of the Dead Sea, about 10 miles south of Jericho. Hearing the shattering of pottery, a search revealed an amazing sight on the floor of the cave: several large jars.1 In those jars? Leather scrolls wrapped in linen cloth. And because the jars were carefully sealed, the scrolls had been preserved in excellent condition for nearly 2000 years. Whoa.
Prior to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest complete Hebrew manuscripts in possession were from A.D. 900. Then from 1947-1956, scrolls were found in the Qumran caves dating back to 300 B.C.! Further, they demonstrated unusual accuracy of the copyists of Scripture. With the exception of Esther, copies of every other Old Testament book were represented in the caves, including 21 copies of the book of Isaiah.2
Here is a six-minute video on the scrolls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UyVRScx6Bs
The exhibit was engaging, informative and included far more than just the scrolls. (ends on Sept. 7)3
Your attention? Having led and taught several tours to Israel, I am so thankful to have seen the land of Jesus, the patriarchs and the prophets with my own eyes--including several well-excavated archaeological sites that are mentioned in the Bible. These shore up the trustworthiness of the Word of God, my friend. And experiencing the land is like nothing else in all the world. God willing, there will be another trip in 2027.
As for the Bible, why do I get so lathered up? Because what Jesus said is true: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”4
Indeed, Scripture says of itself that it is ‘inspired by God’—men were not writing of their volition, but under the direction of God. “No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”5
Oh and one more thing. The next day before returning to the museum, I live-streamed on the steps of a historic Catholic Church. Walking to put the tripod back in my car, I encountered three policemen - remember, cops were all over the city, preparing for the big event. 'Hey, what were you doing over there?' one asked. 'What were you talking about?'
I stopped and looked at each of them, then said, 'Talking about the Holy Spirit and living life on purpose,' looking from man to man as to their thoughts of what I said. Then I asked first one and then the other if they were like minded - 'hey, so are you men of faith?' Turns out they were. Then I asked another question and they responded. First rule of talking about Jesus - ask your 'friend' a question and listen... do not believe the lie that you do not know enough to share your faith; you know enough to tell someone what you have experienced of Jesus Christ! That's the place to start.
We talked about the Lord, we talked about their work and my work, we talked about miracles on the job--how God has protected them, and then... I prayed over the three of them right out loud - in front of God and every passerby. It was beautiful. And I believe I have three new friends who love God and see their work as a calling from him to serve the people of our nation's capital. Beautiful!
In less than 24 hours in Washington, DC, I saw biblical history found in a cave in Israel, and also met DC's finest - and I just gotta say, my soul is still smiling.
Listen: God, I'm Just Grateful:
The Bible...Trustworthy? Definitely.
Christine
2) Israel Antiquities Authority
3) That was my second visit to Museum of the Bible, which opened in 2017; in 2018, I took 10 women from Southern California to tour the museum and the capital. In the eight years since, the offerings at the museum have grown, and it is well worth the time to visit and spend time learning about the impact of Scripture throughout history; how we got the Bible, including a Gutenberg Press demonstration.
4) John 8.31-32
5) 2 Peter 1.20-21
Comments