Then the word of the LORD came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” Jeremiah 18:5-6 When visiting ancient sites, pottery pieces can be found all over the place. With its abundance, understanding it yields a greater understanding of the past. How can these little broken pieces of fired clay help us so much? Why are they so important? As you pick up one of these ancient relics, the first […]
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Purim: When God was Hiding
For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. But when the plot came to the king’s attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Esther 9:24-26 Today was Purim. It is a day to remember the events […]
The Headless Archaeologist
An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets the more interested he is in her. Agatha Christie When studying archaeology, it doesn’t take long before you come across one famous name in particular: Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie. There is a bit of connection with him at JUC because he is buried in the Protestant Cemetery next to the school. Born in 1853 near London, England, he learned surveying from his father and enjoyed roaming the English countryside searching for ancient artifacts, visiting places like Stonehenge. In 1880 he went to Egypt, where he […]