At the Appointed Time

The more I study Scripture, the more patterns seem to leap off the page.  In the blog post The Book of the Law, we looked at God’s timing in the discovery of the Book of the Law during Josiah’s reign. God let it be found when a godly king would act on what he was given.

We had the privilege of going to the Museum of the Bible this weekend to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. Go if you get the chance!

Just as finding The Book of the Law was a pivotal moment in Judea’s history, the timing of the finding the Dead Sea Scrolls could not have been more perfect. Why?

A little background

In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd was retrieving a wayward sheep in the area of Qumran in the Judean wilderness. He tossed a stone into one of the caves and heard pottery shatter. He investigated and found pottery jars containing parchment. At that time, no one realized the treasure they’d uncovered.

Can you imagine a more inhospitable place? And yet, it was the perfect place to preserve God’s Word for 2,000 years. For 2,000 years, the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden in obscurity and darkness in one of the driest places on earth. The protective jars, the dry atmosphere, and the lack of light helped preserve these documents for such a time as this.

And, just as important, God preserved them after they were found. He got them to the right hands, and he prevented their destruction from some boneheaded research practices. He protected them from cigarettes and Scotch tape.

What’s so important about them, anyway?

• They are the oldest surviving manuscripts of the books of the Hebrew Bible. More than 1,000 years older than the Masoretic text. And they’re remarkably similar – the main changes are in the spelling of some of the words. That means we can trust that the Old Testament we have today has been faithfully passed down from the original texts. (The New Testament is incredibly reliable, as well, but that’s another blog post!)
• They are evidence that Jews inhabited Israel 2,000 years ago. It is their homeland.
• They contain a treasure trove of documents we didn’t have before such as commentaries, prayers, apocalyptic literature, community rules, and messianic expectations.

Nearly all of the Book of Isaiah was found intact – nearly 24 feet long! And it shows close agreement with the Masoretic text.

What’s the big deal about 1947?

In 1948, Israel became a nation again, fulfilling Isaiah 66:8Who has ever heard of such things?

Who has ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day
or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
than she gives birth to her children.

On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared Israel an independent nation, the fulfillment of prophecies in Zechariah 12-14, Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36-37. Bringing Israel back into the land is a major signpost on the road to the end times.

Don’t you know God revealed the Dead Sea Scrolls as just one more clarion call, telling us He’s coming soon? Just as He revealed His Book to Josiah, He confirms His Word and His purpose to us today.