The premise of this series of articles is that the trustworthiness of the Bible is the core issue of life that every person must address. Upon the trustworthiness of the Bible hangs our temporal lives and our eternal souls. The Bible is first and foremost the authority on its own trustworthiness, however we should also recognize that a sincere person may require some extra nudges to help them see the truth of God’s word. Since the Bible is primarily a history book that records God’s creation of and interactions with humanity in the past, the present, and the future, the second place we might look to further verify the Bible’s accuracy is history itself, as studied through the efforts of archeologists.
Historical and Archeological Reasons
The parting of the Red Sea is an account that many people have at least a passing familiarity with, and so it is an easy target for a skeptic. After all, such a dramatic, supernatural event can be hard to believe! Part of that account includes the following: "Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea" (Exodus 15:4). If this is true, it would stand to reason that there should be some evidence of such an incredible event, right? Right! In fact, Egyptian chariot wheels may have been found at the bottom of the Red Sea. I know, it sounds odd to use the word "may" in the first provided example, but in the interest of honesty it must be noted that this exciting discovery does have some legitimate doubts cast upon it, mainly due to the amateur methodology and many fantastic claims made by Ron Wyatt, the man behind the discovery. Quite frankly, there are some of his discoveries of which I too am skeptical, though not the particular one mentioned here. The bottom line: I would rather consider the theories of a Bible-believing amateur archeologist than swallow the "scholarship" of professional Bible critics! Speaking of which, let's move on to some more solidly supported evidence and talk about what the critics have to say about fish.
Science (and even some Christians, unfortunately) often mocks and corrects the Bible when they reach the account of Jonah. The Bible says Jonah was swallowed by a “great fish” (Jonah 1:17) that was later described as a “whale” (Matthew 12:40). But everybody who went through 8th grade life science knows that a whale isn’t a fish, and whales don’t swallow people…right? Could we consider for a moment that God knows what He is doing? He named whales before Adam was created; in fact, it is the only animal that He named directly (Genesis 1:21). God also prepared the “great fish” specially for Jonah (Jonah 1:17). Furthermore, Jonah’s experience is not an isolated incident; do some cursory research on James Bartley, who found himself in a similar pickle (or whale, in this case).
This is far more obscure than the events at the Red Sea and Jonah being swallowed by the whale, but it is equally compelling. For many years, people criticized the Bible because there was no historical or archeological evidence for Sargon the king of Assyria, who is mentioned in Isaiah 20:1. The lack of evidence was used by scoffers to prove that the Bible, at least in part, contained falsehoods. This is a disturbing thought, since a single falsehood in the Bible would force us to consider the reliability of the text as a whole! Low and behold, God and His word are proven true every time humanity manages to catch up! Sargon’s existence was confirmed in 1842 with images depicting him on the walls of a palace in Khorsbad, Iraq. He was confirmed again in 1847 when his name was found on a “prism” inscription, and again in 1968 when they found the remains of a monument to him inscribed “Sargon, king of Assyria, who conquered Samaria and the entire region of Israel, he who made captives of Ashdod.”
The most important point that must be confirmed in Scripture is, of course, the details about Jesus Christ. Someone could have honest doubts about everything else, but to fail to trust what is said about Christ is the damning error. Others have done a far more detailed and robust exploration of this than I could attempt, but here’s the short version: everything prophesied about Christ (sometimes 400+ years in advance) is literally fulfilled. It stands to reason then, that everything the Bible says about the second coming of Christ will be literally fulfilled as well.
While we’re on the topic of prophecy, it is noteworthy that prophecies not related to Christ directly have also proven true every time. Everything the Bible says about the nation of Israel, the course of this world, and the condition of things in the last days is all verifiable history or displayed before our very eyes.
Time does not permit, but similar verification of Noah’s flood, the walls of Jericho falling flat, etc and readily available for the honest, curious seeker.
It was said at the start of this article, but the point is important enough that it merits repeating: the Bible is primarily a history book that records God’s dealings with humanity; it is not a bunch of loose allegories and spiritualized generalization that we can apply to ourselves however we like. The “boring” parts of Scripture are incredibly precise, verifiable historical details that confirm its accuracy!
Although many authors have explored this topic in great detail, I would argue one of the best resources on this topic is Harry Rimmer’s Dead Men Tell Tales, which details archeological discoveries related to the Old Testament, along with his other text Stones Cry Out, which details archeological discoveries related to the New Testament. Unfortunately, neither of these texts are still in print, so you'll have to hunt for used copies if you'd like to read them. For more details related to the accuracy of Jonah, see James Knox’s Christ-Honoring Commentary on Jonah (available at this link). Josh McDowell's Evidence that Demands a Verdict also includes excellent sections on archeological evidence in support of the Bible (available at this link).
Stick with the Bible. It knows more than you, and it’s always right – every time.
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