A Letter About the Temple
The small potsherd with writing shown here (also known as an ostracon) was discovered by archaeologists digging at a Judean fortress in southern Israel. The name of the site is Arad; this ostracon and the others found at the same site are known as the Arad Letters. They date to about 600 BC, not long before the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon. Arad is located in the desert, about 35 miles straight south of Jerusalem. Both Arad and Jerusalem can be seen on this Google Earth map. What is most interesting about......
Shut the Door!
In Malachi 1:10, God laments the half-hearted service of the priests. He says, “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!” (ESV). We normally think of shutting the doors or gates as a way to protect a house or city from an outside threat. The angels who visited Lot pulled him inside and “shut the door” to keep out the inhabitants of Sodom (Gen 19:10). In the eerily similar case where the Levite found refuge with an......
