NEBUCHADNEZZAR – PART 1
In ages past there were only two sources mentioning the name of Nebuchadnezzar – the writing of Josephus and the bible? People were sceptic.
Please join me on a journey to Lebanon. What an experience to look at the magnificant remains of the ancient temples at Baalbek.
At a later stage we will learn more about Nebuchadnezzar’s involvement in the fall of Tyre. How many kingdoms are mentioned in Daniel 2? The Echmoun temple near Sidon is the only archaeological evidence of the sequence
For many years I have been looking for a very specific inscription of Nebuchadnezzar. I knew it was at a place called Nahr el Kelb. “The river of the dog.”
Every time I got here, I went in seach for cuneiform inscriptions. This could be the place but did not have the equipment with me to unveil this monument. I did not give up.
I found inscriptions of Assyrian kings like Esarhaddon and Egyptian kings like Ramses II but could not find one of my heros, Nebuchadnezzar.
By the way, the name Esarhaddon is also mentioned in the Bible. I did a little research and found his stelaes in the Louvre in Paris
And also in the Pegamon museum in Berlin. Iraqi archaeologists discovered his palace and arsenal at Nineveh.
I was there. Guess what happened inside of me when I looked at one of his huge bulls?
I told my child my heart is strangely warmed. The Bible is true! Let’s go back to Nahr el Kelb in Lebanon. After years of searching for Nebuchadnezzars inscription, I found it at last.
A brilliant archaeologist from the Middle East University in Beirut (Kuri) and a very clever tour guide Francaise, helped me to find it.
It was quite a job for my friends to lower me down from a bridge to the place where the incriptions were. But I made it. They say: Perseverance is the master of defeat.
It was one of the greatest archaeological moments in my life when a looked at the cuneiform inscriptions left by the greatest monarch of acient Babylon.
This exclamation is most famously attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes; he reportedly proclaimed “Eureka!” when he stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose — he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged.
This meant that the volume of irregular objects could be measured with precision, a previously intractable problem. He is said to have been so eager to share his realization that he leapt out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked.
Guess what happened to my heart when I stood here?
Why? I saw with my very eyes the writing of the king of whom the Bible spoke. The Bible is true
I have this tremendous urge to walk in the footsteps of this exceptional man of whom the Bible speaks.
I like to discover facts about people mentioned in the Bible in order to strengthen my faith in the word of God.
The prophets Daniel and Jeremiah predicted that Nebuchadnezzar would be become ruler of the ancient world. He did and history attests the fact. I had the privilege to walk on the partially restored procession road in Babylon where Nebuchadnezzar walked. What a moment.
You can see some of the original art of this famous boulevard in the Pergamon museum in Berlin. Right here I thought of the boasting words of the man who ruled the ancient world:
Daniel 4:30 The king spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?
This is what the Bible says. Can archaeology confirm the fact? Please come back to the next episode on the life of Nebuchadnezzar. I want to show you some of the amazing discoveries I made in his ancient restored palace at Babylon.
It was not Semiramus who restored this great metropolis. In his own words he claims what the Bible says – Nebuchadnezzar was the builder.
Enemies from within and enemies from without temp us continually to sin. Why? Sin messes us up and destroys us.
Is there a mechanism to protect us against these devastating enemies?
Psalms 119:9-11 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart,That I might not sin against You.
My dear friend. Please keep on reading the inspired Book the Bible. Something good will happen to you.