Satellite Imaging
Posted by: richman in harold sala, tags: inspirational, Jesus loves you, satellite imaging, spiritualby Dr. Harold Sala
“The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot besides women and children. Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.” -Exodus 12:37-38
When LANDSAT began sending back pictures from satellites in space, scientists began seeing the faces of the earth in a new light. It was almost as if someone had switched on the light and enabled them to see ancient trade routes in the middle east which archaeologists knew were somewhere out there but now precisely became “down there.”
Satellite imagery, which was first developed with military objectives in mind, became a new tool for archaeologists who want to pin down the locations of long-since forgotten cities–at least, forgotten to the thousands of people who thumb through the pages of their Old Testament and stumble over words like Beersheba, Hebron, Abel Beth Maacah, Napthali and Tirzah. But some 4,000 years ago, these were as meaningful to people as Manila, Frankfurt, Tokyo or New York.
In ancient days when a city was destroyed in warfare, the survivors were usually taken away as slaves and the city was sacked and burned. Unlike the cities of World War 2 which were rebuilt with a monotonous uniformity, the wind and sand began to drift over these ancient cities and they were soon lost to history. Napoleon and his army passed by the ancient city of Babylon and never knew it was there.
It’s safe to say that about a foot of silt and debris accumulates for every century, yet where there was an ancient site–called a “tell” by archaeologists–there are tell-tale signs today. Satellite imaging makes these stand out vividly and enables scientists to chart transportation routes and identify undiscovered landmarks.
Archaeologists are making some remarkable discoveries which should only enhance our trust in the historical accuracy of the Bible. Like what? For a start, the exodus of some 2.5 million slaves from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan was one of the greatest migrations ever undertaken by a nation. Can archaeologists help document this move?
According to the Bible, Moses led the group in a rather circuitous path, avoiding the immediate and direct route to Canaan from the Nile River Delta where they were living. Some explain that by saying that he was lost for 40 years because he didn’t want to stop and ask directions. Don’t you believe that for a moment.
Jeffrey Sheler explains, “Recent archaeological data, scholars note, also are consistent with the Bible’s explanation, in Exodus 13:17, about why Moses and the Israelites took the long way to Canaan through the desolate Sinai wilderness rather than following the shorter coastal route: Enemy military posts lay on that path. Egyptian hieroglyphics from about 1300 B.C. at the temple of Amun in Karnak depict a series of Egyptian installations along the coastal route. And modern excavations have uncovered a string of Egyptian citadels strikingly similar to those in the Karnak relief, stretching from the Nile delta to Gaza.”
Archaeologists from Hebrew University agree. The presence of the forts “is perfectly compatible with the Exodus” says Professor Trude Dothan. At the same time archaeologists don’t expect to find parking meters and left over parts from their wagons. These who came out of Egypt were slaves and traveled light. Much like the Bedouins who still trek across the Negev, their tracks being erased by the wind and sand, not much was left behind.
Does archaeology prove the Bible? You can’t prove anything to anyone who doesn’t want to accept the evidence, but for those who openly and honestly evaluate the evidence recently unearthed by archaeology there is a tremendous amount of new discoveries which affirm the historical accuracy of this grand old book. The Bible is history–not a collection of myths or stories added centuries after the event, and history which is valid only confirms other historical data regardless of who wrote it or where. History speaks for itself.
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