One of the things I've wanted to do for some time is tour the British Museum in London with a particular focus on Biblical history.
The BM is the second most popular tourist attraction in the UK. Each year 5 million visitors come to see the 70,000 objects on display in 100 galleries.
And no wonder, because entrance is free!
However, for a Christian, the BM has a unique appeal, because so much of what is on display belongs to the cultures and empires prominent in biblical history.
Christian publisher Day One recognised this a few years ago and published an excellent 'travel guide' to the BM entitled 'Through the British Museum with the Bible'.
Authors Clive Anderson and Brian Edwards expertly guide readers through the maze of exhibits, pointing out items of special interest and connecting them to Bible culture, history and stories.
My sabbatical provided a great opportunity to finally make this visit, so I spent a wonderful day there this week, wandering around, discovering some of its treasures.
What follows are just a few of my personal highlights...
The Royal Game of Ur
Ever wondered what Abraham and Sarah got up to in their downtime? Probably this!
The Royal Game of Ur (as its now known) is one of the oldest known games and was all the rage for a period of around 3000 years. It predates Abraham by around 1000 years, so it's very likely that he'd not only heard about it but played it.
Pharoahs, Sacred Cows and Mummies
Dominating the Egyptian artifacts room is the imposing statue of Rameses II, who is thought by some to have been the Pharoah at the time of the Exodus.
Egyptians worshipped sacred bulls and so when they died they mummified them. It was the worship of the sacred bulls that lay behind the episode of the golden calf in Exodus 32.
The BM is well known for it's collection of Egyptian mummies. The book of Genesis closes with the words: 'Joseph died... they embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.' (Gen 50:26).
As a man of high rank it's highly likely that Joseph's remains would have been given the same treatment as these examples...
David's Sling
No, it's not the ACTUAL sling that David used to kill Goliath, but it is an example of the sort of thing he would have used and that was a commonplace and effective weapon in the right hands. This one actually pre-dates David to around the time of the Judges.
Age of the Empires: Assyria, Babylon and Persia
There are a huge number of Assyrian artifacts in the BM. The Assyrian Empire conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. Below is a wall relief depicting Jewish prisoners being taken into exile after defeat at the hands of Tiglath Pilesar III. We read about this in 2 Kings 15:29-30:
'In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath- Pileser king of Assyria came... He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria.'
The southern kingdom of Judah suffered a similar fate years later, this time at the hand of the new king on the block, the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. The brick below is stamped with his name and dates back to Babylonian times.
However, despite the size and power of the Babylonian Empire, these bricks are all that remain of it. It is a sobering reminder of the transience of human power.
Esther's Hubby
The Persian Empire followed the Babylonian one and one of its most infamous kings was Ahaseurus, the king who married Esther (Esther 1:1). Below is a wall relief from that time of the great man himself. Of particular note is the sceptre in his hand. We t
read about this in Esther 5:1-2. This was the symbol of his power and patronage. Only when he held it out to Esther, was she assured of his favour.
Cyrus and the return from exile
The Cyrus Cylinder is one of the most important documents from the Persian Empire. Among other things it records how King Cyrus allowed exiles who were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar to return to their own countries, worship their gods and rebuild their temples.
According to Ezra 1:2-4 Cyrus claimed he had been charged by God to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem. 150 years before Cyrus came to power Isaiah 44:28 referred to Cyrus as a shepherd for Israel and prophesied that Jerusalem would be rebuilt at his command.
One of the leaders of the returning Jewish exiles was Nehemiah. He was cupbearer to King Artaxerxes.The silver drinking bowl below has an inscription identifying it as Artaxerxes' bowl. It is not impossible that Nehemiah handled this very bowl.
Roman Emperors and Pontius Pilate
Below is a bust of Caesar Augustus (minus his nose), who was the Roman Emperor when Jesus was born (Luke 2:1).
Augustus's son Tiberius succeeded him. He was the Emperor when Jesus died.
Below is a bronze coin of Pontius Pilate, who was Governor of Judea at the time of Jesus' trial. The date on the reverse side of this shows it was produced in AD30-31, which means this coin would have been in circulation when Jesus was crucified.
