Hello, this is pastor gary from first baptist church of laplata. There’s been a lot of biblical archaeology in the news lately. Researchers think they have located Noah’s Ark, Mount Sinai, The Red Sea crossing, the rock that Moses struck, evidence of golden calf worship, and Sodom and Gomorrah; but Tuesday’s archaeological news is what really caught my eye: archaeologists have uncovered a 2700 year old throne in Jerusalem. No, not a royal throne, but the kind we all use every day. We may not want to talk about it, but humans have been going for a very long time, and this toilet proves it! The ancient toilet is of smooth, carved limestone set in a rectangular cabin overlooking the Old City section of Jerusalem. Imagine, your own private bathroom—with a view! Only rich folks could afford toilets back then; in fact, a rabbi of the time famously said that to be wealthy is “to have a toilet next to his table.” Believe it or not, the Bible has multiple stories about this undignified fact of life. The first is in Deuteronomy 23 concerning the Israelite camp; the second is in Judges 3 concerning King Eglon; the third is in I Samuel 24 concerning King Saul; and the fourth is in I Kings 18 concerning the Prophet, Elijah, my personal favorite. As the Prophets of Baal were trying unsuccessfully to get their god to consume their sacrifice, Elijah shouts mockingly, “Maybe he’s busy using the restroom!” These biblical stories illustrate this well-known fact, “When you gotta go, you gotta go.”
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