Back in March, a group from LCPC enjoyed a tour of the British Museum. Our church administrator, Laura, tells us more:
Where better to spend a grey day than at the British Museum? A place with countless treasures! We had come specifically for a tour of Bible-related treasures. So much to see! Artefacts of all sizes, from the tiniest denarius of Tiberius Caesar (“So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s… ” Matthew 22:21) to the biggest of city gates (“Then he [Samson] got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all…” Judges 16).
We saw artefacts from Ur and a lion mosaic from the Babylonian Processional Way during Daniel’s time. We were shown the Cyrus cylinder, which records the repatriation of people to their homelands as in Ezra. There was King Artaxerxes’ silver bowl which Nehemiah, in his position as cup bearer to the king would have seen, if not touched (“In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king.” Nehemiah 2:1)
We walked past friezes of the Immortals, the king’s bodyguards in Susa during Esther’s time, an obelisk of Shalmaneser III featuring King Jehu (2 Kings 9-10), and the Taylor prism mentioning tribute paid to Sennacharib by King Hezekiah. There was also a temple of the type Paul would have seen when in Lycia (Acts 27) and so much more!
Possibly the most impressive was a series of wall decorations documenting the Capture of Lachish (2 Kings 18) during the time of King Hezekiah. One of the images shows Sennacharib on his throne with his feet on a footstool containing images of his images, bringing to mind Hebrews 10:13, “… and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.”
All in all, it was an excellent tour with the objects mentioned only a small snapshot of what we saw. You can find more information on Day One’s website and I would recommend a book written by our guide, Clive Anderson, if you ever visit the Museum (Through the British Museum with the Bible).
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