This beautiful pottery includes ivory. It was found in the site Archeologist Professor Eilat Mazar found in the Biblical description of the placement of David's Palace. Most people did not have ivory at the time. Also found in the Palace were 51 Bullae. A bulla is a very small seal impression made of clay. One was found of Jeremiah's servant, Baruch. The bulla read: “(Belonging) to Berekhyahu, the son of Neriyahu, the scribe.
Yehuchal ben Shelemiyahu, a man from the Bible, a highly placed official, a scribe in the service of King Zedekiah. Archeology again confirming the Bible. 
The name of Yehuchal ben Shelemiyahu, a figure mentioned in the Bible, is legible in paleo-Hebrew script on this clay seal impression
The name of Yehuchal ben Shelemiyahu, a figure mentioned in the Bible, is legible in paleo-Hebrew script on this clay seal impression
2 Samuel 22
English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio
And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day
when the Lord delivered him from
the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He
said,
“The
Lord is my rock and my fortress
and my deliverer,
3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
5 “For the waves of
death encompassed me,
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I
called upon the Lord;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.
8 “Then the earth
reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,[c]
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness around him his canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him
coals of fire flamed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them;
lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen;
the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
the foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,[c]
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness around him his canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him
coals of fire flamed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them;
lightning, and routed them.
16 Then the channels of the sea were seen;
the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 “He sent from on
high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
he drew me out of many waters.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
21 “The Lord dealt with me according to my
righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his rules were before me,
and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
25 And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his rules were before me,
and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
25 And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.
26 “With the merciful
you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely,
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 You save a humble people,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, O Lord,
and my God lightens my darkness.
30 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God— his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely,
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 You save a humble people,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, O Lord,
and my God lightens my darkness.
30 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
31 This God— his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
32 “For who is God, but
the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
And who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my
strong refuge and has made my way blameless.[ Hebrew. He has blamelessly
set my way free; or He has made my way spring up blamelessly]
34 He made my feet like
the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your gentleness made me great.
37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet[f] did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
they fell under my feet.
40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,[You gave me my enemies necks]
those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;
I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.
and set me secure on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your gentleness made me great.
37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet[f] did not slip;
38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
they fell under my feet.
40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,[You gave me my enemies necks]
those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;
I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.
44 “You delivered me
from strife with my people;
you kept me as the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
you kept me as the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
45 Foreigners came cringing to me;
as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.
47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance
and brought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from men of violence.
and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance
and brought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from men of violence.
50 “For this I will
praise you, O Lord, among the
nations,
and sing praises to your name.
51 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.”
and sing praises to your name.
51 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.”
To read this passage
is to learn about gratitude. So many things even today connect us to it.
A warrior saved from
violence. Not even just that, a mercenary. Becoming a king after 22 long years
and not saying- I did it my self. David
was remembering the years he sat watching his father's flock, the years he
pictured when the Red Sea parted; The foundations of the earth. It meant
something to him. David honestly says, I could not have accomplished this
without God. It was too difficult for him, and he says this in his victory. He
says he could have taken this by force when Israel was singing about David
killing thousands for Israel, but he didn't.
I've felt David's joy
in my life when we finally left our little two bedroom cottage. I opened the
door, my husband went back to work, and our second house was ours. My Springer
Spaniel did jumps for joy in the spacious house, like a horse jumping gates. I
know the joy of a spacious place. David did too, from the caves and the literal
ditches we see in archeology.
My least favorite
comedian used to say, "God can do anything - throw a boat right over a
hedge." David was far more hands on and he has witnessed many
things.
I
can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
Other Psalms record
David saying God can put a troop over a wall. Rather like Jericho, reinforcing
the Biblical view of the biblical events.
David also allows for
human weakness when he says:
For
you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness.
After 22 years and
fame and fortune. David could have been singing that David did it David's way.
A lot of accomplished people do. The footnotes are sort of off. God did
not give David a blameless path and He did not set David's way free.
David's path did not get strewn with roses.
But when God did
present necks for David - he considered how he was to treat those necks. His
mercenary kings never knew David did not slaughter Israel for them. David was
slaying mostly other warring mercenaries. And this is the man who has
tried so hard, to do the right thing. This is the apple of God's eye.
David, like the
Prodigal Father, welcoming the men who did nothing to help him until his
victory was in place. That is God's heart.
shows
steadfast love to his anointed
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