Shine Fm Blog

Dig in Jordan Substantiates Old Testament Description of the Idolatry of the Moabites

Teresa Neumann (September 3, 2010)

"My heart's cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp. I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth." - Isaiah 16:11

(Amman, Jordan)—For skeptics who like to dismiss the Bible as fiction, recent archaeological finds—such as the discovery of a 3,000-year-old Moabite temple in Jordan—support the accuracy of Old Testament authors.

As reported by the AP, Jordanian antiquities chief Ziad al-Saad said archaeologists unearthed the eighth century B.C. sanctuary at Khirbat 'Ataroz near the town of Mabada, some 20 miles southwest of the capital Amman.

Of the artifacts they found which revealed the complex religious rituals of the ancient Biblical Moabites, al-Saad said: "Today we have the material evidence, the archaeological proof of the level of advancement of technology and civilization at that period of time." (Nader Daoud/AP Photo)

According to the report, "among the items on display Wednesday, there was a four-legged animal god Hadad, as well as delicate circular clay vessels used in holy rites. Al-Saad said the objects indicate the Moabites worshipped many deities and had a highly organized ritual use of temples."

The Old Testament if full of references to Moab. Christian historians remind us that the Moabites were descended from an incestuous relationship between Lot and one of his daughters and that, ultimately, they became great enemies of Israel, despite the fact that in Deuteronomy 2:9 the Israelites were told not to destroy Moab or take their land.

And who can forget that Ruth—King David's paternal grandmother—was a Moabite.

Yet, Ezra reminds us of Moab's consuming idolatry also. In Ezra 9:1 he writes: "The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites."

One historian believes it is precisely because of the Israelites' long, entwined and empathetic relationship with its Moab neighbors that the prophet Isaiah lamented the coming judgment on Moab when he said: "My heart's cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp. I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth."

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