A ROCK THAT CHANGED THE BIBLICAL WORLD

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

The Negev Desert of southern Israel is a stark, formidable place bordered by the lifeless Dead Sea. Comprising over half (55%) of the total landmass of Israel, the Negev is a dry rocky desert with little vegetation and many caves naturally carved into the high rock formations throughout its 4,700 square mile area. One interesting anomaly to be found in the Negev is the Bedouin shepherds and goat herders living their nomadic life for thousands of years in the harshest of conditions. It is to those Bedouins we focus our attention.

In November 1947 the single most important discovery of ancient scripture manuscripts was made at Qumran near the Dead Sea. The story goes that a Bedouin boy named Juma was startled to hear the sound of breaking pottery after throwing a rock into a cave while looking for a lost goat. Calling to his two adult cousins, a number of scrolls were discovered inside the cave wrapped in linen and stored in clay pots. The scrolls, 972 in total and aptly named the Dead Sea Scrolls is the oldest source manuscript of the Bible and is believed to have been hidden sometime during the second century BC by a group of Jewish separatists called the Essenes.

God has supernaturally preserved His words in the original manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures (Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18). The Westminster Confession of Faith of 1646; still recited in some churches states that the Bible was “by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages.” The paper pages of the Book may be burned (as many have over the centuries), but the message of the Book can never be destroyed (Matthew 24:35; Luke 16:17).

The Bible is not an ordinary book. It is active (Hebrews 4:12) and working in a world that predominately ignores and ridicules it. Theologically, the doctrine of preservation must be approached by faith, grounded in the fundamentals and passed on by followers. Simply stated, God preserves what He inspires. We can trust the scriptures to be the very words and thoughts of God to us. Our eternal destiny was changed by Jesus the Rock (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:6-8) and our biblical world was enhanced by a boy named Juma with his rock. Think about it.