If you answered yes, then
why are you using books that do not share your viewpoint and beliefs?
Consider the following:
For the past 2,000 years, no one
has put the dating of the Judges or Kings together without finding difficulties
in Scripture that they either explained as, errors, mistakes, historical
inaccuracies, or saying the numbers did not really mean what they said.
I DO BELIEVE SCRIPTURE IS ACCURATE
AND MY BOOKS ON THE JUDGES AND KINGS ARE WRITTEN TO PROVE IT. AFTER
2,000 YEARS HASN'T IT BEEN LONG ENOUGH?
The time of the Judges is fascinating yet unfortunately
very confusing to so many. The confusion becomes worse because of
the way the years are counted up. The question in dating and understanding
the Judges really boils down to this. When using the dates provided
in the book of Judges do you add the dates as a collective whole or treat
them separately. In other words, do you take the years of oppression,
the years of peace, and the years of the Judges and add them all together
to arrive at a time frame for the Judges. This is what most have
done. The result is that it doesn't work. There are only 309
years allowed before the period of the kings. Not the 407 years you
get when you add up all of those years. It becomes even worse when
it is noted that the 407 does not even include Eli or Samuel. With
this in mind it is no wonder that the time of the Judges is attacked so
successfully and the book is simply dismissed as one that was not written
to establish chronology. Yet it does not have to be this way.
The normal way to come up with a time frame is to go from one judge to
the next recognizing a co-judgeship when it arises. Once this pattern
is used the period of the Judges becomes quite easy to date and understand.
You will love this book as it presents in living fashion the history of
the Judges, Leaders, and Kings.
Dr. Edwin Thiele the author of 'The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings', has long been looked to as the most authoritative source in dating the kings of Israel and Judah. Much is owed to his work and insights. Yet even with all the work he did, there still are areas that are cumbersome and difficult. This is most easily seen in the dating of Hezekiah. In actuality however, problems already began in his dating the kings of Judah with Joash (their 7th king) and in Israel with Jehu (their 11th king). That means he has 13 kings of Judah and 10 kings of Israel to juggle around. That is why his explanations become so cumbersome. But it does not have to be that way. The key to understanding these kings is the 14th year of Hezekiah. If you miss what is meant here you will be hopelessly lost and conclude as so many have that the Bible must be in error. Dr. Thiele does not insist that his dating is perfect, instead he indicates that if his dating does not hold up it does not deserve to stand. We owe him much but not blind allegiance. In my book, while learning of the various king of Assyria and the other nations as they interact with Judah and Israel, you will find a simpler presentation and dating for those 23 kings of Judah and Israel. Enjoy this wonderful period of history presented in Kingdom and Conquests.
Other sites for you to visit.
ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN
CHURCH
EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SYNOD
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
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