Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Today’s Scripture
Today’s Author
Rob Sparks
In 1996, I had the opportunity to take a leave of absence from seminary and travel as a Young Adult Volunteer to sub-Saharan Africa. My trip took me to London where I had about a 14-hour layover. The people who organized the trip suggested that the best way to acclimate to the local time zone was to just stay awake. So, I parked my luggage at Heathrow and bought a train ticket to take me into the city. I was headed to the British Museum. When they opened, I was standing at the front door. Now, there are many treasures to see at that institution, but I had one that I wanted to see, the Cyrus Cylinder.
I’d learned about it in my Old Testament survey course. Discovered in 1879 by Hormuzd Rassam, an Assyrian archeologist conducting digs in Mesopotamia for the British Museum, it is a clay cylinder on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script from Cyrus the Great. The text is the same proclamation recorded in Ezra; Cyrus ordered that peoples captured by the Babylonians were to return home.
Alas, the wing where the cylinder is stored was closed for renovations the day I visited!
A year later I did see it. In my mind’s eye, it was going to be an impressive artifact, but in reality, it’s smaller than a loaf of bread, about nine inches long and four inches wide. But the information it conveys is powerful—the Exile was over.
God works in history.
Summer Devotional
God Goes With Us
This summer’s devotional is a walk through the Bible. Join our pastors and staff for daily reflections on scripture passages from Genesis to Revelation. In the beginning, God said, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” Come and see how this covenant promise changes through time yet remains steadfast from generation to generation.
Each Sunday, Chris Holmes will share a short message on the texts for the week, and written reflections will go out every Monday through Thursday morning.
We wish you blessings and deeper faith this summer!
