Dr Paul Allen

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed the complete skeleton of a piglet in a place and time where you wouldn’t expect to find pork remains: a Jerusalem home dating to the First Temple period. Obviously, not everybody obeys the scriptures, like today. The 2,700-year-old porcine remains were found crushed by large pottery vessels and a collapsed wall during excavations in the City of David, the original nucleus of ancient Jerusalem. The team of archaeologists behind the discovery reported their find in a study published in the June edition of the journal Near Eastern Archaeology. The find of swine adds to previous research showing that pork was occasionally on the menu for the ancient Israelites and that biblical taboos on this and other prohibited foods may only came to be observed centuries later, in the Second Temple period or were ignored. The animal’s skull clearly identifies it as a domestic pig, as opposed to a wild swine, and its presence indicates that pigs were raised for food

Now the word of LORD came to Samuel , saying, “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, far he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments” ( 1 Sam. 15:10–11a). When God observes Saul’s failure to carry out the dictates of holy war against Amalek , He shares His reaction with Samuel: “ ‘I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king.’ ” The Hebrew word here translated as “regret” is rendered elsewhere as “repent.” It is interesting that in this same chapter, in verse 29, Scripture declares that God “ ‘will not lie nor repent’ ” ( KJV ). The apparent contradiction between these verses is solved when we understand that verse 29 is addressing God’s determination to carry out His set purposes, but in verse 11 He is expressing His genuine grief over Saul’s disobedience. His subsequent words make this clear: “ ‘[Saul] has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.’ ” Disobedience always grieves God, and especially