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CURRENT EXHIBITION

PEACE AND WAR: THE ASSYRIAN CONQUEST OF LACHISH

Peace and War: The Assyrian Conquest of Lachish features over 80 artifacts and objects from the Fourth Expedition to Lachish, a series of excavations from 2013 to 2017 in the royal city that was second only to Jerusalem in ancient Judah. This exhibit shows the story of a critical tipping point in history that determined the survival of ancient Israel, its kings, and the covenant promise of the Messiah. 

Peace and War: The Assyrian Conquest of Lachish focuses on The domestic life of tranquility in the elite houses of the city of Lachish is viewed through this exhibit of artifacts from everyday life, such as textile production, cooking, trade, and commerce. Preparations for war with Sennacherib disrupted that peace.

The search for ancient Lachish began in 1849 with the earliest archaeological discovery of conquered Nineveh, home to the palace of Assyrian king Sennacherib. The Assyrian empire had already conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel when only Jerusalem and Judah stood between one of the most aggressive army regimes in history and its end goal of ancient Egypt.

King Hezekiah prepared his country for the impending siege with provisions distributed through a central economic system that included hundreds of storage jars marked with official stamps reading "LMLK," which memes "for the king." In Scripture, Sennacherib's campaign is recorded in Kings, Chronicles, and Isaiah. It is also found in the Assyrian conquerors' annuals and on the 12 relief panels that depict his crusade against Lachish. Together, these accounts tell the incredible story of conquest and deliverance, peace and war, compromise and faithfulness, despair and hope.

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