Which Way Did They Go?

Over the years I have heard all kinds of instructions and teaching given on the crossing of the sea by the Israelites. Some have taught that they crossed a marshy stretch not far from where they started. Others teach that they went as far as a large lake down from the border of the country. While still others show the border of Egypt being farther into the Sinai peninsula with the crossing taking place further over a larger body of water.

I did see a video once (I'm sorry I don't remember the name of it) that showed an underwater ledge running from the tip of the Sinai over to the coastline of Saudi Arabia. Not only that, it showed evidence of a mountain that fits the description of Mount Sinai with smoke markings still exhibited around the top of it. And, there was a rock at the mouth of a good size river bed. Interestingly enough, the area they went to is guarded and when they asked to see it through regular channels they were denied.

Whether by heaven's design or man's, the exact location of all the Exodus happenings seems to be elusive. We may never know exactly where until we get to heaven. In any case, there are some things to keep in mind when listening to any presentation on the subject.

One thing I somehow pushed to the back of my mind was the number of people we're talking about. Check out Exodus 12:37. Hello. That's 600,000 men not counting children or women or animals or even the mixed multitude that went with them. Keep reading and you see they also had silver and gold items, clothing, and flocks and herds - a very large number at that.

So, we're not talking about a large family reunion kind of crowd when we speak about the escape from Egypt. We're talking moving the populace of the state of Hawaii.

So wherever they crossed had to have enough water to make walls on either side of them as they crossed over. The dry path had to be wide enough to take the Israelites only a few hours to escape. Not to mention there had to be enough water to drown the entire Egyptian army and horses when the walls of water came tumbling back down. And, wherever it happened, was big enough to impress the people sufficiently to know they had been saved from death by God.

Begat? TMI?

Is there anyone else out there who falls asleep, or has their mind wander, whenever family names are read during a passage reading from the Bible? Why are the names there anyway? What does it matter? Do I need to know who begat who? Is it TMI?

Up until I read Listening to the Language of the Bible, I thought the only reason to give such long lists was to inform the reader of the first born male. After all, the 'firstborn' got the majority of the 'goods' since he would become the next head of the family. What I didn't know was that even while a child that first born was given respect by his siblings. Hhmm . . . hard to picture that.

Of course, there are exceptions to the first born being called the 'firstborn.' Look at King David.  As the youngest son in his family, he was appointed to be firstborn by God. (Check out Psalm 89.) That's because firstborn can also mean 'closest in relationship.' I did not know this.

Putting this aside, I felt pretty self-centered when I read the explanation in Lois Tverberg's book. Apparently, many cultures pretty much need to know the family history of a person to know you're talking about a real live person. Not a character from a book or film, or made-up just for the sake of an argument. Having a family name in the Bible makes lessons plausible and real. It's what gives substance to a story, rather than it being all fluff.

Who would have thought that names could hold significance beyond the firstborn details? Now I know. So the next time I come across a passage that lists names, I will praise God that his story is becoming real to someone else because those names are there.

That's How They Knew

In studying Abraham I noticed yet another verse I have skimmed over. Genesis 15:13. Hello, Abraham was told before he went into Egypt that his great, great, great, great grandchildren and so on would be slaves. (He knew?) For four hundred years. I can't even fathom how long that is.

Knowing this Jacob still obeyed and took his family into Egypt. Hunger can do that; putting yourself and your loved ones in harm's way. And even though there was a famine when they first went there,  Egypt offered them so much more when the famine passed that they decided to stay on. (Even though they knew what it would entail.) The abundance of water could have been a real draw . . . the Nile River is huge in season. The weather is more conducive to growing crops. And they were less likely to be attacked or have their lands invaded because of the Egyptian army protecting the land.

Now, here's some food for thought. Once they started making babies nothing stopped them. They went from being in charge of land to being the slaves working that land overnight. Still Exodus 1:12 tells us they kept growing. Nothing stood in the way of God making his people a huge nation. Even in spite of the fact that they probably lost large numbers of people to beatings and such.

I have often wondered why God took so long to come rescue his people. Why hadn't he come sooner? Why did it take four hundred years to hear them crying for help?

But since the father of their nation had been told how long they would be in Egypt, I guess after four hundred years they started crying out to God to come save them. Because it was time to leave this place and return to the land Abraham once wandered. That's why God finally heard their cry and came to rescue them and return them to the promised land filled with milk and honey.

The Great Beginning

Have you ever wondered what happened before Genesis 1? Like you've missed the first part of the story?

In reading Lois Tverberg's book, Listening to the Language of the Bible, I learned something oh so interesting. "In the beginning" is the phrase that is translated from the Hebrew word "B'reisheet." The letter B that begins that word is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, not the first letter.

Symbolism fills the Hebrew alphabet and the letter B is no different. It's structured so that when read right-to-left, as is done in Hebrew, it has a closure on the right but an open end on the left. Lois wrote that many think this directs the reader toward the text to be read.

Lois also points out that the rabbis say that what comes before the second letter is for God to know and not for man to know.  So in military terms, on a need to know basis, man only needs to know what comes after the second letter of the alphabet. That's our part of the mission here on earth. John 16 and 1 Corinthians 2 and 13 all speak of this need to know level and when we'll know fully.

As a person who likes to find out the background of people, places, and things, I find this an interesting concept. One I gladly sit back and accept. I do, however, look forward to that day when Jesus pulls me away from the pages of history and tells me. . .here's the rest of the story.

No Room In the Family Plot?

When you read Genesis closely you see Joseph and Jacob were buried in two different locations. Personally I usually skim over the names without giving much thought to it at all. But, come to find out Joseph was buried in a different location than his father and grandfathers.

Jacob got to be buried in the family plot, so to speak. His first wife was there, as were his parents and grandparents. Hmm. He requested it and it was done. So, why didn't Joseph? After all, he was the one who saved the entire family and subsequently an entire nation from extinction.

Jacob was buried twenty miles south of Jerusalem and Joseph was buried thirty miles north of Jerusalem. Jacob was buried in Hebron; Joseph in Shechem. Both places oddly enough sit on the same road known as the ridge route. I didn't realize that road traveled south of Jerusalem until I read A Visual Guide to Bible Events.

Here's the background that got my attention: Jacob was buried on the land that was the first piece of property bought by Abraham. Joseph was buried not only on the second place to be purchased by the family (his father Jacob), but it was also the place where God promised to give the land to Abraham's descendants. So there was significance to where Joseph's bones were laid to rest.

Still that's a long way to go to bury four hundred year old bones. Ever wonder how they did that without the bones breaking while the people made a run for it from Pharaoh's army, or while fighting off all the kings in their way, or while traveling to get to the final resting spot?

Again another detail that I've skimmed over. Joseph was embalmed. This is most unusual for the Hebrews. The Egyptians, however, would bury bodies in a substance commonly found in Egypt called natron, which was made up of sodium carbonate and baking soda, in order to preserve bodies for the afterlife. If I had looked closer before now I wouldn't have wondered how they transported bones that were almost four hundred years old.

It's a marvel how even back then that a man's request could be fulfilled four hundred years later. God made a way even if there seemed to be no way.

Heart = Mind?

How is it possible? The heart means the mind too? To me, separating the emotions of the heart and the knowledge of the mind makes sense. They're two different things, right? Not according to Lois Tverberg in Listening to the Language of the Bible. In Hebrew it means the same thing.

Okay, so, in some ways I can see it. I mean after all when the heart is happy our thoughts follow the same pathway. When our minds are not heavily burdened with stress and the troubles of life we can laugh easier, and have a lighter feeling in our walk. When we force our minds to focus on something lighthearted or even make ourselves smile there is a change in our emotional baseline.

Lois explained that physical things are often used to explain abstract things. So the word "heart", something all mankind understood, becomes the image not just for the emotions of the heart but also for the mind and thoughts. And to help all of us non-Hebrews, when the scriptures were written in Greek, the writers included the word "mind" to help us understand what Jesus meant. (Matthew 22)

Lois pointed out we focus far more on our worship time and prayer time than our Bible study time. But in biblical days, the actual studying of the scriptures was the greatest form of worship. Acts 17 and 1 Timothy 4 talk about people pouring over the scriptures daily. And of course there were the pharisees.

But some of those leaders in the temple listened to Jesus. So I have to believe, they weren't just trying to be know-it-all's, walking encyclopedias so to speak. These people were worshiping God in the most complete way they knew. . .spending time to focus their thoughts and the fullness of their knowledge on God Most High.

Now that's something I did not know.

What's A High Place?

Several times in the Bible there is mention of the high places. (i.e. 1,2 Samuel; 1,2  Kings; Ezekiel 20) Where are those high places? According to the April newsletter from Jewish Jewels it was the various mountains throughout the country of Israel. Many good things happened on some of those mountain tops. The ten commandments. The beatitudes. Jesus ascension. The list goes on.
 
I would say these good things represent what we think of as mountain top experiences. You know, when something fantastic happens, or you have a quality time in God's presence. The fact that so many church camps and retreat centers are located on hill tops or in the mountains helps to lend itself to giving you such an experience.

But the Bible also mentions the high places with a negative connotation. As odd as it may be, from time to time the Hebrews, including the leadership, would offer sacrifices to idols or foreign gods on these high places. When that happened, the country slowly began to change and stray from its loyalty to God. You're probably thinking we don't do that; we don't offer sacrifices to idols. Let alone do it on hilltops or mountains. And looking at it from the surface you might be right.

However, years ago I attended a Bible conference that taught we still have high places, no matter where we live. You see, as the Word of God spread throughout the world, steeples and bell towers were erected to call the people to worship. Those were our high places as they were the highest point in the area.

Then over the years the steeples gave way to the financial institutions of America. First bank buildings became several stories high then other money-making firms took over. The more we made money the taller our buildings became. Oh they may not be tall trees or high hills as is mentioned in the Bible, but they are our high places. Ouch. And it's what we do in those high places that matters.