Lesson # 55

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Lesson #55

            Break out your maps and histories as we travel again in our time machine to examine history & geography through a biblical worldview. Last month we covered the ten plagues of the Exodus, so this month let’s begin a journey back to the holy land through a very well-known sequence of events. Our trek begins on the 14th of Nisan (late March or early April), 1446 BC (aligning Jewish and Gregorian calendars is messy business).  So how many people left Egypt? These people descended from the 70 individuals who immigrated to the land of Goshen. They were very prolific; according to Exodus and Numbers, there were 600,000 men over the age of 20 on foot. If we figure all of these men were in households of at least 3 including themselves, then you have a population of over 2 million. While this is a very large number, many logistical studies have been done that verify that the biblical account (while difficult to manage) is entirely possible. While we accept miraculous events on faith, simple logistic calculations can also verify the feasibility of a historic narrative.

            For fear of infringing on copyrights, I will suggest you go to one of the following places to look at a map of the Sinai Peninsula as you continue to read my description: page 120 of your Lutheran Study Bible, page 106 of your NIV study bible, or one of the following links (good maps with possible exodus tracks on them).

classic.scriptures.lds.org/en/biblemaps/2?sr=1  (yes, the Mormons make good maps)

bible-history.com/maps/images/exodus_route.jpg or  preceptaustin.org/bible_maps.htm. Or you can just google "Exodus Map" and get a lot of options, but always remember to check the source. anyway back to our journey.

            The next datable event is about one month later when they arrive in the Wilderness of Sin, which is believed to be somewhere on the western side of the Sinai Peninsula. Before they got there they must first have crossed the "Yam Suph" (Hebrew for "reed sea"). This event is often downplayed by those who seek to "demythologize" the Bible.  There are some key elements of the account and known geography that can help us to better understand this miraculous event. First let's talk about the reed sea, The geography between the Egyptian Delta and the Sinai Peninsula has changed greatly over the past 3400 years.  It is generally agreed based on archeological, biological, carbon 14, and dendrochronology information that this region was much more temperate in past millennia and has been becoming more and more arid as time progresses. Translation: it used to be greener, wetter, and milder than it is now.  Another major change came 145 years ago in 1869 when the French company that spent 10 years digging the Suez Canal, finished its work and thus drained more water from the delta area between Ancient Pithom and the modern day Bitter Lakes. There are a number of possible sites around Ismailia and the Bitter Lake region that could very well be the site of the miraculous crossing.  However, even if the area they crossed was in a place that was marshy grassland, there are a couple of important insights to draw from the account that are miraculous. First, the waters parted and they walked on dry ground, all two million plus of them. Second, the water separated and came back together at God’s command through Moses. And finally, when the water returned to its normal course, it completely covered Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen...not one remained. This was not just wheels getting stuck in the mud; this was complete inundation with water and drowning.

            So enough about the "reed sea"; let’s continue our trek. About two months after leaving Egypt they came to Mount Sinai. The traditional location for this mountain is at the southern tip of the peninsula, and is today called "Jebul Musa" Arabic for “Mountain of Moses”. There is a monastery there; St Catherine's, which claims to have inside its walls the burning bush through which God spoke to Moses. There are three other possible sites; Jebel Al-lawz, to the east across the Gulf of Aqaba, and to the north, Jebel Sin Bisher and Jebel Magharah. Each of these locations have legitimate claims that make them plausible sites for the Mount Sinai of the Exodus. Both the reed sea and Mt Sinai locations may be lost to history, but that is what you would expect because these were very transitory events according to their narratives that would have left no real evidence of having taken place. Untended trails will disappear in only months in wilderness areas, such as those where both of these events took place. They also built no permanent buildings, they were there for short periods of time, and these events took place thousands of years ago. Even thier food which was miraculiously provided, and thier trash dumps would have all degraded to basic elements by now.  It would be more amazing if we were to find any tangible evidence of these events happening. However, we have a reliable eyewitness account of them so there is no reason to question if they happened, while we can continue to explore where they happened. Next month...wondering in the wilderness, see you then.

In Christ,

Pastor Portier                

Lesson # 54

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Lesson #54

            Break out your maps and histories as we travel again in our time machine to examine history & geography through a Biblical worldview. We have come to the infamous plagues on the land of Egypt

in 1446 BC. Let’s examine this turn of events.

            When did these plagues take place, and what is their significance? The answer to the first question would be during the first months of 1446 BC from Shebat to Nisan (which for us would start in late January / early February and end in late March / early April). The timing and significance of each of the plagues is interesting so let's look at each of them.

            1. Turning of the Nile to Blood. This would have taken place before the spring swelling of the Nile. According to Ancient Egyptian mythology, the Nile was supposed to be the life-blood of the god Osiris providing life to all other beings, but instead it brought bloody death, even to their god Hatmehyt, represented by a fish.

            2. Frogs. Every place the Egyptians went, there were frogs, even in their beds. Here, God embarrassed their goddess of fertility, Heqt (represented by a frog), showing that even she could not keep in check this severe over-production of frogs. After they had been chased out of the bloody Nile, and with not enough to eat or drink, these frogs would soon have been in large rotting piles of carcasses.

            3. Lice. The whole land of Egypt (which was supposed to be clean and holy because of the Egyptian gods) was crawling with insects associated with filth and dirtiness. Pharaoh’s holy men at this point acknowledge that this is the finger of God (a common Egyptian phrase when speaking of acts of their gods).

            4. Flies. The Hebrew word here could better be translated as swarming bugs. Included in such a broad definition could be beetles, which also represented their god Khepera. (Another of Egypt's gods shamed.)

            5. Deceased Livestock. Apis the bull god and Hathor the cow god, added to the list of shamed gods.

            6. Boils. The Egyptians prided themselves on cleanliness, but this plague had Pharaoh’s holy men in so much pain and shame that they could not appear in the throne room to support their king when he next spoke with Moses.

            7 & 8. Hail & Locusts. These two plagues were particularly destructive and shameful to their gods. The gods Reshpu and Ketesh were supposed to be in control of the elements, as was the sky goddess, Nut. The destructive hail would have destroyed all their winter crops, depleting food and linen sources. On top of that, locusts (which represented the god Senehem) would finish off anything left by the hail that was green and able to recover from the hail.

            9. Darkness. In this plague, the god Horus (symbolized by an eye) was blinded, and the sun god, Ra, was darkened. These were two of their most important gods. Interesting to note this darkness was over Egypt only the land of Goshen, where the people of the true God lived was bathed in light This lays the groundwork for the final plague.                        

            10. Death of the First-Born. As I mentioned in lesson #52, this Pharaoh must not have been a first-born son or he too would have died. However, his own first-born son did die, and this would have been the final slap in the face of all the Egyptian gods, as the Pharaohs were seen as gods on Earth.

            Last month we covered 80 years, and this month we covered 3 months! We will see what next month brings as we pick things up on 14 Nisan (March and April did not exist yet) 1446 BC.

Blessed Lent,

Pastor Portier

Lesson #53

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Lesson #53

            Break out your maps and histories as we travel again in our time machine to examine history & geography through a biblical world view. Sorry I got a little busy and missed a month last time we discussed the sojourn in Egypt of the nation or tribe of Israel. Now let's fast forward about 430 years to around 1526 BC with the birth of a man named Moses. This marks the beginning of the end for Israel's time in Egypt.

            As we come to the account of Moses we find that at the age of 40 around 1486 BC he flees to Midian after having killed an Egyptian and fearing for His life. Since this takes us into the period from 1500 to 1000 BC lets first briefly look at some of the other significant events taking place around the world at the time. Around 1100 BC Tiglath-pileser I Founds the Assyrian empire which will later play a significant role in the nation of Israel. A primitive Greek alphabet starts to appear at this time, The first Chinese dictionary containing 40,000 characters was written, and around 1200 BC the Standard Akkadian version of the Gilgamesh epic was written.  The events described in Homers Iliad and Odyssey are to have taken place around the 12th century BC. The Evidence of some Mesoamerican pyramid building starts as early as 1100 BC and the Olmec culture come has it beginnings in around 1500 BC. Some new technologies of this time are sundials, water clocks, and the Iron Age takes hold in Syria and Palestine.

            Let's get back to Moses shall we? After spending his youth being educated and trained to become part of the Egyptian royal household, probably right alongside the next pharaoh, Moses finds himself tending the flocks of his father in law Jethro of Midian at the base of the holy mountain. Sometime in late 1447 BC Moses sees the famous burning bush that is not consumed which leads to His first encounter with God. He is told very clearly (even though he protest that he is not up to the task), that he is to deliver the nation of Israel from bondage in Egypt. By the way if you notice the dates and do the math Moses is 80 years old by the time he begins his encounter with the Pharaoh of Egypt in 1446 BC.

            This a shorter lesson than usual but we did cover 80 years so we will pick up next month with the plagues.             

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Lesson #52

            Break out your maps and histories as we travel again in our time machine to examine history & geography through a biblical worldview. We left Jacob’s little clan of around 70 people last month, and things were going well for them. Life is good in the promised land until around 1878 BC — this is when the years of famine begin.  It only takes a couple of years for things to start getting desperate, and Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy some grain. By 1876 BC Jacob and his clan are settling in to the land of Goshen as Pharaoh's honored guest. Jacob lives out his days to the ripe old age of 147 in Goshen and they have a large funeral procession back to the promised land to bury him in the family cemetery in around 1859 BC.

            Joseph served in essence as the Grand Visor of Egypt for some 80 years, dying in around 1806 BC after turning this already healthy nation of Egypt into a very strong and wealthy one. Now which kingdom that is.... is an issue of debate, so without getting too deeply into the details there are three main options: 1. Accept the Egyptian chronology and fit the biblical chronology to it. 2. Accept both chronologies and see where they overlap. 3. Accept the Biblical chronology and fit the Egyptian chronology to it. As we are looking at things through a biblical worldview we will reject option one and I will note in passing that the standard Egyptian chronology has its weaknesses. The two weaknesses of the Egyptian chronology are that it heavily relies on Manetho's King List (a third century BC Egyptian historian) (problematic primarily because it does not account for overlapping co-regencies), and the improper dating caused by the Sothic dating of events. There are many resources available if you wish to further study these two weaknesses. Specifically I would recommend "The Test of Time" by David M. Rohl and "Centuries of Darkness" by Peter James. Using option one also incorrectly gives you Ramses II as the pharaoh of the Exodus. Ramses is only given as a place name in scripture — the pharaoh during the Exodus is only referred to as Pharaoh and his name is not given. 

            Let's move on to option 2. If we accept both chronologies as mentioned in option 2, then Pharaoh Ahmos (1539 BC - 1515 BC) becomes the new king of Egypt who had no knowledge of Joseph, and Thutmose I (1493-1483) becomes the pharaoh of the Exodus. This also has its problems, not the least of which is the complete lack of evidence of Semitic peoples in Egypt during the reigns of those pharaohs from the eighteenth dynasty.                

            In option 3 there are some interesting parallels that pop up when you compare the writings of some ancient Hebrew midrashes and the pharaohs of the late sixth dynasty which is conventionally dated from 2345 BC to 2181 BC. Simply stated, the last kings in this dynasty bear some striking resemblances to the pharaohs mentioned in this and other midrashes. What is a midrash? It is in essence a Jewish sermon or homily that seeks out and proclaims the truth of holy scripture. The best of these are in collections ranging from 200 BC to the present. These collections are used as biblical commentary to explain what is in the text.  So what are the similarities between the Sefer haYashar midrash and the Pharaohs who closed out the 6th dynasty?

            1. Pepi II Neferkare reigned for 94 years — the longest reign found on any king list. The Sefer haYashar mentions a pharaoh by the name of Melol who reigned for 94 years and is referred to as the "Pharaoh of the oppression". The difference in names is easily dealt with when you consider that Melol is a logical Hebrew transliteration of the Egyptian name Meror which is one of the names ascribed to Pepi II. There is no Egyptian hieroglyph for the L sound, and the closest sound to L is R (there is no L sound in Japanese either).

            2.  Merenre Nemtyemsaf II reigned for 4 years and could very well be the pharaoh of the Exodus for a number of reasons. First, he was the second son of Pepe II as his older brother was unable to rule and would have later died in the 10th plague. Second, Adikam the son of Melol in the Sefer haYashar also reigned 4 years.

            3. The First intermediate Period. The time that follows the sixth dynasty which ends with Merenre Nemtyemsaf II is also known as the dark period because there is very little evidence of anything happening for that 100 year period. This is what you would expect to find if a nation had suffered the same 10 plagues Egypt had, not to mention having just lost their entire army and chariot inventory in the Reed Sea. They also gave the bulk of their wealth to the two to three million departing Jews. It would logically follow that if a society has no resources, all of its crops are destroyed, and the bulk of its working and protecting population is gone, it would take at least 100 years to recover from such an economic blow, and there would be no archeological evidence of this slow recovery. If you would like a more in-depth description of this chronological realignment that only requires the sliding of about six to seven hundred years of the Egyptian timeline to fit with the biblical timeline, I suggest you read "Riddle of the Exodus" by James D. Long. This book also has a very good accompanying DVD of the same title.

            We will fast forward about 430 years next month and start off in around 1526 BC with the birth of a man named Moses.

                

In Christ,

Pastor Portier

Lesson #51 The Patriarchs Part 2

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Lesson #51 The Patriarchs Part 2

            Break out your maps and histories as we travel again in our time machine to examine history & geography through a biblical world view. Before we get back to the biblical narrative lets do a quick fly over of some of the things going on in other places in the world from 2000 to 1500 BC.  During this window of time a number of civilizations and cultures are starting to transition from pictographic and cuneiform methods of writing to literary structures built on letters and grammar, from the beginnings of the Semitic alphabet to the first of seven defined periods of Chinese literature.  This is the window of time that Hammurabi and His codes become the first recorded legal system.  As Europe enters the bronze age, Stone Hinge comes into existence. Other innovations during this period are Dam building, irrigation and trade routes. Those are some of the things going on in the world as Jacob spends about 20 years at His (Uncle / Father - in - Law) Laban's place in Paddan Arram.

            We pick up our chronology after Jacob’s second wedding feast in one week in Paddan Arram near Haran in 1923 BC.  After his four wives spend the better part of the next 7 years competing  to see who can produce for him the most male heirs, his favorite wife gives birth to his 11th (and favorite) son Joseph in 1916 BC. When Joseph is about 5 years old Jacob decided it is time to return to Cannon in order to depart from the strife of dealing with Laban and see if he can reconcile with his brother Esau and live peaceably as his neighbor in the promised land. 

            A few years after reaching the age of 100 in 1906 BC The turn of the century brought Jacob a be a few bad years.  First after being blessed with 11 sons in the first 7 years of marriage, it would be 15 years before his next son Benjamin, the only son born in the promised land caused the death of his favorite wife Rachel in around 1901 BC.  Then a couple of years later around 1899 BC Joseph is sold into slavery, but of course Jacob thinks His favorite son has been mauled by wild beast.

            Things seem to get better about 15 years later in 1885 BC, they start to bring in bumper corps and this goes on for seven years. Jacobs little clan of around 70 people is doing well for them selves, they have more than they need that are dwelling in the land that God promised to his grandfather, what could go wrong? Then the first year of sevier drought hit and by the end of the second year of drought and famine they had to look elsewhere for food. Jacob heard that they were selling grain in Egypt so he sent His sons to purchase some in around 1876 BC. This began a sequence of events that eventually led to the reunion of Jacob with the son he thought was dead, but was now the Grand Vizier to the whole land of Egypt, and the relocation of His humble and hungry clan on the green lands of Goshen in the eastern part of the Nile Delta in Egypt.  Before He breaths his last he adopts his two grandsons born to Joseph, blesses all his sons and has them promise to bury him back in Canaan. and in the words of Genesis 49 "he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.". He lived to the ripe old age of 147 and with His death in 1859 BC would end the period known as the time of the patriarchs. The three men whom God identifies himself with when He addressed Moses from the burning bush.....Exodus 3:6 ... "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."...                  

            So thus ends my discussion on the Patriarchs. Next month we will discuss the entry into Egypt of God's promised people.  Their are some inconsistencies between the biblical chronology and the commonly held Egyptian chronology we will start to address some of those differences and likely explanations. till then have a blessed Thanksgiving.        

In Christ Pastor Portier 

Lesson #50 The Patriarchs Part 1

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Lesson #50 The Patriarchs Part 1

            Break out your maps and histories as we travel again in our time machine to examine history & geography through a biblical world view. Let’s look at what is going on in the world around 2166BC, the approximate time of Abram’s birth. The life of Abram, later renamed Abraham at the age of 99, is covered in Genesis from chapter 11 to 25.  Let's not lose sight of where he comes from; he is a descendant of Shem. He left Ur with his father's family headed for Canon but ended up in Haran.  Abram was called out of the land of Haran (on the southern border of modern day Turkey) by God in 2091 BC at the age of 75.  After ten years of waiting for his promised heir, his wife Sari took things into her own hands and had Abram marry her servant Hagar. Ishmael was born to Hagar in 2080 and lived to the ripe old age of 137 when he died in 1943 BC. Ishmael was not the promised son but as the first son of Abraham, was blessed to become the father of all Arab peoples in the world.

            In 2067 BC God changed Abram’s (exulted father) name to Abraham (father of many). At that time God also promised Abraham that Isaac (laughter) would be born the following year. Sari (princess) laughed when she heard this, being 89 years old. God confronted her about her laughter, about doubting God's promise, and renamed her Sarah (princess of many). These events also give us the date for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 2067-2066 BC as it followed the promised birth of Isaac.

            In 2066 BC when Isaac is born, the Genesis narrative shifts to him, but not for long. The birth of Jacob and Esau are listed in the same chapter.  Isaac only really gets about 3 chapters that primarily cover his narrative. By Chapter 28 the narrative shifts again, primarily to Jacob.  Although Isaac lived for 180 years he serves more as a transitional character between Abraham and his grandson Jacob than a character himself. A few significant things in Isaac’s life story would include his mother Sarah dying in 2029 BC, making him around 37 years old at the time.  In 2026 BC, about 3 years later, Abraham arranged for Isaac's marriage to Rebecca.  About 20 years after that, 2006 BC, God blessed Isaac and Rebecca with their first sons, Jacob and Esau. In 1991 BC the first of the patriarchs dies at the ripe old age of 175. His 15 year old grandsons, Jacob and Esau, would have been able to attend the funeral.  Esau would have been about 40 years old when he married two Hittite women in 1966 BC. These marriages were a source of grief for Isaac and Rebecca according to Genesis 26:35.

            In 1930 BC Jacob, with the help of his mother, fooled his 114 year old father into giving him the blessing of the first born. Now Jacob has taken both Esau’s birthright and his blessing. Esau became furious and threatened to kill Jacob so his parents sent a 75 year old Jacob to Haran to Rebecca's brother Laban to keep him safe. They also wanted Jacob to marry an acceptable wife.  After 7 years of labor for his uncle as a bride price, Jacob, then 82, became a groom to Leah and a week later married her sister Rachel. Now you may be thinking 82 is pretty old to get married and have children. Keep in mind that Jacob lived to be 147 years old so for him 82 is middle aged, and remember too that his father’s parents were 100 and 90 years old when they had a child.

            Here at the Smoky Mountain Bible Institute we are going through these things with a biblical worldview. There is precious little scientific evidence for the accounts so far however you would not expect to find any evidence for a small family going from Ur to Cannon via Haran in those days. However, we do start to get some evidence outside scripture with Jacob’s 11th son Joseph. For now we have the best witness available, God's word, on which to build our historical chronology. My primary source for many of these dates, besides scripture, is a book by Andrew E. Steinmann from CPH titled "From Abraham to Paul". This is a great source book for a concise discussion of how ancient dates are calculated and reckoned and a great biblical chronology.

            So class, we come to the end of our lesson having just started to discuss the third patriarch Jacob. We will pick up our chronology next month after Jacob’s second wedding feast in a week in Paddan Arram near Haran in 1923 BC.

In Christ Pastor Portier 

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute Lesson #49 - Lesson #19 revisited

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Lesson #49 - Lesson #19 revisited

            Don't break out your maps and histories this time as we travel in a time machine of sorts to examine History & Geography through a biblical world view.  Last month I said we would pick up with the birth of Abram born around 2166BC, however I recently listened to a very interesting interview and felt compelled to share with you some of the intriguing things I heard. We will get back to Abram next month, he is not going anywhere. So, let’s quickly revisit a brief note on logic I made back in the biology department. 

            I am a regular fan of a few internet talk radio programs and one of them is called "The White Horse Inn". It is usually a panel discussion format with a Lutheran, a Baptist, and 2 united reformed speakers. These four men are pastors, professors and authors of many books. It is an interesting conservative dialog among four learned Trinitarian theologians but occasionally they do interviews and on August 11th that is what they did.

I touched briefly on this topic in lesson #19 when I discussed mathematics and logic associated with biology. I said "We can also use mathematics to estimate the statistical impossibility that life might spontaneously generate from non-life, resulting in a number so infinitesimally small, that to believe it, is an act of faith."  In the interview on the White Horse Inn program, Mr. Dean Overman, the author of "The Case Against Accident & Self-Organization", articulated the mathematical impossibility of life spontaneously and randomly springing from nonlife in a simple attention getting way.  First he defined what mathematicians consider to be numerically impossible, that is anything with 1 chance in 10 to the 50th power of possibility.  To help us get our mind around the size of that number, he explained that in 15 billion years there are 10 to the 18th power seconds and there are estimated to be 10 to the 80th power atoms in the known universe.

He went on to give the amazing numbers associated with the the mathematical improbability of life spontaneously arising on its own. These numbers are astonishing and they have been calculated by respected experts in their field of study.  See the two below. No one in the scholastic community questions the validity of their findings, their motives or their credentials.

First Sir Fred Hoyle’s findings. Sir Hoyle was an English astronomer noted primarily for his contribution to the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. This Cambridge professor in astrophysics calculated the molecular biological probability that life would arise from the known basic elements and building blocks for life to be 1 chance in 10 to the 40,000th power. That is right, a number exponentially 500 times larger than the number that represents the estimated number of atoms in the known universe. Even still, that number pales in comparison to the one that follows.

            Sir Roger Penrose is a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. He is an English mathematical physicist, internationally renowned for his scientific work in mathematical physics, in particular his contributions to general relativity and cosmology and refers to himself as an atheist.  His calculations in the area of particle astrophysics determined the chance of life forming on its own from the know elements as 1 in 10 to the 10th power to the 123rd power. That number is so large that if you could put a zero on every proton, neutron, electron and any other atomic particle in the known universe you would still not have enough matter to write out all the zeros in that number.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made

in Christ Pastor Portier