Moses Won’t Go Away (Much to the Embarrassment of His Detractors)

It all started in a confrontation betwixt faith and unbelief, and it all ends there. When Adam and Eve believed God’s Word, they were immortal and lived in Paradise.   They awoke every morning to a beautiful, postcard sky.  Once unbelief, which was followed by disobedience, entered, immortality ended; Adam and Eve were booted out of Paradise, and the laws of sin and death began to reign. 

Once unbelief began, the terrors of the fallen world began, and it evolves more terribly with the increase of unbelief.  But, just as the terrors of unbelief and its bondages expand its stranglehold on all life, so does the beauty of faith in the hearts of the born-again, who proceed from faith to faith, from strength to strength, until the fulfillment of the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus in Paradise. 

It’s one linear measure: a straight line, even one road—Rt. 7—and you simply choose the direction you will travel.  You cannot opt out.  You are traveling on this highway.  It’s either Rt. 7 North (Obedience); it’s destination is the new heaven and new earth, and eternal life in Christ Jesus.  Or, it’s Rt. 7 South (Disobedience); it’s final destination is eternal, cognizant death in the lake of fire.  Matthew 21:44:

And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.      

Will you fall upon this stone?  Have you yet to be born again—born a very literal second time, this time of the Spirit of God?  Will today be the day you turn around on Rt. 7 and head north?  Will today be the day all your sin and shame is washed away and all Satan’s bondages broken—every single one?  Today, you are in the valley of decision.  Choose Christ and live forever.  Follow this prompt:  Click onto “Further with Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Exodus 14:21-30:

21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh''s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,

25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

26 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.

27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

GOD SAID, Exodus 12:29-30:

29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

MAN SAID: Who is this Moses? He didn’t lead the Hebrews out of Egyptian bondage. He didn’t pen the first five books of the Bible.  There never was a Moses! 

Now THE RECORD: Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature 928 that will once again certify the supernatural inerrancy of the Word of God, miracles and all.  All of these faith-building features are archived here in text and streaming audio for your edification and as bait for the fishers of men.  Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one.  Thank you for coming.  May God’s face shine upon you with Light and Truth. 

Detractors number into the millions.  They stand shoulder to shoulder, bound by the common denominator of the deceivableness of unrighteousness—the spirit of unbelief.  They take on many colors and hail from various disciplines, and are often at odds with one another, but when it comes to their hatred for the Word of God in His Holy Bible, they stand united.  They must object.  It’s obligatory.  Their leader, Satan, requires it.  Relax, saints!  This effort has been engaged since the Garden of Eden, and their challenges have failed every time, all the time, and without exception.  Imagine, the more science discovers, the more God’s Word is vindicated.  I need to know it’s true.  Everything depends on it, and I really mean everything.

Today’s subject is the Bible’s Moses.  Moses has been roundly rejected on every front, but he still remains Moses.  The critics have challenged everything the Scriptures have recorded of him, from his actual, physical existence, the call of God at the burning bush, the plagues of Egypt, his leading of the Hebrews out of Egyptian bondage via the parting of the Red Sea, to the miracles he participated in, and his penning of the first five books of the Bible.  But, as you should expect, all of these issues are true and fully verifiable.  A few foundational excerpts from GodSaidManSaid features follow:

📍 GodSaidManSaid, “The Big Bang vs. Moses and the Hebrew Slaves:”

The first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, or by Jewish canons as the Torah, were authored by God and written by Moses. Moses did not record hand-me-down accounts of creation, the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve and the fall, or hand-me-down accounts of Noah and the flood, or Joseph with his coat of many colors. He recorded the firsthand, eyewitness account of the Creator Himself. It should be no surprise then that Satan began his attack in Genesis 1:1.

Did Moses really pen the first five books of the Bible?

In 1983, a book was written by Pastor Robert Boyd, which I believe is now out of print, but is available in the Library of Congress (catalog card number 82083782). The following excerpt concerns the book of Genesis:

Since it is difficult for them to disprove what they don’t believe, a good example of their subtle attack is to say that the accepted writers of the Bible did not write the portions attributed to them and they have concluded that the first Book of the Bible (Genesis) is the work of more than one author, basing their conclusion on what they said were many repetitious statements as well as certain contradictions in the text. One "contradiction" cited is found in what they say are two different accounts of creation in chapters one and two. One "inconsistency" they cite is the use of two different words for Supreme Deity—Jahweh and Elohim. From these names, these "scholars" called two of the authors of Genesis "J" and "E" and also attributed remaining sections of this Book to a "priestly" writer designated "P". The theory of multiple authorship is widely taught in liberal seminaries and has been labeled the "Documentary Hypothesis."

A bit of scientific news came to light in 1982. A team of researchers in Israel’s Institute of Technology has concluded, after feeding the over 20,000-word Book of Genesis into a computer for analysis, that there were not several authors, but a single author! The team said it found the "J" and "E" narratives difficult to distinguish linguistically. They found no evidence that there were separate authors. It was also found that the two separate accounts of creation (Genesis 1 and 2) were linguistically identical. Interesting, isn’t it, to find that in our computer/scientific age that such a device goes along with the fundamentalists in their belief that Genesis has but one author, whom we believe was none other than Moses, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit! [End of quote]

Exodus 4:21-23:

21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

Concerning the tenth and ultimate plague, the slaying of the firstborn, the following excerpt is from a GodSaidManSaid feature article titled, "Moses Challenged:"

In Halley’s Bible Handbook, the following is noted under the heading, "Archaeological Note:"

Death of Pharaoh’s First-Born. Inscriptions have been found indicating that Thothmes IV, successor of Amenhotep II, was not his first-born nor heir-apparent.

Also that Mernaptah’s first-born met death in peculiar circumstances, and his successor was not his first-born nor heir-apparent.

So, whichever the Pharaoh, the Biblical statement is confirmed. [End of quote]

The ultimate devastation—the slaying of the first-born of all of Egypt, the destruction of the first fruits of life itself—broke Pharaoh’s grasp. Pharaoh himself was viewed as a deity and known as the "Ka" or "life force." The Egyptian claim was that he would rule for eternity in the afterworld. He and the gods of Egypt were brought to their knees before the God of the Hebrews. [End of quotes]

📍 GodSaidManSaid, “Hurricane Irma Testifies of Moses and the Red Sea:”

Why didn’t someone tell the Egyptian professor that Jews never really served under the cruel bondage of the Pharaohs? 

The following report is found in The International Jerusalem Post, November 28, 2003, p. 31:

The recent publicity garnered by the Egyptian professor who intends to file a lawsuit against the Jewish people and the State of Israel for the return of the gold, silver, and clothing taken by the Israelites when they left Egyptian bondage over three millennia ago caused me to think how ancient scores are never really settled—at least when they involve the Jews.  The academic who claims to be filing this class-action suit is perhaps unaware that this tactic was attempted before—in fact, it was employed over 23 centuries ago, when Alexander the Great ruled both Egypt and the Land of Israel. 

The Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin relates that Egyptian representatives appeared before Alexander and asked that he demand from the Jews the return of all of the wealth taken by them when they left Egyptian slavery a millennium earlier.  Alexander sent a notice to the Jewish elders in Jerusalem asking for a representative to present the Jewish side of the dispute. 

The rabbis sent a man by the name of Gavha, who was small in stature but very clever.  His defense was that if one were to start down the slippery road of adjudicating ancient claims, then the Egyptians still owed the Jews for centuries of slave labor.  Alexander, no fool himself, realized the morass that he had placed himself in by agreeing to judge the case, and decided to dismiss the matter altogether. 

We have addressed the issue of fluid dynamics and the parting of the Red Sea on this site before.  Now the latest research, published September 21, 2010 by Yahoo! News, under the banner, “Parting of Red Sea Jives With Natural Laws,” again shouts YES to God—absolutely YES! The article reads:

Mother Earth could have parted the Red Sea, hatching the great escape described in the Biblical book of Exodus, a new study finds. 

A strong east wind, blowing overnight, could have swept water off a bend where an ancient river is believed to have merged with a coastal lagoon along the Mediterranean Sea, said study team member Carl Drews of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.  While archaeologists and Egyptologists have found little evidence that any events described in Exodus actually happened, the study outlines a perfect storm that could have led to the 3,000-year-old escape.

“People have always been fascinated by this Exodus story, wondering if it comes from historical facts,” Drews said.  “What this study shows is that the description of the waters parting indeed has a basis in physical laws.”

Drew and his colleagues used models that showed that a wind of 63 mph (101 kph), lasting for 12 hours, would have pushed back waters estimated to be 6 feet (1.8 meters) deep.  This would have exposed mud flats for four hours, creating a dry passage about 2 to 2.5 miles (3.2 to 4 kilometers) long and 3 miles (4.8 km) wide. 

To match the account in the Bible, the water would have to be pushed back into both the lake and the channel of the river, creating barriers of water on both sides of newly exposed mud flats, which is exactly what the models show could have happened.

As soon as the winds stopped, the waters would come rushing back.  Anyone still on the mud flats would be at risk of drowning. 

As the Bible story goes, Moses and the fleeing Israelites were trapped between the Pharaoh’s advancing chariots and a body of water that has been variously translated as the Red Sea. … In a divine miracle, a mighty east wind blew all night, splitting the waters and leaving a passage of dry land with walls of water on both sides.  The Israelites were able to flee to the other shore.  But when the Pharaoh’s army attempted to pursue them in the morning, the waters rushed back and drowned the soldiers. 

“The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus,” Drews said.  “The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics.  The wind moves the water in a way that’s in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with water on two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in.”

GodSaidManSaid received the following email from S.P., a blood-bought son of God:

Dear GodSaidManSaid Team,

I frequently listen to your weekly podcast and really enjoy how you take scientific discoveries and relate them exactly to the truth of God’s Word.  I am both a technical person and a Christian in a society that has determined that one cannot believe in both science and a Creator.  Your ministry consistently disproves that assertion and I thank you for that. 

I am watching news reports of Hurricane Irma coming into Florida.  One story caught my eye and I immediately thought of you.  A video posted of the incoming hurricane shows the ocean water completely removed by the winds of Irma—from the Bahamas shoreline for as far as the eye can see.

The weather forecasters on the news programs are just baffled that something like this could happen, but the Bible clearly teaches that this is not a new phenomenon.  Had the news team read the Bible, they would know that Exodus 14 speaks of how the Lord used the wind to blow the water out of the way so His people could escape the pursuing Egyptian army. 

This modern example—complete with video proof—illustrates that it is not only theoretically possible for the wind to move enough of the sea so that a person could walk across the dry land underneath, but that such an event actually happens today.

Thank you for what you do—you are making a difference! 

— S. P.

Thank you, brother, for your email.  Shortly after your email, another GodSaidManSaid researcher sent us the following reports:

👉New York Times, September 10, 2017.  Headline: “Storm’s Winds Begin Battering Tampa Bay Area.”  Excerpts follow:

Suddenly, the water went away.  In the Bahamas, in Tampa Bay, and in Naples, observers were shocked to see the waters that usually lap against the shore recede into the distance. 

On social media, people reacted with incredulity, noting that the water had disappeared where whitecaps were just hours before on Sunday in Tampa Bay.  James Spann, an Alabama meteorologist and weather blogger, reacted sternly to a photograph on Twitter of people playing in the sand exposed by the retreating water. 

“The water will come rushing back with a vengeance,” Mr. Spann said on Twitter.  “They won’t have time to get out when it begins.” 

On Twitter, Gov. Rick Scott issued an urgent warning to stay away from the water.  “DO NOT GO IN! The water will surge back and could overtake you!” 

Chris O’Donnell, a reporter with The Tampa Bay Times, later reported that police had cleared people off of the shore well before the water came back. 

The phenomenon of water being drawn off by the power of Hurricane Irma is known as a negative surge.  As Mr. Spann warned, that odd condition will not last—and will become dangerous.  [End of quote]

👉 New York Daily News, September 11, 2017.  Headline: “Hurricane Irma Was So Powerful It Drained Beaches, Pulled Water into its Core as it Trudged Ahead.” 

As Hurricane Irma barreled through the Bahamas on its way to the Florida Keys and the southwestern portion of the state, it pulled out ocean water with it, much to the surprise of island residents and those on social media. 

Irma, which made its first US landfall in the Florida Keys on Sunday, was a Category 4 hurricane with max winds at 130 mph.  In the process—and in the days leading up to the landfall—the storm sucked water from the ocean away from its beaches. 

Facebook user Kelly Johnson posted a video, since deleted, captioned, “Long Island, Bahamas! There is no more ocean!  As far as the eye can see, and they don’t know where it went!  Wow!  Irma is more powerful than people think; be safe, guys!  In the video, people walk onto what used to be the seabed. There are no fish and hardly any remnants of water.  As the water made its exodus, it left behind conch shells, seaweed, buoys, and an old anchor.  [End of quote]

The subject headline in Grant Jeffrey’s 336-page book, titled The Signature of God, reads, “Merneptah—the Pharaoh Who Drowned.”  The following excerpts are from Mr. Jeffrey:

Egyptian archaeologists discovered the mummified body of Pharaoh Merneptah more than a century ago but didn’t complete a medical examination until 1975.  His body had been removed from its burial chamber thousands of years earlier following a grave robbery.  The priests repaired the damage and reburied Merneptah’s mummy in a small room in the new royal tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep II in approximately 1000 BC.  Fortunately, the priests included Merneptah’s name in the outermost wrappings of the repaired mummy.  The mummified body was first discovered, but not identified, by French archaeologist Victor Loret in 1898.

A detailed medical examination of Merneptah’s body was completed in 1974-75 with the aid of x-rays and modern forensic techniques.  Professor Michel Durigon of the Paris Police Forensic Laboratory examined the pharaoh’s tissue under a microscope and discovered the body had been in water for a short time.  Dr. Maurice Bucaille, the former chief of the surgical clinic at the University of Paris, participated in the examination and included the following statement in his book The Hebrews in Egypt:

[The] conservation of the transversal striations of muscular fibrillae gave evidence of the impossibility for the body to have remained more than a short time in the water, for, otherwise, these striations would not have appeared in the microscopic examination.

Although the internal organs had been removed during the initial mummification process, scientists were amazed to discover that massive injuries had been inflicted on this body.  The pharaoh’s body had suffered extreme violence from external blows that caused massive loss of tissue and bone in three areas: the abdomen, the thorax, and the cranium (skull).  The back also was severely damaged from a massive blow.  The remarkable violence inflicted on the pharaoh’s body was unusual because most Egyptian pharaohs died peacefully or by poison.  Yet the forensic evidence proved that this particular pharaoh had died during an incredibly violent incident, probably in water.

This raises the obvious question: what could account for these injuries?  If Pharaoh Merneptah died in an onrushing of seawater, and he had been trampled by panicking horses or crushed by overturned chariots, that could account for the injuries.  As the Egyptian army pursued the escaping Hebrew slaves between walls of water in the Red Sea, the horses would have panicked as the sea suddenly rushed together again.  Certainly, the soldiers and Pharaoh would have sustained terrible injuries as they drowned. 

The book of Exodus records that the pharaoh led his army to pursue the departing Jews and was killed with his army and their horses in the onrushing waters: “And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.” (Exodus 14:8) In Psalms, we read of the death of Pharaoh and his army: “To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever: and made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever: but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (136:13-15)

Sir Flinders Petrie, one of the greatest Egyptologists, concluded that Pharaoh Merneptah was the pharaoh of the Exodus.  Professor Karl-Richard Lepsius also identified Merneptah with the Exodus account.  Professor Gaston Maspero cited an Alexandrian legend that names Merneptah as the pharaoh of the Exodus “who is said to have perished in the Red Sea.” [End of quotes]

Ancient, non-Biblical historians certified the Bible’s Moses.  In Grant Jeffrey’s book, The Signature of God, you’ll find the following:

The Greek historian Herodotus discussed the Exodus from Egypt in his book Polymnia: “This people [the Israelites], by their own account, inhabited the coasts of the Red Sea, but migrated thence to the maritime parts of Syria, all which district, as far as Egypt, is denominated Palestine.”  It is interesting to note that Strabo, a pagan historian and geographer born in 64 BC, also confirmed the history of the Jews and their escape from Egypt.  He wrote, “Among many things believed respecting the temple and inhabitants of Jerusalem, the report most credited is that the Egyptians were the ancestors of the present Jews.  An Egyptian priest named Moses, who possessed a portion of the country called lower Egypt, being dissatisfied with the institutions there, left it and came to Judea with a large body of people who worshipped the Divinity.” 

Few Christians are aware that numerous historical records and ancient inscriptions confirm the miracles involved in God’s deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt.  The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus reported that two Egyptian priest-scholars, Manetho and Cheremon, named Joseph and Moses as leaders of the Jews in their history of Egypt.  Josephus recorded that the Egyptians remembered a tradition of a mass exodus from their nation by the Jews, whom they hated because they believed the Israelites were unclean.  Manetho wrote that the Jews “went out of that country afterward, and settled in that country which is now called Judea, and there built Jerusalem and its temple.” 

Manetho and Cheremon also stated that the Jews rejected Egyptian customs, including the worship of Egyptian gods.  Manetho declared that Osarsiph “Moses” became the lawgiver and leader of the Jewish slaves, and that he “made this law for them, that they should neither worship the Egyptian gods, nor should they abstain from any one of those sacred animals which they have in the high esteem, but kill and destroy them all. … [He] had made such laws as these, and many more such as were mainly the opposite to the customs of the Egyptians.” 

Most important, the pagan historians acknowledged that the Jews killed the animals that the Egyptians held as sacred, indicating the Israelites’ practice of sacrificing lambs on that first Passover.  The historians also confirmed that the Israelites immigrated into the area of “southern Syria,” which was the Egyptian name for ancient Palestine.  Perhaps the most important confirmation is found in the statement by Manetho that the sudden Exodus from Egypt occurred in the reign of “Amenophis, son of Rameses, and father of Sethos, who reigned toward the close of the 18^th dynasty.”  This reference places the Exodus between 1500 and 1400 BC, which confirms the chronological data found in the Old Testament that suggests the Exodus occurred approximately in 1491 BC. 

Several years ago, after much searching, I was able to locate a complete set of volumes containing the forty books in the library of Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian from Agyrium in Sicily.  He lived from 80 BC until approximately twenty years before the birth of Jesus.  Diodorus traveled extensively throughout the Middle East acquiring a vast knowledge  of ancient events.  He compiled records from various peoples, which in many instances contain fascinating historical details that would otherwise have been lost forever. 

In his book, Diodorus reported:

In ancient times, there happened a great plague in Egypt and many ascribed the cause of it to God, who was offended with them because there were many strangers in the land, by whom foreign rites and ceremonies were employed in their worship of the deity.  The Egyptians concluded; therefore, that unless all strangers were driven out of the country, they should never be freed from their miseries.  Upon this, as some writers tell us, the most eminent and enterprising of those foreigners who were in Egypt, and obliged to leave the country…who retired into the province now called Judea, which was not far from Egypt, and in those time uninhabited.  These emigrants were led by Moses, who was superior to all in wisdom and prowess.  He gave them laws and ordained that they should have no images of the gods because there was only one deity, the heaven, which surrounds all things, and is Lord of the whole.  [End of quote]

God’s Word is true and righteous altogether, a place to build a life that will last forever.  Click onto “Further with Jesus” and make your decision for Christ today. 

GOD SAID, Exodus 14:21-23:

21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh''s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

GOD SAID, Exodus 12:29-30:

29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

MAN SAID: Who is this Moses? He didn’t lead the Hebrews out of Egyptian bondage. He didn’t pen the first five books of the Bible.  There never was a Moses!

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

GodSaidManSaid, “ The Big Bang vs. Moses and the Hebrew Slaves”

GodSaidManSaid, “Hurricane Irma Testifies of Moses and the Red Sea”

Jeffrey, G., The Signature of God, Waterbrook Press, 2010

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