Chapter 3 -

Wandering in the desert

 

 

 

 

MOSES

 

One of the most significant people in the Old Testament was Moses, who led the nation of Israel to the Promised Land, or more accurately, just to the border. The Law and the Commandments were given to the nation of Israel through him, and his books were read diligently during the time of Jesus. They were read in the synagogues every Sabbath, as we can see from Acts:

 

- (Exo 2:10) And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

 

- (1 Chron 6:3) And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

 

- (Jer 15:1) Then said the LORD to me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.

 

- (Matt 23:1-3) Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

2  Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:

3  All therefore whatever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not you after their works: for they say, and do not.

 

- (John 9:27-29) He answered them, I have told you already, and you did not hear: why would you hear it again? will you also be his disciples?

28  Then they reviled him, and said, You are his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples.

29  We know that God spoke to Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from where he is.

 

- (Acts 15:21) For Moses of old time has in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

 

LEAVING EGYPT

 

The fact that the people of Israel were physically in Egypt is confirmed by a few sources. Many Levites mentioned in the Bible have Egyptian names such as Moses, Assir, Pashur, Merari, Hophni, Phinehas, and Putiel. And many writers of books of the Bible considered it a historical fact:

 

- (Jer 7:25) Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt to this day I have even sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:

 

- (2 Chron 7:21-22) And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passes by it; so that he shall say, Why has the LORD done thus to this land, and to this house?

22  And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore has he brought all this evil on them.

 

- (Isa 11:16) And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

 

- (Eze 20:10-11) Why I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

11  And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.

 

- (Hos 2:15) And I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

 

- (Hag 2:5) According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so my spirit remains among you: fear you not.

 

MIRACLES IN EGYPT

 

- (Ps 105:26-27) He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.

27  They showed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

 

- (Jer 32:20-21) Which have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and have made you a name, as at this day;

21  And have brought forth your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;

 

Many people these days have difficulties in believing in the miracles that were performed in Egypt. However, proof of them exists, in the Papyrus Ipuwer (PI) that was found in Egypt and that is nowadays preserved in Leiden, the Netherlands. It describes events that are very similar to those recorded in the Bible. These similarities suggest that the same events are being described. The Papyrus Ipuwer provides a description of the plagues as told from the perspective of Egyptians:

 

PI: Plague is everywhere in the country. Blood is everywhere. (…) For the river is indeed bloody. (…) If it is drunk, the man will vomit and thirst for water. (2:5-10)

 

(Ex. 7:20-24): ... and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood (...) and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt (...) And all the Egyptians dig round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

_________

 

PI: The trees have been destroyed (4:14) The grain has been destroyed everywhere (6:1, 3)

 

(Ex. 9:25) And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field.

__________

 

PI: Fire has worn away gates, columns and walls (2:10)

 

(Ex. 9:23, 24) And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along on the ground; and the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.

24  So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

__________

 

PI: The birds do not find fruit or herbs and the grains have disappeared from everywhere. (…) The store is empty. (6:1-3).

 

(Ex. 10:14-15) And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

15  For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

__________

 

PI: For really the hearts of all animals cry, the livestock groans because of the condition of the land. (5:5)

 

(Ex. 9:19) Send therefore now, and gather your cattle, and all that you have in the field; for on every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down on them, and they shall die.

__________

 

PI: The country is dark. (9:11)

 

(Ex. 10:22-23) And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:

23  They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

__________

 

PI: People buried the dead ones everywhere (2:13). (…) There is sighing and moaning everywhere in the country. (3:14)

 

(Ex. 12:29-30) 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 to 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.

________

 

PI: Gold and jewels are tied to the neck of slaves (3:2)

 

(Ex. 12:35-36) And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:

36  And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent to them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

__________

 

PI: People rebel against the government (6:6)

 

(Ex. 10:7) And Pharaoh’s servants said to him, How long shall this man be a snare to us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: know you not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

__________

 

PI: Pharaoh lost his life in a way that has never taken place before. (7:1)

 

(Ex. 14:28) 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.

 

DIVIDING THE SEA

 

Dividing the sea was one of those miracles performed by Moses and also through Joshua. Writers of other books in the Bible also considered it a historical fact:

 

- (Ex. 14:21) 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.

 

- (Neh 9:11) And you did divide the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors you threw into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.

 

- (Ps 66:6) He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.

 

- (Isa 43:16) Thus said the LORD, which makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

 

WATER FROM THE ROCK

 

Water flowing from a rock is one of the miracles that occurred when the Hebrews were wandering in the desert. Writers of later books referred to it as truly occurring.

 

- (Num 20:10-11) And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said to them, Hear now, you rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

11  And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

 

- (Ps 78:15-16) He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.

16  He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

 

- (Isa 48:21) And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he split the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

 

THE URIM AND THE THUMMIM

 

Urim and Thummim were used in various situations to search for the will of God. They were on the breastplate of the High Priest, and were still in use during the later times of Saul and Ezra:

 

- (Ex. 28:30) And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before the LORD continually.

 

- (1 Sam 28:6) And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

 

- (Ezra 2:63) And the Tirshatha said to them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

 

THE SERPENT OF BRASS

 

When the wandering Hebrews began grumbling about their condition, they began suffering bites from poisonous snakes. Moses made a serpent of brass and raised it up in front of the people. They received healing by just looking at it. We find a mention of the same serpent of brass in the book of 2 Kings, which was written several centuries later. King Hezekiah destroyed it:

 

- (Num 21:9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it on a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

 

- (2 Kings 18:4) He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the groves, and broke in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for to those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

 

THE TABLETS OF STONE

 

The tablets of stone containing the Ten Commandments, which Moses received on Mt. Sinai, were among the most important objects mentioned in the Old Covenant. They were stored in the Ark of the Covenant and they were known to have existed as late as the reign of King Solomon:

 

- (Ex. 31:18) And he gave to Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him on mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

 

- (1 King 8:9) There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

 

THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD

 

The daughters of Zelophehad appear for the first time in the books of Moses. In addition to this, they are mentioned in 1 Chronicles:

 

- (Num 27:1) Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

 

- (1 Chron 7:15) And Machir took to wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maachah; and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters.

 

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

 

The Ark of the Covenant was made during the time of Moses and was kept in the tabernacle. It is mentioned in the Book of Samuel and also later, but through Jeremiah information was given out that it would not have any meaning in the future:

 

- (Num 14:44) But they presumed to go up to the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.

 

- (1 Sam 4:4-5) So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwells between the cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5  And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.

 

- (Jer 3:16) And it shall come to pass, when you be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, said the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.