Ever since Joseph's wise and gentle administration, Egyptians had become aware of the true God in heaven. The Lord God was ever so slowly working on the hearts of those who came in contact with that spirit through Joseph's influence and how it influenced the heart of the king, and the servant of the king who was responsible for the wine. Ever so slowly Satan's rule was being challenged and the enemy of all that is of God got busy to turn things his way. Satan, not knowing the end from the beginning, had his plans over the ensuing centuries turned into the very means which led to Christ's suffering and death on the cross - Satan's assurance that he would be destroyed in the end by the Son of God who came to redeem mankind.

And Moses said to Pharaoh, "Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go." Exodus 10:25-27.

But when the 10th plague struck, all Egypt was in an uproar and pharaoh let Israel go.

The Bible tells us that the Israelites under Moses left their domestic quarters in a hurry.

"And it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn ... And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians ... And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people ... And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people that they might send them out of the land in haste ... " Exodus 12:29-33

The window of opportunity was short for not long after they had left Pharaoh changed his mind, called up his army and chased after them. But Israel had an advantage for God led them by a pillar of clouds in day time, acting like an air conditioner so to speak and a pillar of fire at night, to provide light and warmth, so they would loose no time but get to a point where their deliverance would occur. (Ex. 13:21)

Israel marched night and day until they reached the other side of Sinai on the seventh day. The Bible states that no one among the people was allowed to eat leavened bread. Only unleavened bread was allowed. This way their physical well being would not be hampered by possible stomach cramps. Their march was to be without a break and its length was measured by the limitation for how long their unleavened, baked bread would be edible. Exodus 12:15-20.

Therefore, Israel traversing the Sinai Peninsula occured within those seven days. They did not have to drive oxen pulling waggons, or find sources of water and food during those few days. Their sustenance they carried with them and the pillar of clouds protected them from the excessive heat during the day.

The Route of the Exodus

Leaving Egypt [025] from the Nile delta region the Israelites headed first south (Ex. 13:17-18), as shown on the map, along the shore of the modern Suez canal and then east into the desert of the Sinai peninsula to Etham at the edge of the desert on the Arabian side without ever stopping. [030] At some point in Wadi Watir (which leads toward Nuweiba Beach[032]), God told Moses:

"Speak unto the children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea..." Exodus 14:2

The `turn' must have been made close to where the thinner yellow line turns north, as if to walk around the Gulf of Aqaba to Mount Sinai, but God stopped Moses and led them down that eastern Wadi toward what is called today `Nuweiba Beach', a place which must have been familiar to Moses. The walk around the Gulf would have taken much longer, but God never had that direction in mind. Already when Moses worked for Jethro, God had planned that Moses would lead his people to Mount Horeb/ Jebel al Lawz /Agar in Arabia and that the sea would part to accomplish that.

Where is Mount Sinai?
Here is the biblical record:

"... Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwellt in the land of Midian ..." Exodus 2:15

We may understand `... the backside of the desert' as looking from the Nile region toward the east. The desert then would refer to the Sinai Peninsula and not the western Sahara. The backside of the Sinai would then be the eastern most region up against the Gulf of Aqaba (probably on the Arabian side) and perhaps the continued rift valley up toward the Dead Sea..

"... When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain." Exodus 3:12

In the days of the apostle Paul, people still knew where Midian was located [36].

"For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia ..." Galatians 4:25

"God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near ... but ... led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea ... turn and encamp before Pi-ha-hi-roth between Migdal and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it ye shall encamp by the sea. ... For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness has shut them in." Ex. 13:18-20; 14:2-3

"... wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?" Exodus 14:11

The words `out of Egypt' indicate that Israel would leave the very ground of Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula which belonged to Egypt, and be in another country.

As the satellite map shows, the mountainous terrain of the Sinai in this region allows only a narrow path toward what is known today as `Nuweiba', a sandy beach enclosed on all sides by sheer rocks. Today there is a road hugging the rocky coast going south, in ancient times it did not exist. The Sinai peninsula was Egypt in Old Kingdom times. Numerous army lookout posts doted the mountain tops and we can assume that the Egyptians had developed a system of mirror or smoke signals from mountain top station to mountain top station to pass on information to headquarters back near today's Cairo and along the length of the road, so Pharaoh knew exactly where the Israelites were. Turning back, the Israelites saw the approaching chariots of Pharaoh. Views are on file what the mountain road looks like from the vantage point of the beach.

"... the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh ... and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-ha-hi-roth, before Baal-zephon ... And the pillar of clouds came between the camp of Israel: and it was a cloud and darkness to them ..."Ex. 14:9,20

These places did not figure again in the experience of Israel for they left them behind, on the western side of the Red Sea [38], in Egypt. Josephus presents the Exodus account this way:

"Now when the Egyptians had overtaken the Hebrews, they prepared to fight them, and by their multitude they drove them into a narrow place ... They also seized on the passages by which they imagined the Hebrews might fly, shutting them up between inaccessible precipices and the sea; for there was on each side a ridge of mountains that terminated at the sea, which were impassable by reason of their roughness, and obstructed their flight." [040]

The account of Josephus seems to fit the approaches to Nuweiba Beach and its rocky condition better than any other locality. The only escape route left was through the sea. And so it was when the Lord commanded Moses to lift up the rod over the sea that the waters divided and created a dry path of escape for Israel (Exod. 14:22). This miracle is an indictment for all slave holders and oppressors in the world, for all those who conspire to direct human affairs according to their wants, past and present, that their wickedness is known by God and He will surely hold them accountable for all their evil deeds. Nuweiba Beach has meaning far beyond that one event taking place there so long ago. Its shadow reaches even into our time.

Numerous parallels surround these events and people related to the migration of the tribes of Israel out of Egypt and from there into the promised land. Moses was a `savior' for his people, so was (Hebr) Joshua (Grk. Jesus) shows name means the '', son of Nun, the name of which means `eternal'. Both Moses and Joshua are a type for Jesus Christ the Savior from this world of sin.

Question: What about the chariot wheels, in particular the eight spoked wheels, doesn't that proof that the Exodus took place during 18th dynasty times and the revised chronology must be in error?

Answer: Of course we know that the 18th Dynasty used such chariots. Historians can trace the use of chariots back into the Hyksos period. Does that mean that the 12th Dynasty could build pyramids but not make wheels? Are we to assume, all they could do was drag goods or use camels, which are also not represented in 12th dynasty art? That sounds nonsensical, doesn't it. We believe in this case the absence of direct evidence is not proof they didn't exist before the Hyksos/ Amalekite period. The further back in time one goes, the less perishable goods are found. Once well working models have been designed, they could be used for hundreds of years that way. The 4, 6 and 8 spokes in chariot wheels could have been produced during all this time. Why, should they use 3, 5, or 7 spokes in earlier times? No, such odd spoked wheels would be quite a bit harder to produce.

Another possibility is that, the Gulf of Aqaba at the crossing site was apparently explored to some extent down to 200 feet depth. That is quite close to shore. The deeper region, let's say about half way across, what may be found there? What does the Bible say?

"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. 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. 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, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily ... And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again ... 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. And the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh ... there remained not so much as one of them. ... and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore." Exodus 14:22-30

The Underwater Landbridge
Nuweiba Beach experienced no doubt quite a bit of erosion and saw in succeeding centuries many Egyptian vessels transporting all kinds of merchandise to where ever there was a market. We know Solomon purchased horses and chariots from Egypt. They could reach Ezion Geber quite easily from there. Can we assume that perhaps over centuries a few vessels loaded with wheels sank just offshore? If so, that could also account for 18th dynasty wheels at the site. In another scenario, worn out wheels could have just been thrown in the water too. What we suggest is, that the sampling and more exact dating may, as yet, not be enough to come to a conclusion.

Thanks for your comments. If anyone among our readers would like to comment on this, please do so very briefly in the guestbook. We will contact serious participants and provide an e-mail address for lengthier comments.

The locations mentioned after the point were the Israelites crossed the parted Gulf of Aqaba are from here on out all located in today's Saudi Arabia. Their next major stop was at Mount Sinai, today's blackened top of `Jebel el Lawz' [050] which exhibits many rock formations and archaeological features which could allow for its identity as Mt. Sinai.

In our modern days, visitors to Nuweiba Beach noticed this ancient pillar attributed to King Solomon with later writing on it in Hebrew, Greek and Syrian in memory of the great miracle of the crossing of the sea. Once the locals realized that people could read the memorial writing, they removed the pillar and today it is no longer present.

The Geological Features at Nuweiba Beach

As this depth chart shows, the submarine `landbridge' is today about 800 feet, ca. ˝ mile deep. [See correlation with Indian landbridge story.] That doesn't mean it was that deep in the days of Moses. Since the distance to the Saudi side is ca. 7 miles, that would make the incline just a little less than 9 degrees over a distance of 3.5 miles, assuming that the deepest part was in the middle between Sinai and Arabia and the angle smooth. However it appears that the deepest point is closer to the Arabian side. If the majority of Pharaoh's army drowned closer to the Arabian side, and depending how wide the `landbridge' was, many remains, in time, would probably have been swept into the very deep channels of Aqaba, especially if tectonic action caused any underwater landslides on the `landbridge'. But such factors depend also on the geological features of the `landbridge' none of which are known to us at this time.

The Hyksos - Amalekites

After the Exodus the Hyksos/Amalekites set themselves up in Egypt as the ruling class after they had overrun the country and started a period of destructions and constructions in a land whose army and pharaoh had died in an effort to force the fleeing Israelites back to their slave duties in Egypt. It was a time of much confusion and lack of records of any kind (except scarabs) in Egypt itself. While we shall not present the evidence in this particular paper since that is presented elsewhere on this website, we just wanted to point out that the evidence from secular sources is meager indeed and probably always will remain so, but our revision of the illustrious 18th Dynasty and its contemporaries throughout the region is a forceful testimony to the fact that modern historians have put up a false historical background to the entire regional history. The biblical account of the Exodus is an absolutely trustworthy account whose memory was being repeated over and over again to the people. It lacks the fanciful, often ludicrous conventions of real legendary stories and makes a mockery of ancient history when it comes to accepting the Hebrew scriptures known to us as the Bible. Once an erroneous chronology has started to assign periods to its artifacts and is being used as a measuring tool for the ancient past, it becomes an institutionalized systematic, erroneous historical account propagating itself despite their best efforts to be accurate.

Following the Red Sea crossing, the Israelites had some distance to cover to reach Jebel Al Lawz. The time it took to get there was used by the Amalekites to attack the stragglers and older people in order to harass and rob them, Dt. 25:13. Many theories and/or scenarios have been forged trying to explain `Elohim', `Yahweh' and the God (or as some have it gods) of Israel. We believe one can look at these views perhaps in 2 ways:

a) the Old Testament books portray a biased account of God which has some aspects of Canaanite origin,
b) the real God was a more complex Godhead arrangement and people misconstrued and worshipped their own biased imaginations - not following the blueprint so to speak God had intended for them. According to this view the purer religion is the one God wanted advanced not that religion which followed sinful paths. But people soon misunderstood. It is a mistake to measure Israel's intended purer faith by pagan, corrupted concepts of God and gods. Above it all is the Creator God, Yahweh, who is to be worshipped by faith alone not bound to figures of stone, wood or metal. Among all the information: biblical as well as historical, we are to try and discern the true, Almighty Creator God and how he worked for men and women throughout the ages to draw them to Him, the Source of Life. Is it like seeing the roses among all the thorns or is it like, starting with a corrupt mind, only thistles and brambles can be seen? The problem is with our mind, our thinking, our sinfulness. [For a few pages of reading material relevant to our time, truly a brief time before His Second Coming, and how God can save us from this world of sin, click here.]

Recapitulation:
Red line: Israel's route out of Egypt to the Arabian Sinai. After the demise of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, Israel could migrate at a slower pace. Leaving the Arabian side of the shore of the Red Sea, Israel arrived at Marah, then came to Elim, the Wilderness of Sin and from there to Rephidim, where they fought against the Amalekites, just before they got to Mt. Sinai. We understand that the valley of the battle between Amalek and Israel was located some 30 miles distance from Jebel el Lawz for Israel moved around this region for a length of time before the event of the proclamation of the Law of God from the mount.. These distances from one location to the other may have been shorter and not in a direct, straight line to Mt. Sinai - after all, this was Moses backyard for 40 years as a shepherd. That is where Moses was retrained so God could use him. That is where Moses learned meekness (Num. 12:3) - the willingness to be taught of God.
Yellow line: Hyksos-Amalekites probably fleeing or migrating out of the region of Mecca from the after effects of the disasters of the Ten Plagues in Egypt (which probably affected a larger region) and having heard of the conditions in Egypt decided to invade and take over the country. To do so, they had to march toward the tip of Aqaba and from there to Egypt [70]. God led Israel a shorter route through the Red Sea of Aqaba toward the Arabian Mt. Horeb/Sinai, where they had an encounter with the fleeing Amalekite/Hyksos on their way to around the Gulf of Aqaba to Egypt. It was Josephus who had information which led him to think that the Hyksos were from Arabia: "... the first syllable Hyc, according to the sacred dialect denotes a king, as is Sos, a Shepherd ... and of these is compounded Hycsos: but some say that these people were Arabians." [Josephus, Against Apion, Book I, Sec. 14.]

While a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night watched over Israel on their sojourn, they received their supply of water from a rock near their camp. When they left the camp, the water dried up and the rock which followed them flowed with water in their next camp, this is the message we find: "... I want you to remember this: our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea ... all drank .... from the spiritual rock that was following them. ..." 1.Cor. 10:1-4. But one time, as they pitched their camp, no water flowed anywhere. We read: "As the community had no water, they held a council against Moses and Aaron." Numbers 20:2. After 40 years (Deut. 1:3) in the desert with all those who rebelled after the return of the spies having died, Israel was to go up through Ar and the (Dead Sea?) coast of Moab, to the west of the Ammonites up to the River Arnon (Deut. 2:24) toward Jericho. - Israel had arrived at the border of the Promised Land. There was no need for the miraculous water to which they had so matter of fact gotten used to. But they complained.

Therefore, Israel had no lack of water and food when they faithfully followed the guidance of the Lord. Manna, a divine gift, was their daily, high energy food for those 40 years. Like they did not have to carry goat skins filled with water, they did not have to carry bags of food when traveling. Their time was that at the end of the 12th Dynasty in Egypt. The Amalekites just about settling themselves in the acropolises at the Nile after disengaging themselves from fighting Israel at Jebel al Lawz and walking in a sweeping bow toward the Mediterranean region of the River of Egypt and from there West toward the Nile Delta region.

Something to ponder
This account of Israel leaving the land of their servitude represents a logical sequence which explains satisfactorily how the Arabians/ Hyksos/ Amalekites could meet Israel at Mt. Sinai [90]. If Mt. Sinai was the traditional Mt. Sinai of the Egyptian penisula, why would they have gone there and risk a battle with Israel for relatively meager winnings? At the same time this scenario explains how Mecca and Medina became holy places. We conclude then that Velikovsky was correct in considering the territory of Mecca and Medina to have been a `Kadeshbarnea' where some of the Israelites might have spent some time while the rest of Israel settled further north for 40 years. The journey from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea was eleven days (Dt. 1:2; Map; ca. 250 km). Actually walking from Jebel al Lawz to Kadesh Barnea was easier than from the traditional Mt. Sinai because from Eilat they could follow the rift valley past today's Petra until they got to the place where they crossed over the mountains into the desert of Zin.

Since the Amalekites had evacuated Mecca, perhaps on hearing about the state of affairs in Egypt and intending to take over the weakened country, it was probably relatively safe to explore the area. It was Donald Redford who pointed out that the Hyksos, our Amalekites, had no prior cultural roots in Egypt since they destroyed those constructions which probably offended them. [100] We conclude that there was more than one location bearing that name of `Kadeshbarnea'.

In conclusion we would like to remind our readers that from ca. the time after the Exodus to the time of Saul and David, references to contemporary Egypt are not found in scripture. A check in a concordance shows that all references to Egypt in the books of Joshua, Judges and 1.Samuel are geographical references or look back on what the Egyptians did to Israel before or during the Exodus itself. This represents the biblical time span between ca. 1445 to 1023 BC, the latter year being the time when King Saul helped the Egyptians to vanquish the Amalekites.

Conversely, while there is no clue to economical contact with Egypt during this long time span, there are multiple references to Amalek or the Amalekites, of course not situating them to have governed Egypt but coming from that direction (Avaris) and repeatedly attacking locations in Palestine. Starting with Deuteronomy 25:17, where Moses reminds Israel to remember what the Amalekites did to them, there are about seven references in the book of Judges to Amalek or the Amalekites and some seventeen references to the same people in the Book of 1.Samuel. These texts talk about current affairs at the time.

The above may show that Egypt, during this time, was not governed by an economically and industrially thriving succession of Egyptian kings as we also point out Here!

The next considerations for us to comprehend the Exodus is to look into their daily physical needs. We know that God is capable to work for His people then and today in mighty ways. The Exodus account ought to help us to trust in the Lord for our daily needs, even in the time of trouble. If the average Israelite family had 5 children, there would have been about 571,400 men and women in Israel, the rest were unmarried children of various ages. The lesser food and liquid requirements for infants would have been probably offset by the higher requirements for adolescents. We therefore may consider that 1 lb. of food for all people per day in average and 5 gallons of water per day for drinking and washing may be a reasonable assumption. Since we know that each family had enough bread until they got at least to Nuweiba Beach, and that God gave them manna right after that, Ex. 16:15. We also know that water was supplied by God in a miraculous way in cooperation with the faith of Moses and the people, Ex. 17. Assuming that 1 lb. of manna per day was the daily diet for 2 million people, that translates to ca. 893 tons of manna per day, and Fridays twice as much. However, we may assume that manna was very nutritious and the quantities may vary accordingly.

Considering these physical requirements to feed a nation in a dry, inhospitable desert, we can rest assured that the Lord God knows how to take care of the needs of His people even in these last days when things get tough. Please read the scriptures which affirm this,

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Mt. 23:37.

"Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove."
"And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat."
"And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and see the that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning." Ex. 16:4,14-15, 23.

"And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?"
"Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel." Ex. 17:3,6.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Rom. 5:1-5.

Let us calculate the space required to house 2 million people in tents. Assuming there were 285,700 families composed of mother, father and 5 children, they would require a tent for at least 8 people. Such a tent would require at least 15 x 15 feet, 225 square feet of space. Furthermore, let us assume that 3 feet of space between tents was the average, that would allow ca. 293 tents along a 1 mile distance (5280 ft/mi 18 = 293), and 293 x 293 = 85,849 tents/families per square mile which would house 600,943 people (# families x 5). Thus about 4 square miles should be able to house 2 million in, admittedly, tight quarters even though we allow some extra space. While this is a tightly packed arrangement, remember that as slaves they probably lived in even more congested workers villages in Egypt. How Israel handled latrines, we have no information on, but certain units of tents must have required adequate latrines a distance from the camp. This possibly would vary the number of family tents per square mile somewhat. Despite these arrangements, the health of the people was excellent for we have no indication of rampant diseases due to tight living quarters. The Lord gave them laws of washings, without the people realizing how this would help the overall health of the nation if diligently obeyed.

The actual arrangement of the camp is given quite differently in the Bible because each tribe occupied an allotted area around the tent of the tabernacle. Thus, the 4 square miles represent a rough estimate of what a tightly populated camp would look like, but in reality it was more spacious.

God's power was displayed on Sinai in a mighty way, but hidden within the dark clouds and the smoke were thousands of angels witnessing the giving of the Law of God to Israel. We read, "The Lord ... came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them."[120] "... we also are compassed with a cloud of witnesses . . . Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who . . . is set down at the right hand of the throne of God . . . For you are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, not unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest. And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words . . . And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake . . . But you are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God . . . to an innumerable company of angels." Deut. 33:2; Hebr. 12:1,2,18-22. In other words, where God performs an important work with respect to salvation history the angels, which throng the throne of God, certainly would be also present. The Psalmist calls out, "Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." Ps. 103:20. If the angels keep God's Law, how much more should we rectify the theological and sectarian errors of centuries and keep His Law as it reads! Such a move would bring God's blessings to His faithful people.

God led His people, whom He calls "the church in the wilderness . . ." (Acts 7:38) out of Egypt. The beginning essence of what happened at Sinai is well put by this verse,

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them." Exodus 24:12.

But what happened really? Moses was up on the mountain for a long time. The Lord gave him some other instructions (explanations of these commands), and he was there 40 days and nights. Then we read,

"And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp." Exodus 32:15-17.

If you will read the preceding verses and the 9th chapter of Deuteronomy along with this, you will find that while Moses was gone during those 40 days, people had entirely turned around, gone back on their promises, and fallen into idolatry. The Book of Exodus tells us that when God spoke the commandments, the people heard His voice and promised to keep them forever. Then God called Moses up into the mountain to give him a written copy which was to be the standard of all their life, but while he was gone, the people went back on their public promise with a public apostasy. And Aaron, younger brother of Moses, (Miriam [145], a sister of Moses) made a big collection of jewelry, not for foreign mission - he did not collect it to be used in the service of the true God who stood up on the mount right before them - but the women brought in their earrings and metal looking glasses (mirrors), and they were melted down and made into an image of the Egyptian sacred bull, an Apis like bull, called here a calf. And they began to worship that heathen idol which they had known in Egypt, and they danced around it with the lascivious dances of pagan worship. While Moses was coming down from the mount with the holy law of God in his hands, the people were breaking the very first commandment of the law which they had heard God speak to them just over a month before - "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." They were breaking the second commandment also - "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." They broke all these commandments right there. They were bowing down to an idol and breaking them all. It was a nation publicly defying God with those flagrant sins.

What happened? Let us go back to Exodus 32. When Moses and Joshua came down from the mount, Joshua heard what sounded to him like the noise of war in the camp. But to Moses it sounded not like the noise of some who had achieved (mastered) something, or of crying for being overcome. It sounded to him like singing. . . . The people were singing pagan songs while worshipping the golden calf.

From all that gold they had managed to make a small golden calf. And Moses took it, burned it in the fire and ground it to powder, and spread it over some water and made the people of Israel drink the water, Ex. 32:19,20.

What did he do? How can you grind up gold into powder? The old gold miners out here in California could do that too. They made gold dust. Gold always goes to the bottom in water. But there is a way to make an emulsion of gold and water. You burn the gold just right until it is melted. Then you agitate it violently, grind it into fine powder and mix it with water; and many times it will make an emulsion. Someone in the United States did that one time, and the emulsion looked exactly like blood. Possibly that is what they drank.[150]

Moses had the tables of stone with the words of God written on them, the divine law. But what really caused the breaking of the Law of God on this day?

Moses and Joshua saw them dancing around the golden calf. Lets read something,

"And the Lord said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image." Deuteronomy 9:12.

And the Lord said to Moses, "Let Me smite them, let Me blot out their name." Deuteronomy 9:14. But Moses prayed for them. He pleaded, "Lord, remember Thy name among the nations." And the mount burned with fire (God was still present), displaying the wrath of God. Moses then, in shameful anger for his people, cast the broken law and break the tablets on the rocks below. He tells Israel then of his fasting for a long time before God for their sins. He was remorseful, thinking may be he didn't pastor them right. But the anger of the Lord was then turned away from Israel because Moses had interceded for God's chosen people, like Jesus does. So Moses was a picture of what Jesus would do when He came.

So what was it then that really broke the law? Was it Moses throwing them publicly onto the rocks?

What really broke the Tables of the Law of God were the sins of the people. Had Israel not sinned, this would not have happened.

But the Law of God was only written on tables of stone. The people had not written God's law into their hearts. They had not yet learned to really love the Lord - even though he led them out from slavery - hard labour. They were still children in comprehension what it means to be redeemed from affliction and sin. They suffered for their mistake because they were not ignorant of the real presence of God, an event none of us has ever seen. It was a gospel to them, or should have been. They could have spent the 40 days memorizing God's law and thus writing it into their hearts. The men to their wives and the wives to their children. The Decalogue was to be the basis of the eternal covenant, Hebr. 8:10. Instead they thought back on Egypt. They could have sought and prayed, `God, show us more of Thy grace and goodness.' They had no wants. Not really. Did they really want to live in those crowded workers villages of Egypt again? Was that better than in a tent? Hey, all campers. You rather live in a dark mud house or in a tent?

Yes, sin was right at the door step of their hearts. - I once read of a lady who was worried about her spiritual condition; she couldn't understand how God could forgive her sins. An old pastor told her to read Isaiah 53. He told her, when she came to the 5th verse to substitute the first person singular pronoun for the plural form, and then, when she got through reading the chapter, to see if she could understand then how God could forgive her sins. "But He was wounded for my transgressions, He was bruised for my iniquities: the chastisement of my peace was upon Him ..." Then she stopped, and a wonderful light came into her eyes as she read, "... and with His stripes I am healed."

That is it! When Jesus died of a broken heart, it was the sins of the world, mine and yours, that killed Him. Is that not true? Does the Bible not say that in 1.John 2:2 that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world? Yes, it does.

Our sins, those of each one of us, broke the heart of God.

And Jesus died that death from which there is no resurrection so that we don't have to die that death.

After Moses broke the tables of the law on which God Himself had written His law, Moses picked up the broken pieces, measured them and made new tables and God's finger wrote on them once more His eternal law, Deuteronomy 10:1-5.

Each one of us needs to come to the Rock, Jesus, to have our hearts broken at His feet and see what great salvation He gives us. Redemption from certain death. The death that hangs over all who choose not to want to be part of God's kingdom. But God says, `Why do you want to die?'

There is no reason for choosing that option. There is nothing this world can give that transcends what God has in store for those who really love Him.

The Spiritual Angle

Whenever God gave Israel a new hope or understanding, He also tested them so they would know the limits of their own heart and turn to God for their strength in everything, for everything Israel received, it was God who gave it to them. We read,

"And (Thou God) madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And (Thou God) gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them." Neh. 9:14,15.

These promises, and such a helping hand, is still available for us today. He split the rock and water came forth in a wide, river like stream, Ps. 78:14-25. - We should know that God is not playing cat and mouse with us. He would never do that. Satan draws such pictures of God in our sin debased minds, God wants us to dwell on Him.

"Satan is exultant when he can lead the children of God into unbelief and despondency. He delights to see us mistrusting God, doubting His willingness and power to save us. He loves to have us feel that the Lord will do us harm by His providences. It is the work of Satan to represent the Lord as lacking in compassion and pity. He misstates the truth in regard to Him. He fills the imagination with false ideas concerning God; and instead of dwelling upon the truth in regard to our heavenly Father, we too often fix our minds upon the misrepresentations of Satan and dishonor God by distrusting Him and murmuring against Him. Satan ever seeks to make the religious life one of gloom. He desires it to appear toilsome and difficult; and when the Christian presents in his own life this view of religion, he is, through his unbelief, seconding the falsehood of Satan." {SC, 116.2}

For 40 years Israel had manna and water, the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, their shoes and clothes did not wear out, they did not get sick and never lacked anything life requires - yet they murmured and fostered unbelief nevertheless. The fear of death in the desert seemed to close their minds to all the wonderful leading. When fear of death becomes our principal motive, we can see nothing else that can save us; we retreat in isolation. The same problems Israel had in the desert, Judah had in the days of Christ, and we have them today. The situation is described this way,

"In the carrying forward of his work in the earth, and the manifestation of his power, God does not consult the will or imperfect judgment of men. His plans and methods may be directly opposite to those approved by human wisdom. If men would criticise and condemn the Saviour's work, when they had such evidence of divine power as the miracle at Bethesda (Jh. 5), can we wonder that they criticise and condemn those through whom he works today? Unbelief will always find an excuse for its existence. God designs that men shall believe, not because there is no possibility of doubt, but because there is abundant evidence for faith. Christ bade the Pharisees, "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me." The Jewish teachers professed to be expounders of God's word; but had they prayerfully studied and rightly understood its teachings, they would not have substituted their own traditions for the law of Jehovah." {ST, June 8, 1882 par. 12}

The nation of Israel saw their conflicts repeatedly as if they were with Moses. But Moses was their leader chosen by God, therefore, ultimately their conflicts were not with Moses but with God. That is why we ought to remember the words where it says,

"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me." Jh. 16:8,9.

Unbelief causes the transgression of the law. "From the beginning of sin Christ was with his people to dispute the authority of Satan; for he saw that the conflict must be carried on here in the earth. Satan withstood the Son of God in every effort to redeem his people. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night, Christ directed, guided, counseled the children of Israel in their journeyings from Egypt to Canaan. But how unwilling were the children of Israel to be led, how unwilling to be controlled by the voice of the Angel of the Lord! How eager they were in vindicating their own course, in justifying themselves in their rebellious feelings, and to follow their own ideas and plans!" {ST, April 25, 1895 par. 1}

That is why the great controversy between Christ and Satan still rages in hour hearts when we ask, "Is the Lord among us or not?" Ex. 17:7. In the end, sin brings death, but when sin is conquered, death loses its power.

From Moses to Joshua

The man Joshua appears suddenly in the Biblical record in Exodus 17:9. We have no introduction or account about his person. But his name bears a relationship to Jesus and so does his entire life. Joshua was the man chosen by God to lead His people Israel into the Promised Land after Moses had died. The account of this we find in the first chapter of the Bible book bearing his name, Joshua chapter 1.

The crossing of the Jordan is a symbol for death, spiritual death to sin. When people die, like it happened to Moses, a new chapter for the life of the survivors starts. So it is today. When someone in the family dies, seek the Lord for guidance and take courage, for a new, untried life is just before you. Be like Joshua who never committed sins that would have separated him from the Lord. As he got Israel ready to cross the Jordan River at a time when the spring melt waters flushed down from the heights of Mt. Hermon, a trip starting from ca. 9000 feet (2700 m) to 1300 feet (390 m) below sea level; while it was not a large river, the volume of water gushing down could be intimidating. Meanwhile the people from Jericho could see Israel congregating on the eastern shore of Jordan. They could see the pillar of clouds by day and the pillar of fire at night. They knew exactly that changes for their way of life were in the air. They felt paralyzed to do anything about it. Not knowing the Lord, their way of thinking did not prepare them for anything that they were to witness. So it is today. People know these Bible accounts, but they relegate them into myths and tales, not knowing that accurate history is presented designed to draw our attention to them for there are life saving lessons contained in them.

The Lord told Joshua to be strong and courageous. That means he was telling him to be a leader like Moses was. Joshua knew the Lord was with him as long as he kept the commandments of God and modeled them for his people.

Joshua, the son of the `eternal' (Nun), thought it wise to send two spies or witnesses, to reconnoiter the state of affairs on the other side of Jordan. These two represent the Word of God, the Old and New Testament. They took shelter in the house of Rahab, the local inn keeper. As they sat and listened, the locals realized that these two were not from among them and demanded Rahab to hand them over. But she was a fast thinker and told them, to hurry on to Jordan, for they had just left. With that she saved the life of these two men. That accomplished she hid them on her roof among the roles of scarlet colored cloth bales which she produced for a living. We may say that this scarlet cloth represents that God's people can be hid in the blood of Christ away from the reach of sin. When she sent the spies away, she was told to hang a scarlet scarf out the upper window of her city wall home. She did that right away. We should act right away too when we hear the message that can save our life out of this world of sin, we should never delay such decisions for they allow the evil one to attack and cause people to forget quickly what they had passed up to do. It has cost salvation from this world of sin for many.

The day had come for Israel to cross the Jordan. Twelve priests would carry the `Ark of the Covenant' to its shore and by faith take a step into the water if they wanted to cross. Had they said, `Oh, we wait till the Lord dries up the water,' that miracle would never have happened. Likewise many miss out on miracles in their life because of lack of faith. We are to step out in faith right away so we will not be tempted with all the `why nows' and `why at all.'

When they stepped into the water, it ceased to flow and they walked once again on dry ground, like they did when crossing the Red Sea. Why is that important? When we are resolute in matters of faith, we will arrive clean, not muddied up by sin, on the other side.

May this help you to strengthen your faith in God who teaches us many, many great lessons in this book, the Bible, the Word of God. Oh, that some in Israel of today would heed these words.

[010] Comment: While work in brick is mentioned in particular that does not rule out that the Israelites also worked in rock and stone as may be indicated by the phrase "... in all manner of service ..." The latest opinions based on electron microscope studies of pyramid material from three sources is interpreted as a type of concrete for at least some of the stone material found in the great pyramids. [M.W. Barsoum, A. Ganguly, G. Hug (2006) "Microstructural Evidence of Reconstituted Limestone Blocks in the Great Pyramids of Egypt", Journal of the American Ceramic Society 89(12), 3788–3796.]

[012] Some see in the Bedouin figures of the tomb of Khnum-Hotep at Beni Hassan a representative group of the Israelites. That may be so only in a very general way in that desert travelers had characteristic appearances probably over many centuries. See J. Hoffmeier, Out of Egypt in BAR, Jan, 2007, p. 30-41.

[015] How the faint echoes of the names of the 12 tribes of Israel left their mark in Egypt can best be seen by names such as Abu Roash/Reuben, Zayet el Aryan/Zebulon, Saqqara/Issachar, Dashur/Dan-Gad-Asher and Lisht/Naphthali, Exodus 1:7.
Moses himself was a miracle baby. He was born at a time when all new born boys were marked for death by Satanic powers personified by Pharaoh's law making. What comes around, goes around. Today we have very similar situations in the world. They are harbingers of the end of despotism and the coming reign of Christ.

[020] Samuel Sharpe, `The Early History of Egypt', London, 1836, p. 13.

[025] During their lengthy stay in Egypt, from ca. the 30th birthday of Joseph to the 80th year of Moses, the Israelites left pottery signs of their presence in the land of their sojourn. For more on this click Here!

[030] Israel traveled day and night until to the place of the parting of the sea, "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night." Ex. 13:21. For more see with appropriate caution `http://www.wyattmuseum.com/red-sea-crossing.htm'.

[032] For a full page satelite color image of the Sinai peninsula showing also quite well Nuweiba Beach see BAR (`Biblical Archaeology Review'), July/August 1984, p. 56.
Other archaeologists take a view which they consider to be more cautious in the eyes of their peers, and look for the `Sea of Reeds' in the eastern Delta region where anciently swamps and canals were located. To us this view seems to ignore the description of wilderness found in the Book of Exodus. The path toward Gaza, the region where the Philistines lived, does not match the description found in the Bible. Moses was told to not travel through that area. In addition let us remember that Mt. Horeb/Sinai was were Moses hid from Pharaoh for 40 years. It fits hardly the northern desert fringe of the Sinai from the Nile Delta's region of Avaris to Gaza. We believe the Exodus was a much bolder undertaking of a people needing to get completely out of reach of Egypt's might and we believe that the land bridge at Nuweiba makes that location almost without question the true spot for the parting of the water.
Furthermore, we believe that Paul knew what he was talking about when he spoke of Mt. Sinai in Arabia. It is the same Arabia for Moses', Paul's and our time. Any Arab occupation or even presence in that land would have been rather sporadic and of inconsequential short duration.
Another beach, the Merkhah Bay south of Abu Zeneimeh' (Zenima), is shown and referenced in W.F. Albright, `Exploring in Sinai with the University of California African Expedition' in BASOR, Feb 1948, p. 5-(10)-20. This beach is located on the Sinai side of the Gulf of Suez a few miles north of where the Wadi Feiran leaves the coast.
We believe the PBS movie, `Walking the Bible', knows only the traditional account of the route of the Exodus.
See also Alberto Siliotti, Guide to the Exploration of the Sinai, White Star Publishers, 2001; This book presents numerous photos of the Sinai's famous and beautiful sites, with too much on Gebel Musa, the traditional Mt. Sinai, and not enough on Nuweiba Beach, the site of the parting of the sea as presented here, no doubt because to consider Nuweiba as the point where the sea parted is quite new due to the apparent circumstance that no one, or not many, knew about the underwater land bridge.

[036] We believe that Mount Sinia in Arabia was in Saudi Arabia on the basis that during Old and Middle Kingdom (12th dynasty) times the Sinai Peninsula was prospected for its resources by the Egyptians. It was mostly their backyard. It was their source of turquoise, copper and many other minerals. In Sinai, the Israelites would probably not have been able to live in peace from Egyptian raids for 40 years, especially if one espouses the conventional scenario of this time belonging to the 18th Dynasty. These considerations, therefore, are strong reasons to realize that the Hyksos/ Amalekites began to rule over much of Egypt soon after their war with Israel in the region of Mt. Jebel al Lawz/ Sinai in Arabia.

[038] Red Sea in Hebrew is - , `yam šup' (pronounced yahm soof), and in Greek it is, `Erythra Thalassa.' - - Anciently the `Red Sea' was applied to the sea which led to Eilat as well as what we call today the Persian Gulf. That shows that the Red Sea was loosely known as the sea surrounding Arabia by land dwellers, even when it was surrounding Arabia in the east or the west.

[040] Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Bk. II, ch. XV, Sec. 3.

[050] The mountain peak does have a darkened appearance as if scorched by the `glory of God' (Ex. 19:18) according to visitors. We were informed that this appearance is not obvious when walking on the mountain top itself but only from a distance. We also learned that the Arabic word `lawz' means almonds, the `Mountain of Almonds'. We are not supposing that the `Mountain of the Law' is a translation of `Jebel el Lawz' but rather taken from Moses account. This `Almond' mountain may also help to understand the `rod of Aaron' that budded.

[070] Hence their Semitic origin according to scholarly views. See Nina Jidejian, Tyre through the Ages, Beirut, 1969, p. 14, referencing T. Save-Soderbergh, `The Hyksos Rule in Egypt' in JEA, XXXVII, 1951, p. 53-71.

[090] Obviously the Amalekites must have come from a highly populated area. For them to get to the traditional Mt. Sinai they would have had to wonder through the desolate, dry Sinai, just to do what? Find and fight Israel?

[100] Donald Redford, `Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times', Princeton, 1992, p. 102. (Emphasis ours)

[120] God's Law was proclaimed from Mt. Sinai in the presence of His heavenly Host - ("m'rebabah kadesh", `from holy myriads', (where the Hebr. letter `M' serves as a multiplier of thousands, namely myriads), that is `Myriads of holy angels' or as we read (v.2), "ten thousands of saints"(KJV), "myriads of holy ones" (NEB). This seems to be a play on words with Dt. 32:51 where the Hebrew is slightly different, reading , `Meribah-Kadesh, a physical location name in the Sinai area. Therefore, let us not be mistaken about a place name and a reference to the angels of the Lord, for the glory of God is a consuming fire to anything of sin but a benevolent light to His saints. Note: The Septuagint verifies the word `myriad' in Dt. 33:2 by using, "myriasin kadesh".

[145] Miriam, sister of Moses is well known for her song, the song of Miriam, Exodus 15:20-21a; A Dead Sea fragment contains what has been understood as a more complete Song of Miriam, it reads, "you despised [or: you plundered] . . .; for the triumph of . . .; You are great, a savior. . .; the hope of the enemy perishes and he is . . .; they perished in the mighty waters, the enemy . . .; and he exalted her to their heights ... you gave . . .; wor]king a triumph." (BAR, May 1994, p. 63.) Compare this with the prayer or song of Hannah, 1. Samuel 2:1-2.; and the prayer of Judith, Judith 16:6,7.

[150] God had led Israel out of Egypt, but Egypt was still in them - in particular in the mixed multitude. The experience of Israel following the Exodus is a lesson about what sin has done to man. Jeremiah would say later, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jer. 17:9. Even though God is invisible to man now, he granted them the pillar of clouds by day and the pillar of fire at night as tokens of His presence. That, however, was not enough. They desired also the lasciviousness of idolatry and demanded that a golden calf be made for them to worship and dance around. Only shortly before that, they had heard the law of God spoken from Mt. Sinai, yet their selfish desires completely obscured clear thinking and reason and they dared to reject the God who had led them mightily to safety and destroyed their enemies before their eyes. That is what sin does. It puts up man's wishes before those of God. The result is suffering and separation from the protecting care of their Maker as it is still today. By drinking the water from the stream where the gold dust was spilled into, God showed them the utter worthlessness of the god they desired to worship.