History - C. 1560-1452 BC
The
Egyptians and the Babylonians were the most resilient empires in the ancient
Middle East. They had the infrastructure and population to survive watershed
eras which saw other civilizations subjugated and lived on well into the second
and first centuries BC.
The Old Kingdom (c. 2700-2300) saw the building
of the Pyramids.
All timeline dates prior to 664 BC are based on Rohl’s New Chronology. Refer to our chapter “Chronological Discrepancies” for clarification.
DEITIES
The sun was central to the key
Egyptian deities: Amon-Re, Re, and Aton. Re was personified by
the sun and he was the creator of the universe. Tefnut was a god personified by
the moon. Ptah was also a creator god and it had two eyes: the sun and the moon
(Re and Tefnut).
NEW TRADE ROUTES
During the
Middle Kingdom (20th-19 Centuries BC) Egypt was a united country
with a developing mining industry and agriculture. It’s capital was Memphis
under Pharaoh
Amenemhat I (1800-1770 BC).
Senuseret III (1698-1660) took
control over the families which held the country’s land and wealth under a
centralized the government.
It was during the reign of Amenemhat III (1682-1637 BC) that Joseph moved to Egypt;.
This was during the beginning of a new
historical period in that land. Trade was now developing between the two great
Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures. The key parts in the life of the main
characters in the Bible always seem to be transitioning during key moments in
history.
BONDAGE
One of the strategic advantages that Egypt had
compared to other large states was its borders. The Mediterranean Sea to the
North and deserts to east and west formed a natural defence which enabled them
to use their army for greater military ventures farther away such as the later
battles of Megido and Kadesh.
Egypt's economy was one of the first to be
highly bureaucratic and centralized into the hands of the Pharaoh. Its
administration was divided among by the privileged high ranking families and
the temples. This setup may have reached its zenith during Pharaoh Wegaf (c 1563-1558
BC).
After the generation of Joseph and his brothers
had died the Hebrews were by now a huge population. Egypt began building the
foundations of their new empire on the Hebrews. The new Pharaoh Sobekhotep III
(1568-1534) was a pragmatic tyrannical ruler with no regard for Joseph’s
legacy.
Part of the reason was fear, that the nomadic
Hebrews would become so numerous that they would revolt. There was
understandable xenophobia as the Egypt had been an isolationist state cocooned
by their eastern and western deserts and suspicious of foreigners (Exodus 1)
Just as fear had caused Joseph's brothers to
cause him to be in captivity, fear now caused the Egyptians to put the
descendants of Joseph into captivity. In both instances, God would deliver the
people into something greater. God Satan’s work into a blessing for Joseph and
later for the entire Jewish people.
MOSES
Moses was born around 1530 BC. He had narrowly escaped slaughtered at the hands
of the Egyptians sent to kill every first born under the orders of Pharaoh
Neferhotep. This may have been a population control method. There is evidence of a great number
of dead babies at the archaeological site of Avaris, which matches the account
of Pharaoh’s order to kill the Hebrew newborn.
Moses was found by the sister of Pharaoh SobekhotepIV (1530-1508) and adopted into the royal household. Although not much is known
about the 13th dynasty, it is evident that this was a very powerful ruler due
to all the statues of him.
Again, like
it happened with Joseph, God not only delivered his future servant from the
Devil’s scheme but held him up to greater blessings. Moses was a prince of
Egypt. Like Joseph, he had power but was a Hebrew without knowing.
Around 1510
BC he learned of his Hebrew origins and fled to the Sinai peninsula among the
Beduin Midianites who, as descendants of Abraham, worshiped the same God as the
Hebrews. (Exodus 1-2). Moses was
destined to meet The God of Abraham. Even running away he could not escape his
destiny, for he landed in a culture that worshiped the same God as the Hebrews.
Moses met God through the burning bush on Mount Sinai and was tasked with
freeing his people from bondage in returned to Egypt.
POINT A CROSS
Moses acacia bush (Exodus 3) where he is charged with removing the curse of Captivity over the Hebrews in Egypt is emblematic with Jesus’ crown of thorns when he is charged with removing the curse of sin over mankind (Matthew 27).
FUTURE ADVERSARIES
Not only does God promise deliverance but He
promises they will not go empty handed but with plunder from their captors of
four centuries. He then promises them the land of the Canaanites, Hittites,
Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
God assures Moses of victory beforehand. Notice
He does not say how this will be accomplished. Those things will become evident
when they need to be. All God says, for the sake of Moses’ faith is the
outcome. God effectively put a demand on Moses’ faith, for he would need
increasing amounts for the future tasks.
God’s war plan for the future people of Israel
was effectively setup at this stage.
TIMELINE
All timeline dates prior to 664 BC are based on Rohl’s New Chronology. Refer to our chapter “Chronological Discrepancies” for clarification.