“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. “ (I Peter 4:7 ESV)
Vernon Center NY United Methodist Church
Exodus 12:33- 13:22
Red Sea?
>Let’s take a brief look at a map of the region and see just how big the Red Sea is:
>We’ve established that Goshen (or Rameses) is in Northern Egypt (near where Cairo or Tanta is on this map
>Succoth is about where the “f” in the Gulf of Suez is on this map. When the people leave they head South through the Sinai Peninsula along the Gulf of Suez.
>Yahweh did not go up along the Mediterranean in the pillar of cloud and fire (which would have been the fastest route)
>Instead, because he does not want the people to go through the warrior Philistines, Yahweh leads them south.
>So let us formally rule out many locations for the Exodus route because when we actually read the Bible while looking at a map we see the real crossing route.
>They did not go North nor due East- the Bible tells us that they are in the Wilderness which is in the modern Sinai Peninsula.
>Notice that they kept the promise to Joseph to carry his bones with them to bury him in Israel.
>We’ve established that Goshen (or Rameses) is in Northern Egypt (near where Cairo or Tanta is on this map
>Succoth is about where the “f” in the Gulf of Suez is on this map. When the people leave they head South through the Sinai Peninsula along the Gulf of Suez.
>Yahweh did not go up along the Mediterranean in the pillar of cloud and fire (which would have been the fastest route)
>Instead, because he does not want the people to go through the warrior Philistines, Yahweh leads them south.
>So let us formally rule out many locations for the Exodus route because when we actually read the Bible while looking at a map we see the real crossing route.
>They did not go North nor due East- the Bible tells us that they are in the Wilderness which is in the modern Sinai Peninsula.
>Notice that they kept the promise to Joseph to carry his bones with them to bury him in Israel.
Exodus 14:1- 15:21
>How many people have ever heard the myth that the point that the Israelites actually crossed the Red Sea was only a few feet deep?
>That is ridiculous so I’m not going to waste much time with it. There’s a spot in Northern Egypt not that far from Goshen where there are some spots that some (non-Christian) scientists claim to be the crossing point of the Exodus.
>These can't be the crossing point: 1) Not in the wilderness, 2) Not much of a wall of water would have been made, 3) Not far enough out of Egypt for the people to cry about dying in the wilderness.
> How about another possible crossing point called the Beach of Nuweiba?
>That is ridiculous so I’m not going to waste much time with it. There’s a spot in Northern Egypt not that far from Goshen where there are some spots that some (non-Christian) scientists claim to be the crossing point of the Exodus.
>These can't be the crossing point: 1) Not in the wilderness, 2) Not much of a wall of water would have been made, 3) Not far enough out of Egypt for the people to cry about dying in the wilderness.
> How about another possible crossing point called the Beach of Nuweiba?
Crossing the Red Sea
>But if look through the route they would have had to travel to get to that beach we will see that it travels through a mountainous area. Not the way a group like this would have traveled because there were so many of them.
>How many exactly?
>“And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.” (Ex 12:37)
>Not a leisurely stroll in the park with a bunch of buddies, this was moving an entire nation.
>The Lord leads the Hebrews along the Gulf of Suez to the southern Edge of the Red Sea where they are camp.
> The Egyptians (led by Pharaoh’s hardened heart) pursue the Hebrews with chariots. At nightfall the Egyptians catch up and the Hebrews start whining.
>Instead of trusting that the Lord who had performed the ten miracle/plagues could save them from the Egyptian army the people start saying they would rather go back to Egypt and be slaves.
>The spot the crossing actually happened would have been the Straits of Tiran
>Remember back we talked about Thutmose III performing an annual military campaign? In the year 1440 BC these stopped because his army drowned.
>Chapter 15 is the entire event in poetry called the Song of Moses.
>How many exactly?
>“And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.” (Ex 12:37)
>Not a leisurely stroll in the park with a bunch of buddies, this was moving an entire nation.
>The Lord leads the Hebrews along the Gulf of Suez to the southern Edge of the Red Sea where they are camp.
> The Egyptians (led by Pharaoh’s hardened heart) pursue the Hebrews with chariots. At nightfall the Egyptians catch up and the Hebrews start whining.
>Instead of trusting that the Lord who had performed the ten miracle/plagues could save them from the Egyptian army the people start saying they would rather go back to Egypt and be slaves.
>The spot the crossing actually happened would have been the Straits of Tiran
>Remember back we talked about Thutmose III performing an annual military campaign? In the year 1440 BC these stopped because his army drowned.
>Chapter 15 is the entire event in poetry called the Song of Moses.