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Egypt: Part 1

What happened to Egypt? 

Genesis 13.10 

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • September 29, In the year of our Lord Christ, 2019 

Prelude: 

  1. What can we say about the archaeology of Egypt? 
    1. Remember when I showed you the discovery of a mask at Tel Beth-Shemesh? 
      1. At the dig, everyone stopped to see what someone had discovered, 
        1. something that you could hold in your hand. 
        2. Imagine digging in the ground and 
          1. you find something 3,000 years old! 
          2. You would be thrilled beyond description 
            1. as was Denise Fry 
            2. when she discovered some broken pottery right away. 
      2. Then we went to Egypt and 
        1. saw huge things 
        2. that we could stand upon, 
          1. walk through, and 
          2. walk under! 
    2. Israel is known more for 
      1. who lived there and 
      2. what happened there, 
        1. whereas Egypt now is about what is there and 
        2. how much is there. 
          1. We only saw a small percentage of all that has been discovered. 
          2. And they know that much more awaits excavation. 
  2. What is amazing about all of this 
    1. is that Egypt was the first great empire after the Flood. 
    2. Yet, so much of it still remains! 
      1. And as I said before, 
      2. we are not talking about bits and pieces, here and there. 
  3. As I scanned all the passages in the Bible that reference Egypt, 
    1. I made many discoveries of things 
    2. that the four of us saw in person, 
      1. witnessing the facts of Scripture and 
      2. witnessing the fulfillment of prophecy. 

Persuasion: 

  1. Egypt Was Once Green 
    1. In Genesis 13, 
      1. the workers of Lot and of Abraham 
      2. contended with one another. 
        1. Abraham proposed that they separate from one another and 
        2. Abraham let Lot take his pick of where to go. 
          1. He looked in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but 
          2. notice what Moses wrote:

            10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.

            – Genesis 13.10
      3. Moses compared the well-watered plain of Jordan to two things: 
        1. The garden of the Lord and 
        2. the land of Egypt. 
          1. No one living then had seen the garden of the Lord, 
            1. the garden of Eden that the Lord had planted—
            2. although we can imagine its well-watered beauty, 
          2. so, Moses compared it to Egypt. 
            1. The land of Egypt was comparable to the Garden of Eden. 
            2. The people for whom Moses first wrote this, 
              1. were the children of Israel, 
              2. who had just left Egypt! 
                1. They knew what a paradise Egypt was. 
                2. They had entered a place where little water existed. 
      4. By the way, the plain of Jordan 
        1. from Sodom and Gomorrah to Zoar south of the Dead Sea, 
        2. no longer resembles the Garden of Eden. 
    2. Also, we have considerable evidence 
      1. that the area west of Modern Egypt, the Sahara, 
      2. was not always as we see it today. 
        1. LiveScience.com says:

          …prehistoric humans left the congested Nile Valley and established settlements around rain pools, green valleys, and rivers.

          …humans [moved] into the area, as evidenced by the researcher’s 500 new radiocarbon dates of human and animal remains from more than 150 excavation sites.

          In the Egyptian Sahara, semi-arid conditions allowed for grasses and shrubs to grow, with some trees sprouting in valleys and near groundwater sources. The vegetation and small, episodic rain pools enticed animals well adapted to dry conditions, such as giraffes, to enter the area as well.

          Humans also frolicked in the rain pools, as depicted in rock art from Southwest Egypt.

          In the more southern Sudanese Sahara, lush vegetation, hearty trees, and permanent freshwater lakes persisted over millennia. There were even large rivers, such as the Wadi Howar, once the largest tributary to the Nile from the Sahara.

          “Wildlife included very demanding species such as elephants, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, and more than 30 species of fish up to 2 meters (6 feet) big,” Kroepelin told LiveScience.

          – https://www.livescience.com/4180-sahara-desert-lush-populated.html
        2. Smithsonian.com had an article titled:

          What Really Turned the Sahara Desert From a Green Oasis Into a Wasteland?

          – https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-really-turned-sahara-desert-green-oasis-wasteland-180962668/
        3. Smithsonian Insider, said:

          Beneath the sands of the Sahara Desert scientists have discovered evidence of a prehistoric megalake…a lake that at its highest level covered more than 42,000 square miles.

          – https://insider.si.edu/2010/12/ancient-megalake-discovered-beneath-sahara-desert/
        4. [Slide: Evidence of ancient river beds under the Sahara] 
          1. By comparison, Oregon’s largest lake by surface area is 
          2. Upper Klamath Lake, which measures 
            1. 25 miles by 8 miles, and 
            2. although it is not a rectangle, that equals 200 square miles. 
          3. Lake Superior along Michigan is over 31,000 square miles. 
    3. Along with that, we have evidence of structures buried under the Sahara. 
      1. They are discovering new pyramids. 
      2. How can you have those kind of things if it was always sand? 
    4. As you can probably imagine then…
  2. People Often Went Down into Egypt 
    1. There was wealth and abundance of whatever you needed typically. 
      1. Also, Egypt was powerful 
      2. so it would not be readily attacked. 
      3. Genesis 12.10

        10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.

        – Genesis 12.10
        1. Either the famine was localized to the Land of Canaan or 
        2. the land of Egypt was so rich in resources 
          1. that the famine did not affect Egypt. 
      4. Genesis 42.1

        1 When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”

        – Genesis 42.1
      5. Second Kings 25.26

        26 And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

        – 2 Kings 25.26
      6. Jeremiah 42.14–17 shows Jews wanting to go there to escape Babylon. 
      7. Hosea 7.11

        11 “Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense—
        They call to Egypt,
        They go to Assyria.”

        – Hosea 7.11
      8. The question is: Why did people want to go there? 
    2. However, that was not always a good idea. 
      1. Isaiah 30.1–5

        1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD,
        “Who take counsel, but not of Me,
        And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
        That they may add sin to sin;
        2 Who walk to go down to Egypt,
        And have not asked My advice,
        To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,
        And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
        3 Therefore the strength of Pharaoh
        Shall be your shame,
        And trust in the shadow of Egypt
        Shall be your humiliation.
        4 For his princes were at Zoan,
        And his ambassadors came to Hanes.
        5 They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them,
        Or be help or benefit,
        But a shame and also a reproach.”

        – Isaiah 30.1–5
      2. Isaiah 31.1–3

        1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
        And rely on horses,
        Who trust in chariots because they are many,
        And in horsemen because they are very strong,
        But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
        Nor seek the LORD!
        2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,
        And will not call back His words,
        But will arise against the house of evildoers,
        And against the help of those who work iniquity.
        3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;
        And their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
        When the LORD stretches out His hand,
        Both he who helps will fall,
        And he who is helped will fall down;
        They all will perish together.

        – Isaiah 31.1–3
  3. Egypt’s Power and Wealth 
    1. Genesis 47 shows Joseph buying up all the land of Egypt:

      20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end.

      – Genesis 47.20–21
      1. [Show slide of Egypt at night from space] 
    2. Exodus 16.3

      3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

      – Exodus 16.3
      1. How often do slaves so speak? 
      2. They wanted to go back to Egypt, having enough there to satisfy them. 
    3. Second Chronicles 12 shows the size of Egypt’s army:

      2 And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, 3 with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt—the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians.

      – 2 Chronicles 12.2–3
      1. Most of the time the Bible provides the number of foreign troops. 
      2. One Ethiopian went against Judah with 1 million men (2Ch 14.9). 
        1. However, in this case Egypt was allied with Ethiopia, and 
        2. with two other nations, and 
          1. the army was so large 
          2. that this time the Bible just says the troops were without number! 
    4. You can see Egypt’s wealth during the Exodus 
      1. when Israel carried out Egypt’s wealth. 
      2. The Tabernacle was built with Egyptian material. 
    5. This helps us to understand Hebrews 11.26:

      26 …[Moses] esteem[ed] the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

      – Hebrews 11.26
      1. For the first 40 years of his life, 
      2. Moses saw and experienced the massive wealth of Egypt. 
        1. That is why Hebrews 11.26 is so significant. 
        2. As the adopted grandson of Pharaoh, 
          1. how much did Moses have available to him? 
          2. Much of what we see in Egypt today was in place during his days. 

Exhortation: 

  1. We have the same choice before us, 
    1. especially since we live in the United States of America, 
    2. that Moses had. 
      1. America is powerful and wealthy. 
      2. Will we elevate America to god-like status? 
        1. We elevate her when we make her more important than the church 
        2. bought with the blood of the Son of God. 
  2. Remember the Parable of the Sower? 
    1. Do not become the third soil. 
    2. Jesus spoke the parable about how people respond to the word.

      7 “And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.”

      – Matthew 13.7
    3. Then He gave the interpretation:

      22 “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”