MOSES – 9
The greatest miracle of antiquity took place when God led His two million redeemed slaves through the waters of the red sea. According to the chronology of 1 Kings 6:1 this event took place in 1450 B.C.
The Bible also gives us the exact date when the Israelites celebrated their first Passover. It was the 14th day of the Abib, later called Nisan which corresponds with our month of March. Three days later they passed through the Red sea. This brings us to March 17, 1450 B.C.
When the cruel Thutmosis III and his mighty officials realized they had lost their slaves, they pursued them. Listen to what happened to them:
Exodus 14:26 “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.
Verse 27,28 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing towards it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen – the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.”
The story of the exodus is not recorded in the Egyptian annals. Why? Because they never reported any defeat. But fortunately archaeologists identified a Pharaoh who died on that exact date. March 17, 1450 B.C.
Let me read you the obituary of Thutmosis III, written by Amenhendab, which was recently discovered:
“Lo, the king completed his lifetime of many years, splendid in valour, in might and triumph: form year 1 to 54. The last day of the third month of the second season…He mounted to heaven, he joined the sun: the divine limbs mingled with him who begat him.”
Breasted the great Egyptologist converted the Egyptian date to our Gregorian calendar and guesses what? Thutmosis III died on the 17th March 1450. It corresponds perfectly with the Biblical date for the exodus and the death of the pharaoh and his army.
The story of the exodus is not a myth, it’s an historical fact.
The exodus is a symbol of God’s mighty power to deliver people from any kind of slavery. And just remember. The God who lived in Moses day is still the same today. He longs to deliver enslaved people.
The humiliating death of the greatest pharaoh, who ever lived, was such an embarrassment to the Egyptians that they decided to conceal the scandal forever.
They mummified and buried a man in this tomb that resembled the great king. And for 3450 years they fooled the scholars concerning the Biblical truth about the death of their great pharaoh.
But in 1973 Harris and Weeks did some X-rays on this supposed mummy of Thutmosis III and discovered it was the remains of a man who died in his early forties. The real king was much older and ruled for 54 years.
When I visited the burial place of Thutmosis III I was once again convinced of the authenticity of the Bible. It is still the most reliable source of truth in circulation.
But more than that, I have also discovered that the Bible is an inspired manuscript that can touch the lives of its readers in a very meaningful way if studied prayerfully.
While I looked at the Egyptian gods in the tomb of Thutmosis III, I thought of the comfort that the Bible brings for the comfortless; the hope it brings for those who feel hopeless. And for those who feel lost and overcome by feelings of guilt, it tells of a forgiving Saviour.
You cannot afford the miss the next presentation in this series. You are going to meet the son of Thutmosis III. I have visited his tomb in the Valley of the Kings and want to share his reactions with you concerning the loss of all the Hebrew slaves.