Bible Studies, Inspired by Faith and Science

Parting Seas and Manna in the Desert 1. How long did the plagues of Egypt last? 2. How many men were in the Exodus? 3. Did any Egyptians travel with the Israelites? 4. What did the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire look like? 5. How many bodies of water ran dry for the Israelites? 6. Why might the Red Sea be the Reedy Lake? 7. Where did the Red Sea crossing take place? 8. Where did Moses make bitter water sweet? 9. What did the Israelites eat and drink in the desert? 10. What did Mount Sinai look and sound like? The plagues of Egypt began with the red river in late summer and continued through to March or April of the next year, when the Exodus took place. Hailstorms would have left the desert with water and abundant plants, making this the only time of year such a large group of people could travel with their flocks. The Bible “counts” the people, giving a total of 603,550 men (Num 1:19-21)—so many they would easily outnumber any other army of the time though the Bible also says they...

8: What if… the Ten Commandments were just the short form? Moses goes back up the mountain to plead for the people in Exodus 32:31-35 , and although the Levites have already killed some of the wrongdoers, God claims that punishment is his own domain. He gives the order to Moses to lead the people onward in their journey ( Exodus 32:33, 33:1-6 ) but then He makes them wait. There’s more than “just” the Ten Commandments to be given on Sinai. What if… stories are told from different points of view? Exodus 33:7-11 says the Lord speaks to Moses face to face, but 18-23 says no one can see God’s face. The first description may come from Joshua’s point of view, and the second from Moses’. Whatever if meant, the people see smoke and know Moses is meeting God in a much more real sense than they can. But Moses is aware of how much he is missing. Later, when he interacts more closely with God on the mountain, his face is described as radiant ( 29 ), from the heat perhaps, and also from “seeing G...

7: What if… Mount Sinai was a volcano? Exodus 19:16-25 . The mountain does have lots of the characteristics of a volcano and we know God has control over nature. 1. fire ( Deuteronomy 4:11 , Exodus 19:18 ) 2. explosions, thunder ( Exodus 19:16 ) 3. trumpets (a real but lesser known sound effect due to expanding gasses) ( Exodus 19:19 ) 4. lightening ( Exodus 19:16 ) 5. earthquakes ( Exodus 19:18 ) 6. smoke and clouds over the summit ( Exodus 19:16,18 ) 7. lava ( Judges 5:5 mentions even Sinai melting before the Lord). Deuteronomy 1:2 gives more information about the location and Colin Humphreys’ book explains many reasons why Mount Sinai might in fact be Mount Bedr, in Arabia. A large pasture at its base would provide good camping and the river would allow the Israelites to wash their clothes ( Exodus 19:10 ). A tradition that no one should touch the mountain is preserved by the Bedouin to this day ( 19:11 ). What if… Moses went up the mountain several times? It’s not clear how far u...

6: What if… rocks drip water and trees drip dew? The Exodus story is retold in Numbers, again with those small variations that help confirm and shed light on what happened. Colin Humphreys has researched the descriptions and locations and provides a fascinating account of the most likely journey in his book. Numbers 33:8-15 lists the Israelites as stopping at the Desert of Etham, Marah, Elim, the Red Sea, the Desert of Sin, Dophkah, Alush, Rephidim, and the Desert of Sinai. Combining this list with the account in Exodus helps us come up with a possible map. What if… there really was no water on the road through the Desert of Shur? Exodus 15:22-25 . The word Shur means wall, suggesting a rift wall or rift valley. The Bible says the Israelites found no water for 3 days as they walked in this desert. (Note, they are on days 8, 9 and 10 of their journey here, and Arabian tradition says Moses took 9 days to reach Madian.) The trade route south from the Gulf of Aqaba fits the description ...

2: What if… there’s a mountain in Arabia…? What if… Egypt was a good place for the Israelites? 1. Why did the Egyptians let the Israelites stay? Genesis 46:31-34 says the Israelites were herdsmen – a despised occupation in Egypt; they presented no threat to Egyptian jobs. 2. Where did the Israelites live in Egypt? Goshen was probably hill-country – fine for animals but not particularly fertile, quite likely near the Nile delta where Rameses would later be built. 3. Did the Israelites mix with Egyptians? There probably weren’t any Egyptians near Goshen till work started on Rameses. At that point Israelite men were probably enslaved to work on the palace. Their wives may well have become servants in Egyptian houses. 4. How long did the Israelites stay in Egypt? Exodus 12:40 says they stayed 430 years. This could mean a little under 10 generations. (40 for a generation, 10 for a countable number.) 5. What did they do while they were there? Until they were enslaved, the Israelites p...

What if… science and the Bible are both true? What if… the ten plagues of Egypt might have been real events? What if… the Israelites really did cross the Red Sea, and What if… we learn to value God’s word more than our own interpretation? What is the aim of this study: • To keep the emphasis on the Bible. To remember God’s word is more important than my interpretation. • To be ready to encourage people to read the Bible and hear God’s word, rather than risk them rejecting what God says because of man’s word. • To know what the Bible says, even if it’s not what I think it ought to say. a WHAT IF...STUDY based on the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Joshua, and on Colin J Humphreys research in his excellent book The Miracles of Exodus . 1: What if… science helps us interpret the Bible? What if… we study ancient languages? Studying ancient languages and how they changed helps us find out where things happened. See Joshua 1:10-11, 2:1 and 3:1-6,14-17 . The River Jordan fl...