Identity and Contentment

Do You Know Who You Are?

Maybe you can answer this question really quick, maybe you haven’t thought about it, or perhaps you are still trying to figure it out.  We all have behaviors which reflect who we are, and oftentimes, others have a very clear picture of who we are even if we do not.

contentment

Do You Have Contentment Knowing Yourself?

Self examination is key to knowing who you are. The Bible provides a great number of examples for which you may be able to identify:  Luke 10:30 tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Are you compassionate like he was?  Do you stop to help those in need and go beyond what is required?  Or maybe you are like the priest and Levite who lacked the compassion to stop and help those in need.  You may even be like the cruel persons who robbed and injured the victim of the parable.

Perhaps you bear similarity to those in Luke 10:39, Martha and Mary.  Mary was focused on every word Jesus was sharing.  Martha worried herself with other priorities rather than focusing on Jesus.  Do either of these sound like you?

In Matthew. 13 (Parable of Sower), there was described one who withered away when pressure began to come upon their life.  Another individual described was one who was choked out of living a godly life through the lure of the pleasures of the world?

Do you know folks like the ones described so far?  I certainly do. I have seen compassionate, uncompassionate, cruel, focused, unfocused, weak, materialistic – all of the above.

  • I Thessalonians. 4:10b-12 –  …But we exhort you, brethren, that ye abound more and more; and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your hands, even as we charged you; that ye may walk becomingly toward them that are without, and may have need of nothing.

Does that verse resemble you? Perhaps you are like the Corinthians of I Cor. 5, arrogant about how righteous you are? Are you like the folks of James 1:27 who visit the widowed and the fatherless? Or those of Phil. 4:8 filling your life with things that are true, honorable, pure and virtuous? Or perhaps you are or were a fornicator, idolater, adulterer, effeminate, thief, or drunkard as mentioned in I Cor. 6:9-10?

Are you timid or bold when taking God’s Word to the world?  Or do you even do that?  Maybe you are hiding your talent away to show the Lord when he comes?  Have you prepared to be someone who is ready for the meat of the gospel?  Is it about time?  Can you defend the truth?

Does Gal. 5:22-23 describe characteristics that make up your life?  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.”

Overall, whatever you see yourself as, if you asked five other people who spend time around you, would they agree with you?   Do you know yourself? Is what you think a reality or are you fooling yourself?  Would you feel comfortable saying:

  • Psa 26:2 – Examine me, O Jehovah, and prove me; Try my heart and my mind.

Are You Content With Who You Are?

Are you content with who you are?  Many folks would answer this in the negative.  Surrounding the physical aspect of this question is a Billion dollar industry.  If you are poor there are books and classes and seminars and videos to guide you to being rich.  Do you not like being rich?  There are folks who will be glad to replace your money with activities designed to make you happy about you.   Perhaps you don’t like the way you look. There are products out there to make your bigger, stronger, smaller, faster,.  You can be stimulated to grow hair, remove hair, change the color of your hair, or shorten or lengthen the appearance of your hair in moments.  Not happy with your skin?  It can be lightened, darkened, or written on.  Your teeth can be whitened, straightened, and decorated.  Not happy with the number of holes in your body?  You can be pierced through and through with patterns galore.   Perhaps great grandma and grandpa had 3 or 4 pairs of clothes and a pair of shoes (to share).  The never ending supply of clothes and shoes is amazing.

You car, your home, even your spouse can be changed in the twinkle of an eye in this era. What about your friends?  We have the internet, you don’t have to have the same old friends.  You can have them in China, England, Australia.  If you don’t want to deal with them, turn off the net, phone, or just put a block on them. With all of this at your fingertips how can you not he happy about who you are?  Yet, again many people are not happy.  They try to spend, eat, drink, or medicate to change the feelings they have, but no solution.

Some folks come to the conclusion they don’t like their behaviors.  Maybe they are too nice.  They decide they are pushovers and not assertive enough.  On the other hand, maybe they say mean things and don’t treat people kindly.  Maybe they feel they don’t care enough.  Perhaps they don’t like images or thoughts in their heads?  They feel like bad people.  Is there any cure for folks who are not happy about themselves?

The Bible gives examples of individuals who suffered from not liking who they were.   In Acts 5, Ananias and Saphira lied about how much money they had sold their property for and given to the needy.  Why?  They wanted to be people who received the praise of others.  The Pharisees were a similar group, who sought the chief seats at feasts so they could be seen by men.  Yes, even the hypocrites praying in the synagogues and street corners needed the praise of men.  They were not happy with who they were without praise and attention.

All unhappiness with oneself is not bad though.  It is true, the scriptures speak negatively of folks seeking riches and power such as Haman in the Persian Empire, Judas the betrayer of Jesus, and Diotrephes written of by John.  Yet, men such as Paul, who once saw himself as Chief of sinners (I Timothy 1:15), found peace.  Paul ultimately found contentment in all situations he was in (Philippians. 4:11).  Also consider the men of Acts 2.  Peter shared the message of the Kingdom of God with them, Christ died, was buried, and arose, and the Jews were pierced to the heart.  They were not happy with their state.  Yet, they took action to change their state and had “gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46).

Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

This is an important question.  We often direct our young people to think about professions.  What do they want to be, as in a profession, when they grow up.  However, shouldn’t the question be a focus on character which encompasses a lifelong pattern of living, rather than a vocation which can change with the whims of society and the fortunes of health?  The scriptures provide a great deal of emphasis on the type of people we ought to be.

  • 3 John 1:11 – Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
  • 1Corinthians 11:1 – Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.
  • John 13:15 – For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you.
  • 1Peter 2:21 – For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps:

This is really the solution to knowing who you are.  If you imitate Christ, you are a Christian.  This is the solution to finding peace within yourself.  If you know you walk as he walks, you are in the light (I John. 1:7).  Though the whole of scriptures is a focus toward and on Christ, Colossians 3, paints a picture of Christ which we should all work for in our life.  It calls for a new self which gets ever brighter as we mold ourselves into the image of Christ.  I Timothy 2-3 and Titus 1-2 also provide direction for the kind of men and women we should strive to be.  The examples are of leaders, virtuous, good reputations, encouraging, servants of mankind who look forward to the coming of Christ.

If you know you want to imitate Christ from the beginning, there are a great deal of problems you will never encounter.

Know Who You Are!

You are a creation of God.  God created you in his image (Genesis. 1:26).  Your purpose is to glorify God with good works (Ephesians. 2:10).  If you come under his submission, repent and are baptized as commanded (Acts 2:38, Acts 17:30, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:1-7), then you are his Child (Galatians. 3:26, 4:7).  Think about that.  You can be considered a Child of God.  If you are a child of God, ask yourself, what is the best way to honor my parent? Ephesians 6:1 tells us “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.   Proverbs 1:8-9 is more exact saying, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching; Indeed they are a graceful, wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck.”  If you are a son or daughter of God, act like one.

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be royalty?  Have you wondered what it was like to be part of a family with a grand and reputable name?  Have you imagined being heir to a vast domain?  This is what you have as a child of God.

  • 1 Peter 2:9-11  – But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: who in time past were no people, but now are the people of God: who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Do you know who you are?  If you do, you know what you need to do to fulfill the role God has given you.  Are you happy with who you are?  If not, you can follow the examples of others who have made the changes needed to find contentment.  Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?  You are a Child of God.  Your example is Christ.  It is him who we are to grow into.  Now go and grow…

  • 2 Pet. 3:18 – … grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity.
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Balaam

Balaam

In Numbers 22-24, the biblical record focuses on a character named Balaam. For most people, this section of scripture poses a problem in understanding the character of this strange and interesting man. Thus, to introduce some profitable lessons that we may learn from his life, let us establish something about his character. So often, many do not allow the Bible to explain and interpret itself. If we did so, we would not draw unwarranted conclusions.

Balaam

Do We Understand Balaam?

Because God overpowered Balaam to prophesy, this has led many to misunderstand this event. Thus, the general idea of Balaam is that he was a Gentile prophet coming down from the Patriarchal period, and that the patriarchy handed down their knowledge of God to Balaam. Therefore, many use him as a symbol of the knowledge of God in the Gentile world and how the Gentiles will obtain divine knowledge apart from the nation of Israel. However, there are a number of problems with this idea, as we see with the following questions. Did God continue to inspire men in the Gentile world and make revelations to them directly? If so, where is the basis for such (other than this supposed exception)? Does not God sending Jonah to prophesy to Assyria prove otherwise? If not, why did God not speak differently to an Assyrian patriarch/priest/prophet from within the city of Nineveh? Why do so many of the major and minor prophets prophesy to nations other than Israel and Judah? If we suppose that the priesthood of patriarchy passed down through the Gentiles, did they continue to offer the same sacrifices of patriarchy? I propose to you that they did not, especially from this account, because a proper priest without a proper sacrifice cannot approach God.

Therefore, I do not believe Balaam is an example of a Gentile prophet living and serving God under the Patriarchal system. Let me support my belief with the following. Namely, the Bible never calls him a prophet. While it is true that he prophesied, he did so in spite of whom he really was and not because he was a prophet. This fact has misled people into categorizing him automatically as a prophet of God. Yet, it is strange for him to be a prophet since the Bible never refers to him as one. In fact, the Bible plainly refers to him as something else—“Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them” (Josh. 13:22). If we let the Bible arrive at its own conclusion, God through His word calls him a “soothsayer,” which is quite different from being a Gentile prophet of God. In fact, Deuteronomy 18:9-14 shows that such practices are abomination to God! In fact, Balak, king of the Moabites, wanted to hire him as a diviner, enchanter, soothsayer or sorcerer (Num. 22:7). Can one conceive of Balak hiring a true prophet of God to curse His own people? Who could fathom such a thing? In fact, God is using Balaam to inform Balak that divination and enchantments do not work against Israel (Num. 23:23). The God of Israel does not operate that way. The knowledge of God through Israel came by divine revelation. Thus, when we read Numbers 24:1: “And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness,” we cannot mistake the language! The Bible says plainly that what he had been doing up until this time was seeking enchantments. How could he be an inspired prophet of God and seek enchantments of the occult? Rather, in this account, God made him say the opposite of what he intended to say.

Therefore, how did he arrive at his limited knowledge of God and the Israelites, which he undoubtedly had? Remember in the background of all of this that Israel was to be a light to the pagan nations around them (Exod. 19:1-6; cf. Isa. 43:10). The deliverance of Israel from Egypt by God demonstrated the conflict between idolatry and the true and living God of Israel. Apart from divine revelation, how can any man know anything about God and the invisible world without attempting to use pagan ways and practices to reach that information? Therefore, God said through Moses in Exodus 12:12, “…against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.” In Joshua 2:9- 11, Rahab illustrates another Gentile who also heard of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, and she believed that their God was the one and only true and living God. While she was a convert, others like Balaam saw Him simply as one God among many gods that was more powerful than the gods of Egypt were. Therefore, because he mixed his limited knowledge of God with pagan practices, this is why he sought permission of God to curse them. What better way for God to announce to the pagan world that the Israelites are His people than by using a well-known soothsayer as His spokesperson? Moreover, God forced words from his mouth in revelation just as He did so concerning the donkey, which illustrates and underscores this valuable lesson. In addition, Balaam announced to the world at that time as the Israelites were about to enter Canaan that when anyone opposes the God of Israel, he will be cursed.

With this lengthy introduction in place, let us learn some practical lessons from this Old Testament individual. First, Balaam had a misunderstanding of God. Balaam thought of God as an idolatrous God who was superior to the idol gods of other nations. His misunderstanding grew out of the desire of his heart. This reminds us of being sure we have the proper understanding of God. For us, God intended the Bible to reveal Himself through Jesus Christ (John 1:18).

Second, Balaam tried to use God for his own purposes and ends. Because he continued to try to curse Israel, he tried to use God for his purpose of gaining wealth. If we are not careful, we can do that also. Do we serve God because of who He is, or because we use Him for our own purposes and benefits? We do not use God, but He is to use us! Our purpose of life is to do what God wants us to do. We should want God to be pleased with our lives. “What is it that I would rather do than anything else? Is it to please God?”

Third, Balaam reminds us of the tremendous appeal and power of materialism and worldliness. He thought he could persuade God and change His mind, but his heart was only on material things and worldly honor. We need to be consciously and continually aware of the subtle and unconscious influences these may have in our lives. If not, then we, as Balaam, can pretend that we are following a course of obedience to God, but at the same time, live contrary to His will and in rebellion to Him.

Fourth, Balaam violated his own conscience. He was not satisfied with God’s answer of not going, and continued to try to seek permission to curse Israel that he might obtain the rewards. Instead of realizing what he knew, he continues after the honor, fame and riches that Balak offers. We need to be careful about continually violating our conscience. It is not our guide, but it is our warning system to alert against wickedness as revealed by the word of God. When we do not do as the Bible says, our conscience makes us toss and turn. Thus, we need to be careful that we do not sear our conscience (cf. 1 Tim. 4:2).

Fifth, Balaam was a man who acted under force of duty rather than willingly, gladly and lovingly doing what God says. Sure, he speaks what God wants him to speak, but the desire of his heart is to curse and not bless. As a result, although his words spoke blessings, it brought absolutely no benefit to Balaam. Therefore, do I obey God reluctantly? Is that the same attitude I have? Am I looking for a way to receive the blessings of God but trying to go a different way about it? If so, this is a danger signal! Do I assemble to worship because I love God and because I want to please and obey Him, or do I assemble reluctantly? Would we rather be somewhere else? Do we assemble just because it is our duty and that we would know that we would be lost if we did not assemble, or do we assemble because we love the Lord? Whenever we serve God with heavy feet and not with joy and love, it is a danger signal that something is wrong with our hearts.

Sixth, Balaam is wrong about the danger of doing as little as possible. Everything he did was what he had to do. Is that the way I look at serving God? Do I measure my service to God by as little or as much as I can do? If I only want to do as little as I can do to get by, that is another danger signal. Some want just to live as close to the line of worldliness as they can possibly be, and just barely get over the line. Seventh, Balaam shows the danger of keeping the letter of the law and ignoring the spirit of it. While Balaam said everything God told him to say, he said it under pressure and not willingly. He would have given anything to say the opposite of what God was saying through him. This is why he kept on trying, moving from one place to another. It is important to learn that in obeying God, we are to have the proper attitude of heart while we do it.

Eighth, Balaam teaches that the wrong way is not a way of life that is smooth. When Balaam started out, God told him not to go. However, an angel got in his way, closing the door in his path. Yet, in spite of that closed door, he was not willing to turn around. Look at his attitude. He was mistreating the donkey, because the path was blocked. He insisted on pursuing his own will, regardless of anything. Sometimes, we are like that. A wife may block the path of ruin that her husband is going, but instead of realizing what she is doing, he abuses her and is as irrational as Balaam was. Maybe it is the other way around. We very often act in an unusual, irrational way towards those who may be trying to help us. Parents may be trying to stand in the way of their children from a road to ruin; yet, their children may never realize that their welfare is at stake.

Ninth, Balaam solemnly reminds us of the danger of covetousness. The reward and honor from Balak became Balaam’s god. This is what always happens where covetousness is concerned. This is one reason the Bible speaks of “mammon” as something that one serves (Matt. 6:24). Paul says, “…covetousness…is idolatry” (Col. 3:5).

Tenth, Balaam never repented. When the angel blocked his way, he admitted that he had sinned, but he did not intend to change his attitude toward God, his attitude toward the nation of Israel as a blessed people and his heart of greed. Therefore, his wishes remained the same, and he did not repent. We need to learn that the words on our lips, “I have sinned,” must accompany an attitude of heart that matches that where we no longer wish or desire to follow the directions wherein we were involved in sin.

Eleventh, Balaam acknowledged the authority of God, but did not appreciate the goodness of God. He admitted to Balak that he could only do that which God says and that he could only obey the God of Israel because He has all authority without going beyond such, but he had no appreciation for the goodness of God. Look at what God had done for the nation of Israel and those others whom He would bless through them if they blessed (cf. Gen. 12:3). Yet, Balaam could see no goodness of God in that. The power and authority of God bound him, but he was never converted. We may admit the authority of God, but it may not convert or change us to accept the goodness of God.

Twelfth, Balaam produced no sense of guilt. Oftentimes when men fail and get backed into a corner, they regret their actions, but only because they failed and not because they realize the road that they traveled ended in shame. That is the sad story of his life and death without God and without hope.

In conclusion, we have seen from our study in Numbers 22-24 that Balaam was indeed a diviner and enchanter rather than a prophet of God. Just because he prophesied, this did not mean that he was a prophet. God put the words in his mouth in spite of what he wanted to say. To illustrate, Pharaoh dreamed a dream from God for Joseph to interpret, but that did not make Pharaoh a prophet. Furthermore, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream from God for Daniel to interpret, but that did not make Nebuchadnezzar a prophet. Therefore, the prophecies of Balaam were the attempts of God to reveal Himself to Balaam, Balak and all the surrounding heathen nations that God does not work by enchantments and divination, but that He was different than any pseudo-god they ever served. Every attempt of Balaam failed in cursing Israel. Thus, he went home empty-handed without any reward. As is always the case, sin promises, but cannot deliver. May we profit from a deeper study of the word of God, especially that concerning the life of the strange character named Balaam.

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Theistic Evolution – Who Cares?

What Difference Does it Make?

One of the greatest challenges to our faith and our devotion to God is evolution. The theory of Godless evolution is being accepted by many. Some Christians, feeling the pressure from the world, have sought a middle ground of compromise in relation to the origin of the earth. Their position is that evolution is true, but that God caused it. This position is known as theistic evolution. What difference does it make one takes this position?

evolution

Does the Belief in Theistic Evolution Matter?

Evolutionists see man as the results of a long process of change. His ancestors were little more than animals who at one time were covered with hair, but over millions of years have become “hairless apes.” Animals have no morality or sense of right and wrong. Animals have no hope in death and in the resurrection. His motto for life should be, “Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die” (see 1 Cor. 15:32). Adam never existed. Theistic evolutionists struggle to believe what the Bible affirms about man being made by God in God’s image. It does make a difference!

If theistic evolution is true there is no explanation for man’s eternal soul. The evolutionary parents of Adam and Eve were totally animals, and thus there is no way to explain our eternal soul. Genesis 2:7 describes the origin of the body of the first man. It also describes the origin of his soul. Who were the “parents” of Adam and Eve, and what were they like? They were totally animals and yet gave birth to people possessing eternal souls. Theistic evolutionists have a dilemma. They cannot embrace evolution and explain man’s soul. Only the Bible shows the origin of our souls! It does make a difference!

Theistic evolution cannot explain the origin of marriage. Evolution demands a natural origin of marriage. There is no room in evolution for the concept as holy matrimony. Marriage did not come about because of gradual social changes in lifestyles. Theistic evolutionists cannot believe the “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” concept of marriage. Yet, the Bible clearly says that the first man was Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), and Jesus Himself said that God, in the beginning, created two people, a man and a woman, and ordained marriage through them (Mark 10:6-9).

The only man who lived on this earth when the world was made was not Adam. Only Jesus was there when the world began, and He said it was a creation! Jesus did not believe in evolution, nor did He believe in theistic evolution. God made us. We live and breathe because of Him. He alone defines morality. He tells us of our origin and our eternal destiny. Theistic evolution cannot be true if we believe what Jesus said about origin. Think about it. It does make a difference!

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Unhappy?

God Wouldn’t Want Me Unhappy!

The church at Laodicea was diagnosed by Christ as lukewarm. Imagine the graphic picture of Jesus spewing them out of His mouth because of this sin. I suspect that if Christ came back today and were to write letters to some of the churches in America He would address the epidemic of narcissism. I can easily see Him writing that this sin would cause Him to want to vomit us out of His mouth. Narcissism reigns in our culture—young and old alike. We have relegated God to the back seat of our lives and have placed our own interests, desires, and egos firmly in the front seat.

unhappy

Does God Want Me Unhappy?

Rather than look to God’s Word for how we are to conduct ourselves in areas such as marriage we simply declare, “God wouldn’t want me to be unhappy.” And with that self-divine caveat we proceed to do whatever our hearts desire.

God doesn’t want you to be unhappy? Really? So let me get this straight. God crushed the spotless, sinless lamb of God on the cross for sin that was not His own (Isaiah 53:10). He made Him sin—who knew no sin—to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). But it’s you He wouldn’t want unhappy?

It’s ironic to me that literally tens of thousands of Christians have uttered wedding vows that say some form of:

I, (name), take you (name), to be my lawfully wedded (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

Yet, what we really mean is, “I’ll take you as long as you make me happy.” You have forgotten that your spouse is a part of the body of Christ and what you’re really saying is:

Jesus I can’t love you, not this part of your body, because this part of you makes me unhappy right now. And, since I am the center of my universe, if you want me to love you then make me happy with this part of you. Then I will love you—because Jesus’ blood was not enough.

If you aren’t happy right now with your spouse you may be in that “worse” category (of “better or worse”). And unless your spouse is dead, you made a vow before men and God that you would stay with that person. Never forget you will one day give an account for that vow and your actions.

When your world revolves around yourself it is easy to lose perspective. If you have a problem in your marriage right now, there is a good chance that it is not what your spouse is or isn’t doing. The problem may very well be that Jesus Christ is not magnificent enough to you. He is not majestic enough to you. And above all, he is not sufficient for your egocentric, narcissistic, humanistic and sinful fleshly desires.

After Job lost his wealth, flocks, and children did he leave his wife and say “God wouldn’t want me to be unhappy?” No! He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

If you have recently uttered the phrase, “God wouldn’t want me to be unhappy” then allow me to ask you, “Who do you think you are?!” At what point did your happiness become the focal point of the Almighty Creator? Unhappy might be right where God needs you, to bring maximum glory to His name!

This world is not all about you. It’s all about Him. The sooner we learn that and communicate that to our children the better we will understand what God really wants.

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When Was Moses?

What Pharoah Dynasty Was Moses In?

In the lists of Pharaohs of Egypt, there are many “dynasties.” A “dynasty” is a group of rulers who rule in succession from parent to child. Sometimes dynasties simply die out, but usually a dynasty ends when a palace coup or other disaster overtakes a particular Pharaoh – sometime by being overthrown by foreign rulers such as with the Hykosis group. With that said, it is extremely difficult to pen down which dynasty Moses belonged to. According to the Bible, “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph (Exodus 1:8). From this, we are certain that the dynasty was a new kingdom all together. Well, only the 18-20th dynasties are considered as the new kingdom.

moses

When was Moses?as

Now, when you go to movies, such as the Ten Commandments with Charlston Heston, they mention in the movie about Rameses who ruled in the 19th dynasty. And, while that seems to clear things up, it only makes things more confusing. Rameses I and Rameses II are strongly linked to Moses. However, these two men reigned from 1292-1290 BC and 1279-1213 BC. Moses was already dead by that time. So, that rules them out.

According to many commentaries, Bible dictionaries and Chronological books, Moses seems to be dated somewhere from 1566-1540. But, since a new kingdom had come, it would have to be no later than 1550 because this was when the new kingdom came in Egypt. Therefore, from 1550-1540 is the date of Moses. Well, this date would put him in the 18th dynasty of rulers. More than likely, he was under Ahmosis I, Amenhotep I (this was the one in the Mummy movies), Thutmose I, II, III.

While this seems to be the most logical with facts, historical and Biblical, there are still other questions that come up. Such as, the Bible indicates that the Pharaoh whose daughter adopted three-month-old Moses died when Moses was nearly 80 years old. If this is true, then, there is only one Pharaoh who reigned for over 80 years. That is Pepi II who reigned from 2278-2184. But, he was in the 6th dynasty. In Exodus 7:7, it tells of Moses, being 80 years of age when he stands before a pharaoh who really did not seem to know him like the previous one. Also, we know that this pharaoh, who was before Moses, died in the Red Sea and so he did not seem to reign as long as Pharaoh. This coincides with Pharaoh Neferka who only reigned for one year at best. No pharaoh in the 19th dynasty or the 18th dynasty comes to this short of a reign. This also may seem to fit because the Pharaoh allowed a lot of fortune to be taken from Egypt by the children of Israel. It was almost as he did not really understand what all he had. But again, this does not coincide with many other concrete facts.

So, it is difficult to tell which dynasty Moses was in. A lot seems to be based upon the historical documents of Egyptology which seem to be incomplete and sporadic. But, I would be more grounded to put Moses in the 18th dynasty because the date of Moses seems to be universally accepted in the 1550-1540 birth date.

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