For those of us that ever attended Sunday School (and I was a paticularly lousy pupil), we were taught that good ol’ Moses parted the Red Sea.
Because of this jaw-dropping, gob-smacking power, held firmly in his possession, Moses and some fellow Israelites were thus able to escape from the gawd-awful clutches of the Pharoah’s Army which was intent on driving them from Egypt.
So famous was Moses that movie moguls even made a Hollywood blockbuster movie about him.
Well, latest science shows that it was indeed possible that the waters parted to allow Moses and his mates to escape.
That’s the good news.
But for the diehard supporters, there’s bad news too. Brace yourself, because it turns out Moses may not have had those powers after all. Turns out he got lucky with a combination of natural factors.
In short, wind, hydrodynamics and the unique topography of the Nile Delta served to save his bacon (so to speak).
According to The Australian:
A study based on 14 computer models suggests that Moses may indeed have been able to lead his followers out of Egypt between walls of water, a story told in both the Bible and the Koran.
The study by the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research and the University of Colorado replaces the hand of God with a 63mph east wind blowing for at least 12 hours.
It also suggests that the epic crossing of the Red Sea happened 75 miles north of Suez, where an ancient branch of the Nile approached a shallow coastal lagoon, and near the modern Port Said.
Otherwise, one of the study’s authors claims: “The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus.”
Using the computer models and modern understanding of the phenomenon of “wind setdown” – by which strong, steady winds have been shown to push back large volumes of water temporarily – Mr Drews concluded that a gale of the kind described in the Bible could have created a land bridge two miles wide and three miles long and open for perhaps four hours.
What a great story. Definitely worth reading some more in The Australian.
Moses did NOT part the Red Sea….God did. Moses was just an instrument God used to display His deliverance. Ex 14:21 – 22 = A strong east wind blew the sea apart. Even if it was JUST a wind….great timing huh?
This illustration of Moses was painted by Norm McGary who passed away in February this year at 81 years old. This painting appears in the video God’s Story which has been translated in over 200 languages and sent all over the world.
Norm was an astrologer and researcher of Biblical prophecy. One only had to know Norm or understand the prophet senario in the Book of Joel to clear up any misunderstanding about where Moses’ power came from. In otherwords the parting of the sea was a supernatural occurance.
Those who would scoff at Moses calling “behold” would also create endless conjecture about whether John the Baptist did his own will or was supernaturally called by God.
Thanks for the info on the artist. He seems to be an interesting kind of character.