3. The God of the Hebrews hath met with us--Instead of being provoked into reproaches or threats, they mildly assured him that it was not a proposal originating among themselves, but a duty enjoined on them by their God. They had for a long series of years been debarred from the privilege of religious worship, and as there was reason to fear that a continued neglect of divine ordinances would draw down upon them the judgments of offended heaven, they begged permission to go three days' journey into the desert--a place of seclusion--where their sacrificial observances would neither suffer interruption nor give umbrage to the Egyptians. In saying this, they concealed their ultimate design of abandoning the kingdom, and by making this partial request at first, they probably wished to try the king's temper before they disclosed their intentions any farther. But they said only what God had put in their mouths (Ex 3:12, 18), and this "legalizes the specific act, while it gives no sanction to the general habit of dissimulation" [CHALMERS].
JFB.
Outline
1 Pharaoh chides Moses and Aaron for their message
5 Pharaoh increases the Israelites' tasks
15 Pharaoh derides their complaints
20 They cry out against Moses and Aaron
22 Moses complains to God
Ancient Customs
Feast to Me
the desert
sacrifice
taskmasters
officers
straw to make brick
stubble
EGYPTIAN BRICKS
HARD LABOR A PUNISHMENT
Quick Reference Map
Map of the Nile River and Egypt
(Click to Enlarge)
ARCHAEOLOGY |
The Temple of No-Amun at Karnak |
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The Temple of Amun at Karnak. This Temple was erected by the pharaohs of the Bible. It is interesting that the Temple of Amun at Karnak was the most important place of worship in ancient Egypt for six centuries from 1550 BC. Today there is a breathtaking display of archaeological remains on the east bank of the Nile, at the site of Thebes, the glory and capital of Egypt from the. Of the 18th Dynasty. It is called No in the Bible, but it is the Temple of No-Amun, the local deity of Thebes who was later identified as Ra the sun-god. In this aerial view of the Temple noticed the to obelisks, these were set up to the Jubilee of Queen Hatshepsut, the Queen that many scholars have identified as the one who rescued Moses in the Nile River. |
Ancient Topics
Pharaoh
Ancient People
Moses, Aaron, Pharaoh, taskmasters
Geography
Egypt
Quick Reference Maps
The Old Testament
Exodus Resources
Moses
and the Exodus
The Giving of the Law
The
Tabernacle
The Wilderness Wanderings