Paul in Galatians 3:7 says that from the promise to Abraham until the law given to Moses, was 430 years. This is the time span which Moses records here. Stephen rounds it off , in Acts 7, to 400, when he is telling the story.

In order for the various texts to make sense, we will have to accept the addition in the Septuagint version of Exodus 12:41, of “Canaan” as a part of the sojournings of Israel, and not just Egypt, which accounts for only half of the time, when one adds up the ages of the main characters (215 years). The other half would be from the time Abraham received the promise, through the wanderings around Canaan, another 215 years.

You recall that even in Egypt, the entire time was not troublesome. Surely when they first arrived, and from then until the death of the Patriarchs, life was pretty good. How long was it before a king arose who did not recognize Joseph, and who began to enslave Israel?

So all the various passages must be harmonized thus: God told Abraham that Abraham’s people would be pilgrims, strangers, wanderers, in lands not their own. Eventually this would lead to a severe bondage, but after exactly 430 years from the promise, the bondage would end.

It was this fact that Moses was celebrating in Exodus 12:41. To the very day, says Moses, based on sources known to him, this prophecy had been fulfilled!

2. Exodus 15. Did the Pharaoh himself die? And is there any historical back-up to the Red-Sea crossing or the death of so many of Egypt’s leaders?

There is no clear Biblical proof that the Pharaoh himself drowned. Certain Jewish traditions even claim that he did not, though this is far from a reputable proof. If he had died, as other of God’s enemies in Scripture, would not the Scripture have said so?

Moreover, would this fact not have been recorded in history? We can say that Amenhotep, or whoever this Pharaoh was, simply refused the writing about this matter, in the way of ancient kings to ignore recording defeats.

But did not his enemies know of this? Surely not every resident was drowned in the Red Sea. What of the “mixed multitude” that came out of Egypt on that night? Where can we look for some back-up of these events?

Here is a little help, perhaps, though faith in God’s Word is always the best help:

“The subsequent drowning of the entire Egyptian army in the Red Sea was not an insignificant event, and confirmation of this event is compelling evidence that the Biblical narrative is truly authentic. Over the years, many divers have searched the Gulf of Suez in vain for artifacts to verify the Biblical account. But carefully following the Biblical and historical records of the Exodus brings you to Nuweiba, a large beach in the Gulf of Aqaba, as Ron Wyatt discovered in 1978.

Repeated dives in depths ranging from 60 to 200 feet deep (18m to 60m), over a stretch of almost 2.5 km, has shown that the chariot parts are scattered across the sea bed. Artifacts found include wheels, chariot bodies as well as human and horse bones. Divers have located wreckage on the Saudi coastline opposite Nuweiba as well.”

(From Bible Study Tools, online.)

Here is a project for your own study. I hope that I have opened a door of inquiry for you.

3. Exodus 17:8-16. Who was Amalek? Why did Amalek attack Israel? What about that war “from generation to generation” promised by God?

Amalek was a grandson of Esau. Yet there are Amalekites before Esau was born, Genesis 14:7. Was this territory of the Amalekites so-named by the author in anticipation of the land they would later conquer?

Wherever else we find them, they are antagonistic to Israel. If indeed they are from Esau, the age-old feud between the brothers was carried on between Amalek and Israel. Esau and Jacob.

When God determined that His people would have a land of their own in old Canaan, and from there would be the center of God-based history on Earth, Satan counter-attacked God’s people using Amalek. They were the first to attempt to hinder God’s plan, in the wilderness journey that would culminate in the Promised Land. It seems that for this God determined that this small nation would have to end, as the Canaanites would similarly cease to exist.

Nay-sayers cry “genocide” in our day. Genocide indeed. The planet has seen nothing yet. “The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God!” says the Psalmist.

Amalek seems to have disappeared from history during the days of Saul and David. They are in fact so extinct that liberal scholars claim that they never lived! We are always grateful to liberalism for confirming the Truth of God’s Word. An extinction so complete as to destroy even its records is a complete extinction indeed, and God promised it, right here in Exodus 17.

4. Exodus 18. We see a warm reception by Moses of his father-in-law. His wife and children have come to visit him, also. Later we see Jethro leave. Does he leave alone? Why is there no further mention of Zipporah and her two sons? Why no attention given to her (at least in the text)?

Once again, no strong Biblical answer. Our comments are from silence of Scripture, not from its statements. We recall the very ugly incident in the inn on the way to Egypt. We see Zipporah totally opposed to circumcision, and thus it is possible she was not a true believer in Moses’ God, though her father had surely taught her well.

We see a very disrespectful act on her part, and her possible abandoning of Moses temporarily. Then, quite some time later we see Jethro bringing her back to Moses. Did a reconciliation take place? Did they have a long talk and decide to call it off, that there was no commonality on which to build a future?

I Chronicles 23 indicates that Moses’ sons did remain in the wilderness and become a part of Israel. Whether Zipporah did is iffy, but the circumstances point elsewhere, especially since later we see a second woman in the role of wife, the Cushite that had his family’s tongues wagging, and thus bringing the rebuke of God himself.

It is not a proud moment for Moses, a possible divorce and remarriage. The Bible does not give us much to go on, but doesn’t try to hide the basic facts either. The basic facts:

• Moses and Zipporah did not agree on Israel’s God, or at least His practices
• There is no record of her presence after Exodus 18.
• There is a second wife later in the story.

5. Exodus 20:5. Does God still “punish… the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate” Him? What sort of punishment would this involve?