I am too long winded for twitter. I will be deleting my account soon.
This is my Great-Great-Great-grandma.
I guarantee this woman did not eat fast food (picture was taken in the 1890's). In fact, all her food would have been organic and made from scratch. She did not spend her time watching TV or surfing the net either. Her floors were swept, not vacuumed, she walked nearly everywhere she went, washed all her clothes by hand, etc.
If weight is the result of laziness and fast food, why is she a large (though I understand short:-)) woman? Could it be that some of us are just made to have more to love? That it is natural and healthy for some of us to be a size 20 just as it is natural and healthy for some to be a size 3?
I guarantee this woman did not eat fast food (picture was taken in the 1890's). In fact, all her food would have been organic and made from scratch. She did not spend her time watching TV or surfing the net either. Her floors were swept, not vacuumed, she walked nearly everywhere she went, washed all her clothes by hand, etc.
If weight is the result of laziness and fast food, why is she a large (though I understand short:-)) woman? Could it be that some of us are just made to have more to love? That it is natural and healthy for some of us to be a size 20 just as it is natural and healthy for some to be a size 3?
Almost 900 doctors sign Dublin Declaration, affirm abortion is not maternal health
Today's and Yesterdays work
Chapter 5
1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and
told Pharaoh, “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, ‘Let My people go, that
they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.’ “
2 And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I
should obey His voice to let Israel
go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.”
What the King James Bible renders “LORD” is
the word Yehovah which means “The Existing One;” In other words, “The I AM.”
Pharaoh was not familiar with this particular
God. If he was Neferhotep I of the 13th dynasty, he was brought up
the son of a priest. He would have known about all the gods of the Egyptians.
This was not one of them.
3 And they said, “The God of the Hebrews hath
met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and
sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest He fall upon us with pestilence, or with
the sword.”
4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, “Wherefore do
ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? Get you unto your
burdens.”
Pharaoh felt no threat from the God of a
bunch of slaves. He probably thought that if their God was powerful enough to
cause him harm, they wouldn’t be slaves in the first place.
5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of
the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.”
“Ahhh, you all just want a vacation.”
6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the
taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
7 “Ye shall no more give the people straw to
make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
He is punishing Israel for asking for a vacation.
8 “And the tale of the bricks, which they did
make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof:
for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our
God.’
His logic is that if they were working hard
enough they wouldn’t have time to dream up such ideas as vacations and other
gods than the ones he worshipped.
9 “Let there more work be laid upon the men,
that they may labor therein; and let them not regard vain words.”
10 And the taskmasters of the people went
out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, “Thus saith
Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
11 “Go ye, get you straw where ye can find
it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.”
Israel was being used to
make bricks.
Archeologists have discovered a town in the
Egyptian delta named Kahun that was inhabited by sematic slaves. This town was
by the great building projects of the 12th dynasty, including the
last of the great pyramids (which was built of bricks, not stone). Scarabs found
in the town tell us it was occupied until sometime in the reign of Neferhotep
I, when it was abandonded suddenly (lots of furniture and tools left behind as
if the people didn’t have time to pack.) There are boxes with baby boy bones in
them under the floorboards of most of these houses, sometimes several
skeletons, all about 1-3 months old.
12 So the people were scattered abroad
throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
In most of the world throughout history
bricks were made with just mud and then baked to make them stronger. However,
in a country- like Egypt- with no trees, this would have been too costly to
fuel.
Instead, archeologists tell us the Egyptians made
bricks with a mixture of straw and mud. The straw gave substance for the mud to
hold to, but more importantly, the acid produced by the decaying straw “baked”
the bricks, making them much stronger with much less fuel than baking them in a
kiln.
13 And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, “Fulfill
your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.”
The Israelites had a certain quota they had
to fulfill[1]
which was not lessened even though they were no longer provided with the
materials they needed to make bricks with.
14 And the officers of the children of Israel, which
Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, “Wherefore
have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as
heretofore?”
15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and
cried unto Pharaoh, saying, “Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?
16 “There is no straw given unto thy
servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick:’ and, behold, thy servants are
beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.”
17 But he said, “Ye are idle, ye are idle:
therefore ye say, ‘Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.’
18 “Go therefore now, and work; for there
shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.”
19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see
that they were in evil case, after it was said, “Ye shall not minish ought from
your bricks of your daily task.”
20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in
the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
21 And they said unto them, “The LORD look
upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savor (scent) to
be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a
sword in their hand to slay us.”
The Israelites were
upset. They wanted Moses to deliver them from slavery, not make more work and a
cause for beating! Yet God knew their slavery was not harsh enough yet to keep
them from returning when things get hard in the wilderness, so He is making
sure it gets uncomfortable enough they won’t want to come back.
22 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and
said, “LORD, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that
thou hast sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in
thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast Thou delivered thy
people at all.”
Moses is confused. He evidently expected God
to cause Pharaoh to just release them, even though God told him that wouldn’t
happen that way. Sometimes we all get impatient for God to act even when He has
told us His timing was different.
Chapter 6
1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, “Now shalt
thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them
go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.”
God promises that not only will Pharoah LET them
go, he will MAKE them go.
2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto
him, “I am the LORD:
3 “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and
unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known
to them.
4 “And I have also established my covenant
with them, to give them the land
of Canaan, the land of
their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
5 “And I have also heard the groaning of the
children of Israel,
whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered My covenant.
6 “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel,
‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with
a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
7 “ ‘And I will take you to Me for a people,
and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God,
which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 “ ‘And I will bring you in unto the land,
concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob;
and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.’ “
God is reassuring them that He exists, knows
what is going on, and is in control. His promises WILL come true.
9 And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but
they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
They didn’t believe him because things were
so bad they couldn’t picture them ever getting any better.
10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
11 “Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he
let the children of Israel
go out of his land.”
12 And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, “Behold,
the children of Israel
have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of
uncircumcised lips?”
“If those who are supposed to worship You
don’t believe me how can someone who doesn’t even believe in You? I still don’t
talk so good.” Evidently Moses thought the Israelites lack of belief was due to
his inelegance of speech, but it wasn’t. They just chose to not believe.
13 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto
Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh
king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
Now we are going to get a list of who all was
meant by “Israel.”
14 These be the heads of their fathers'
houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron,
and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben.
Each son of Jacob headed a tribe (with
Joseph’s two boys leading one each, also.) Each of their boys headed a clan.
The tribe of Reuben had four clans.
15 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin,
and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman:
these are the families of Simeon.
The tribe of Simeon had six clans.
16 And these are the names of the sons of
Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the
years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years.
Levi had three clans. The Bible further
breaks them down;
17 The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi,
according to their families.
18 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar,
and Hebron, and
Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three
years.
19 And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi:
these are the families of Levi according to their generations.
20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father's
sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of
Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.
Amram, Moses dad, was Jacob’s great-grandson.
Now, my great-grandfather was born only a hundred years ago, but then, his dad
didn’t live to be 133. With these much greater lifespans, plus the fact that
Moses was eighty, it is easy to believe Israel has been in Egypt for
two-hundred years.
God told Abraham that “…Thy seed shall be a
stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict
them four hundred years;” Some older translations and the Jewish scriptures
interpret this scripture as “…and they shall afflict them UNTIL four hundred
years.” Meaning four hundred years from the time God was speaking, not from the
time Jacob went down into Egypt.
They would inherit their land in 400 years.
Accounting for the time from the prophecy
(1939BC) until Jacob’s birth (1878BC) and the famine that
drove him to Egypt (1757BC), there was 182 years before Israel even
arrived in Egypt. Add another two hundred years of sojourn there, and you get
your four hundred years to fulfill the prophecy. This would be about 2513AM
(1533BC).
21 And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg,
and Zichri.
Izhar and Uzziel were Amram’s brothers.
22 And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and
Elzaphan, and Zithri.
23 And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of
Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu,
Eleazar, and Ithamar.
Aaron’s wife was the Great-great-grandaughter
of Judah. Her brother was a leader of the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:9).
In modern Judism the linege is figured
throughthe mother. If your mom is a Jew, than you are too. This is apparently
not true here in ancient times. Aaron’s wife was from the tribe of Judah but
their children were called “Levites” after their dad’s tribe.
24 And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah,
and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.
Korah was Izhar’s son, Levi’s great-grandson.
25 And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of
the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads
of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.
26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom
the LORD said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt
according to their armies.”
27 These are they which spake to Pharaoh king
of Egypt,
to bring out the children of Israel
from Egypt:
these are that Moses and Aaron.
I wonder if these last few verses were
written sometime after the first chapter of Exodus? It sounds like it.
28 And it came to pass on the day when the
LORD spake unto Moses in the land
of Egypt,
29 That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, “I
am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.”
30 And Moses said before the LORD, “Behold, I
am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?”
[1] Archeologists have found records in
Egypt keeping a tally of bricks required and produced by slaves during various
times throughout history.
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