Jesus said
"The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath"
Mark 2 v 27
Things we can learn from the Rosetta Stone
Clive D Anderson
Along with Creation, the Fall, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and God’s call of Abraham, the Exodus ranks as one of the great points of history.
Jacob’s family settled in Egypt and had come to be the dominant people group in the land of Goshen, which was located in the north of Egypt, known as Lower Egypt.
When the Exodus took place, the Israelites had been in Egypt for 430 years (see Exodus 12:40), a considerable time span and the same length of time as from AD 1581 to 2011. By way of more modern illustration of this time period, in 1581 Francis Drake completed the circumnavigation of the world, and was knighted for his efforts. Although he was a relatively famous man, those events are a long way from today and are not often mentioned. Much water has flowed under many bridges since then and life and travel are, of course, very different. But it may assist in gaining an understanding of the great length of time the Hebrews had lived in Egypt.
Exodus chapter 12 gives precise details of the unfolding of redemption from bondage in Egypt, but although it is well known to some, various details may seem obscure to us. When the ancient Egyptian language was deciphered, it helped to bring illumination and understanding to a number of biblical events, not least the Exodus.
The varying numbers mentioned in Exodus 12 may seem to be there to flesh out the story, but with the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics came not only the ability to read the ancient text, but also valued information regarding the life and practices of the ancient Egyptians and of the foreigners who lived in their land.
The thrilling story of the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics is stuff of legend. The fascinating picture language that covered temples, tombs and texts had long been a point of fascination, and many considered them to be special. The Greek word hieroglyphica means ‘sacred writings’.
Towards the end of the fourth century AD, the hieroglyphic text ceased to be used, the last datable examples being used at Philae Temple, south of Aswan.
In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte commissioned a group of scientists and scholars to follow in the wake of his invading army to record the fabulous things they were encountering in Egypt. On demolishing a wall at Rosetta in the Delta, some soldiers came upon a stone with a remarkable set of inscriptions, in Greek and Demotic (everyday Egyptian for the priests and hieroglyphics).
Rev Thomas Young (in England) and particularly Jean-Francois Champollion (in France), building on Young’s work, cracked the code.
For further details see Through the British Museum with the Bible published by Day One.
The understanding of the ancient languages has brought us (and particularly, therefore, the Egyptian belief and practice) enables us to see why different numbers were used and specified in Exodus 12.
The number 1, Exodus 12:2, the Exodus from Egypt was to be the first month. Here was a new birth; the Hebrew nation was to have a particular starting point, and this is it. In future the year was to be reckoned from this event.
The number 10, Exodus 12:3, the tenth day of the first month was full of significance. We now know that, unlike us, the ancient Egyptians had a ten-day week.
Could this be a reason why there were ten plagues? Did they occur on different days of different weeks to show that God controlled each and every day? Also, could it be the reason why God gave Ten Commandments—to show that they are the rule of life for all the week and all the year as they knew it?
The number 14, Exodus 12:6, now God moves away from a ten-day week and reintroduces the seven-day cycle, starting just four days after they were to take the lamb to be sacrificed. For on the fourteenth day the lamb was to be slain and its blood sprinkled on the sides and tops of the door houses where the lamb was to be eaten, Exodus 12:7. This is when the Passover would take place—Exodus 12:12.
The number 7, Exodus 12:15 and 16, now the specification about bread made without yeast is given. How interesting to note that on the seventh day the people were to do no work except prepare food. Something that was going to find full expression in the Law that was still to be given in Exodus 20:8-11, 31:12-18.
The numbers 14 and 21 In Exodus 12:18, God is not only preparing the people for the reinstatement of the seven-day week, but also for the giving of the law, when creation’s order will be reinstated. So we have multiples of 7 and not 10 when it comes to days of the week.
So what?
That is all very well and good, but what does it have to do with me? We live in a day and an age when many do not think profoundly enough about the big issues of life, and when troubles, like the city riots in August 2011, leave a sense of fear and failure.
There are those who question the validity of the fourth commandment for the Christian community today. But what are the disadvantages in keeping one day in seven special for the worship of God and for doing good deeds as a Christian community? Also, for teaching the young people the Ten Commandments, in the past countless numbers learnt about not stealing and committing murder, but today many are sadly ignorant of these basic laws of life.
Older writers considered that God had given the day of rest so that believers may cease from their own works to let the Lord do his work in them. Legalism, of course, must never be the motivating factor for Christians gathering together, but a sense of joy and wonder that together we may sing God’s praises and learn from his word, so that we might serve him better.
Over the years I have witnessed a great change in the way Christians have approached and used Sundays. Some decide that church is a ‘take it or leave’ it requirement. One pastor lamented the fact that a number of his church fellowship were ‘onecers’. I asked him whether he was referring to those who only come to church once on a Sunday. ‘No,’ he replied, ‘They come once a month and think that is more then sufficient!’ The worship of God should be such a delight to his people that they ought to be clamouring for more and not less!
We should go forward with our faith strengthened, knowing that God’s word is reliable and that he knows best when it comes to our lives and our needs, and that one day in seven is given to us for our good.
The Hebrews had to adjust to a new week and a new mindset; maybe we, too, need these things to be restated afresh today?
Clive D Anderson