| (Copyright) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| In a previous article, I discussed how God uses mountains for communication and revelation to His people. Jesus, at times, went up on a mountain to pray or to deliver a sermon. God spoke the ten commandments and entered into a covenant with the children of Israel at Mount Sinai as famously portrayed in the 1956 movie, “The Ten Commandments.” But before God met with the children of Israel on Mount Sinai after the Exodus, He met with Abraham on another mountain-top located in Canaan just east of Bethel as I discussed previously. Many years later, Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, also had an encounter with God at this same mountain while traveling to Padan-Aram to find a wife from his kinfolk. As you know, he camped at this mountain for the night and had a dream of a “ladder” that reached to heaven. The Hebrew word translated as “ladder” is only found in Genesis 28:12. It can also be translated as “staircase,” which some translations prefer to use. As I pointed out in a previous article, this mountain was east of ancient Bethel which is near the modern city of Ramallah today. It is located in the West Bank area and is now occupied by the Jewish settlement, Psagot. If you use the link below, there is a picture of this mountain (scroll down) and a brief history of the settlement. http://www.decolonizing.ps/site/introduction/ Notice that this mountain has “stair-steps.” Did the stair-step feature of this mountain influence Jacob’s dream of a staircase? This staircase allowed access to God’s throne in heaven. Angels were ascending and descending on this staircase. The only other place in the Bible where we read about “angels ascending and descending” is when Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51). This was a reference by Jesus to the staircase of Jacob’s dream. Why did Jesus liken Himself to a staircase? We all know the answer. It is only by Jesus that we have access to the Father and His throne. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'” (John 14:6). Jesus is our Staircase! Likewise, Jacob was so awed by the staircase in his dream and the stair-steps of the mountain in front of him that he declared it must be the house of God. He then named the little village that was there, “Bethel” which means “God’s house.” Jacob continued on his journey and about twenty years later returned to this same mountain. God had richly blessed him with a large family consisting of 12 sons and one daughter. Several chapters of Genesis are devoted to the story of Jacob. Of his 12 sons, Jacob had a favorite. Jacob loved Rachel and her firstborn son, Joseph, became Jacob’s favorite. Starting in Genesis 37, we learn the important role that Joseph would play in God’s plan for Israel (Jacob) and his progeny. As Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph no doubt heard his father’s stories of how God appeared to him many years before at the mountain with stair-steps. The family had moved farther south from Bethel to Hebron. Yet, when Joseph was 17, Jacob sent him north to look for his brothers who were tending their flocks of sheep. He took the road north to Shechem which would have taken him by this stair-step mountain. But no encounter with God occurred there for Joseph. Joseph found his brothers at Dothan who were so jealous of Joseph that they plotted to be rid of that “dreamer.” We all know what happened next. Joseph was sold into Egypt as a slave. He was falsely accused and thrown into jail. This allowed him to have contact with servants of the king of Egypt who also had been jailed. Joseph interpreted their dreams, and his interpretation came to pass as he said. One servant was restored to the king’s service which eventually became Joseph’s “get-out-of jail” card. Two years later, Pharoah had a disturbing dream which no one could explain. By now, Joseph was 30 years old and ready to fulfill God’s plan for his life. He gave Pharaoh the answers by God’s grace and was promoted to the highest office in Egypt under Pharoah. A seven-year famine was coming, and Joseph had a plan as we have read many times in Genesis. This famine would not only allow Joseph to be re-united with his family but caused many nations to turn to Egypt for grain to survive the famine just as Joseph’s own family had done. Besides the record found in the Bible, are there any records or monuments found in Egypt that may collaborate the story of Joseph? Yes, there are. Ron Wyatt, among others, believed that Joseph was the famous Imhotep found in Egyptian history. Imhotep is best known for building the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Egypt which is near the ancient city of Memphis. If Joseph really was Imhotep, then why would he have built the Step Pyramid? Was it just a resting place for a dead Pharoah? Or is that what it later became? At the same location of the Step Pyramid are found eleven large pits. Ron Wyatt proposed that they were used to store grain which is very possible. Travelers from all over the ancient world came here during the famine to purchase grain from Egypt. There must have been a steady flow of pilgrims seeking the blessings of God’s grace in order to sustain their lives. As they approached Saqqara, what monument or image would they have first seen in the distance? They would have seen the shape of a mountain with steps. This mountain with steps would have been a symbol of the true God. The God of Joseph. Study these prophecies from Isaiah 19: “Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud. He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them” (verse one). “In that day there will be an altar to the Eternal in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Eternal near her border. It will be a sign and a witness to the Eternal of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Eternal because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and defender to rescue them. The Eternal will make Himself known to Egypt, and on that day, Egypt will acknowledge the Eternal. They will worship with sacrifices and offerings. They will make vows to the Eternal and will fulfill them (verses 19-21). If God is the same today as yesterday, then do we see a pattern from history that will be repeated in the future? “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2). Just as it occurred in Egypt during the days of Joseph, it will also occur again during the reign of Christ when all nations will flow unto Jerusalem: “And many people will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. For He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths'” (Isaiah 2:3). I have also included links to two short videos that provide interesting information on the Step Pyramid and evidence for Imhotep being Joseph. https://youtu.be/brMc05lOIFg Inventor of the First Pyramid (4-minute video) https://youtu.be/bGV7zp0hzIM Joseph is Imhotep (11-minute video) This legendary Imhotep was also used by Hollywood for their 1932, 1999, and 2001 movies of “The Mummy.” |
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