Letters From Grandpa #574

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 574

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will be about Moses and Aaron confronting the Pharaoh of Egypt. Moses said: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” Then - “Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:1-2)

Egypt was a powerful nation that ruled the world for 3,000 years. Historians estimate that there were approximately 170 Pharaoh’s that ruled Egypt. Since the Bible does not identify which Pharaoh Moses was talking to we conclude that it doesn’t matter. There were an estimated 2,000 different deities in the Egyptian pantheon but Jehovah, the God of Israel, was not known by the Pharaoh. That’s why this arrogant dictator said “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go?” Sadly, he learned who God was when his firstborn son died and his army was drowned in the Red Sea.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had the same problem as the Pharaoh. He didn’t know who God was! He decided to cast Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into a blazing furnace and bragged: “Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” (Daniel 3:15) Then, like Pharaoh, he found out! God not only delivered these godly men from the blazing furnace but robbed Nebuchadnezzzr of his reason so that he lived like a wild animal for seven years and ate grass like an ox (Daniel 4:28-33). When God restored his sanity he said: “ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Daniel 4:37)

Belshazzar his son, knew exactly what happened to his father but refused to repent. Daniel told him: “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.” (Daniel 5:22-23) “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.”

When Jesus was born Rome ruled the world and Caesar Augustus issued a decree that all the world should be taxed (Luke 2:1). To ensure Roman control of Jerusalem Herod the Great built a fortress next to the Jewish Temple and named it after Mark Antony. While the population of Jerusalem was only about 30,000, Josephus claims that during the Passover as many as 2.7 million Jewish pilgrims came from all over the world to worship. Obviously the Romans stationed enough soldiers at the Antonio Fortress to keep things from getting out of control. Jesus mentioned that when some Galileans got out of hand Pilate sent in Roman soldiers and mixed their blood with the animals they were sacrificing (Luke 13:1). When rioters in the temple were about to kill Paul, Roman soldiers immediately came to his rescue (Acts 22:22-29). When Paul as a prisoner was being taken to Caesarea he was accompanied by 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen (Acts 22:23).

So when Jesus was buried the chief priests came to Pilate and: “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.” (Matthew 27:63-66)

After Jesus was raised from the dead the apostles and the early church remembered Psalm 2: “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.” (Psalms 2:1-4; Acts 4:25-26).

Expecting the Roman Government to keep Jesus in the tomb would be like trying to stop up the Amazon River with a sponge. Wikipedia notes that the “observable” universe is 46.5 billion light years across and we have no idea beyond that how big the total universe really is. When King Solomon built the temple he observed that God was bigger than the “heaven of heavens” (2 Chronicles 2:6). As the Psalmist said, if all the kings and rulers of earth decided to declare war on God He would only laugh and hold them in derision!

The Scriptures teach that it appointed for man once to die, and after that the Judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Yes, we will all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). You may not be good about keeping appointments, but you will keep your appointment to meet God in Judgment whether you remember it or not! PLEASE PREPARE TO MEET GOD!

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce