The Life and Message of Moses
One unlikely voice cried out from the fifteenth century BCE that reaches our ears today. He was a poor man raised in a palace; a son of Jacob educated in the house of a Pharaoh. Our program will carefully place that man into his frame of history, and offer both Egyptian context and Hebrew content from out of the pages of the Biblical text. We will follow the prince as he becomes the pastor, and the prophet who becomes a political figure drawing people across the hot desert sands to freedom – in a journey that has captured the hearts of Jews and Christians for thousands of years.
This is a trek through the wilderness from Egypt to Sinai to Mt. Nebo, embracing every stage of the life of Moses.
Day One: Depart from the USA.
Depart the USA for Egypt. Overnight with appropriate meals: In flight.
Day Two: Arrival Day.
Arrive at Cairo International Airport and be met by CTSP staff and our Egyptian guide. Step out onto the ancient soil of Egypt, one of the great kingdoms of the ancient world. Transfer to your hotel for dinner and a good night’s sleep. D
Day Three: (Stage One) Fitting the Story of Moses into the history of ancient Egypt.
Today we will look across the centuries at the Egyptian Dynasties to prepare us for the characters we will “meet” from history in monuments and hieroglyphs. 07:30 Breakfast. 08:30 Meeting in the hotel in our lecture hall. We begin our program with some “set up” lectures to sketch the long history of the Egyptian Dynastic Kingdom, and place Moses’ life into the 18th Dynasty. 12:00 After our time together, we will have lunch and a field trip to visit the Cairo Museum for the remainder of the afternoon. Dinner and Overnight: Cairo. BLD
Day Four: Pharaohs of Egypt. (Stage Two) The Flight of Moses … Confronting Power on Display.
Monumental architecture reflected big egos and even bigger dreams of long ago. Today we will seek to understand the attitudes and beliefs of ancient Egyptians about cults, afterlife, power and human dignity. At the same time, we will contrast these monuments with the quiet power of a burning bush and the call of Moses by the God of his fathers.
07:30 Breakfast. 08:30 One hour meeting in our hotel to set up the field studies for our time at the Pyramids of Giza: Monuments for Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura. We will also visit the Sphinx, and for a little Egyptian “color” we will drop in on a Papyrus shop and perhaps the market at Khan el Khalili. Dinner and Overnight: Cairo. BLD
Day Five: (Stage Three) The Journey to the Mountain of the Law.
The only way to the land of Promise was through a harsh desert, where Israel’s faith was forged in a furnace of sand and rock. Today we will pick out the early key lessons of Exodus and Numbers as Moses, the Israelites and the Egyptians all learned from God. 06:30 Breakfast. 07:30 We will depart the city of Cairo and travel east to enter the Sinai Peninsula to investigate what we know of the path of Israel through Elim, Rephidim and Marah. In time, we will make our way to Saint Catherine’s Monastery and Jebel Musa in the heart of the Sinai (6 hour journey). Dinner and Overnight: St. Catherine’s Monastery area. BLD
Day Six: Meeting God at the Mountain of the Law. Theme: (Stage Four) Understanding the content, structure and principles found in the Law.
How can Scriptures that were not written to me, but rather for my benefit, help me? Today, we will explain the major divisions of the Law and set out a way to dissect and apply the principles offered by a changeless God.
Awake in the early morning hours in order to climb (optional) Jebel Musa and observe a breathtaking sunrise atop the mountain. After a time to reflect on God’s Law, we will return to re-collect those who did not join for the hike, and look at the design of two of the three codes of Law: The Civil Code (Exodus/Numbers) and The Criminal Code (Leviticus). When we descend the mountain, we will visit St. Catherine’s monastery, one of the oldest libraries of the world! Afterwards, we will head to our hotel in Nuweiba on the Red Sea (1-¼ hour drive), for a time to eat and rest, and a talk on the modern believer’s use of the Torah Law. Dinner and Overnight: TIME Coral Resort, Nuweiba, Egypt. BLD
Day Seven: Moses after the Mountain. Theme: (Stage Five) Meeting God wasn’t the end of the journey; in many ways it was the beginning.
Today, we will trace the journey of Israel across the Sinai after the encounter at the Holy Mountain, showing how God was faithful to an increasingly fickle people. 06:30 Breakfast. 07:30 We will depart Nuweiba, embarking on the “Fast Ferry” crossing the Red Sea to Aqaba, Jordan. Once in the Hashemite Kingdom, we will meet our Jordanian guide and board the bus to continue the trek to Wadi Rum Mazayeen Camp (1 hour) for dinner & overnight: Mazayeen Camp. BLD
Day Eight: Facing Failure to Enter the Promised Land. Theme: (Stage Six) Unable to access the land, Moses and the people are frustrated with the trek… and God.
Today, we will cease our movement from our long journey and STOP in the wilderness. We won’t sit still, but rather access deeper parts of the desert via open trucks and camels, coming close to the Saudi Arabian border in an austere wilderness to discuss the long night of the wanderings in the desert. We will be at the Wadi Rum Mazayeen Camp for dinner & overnight: Mazayeen Camp. BLD
Day Nine: Wadi Rum to Petra. Theme: (Stage Seven) Transjordan: The Ancient Caravan Routes and Moses Journey.
Following an ancient path, we will leave Wadi Rum and head to the stunning, world-class remains at the “Rose Red” city of Petra. Along the way, we will be examining Moses’ strategy as he faced the Edomites and sons of the east, on his way to his view of the Promised Land. 06:30 Breakfast. 07:30 Depart Wadi Rum Reserve for Petra, for a visit to this world-famous treasure of the ancient world. After our visit, we will go to our hotel for dinner and a good night’s rest. Overnight: Movenpick, Petra. BLD
Day Ten: Petra to Crowne Plaza. Theme: Moses in Transjordan.
Traveling parallel to the ancient Israelites, we will recall the major lessons they learned traversing Transjordan and her kingdoms. 06:30 Breakfast. 07:30 Depart our hotel near Petra to make our way north along the Aravah wilderness to our beautiful Dead Sea Hotel. We will use our bus time to follow the trek in Numbers into and through Transjordan, highlighting the major events in Moses’ life from the Bible record. The balance of our day will be spent at the resort, enjoying the facilities. Overnight: Crowne Plaza, Dead Sea Resort. BLD
Day Eleven: Dead Sea to Mt. Nebo, on to Amman
10:30 Depart for Mt. Nebo, and finish the life of Moses at the mountain where he died. Overnight: Amman. BLD.
Day Twelve: Depart Amman to USA, Wednesday, May 1, 2024.