Acts 16:6 – 18:18
In October of 2018 my son James and I traveled to Greece to follow part of the Apostle Paul’s Second Missionary Journey. We picked up Paul’s trail in Neapolis (I will be using the Biblical names) in what is now northeastern Greece. Like Paul, we also visited Philippi, Amphipolis, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and Cenchreae. We had a wonderful time together in Greece. We got to see a lot of wonderful sights, a good many of them were sights which Paul would have seen as well. I learned a great deal about Paul’s first trip into Europe and over the next two or three weeks I would like to share some of that with you. Come, travel with Paul and me through ancient Greece.
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Read: Exodus 47 (www.biblestudytools.com/nrs/exodus/47.html)
Sing: God Be with You till We Meet Again, UMH 672 Though the three Great Pyramids are the most famous and prominent monuments at Giza, the site has actually been a Necropolis almost since the beginning of dynastic Egypt. A tomb just on the outskirts of the Giza site dates from the reign of the 1st Dynasty Pharaoh Wadj, and jar sealings discovered in a tomb in the southern part of Giza mention the 2nd Dynasty Pharaoh Ninetjer. But it was the 4th Dynasty Pharaoh Khufu who placed Giza forever at the heart of funerary devotion, a city of the dead that dwarfed the cities of the living nearby. The advantages of Giza for a burial site are numerous, and it is fairly easy to see why it was chosen. It is high and flat ground overlooking everything. Any monument placed there would be seen from far away, especially if traveling via the Nile. It also has a ready supply of limestone on-site, eliminating the need to transport the blocks over a protracted distance. Since around the 5th Century BC, and up until recently, stone from the monuments were taken and used to build buildings in nearby Cairo. First the polished white limestone "casing" was taken, then the softer core stones. Many of Cairo's oldest buildings are built partly from stones from the pyramids. This destruction continued well into the 19th Century until preservation efforts and a resurgence of national pride put a stop to it. The Great Pyramids There are no more famous ancient sites within Egypt, or for that matter elsewhere in the world, than the Great Pyramids at Giza. They are, without question, the icon most associated with Egypt. They have been both the main destination for tourists, and a source of imaginative thought to the world for over three thousand years. How the Great Pyramid of Khufu was built is a question that may never be answered. Herodotus said that it would have taken 30 years and 100,000 slaves to build it. Another theory is that it was built by peasants who were unable to work the land while the Nile flooded between July and November. They may have been paid with food for their labor. The flooding waters would have also aided in moving the casing stones. These stones were brought from Aswan and Tura and the rising water would have brought the stones right to the pyramid. The Great Pyramid is thought to have been built between 2589 - 2566 BC. There were over 2,300,000 blocks of stone with an average weight of 2.5 tons each. The total weight would have been 12 billion pounds and a height of 482 feet. It is the largest and the oldest of the Pyramids of Giza. The encasing marble which covered the outside of the pyramid has eroded or been removed over time. With this casing off, the pyramid lost 33 feet off all of its dimensions. The top platform today is over 1,000 square feet. The base of the pyramid is 754 feet square and covers 13 acres. We only got to spend about twenty minutes of free time at the base of the Great Pyramid. That allowed us to climb up to where some folks were entering the pyramid. We also got to go look at the West and East sides and take a few photos. We did not stop at the other two pyramids but went up to a place above all three where we could get some good photos or ride a camel. The Great Sphinx In a depression to the southwest of Khufu's pyramid sits a creature with a human head and a lion's body. The name 'sphinx' which means 'strangler' was first given by the Greeks to a fabulous creature which had the head of a woman and the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. The sphinx appears to have started in Egypt in the form of a sun god. The Egyptian sphinx is usually the head of a king wearing his headdress and the body of a lion. There are, however, sphinxes with ram heads that are associated with the God Amun. The Great Sphinx is to the northeast of Khafre's Valley Temple. Where it sits was once a quarry. Khafre's workers shaped the stone into the lion and gave it their king's face over 4,500 years ago. The sphinx faces the rising sun with a temple to the front which resembles the sun temples which were built later by the pharaohs of the 5th Dynasty. The figure was buried in the sand for most of its life. Pharaoh Thutmose IV (1425 - 1417 BC) placed a stela between the front paws of the figure. It describes when Thutmose, while still a prince, had gone hunting and fell asleep in the shade of the sphinx. During a dream, the sphinx spoke to Thutmose and told him to clear away the sand because it was choking the sphinx. The sphinx told him that if he did this, he would be rewarded with a kingship. Thutmose carried out this request and the sphinx held up his end of the deal. Read: Exodus 46 (www.biblestudytools.com/nrs/exodus/46.html)
Sing: Day Is Dying in the West, UMH 687 Saqqara is one section of the great necropolis of Memphis which stretches for nearly twenty miles along the Nile. Saqqara is best known for the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the oldest known of Egypt’s 97 pyramids. There are tombs from the 1st Dynasty through the New Kingdom. It is also known for the famous “Pyramid Texts,” spells written to help the king ascend to the heavens and descend again, which reveal the relationship of the king to the gods. Saqqara is also famous for its private Old Kingdom tombs which contain beautiful and revealing scenes in their decorations. During the New Kingdom Memphis took second place to Thebes as Egypt’s capital. Yet even with the government established at Thebes, officials who ruled Upper Egypt lived in Memphis and were buried at Saqqara. The Pyramid of Teti The small hill in the main Saqqara pyramid field with a panoramic view of the whole necropolis is actually the pyramid of Teti, the first ruler of Egypt's 6th Dynasty. It is called "The Place of Teti Endure,” though this pyramid has not endured very well. This pyramid was originally 175 feet tall and had a base of 262 feet square. We were all a little leery of going inside/under this pyramid. The outside looks completely degraded but the corridor leading down to the burial chambers was in excellent condition as were the interior chambers themselves. The Pyramid Texts were everywhere. Hieroglyphs covered all of the walls and on the outside and inside of the sarcophagus. They were beautifully carved and I was impressed with how neatly they were arranged. Djoser’s Pyramid – The Step Pyramid Although the 3rd Dynasty actually began with the pharaoh Sanakht, of whom little is known despite a reign of eighteen years, the real founder is considered to be Djoser. Perhaps only in the case of Abu Simbel and Ramses II has a pharaoh been so closely identified with his architectural monument as is Djoser with Saqqara. The majestic Step Pyramid of Djoser, at the center of the funerary complex of Saqqara, is the oldest structure in the world entirely built of stone and the oldest pyramid yet found in Egypt. Originally it was constructed in the form of a normal mastaba. The mastaba (Arabic for “bench” or “shelf”) was the tomb of nobility and court dignitaries, rectangular in shape with slightly inward leaning walls. A second mastaba was added on top of the first, then a third and several more until a pyramid of six gradually diminishing layers existed. As it stands today, the pyramid is 203 feet in height and the base measures 358 by 410 feet. The burial chamber of the pharaoh was located almost at the center of the pyramid, at the bottom of a large vertical shaft 92 feet deep. From here a labyrinth of rooms, corridors, chambers, and passageways protecting the eternal rest of the sovereign spreads outwards over a length of more than three miles. The Mastaba of Idut Discovered in 1927 by the English archeologist Cecil Firth, this tomb was actually built for a vizier who lived at the time of pharaoh Unas at the end of the 5th Dynasty. At the time of the 6th Dynasty, princess Seshseshet, better known as Idut, took over the burial chambers and entirely altered the original decorations. For me, it was much more interesting to see the carved reliefs of this mastaba where they belong instead of in a museum. I am so grateful that we are allowed to enter these places and see these wonderful works of art that are over four thousand years old! As with the hieroglyphs of Teti’s Pyramid, I was very impressed with how well these engravings were planned and executed. I have seen on the History Channel how they would have many different people work on these carvings: first someone would develop a plan of what they wanted on the walls; then they would sketch what they wanted on the flat wall; rough carving would then be done followed by the finish carvers and then the painters. It is simply amazing to me that some of that paint is still on these walls today. Though you will not find the Mastaba of Idut on any list of major tourist sites in Egypt, I highly recommend it for your viewing pleasure. |
AuthorIn matters of faith, we at First United Methodist Church, Sealy put primary reliance on the Bible. In scripture, we understand that we are all God’s children; therefore, we will be a church that cares for the needs of our church and local community through prayer, deeds, inspiration, and love in the spirit of Christ. Archives
July 2020
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Our MissionCaring for the needs of our church and community through prayer, deeds, inspiration and love in the Spirit of Christ.
Sunday Worship: 10 am Adult & Children & Youth Sunday School 9 am First Kids Mother's Day Out (Tuesday & Thursday; 8am to 2pm; Ages 1-3) Rev Pat Bell, Pastor First United Methodist Church Sealy
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