Ask The Pastor 74

How did Moses know all this stuff?

First and foremost, we believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God (II Timothy 3:16), which means that God told him. That does not negate, however, the using of mankind’s intellect and resourcefulness in passing on information from one generation to another. Clay tablets have been discovered which show ancient history being recorded and passed along with periodic repetition of words and phrases to demonstrate the passing on from one author to another. Perhaps not as effective as page numbering, but works nevertheless. The phrase we see through the book of Genesis is “These are the generations of” as in Genesis 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2. These ancient writings, art, architecture, music, tools and warfare demonstrate that in stark contrast to pseudo-science ancient man was far more than a knuckle dragging descendant of an Ape but intelligent, skilled and creative. In this manner, it is entirely possible that Moses had in his possession, tablets that had been passed down from the patriarchs which told the stories from creation up to his present time and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit was able to write the book of Genesis. His writing of the remaining four books of the Torah came from his own first-hand experience. Archeology, not only has provided us with such tablets but have also uncovered ruins and artifacts that provide empirical evidence as to the truthfulness of the record we have before us. For example, there is the discovery of the Mari letters which confirm the name of Abraham and the five cities mentioned in Genesis 14 as being major marketing centers in the geographical locations as stated in the Bible. There is also evidence of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by a great upheaval including intense heat that molded layers of rock together. Actual science continues to prove that what the Bible says is true, which includes the truth that whoever believes on the Lord Jesus will have everlasting life (John 3:16,36)

Have questions about the Bible? Send them to Dr. Greg Koehn at gak4850@gmail.com and read the answer here in this article.