In whom do we place our hope?

Today was our first day waking up on the cruise boat in Luxor. We had a full breakfast then a brief teaching with the Greers. Jennifer open with Psalm 33 which says:

“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine” (Psalms‬ 33:18-19‬).

We talked about how much the ancient Egyptians obsessed upon death and the afterlife. But no matter how powerful a pharaoh was, how many military victories he achieved, or how much wealth he accumulated, he could not avoid death and judgement. As we ask ourselves the same questions each day: who is God? Who are we? And why does it matter? We must also ask, “where are we placing our trust? And in whom (or what) do we place our hope?‬

We got an early start at the Valley of the Kings at the West Bank of the Nile. After the period of the Pyramids, burial practices changed. In order to avoid looting in to preserve their ancestors, we will begin burying royalty in tombs of the valley of the Kings. We have the opportunity to visit several teams including Ramses the fourth, Merenptah, and Ramses the third. The interior paintings (painted with a form of Tempera paint made from mineral powder, flour and eggs) were incredibly detailed and breathtakingly beautiful, even after thousands of years!

From there we went to the other side of the mountain and visited the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, one of two female pharaohs who ruled Egypt around 1300 BC. Hatshepsut lost her husband, and her infant son was too young to rule, so she ruled as pharaoh and dressed in men’s clothing and wore a false beard. Her rule more than 20 years was one of prosperity, building projects, trade expeditions, and overall well-being for the country.

Our third sight of the day was Medinet Habu, the mortuary temple for Ramses the third. Before you start wondering how many temples we will see and how they must look all alike, you must remember that each temple is unique. This one for example is the only one which house is a temple to Ramses III, along with his palace next-door. On the right hand side are the ruins of an early Christian village. All throughout the temple or various depictions of the pharaoh smiting his enemies, some of whom were the Philistines. When relief even shows a pile of human hands, which was the practice of the time for counting victims of defeat. Throughout the temple are many depictions of the name of Ramses 3, carved so deeply you can reach your hand and wrist inside, again reinforcing the desire to be remembered and immortalized. We then returned to our cruise ship for a late lunch and a lovely afternoon of tea and pastries on the sun deck of the cruise boat.

In our meeting this evening, the greeters discussed the ancestors of the Bible, especially Joseph. The story was written by someone very familiar with Egypt and its cultures, Moses. Regardless of which time period of Egyptian history includes the story of Joseph, his is a beautiful story of God transforming brokenness into something beautiful. May this be true of us as it was if Joseph: “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”
Psalms‬ 33:20-22‬ ‬‬‬