I have always wondered how
Red Sea parted as described in
Exodus story of Moses.The recent Tsunamis that happened in West Sumatra and
tremendous destruction that came with it got me thinking - was this what really happened to
Egyptian army when they were pursuing
Hebrew people while they were led out of Egypt by Moses?
On
internet, many eyewitness accounts can be obtained very fast. Pictures taken by amateurs appeared on
news channels within hours of
event. Many people were able to witness
destructive effects of gigantic waves through these movies. Death just happens in an instance with
pounding of 700 kph waves that destroyed everything in its path.
Ironically, just a few hundred meters away, people were busy with their shopping, eating, laughing, as if nothing happens. Nobody had expected such fury and destruction. It was just like a monster coming in and swallowing its victims.
On that eventful Sunday of 26th December 2004, I was attending Mass at our local church. At approximately 0900 hrs, I could feel a very slight tremor while I was listening to
homily delivered by our Parish priest.
The tremor was so slight that at first I thought I was not feeling well and felt a bit dizzy. Then I noticed that many other people were looking around them as if they also felt something. My neighbor sitting next to me could not even feel anything.
Everybody went home without even suspecting anything amiss.
My family and I even went over to a shopping complex very near to
seaside where
tsunami hit. That was at about 1300 hrs.
Back to
event of
Exodus. About 4 thousand years ago, there was a report in
bible that
Red Sea parted, and
Hebrew people led by Moses were able to walk through
sea as if it were dry land.
After they had cross over
seabed,
pursuing armies of
Egyptian pharaoh followed in their trails. The wheels of their chariots got stuck in
mud, and
water came back, swept and destroyed them. None of them survived.
I was wondering. The waters must have come in very fast! How come none of
soldiers were able to escape? The recent Tsunami, triggered by an undersea earth tremor seems to provide a living example of what can cause
water to rise so high and so suddenly that none of them could survive.
The recent tsunami was caused by an earth tremor. Was it likely to occur at
Red Sea? Sure enough, some areas in
Mediterranean were well known for volcanic activity.