Come to Understanding

Come to Understanding

They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding,

and they that murmured shall learn doctrine. — Isaiah 29:24

So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense,

and caused them to understand the reading. — Nehemiah 8:8

July 14, 2011
Volume 10 Number 14

The Shadow of Egypt

The influence of ancient Egypt on the world is strong. Its secrets, many of which had their origins in ancient Shinar, provide the foundations upon which great worldly kingdoms have been built. They have deluded countless hearts and brilliant minds into faithless doubt concerning the truthfulness of Yahweh and His word. There is no greater example of the influence of Egypt on an earthly kingdom than that of King Solomon. Shortly after he ascended to the throne as the new King of Israel, Solomon married the princess of Egypt:

1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of Yahweh, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. -1 Kings 3

From that time forward, Solomon found himself under the influence of rulers of nations that served gods other than Yahweh. These included the Pharaoh of Egypt, the King of Tyre, and the Queen of Sheba. With their help, Solomon’s wealth and fame became legendary. In doing so, Solomon ignored Yahweh’s clear instructions for kings that they must not return to Egypt:

16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as Yahweh has said to you, You shall henceforth return no more that way. -Deuteronomy 17

Not only did Solomon take his first recorded wife from Egypt, but he also brought their horses for his use:

28 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price. -1 Kings 10

Yahweh had warned that the King of Israel must not enrich himself with wives or with silver and gold:

17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. -Deuteronomy 17

Nevertheless, with the help of the King of Tyre, Solomon received untold wealth:

22 For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. -1 Kings 10

The Queen of Sheba even brought her riches to Solomon:

10 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. -1 Kings 10

Gold was plentiful for Solomon:

14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, -1 Kings 10

Foreign wives, beginning with the daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh, were also plentiful for him:

1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; -1 Kings 11

The earthly greatness of Solomon is beyond imagination:

23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.

24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. -1 Kings 10

In most of our eyes, it appears that Solomon was blessed beyond measure. After all, Yahweh had promised blessings to those that keep His commandments:

1 And it shall come to pass, if you shall listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that Yahweh your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth:

2 And all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. -Deuteronomy 28

Solomon, however, did not keep the commandments of Yahweh. In reality, he directly disobeyed them, even to the level of worshipping other gods besides Yahweh:

9 And Yahweh was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from Yahweh God of Israel, which had appeared to him twice,

10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which Yahweh commanded. -1 Kings 11

Yahweh’s promise for such disobedience was not blessings at all. Instead, He promised curses:

14 And you shall not go aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

15 But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen unto the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day; that all these curses shall come upon you, and overtake you: -Deuteronomy 28

Yahweh’s word is clear. He offers blessings to those that keep His word and curses to those that reject it. Therefore, we must conclude that all of the wealth and wisdom that Solomon received were not really blessings at all. Instead, they apparently became prideful curses that eventually led to the destruction of Israel as a nation:

11 Therefore Yahweh said to Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. -1 Kings 11

Yahweh’s promise was fulfilled:

19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. -1 Kings 12

Solomon’s heart turned toward Egypt as he took the Pharaoh’s daughter to be his wife. Once he opened the door of his heart to Egypt, the road was cleared that led him into apostasy and, finally, to the destruction of Israel.

A widow’s son, named Jeroboam the son of Nebat, soon came up against Solomon:

26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. -1 Kings 11

He was prophetically announced to become the heir to the throne of all but two of the twelve tribes of Israel (see 1 Kings 11:31). Ironically, Jeroboam fled into Egypt, where he stayed until Solomon died:

40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. -1 Kings 11

After Jeroboam returned from Egypt, he soon became the king of ten of the tribes of the torn apart kingdom of Israel, retaining its name. However, from its very beginning, this new "kingdom of Israel" was dedicated to the worship of the gods of Egypt, instead of Yahweh:

28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt. -1 Kings 12

These calves represented Hathor, whose name means the "house of Horus." She was known in Egypt under various other names, including Isis. She was worshipped as the "Universal Mother," the "Mother of Gods," the "Queen of Heaven," the "Virgin Mother," and the "Mother of Horus." Hathor (Isis) served as both the mother and wife of the god Horus (see "The Goddess and Her Golden Calf," Come to Understanding, Vol. 7 No. 16, August 14, 2008, http://www.ibiblical.org/CTU%202008%20Editions/ctu0716.htm).

According to Egyptian legend, Horus was supernaturally conceived to Isis by his dead father, Osiris. One well-known author states that the secrets of these Egyptian gods serve as a basis for initiation ceremonies performed throughout the world:

The Mysteries of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, seem to have been the model of all other ceremonies of initiation subsequently established among the different peoples of the world.

(see Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry: Prepared for the Supreme Council of the Thirty-third Degree, for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, and Published by Its Authority, Charleston: Pike, 1905, p. 377)

In some of these popular secret rituals, Osiris is the Father, Isis is the Mother, and Horus is their "First-Begotten Son:"

Osiris, Isis, and Horus were the Father, Mother, and Son; the latter being Light, the Soul of the Word, the Son, the Protogonos or First-Begotten.

(see Pike, Morals and Dogma, p. 548)

Paul cautions that there is a "mystery," which is a secret or hidden thing, that he calls the "mystery of iniquity," at work. At a time of a great apostasy, called a "falling away," this mystery will be revealed to the world in the form of someone that will claim to be God:

6 And now you know what restrains that he might be revealed in his time.

7 For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now restrains will restrain, until he is taken out of the way. -2 Thessalonians 2

Isaiah offers a warning concerning trusting in the "shadow of Egypt:"

3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. -Isaiah 30

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Scriptures are taken from the Proper Name Version of the King James Bible.