1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Sphinx – mythical creature with a body of animal and human head – is very ancient symbol.
The oldest known depictions of sphinxes were made in Neolithic Age: in Nevali Çori site (Turkey) have been found some 11,500 years old, small, exquisite sculptures of these beings.
A third appeal to history traces God’s choice of Israel back to Egypt, the exodus from that country having given birth to the nation. Israel’s response to the Lord is now illustrated by the wayward son rather than by the unfaithful wife. For Israel as a son and for God as Father.
Hosea saw God’s love as the basis for the election of Israel. Matthew found in the call of Israel from Egypt a typological picture of Jesus’ coming from Egypt:
“And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son” (Matt 2:15).
2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
“Go” – this picture of a father teaching is child to walk is one of the most tender in the Old Testament.
4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
It’s 756 feet long on each side, 450 feet high and is composed of 2,300,000 blocks of stone, each averaging 2 1/2 tons in weight. Despite the makers’ limited surveying tools, no side is more than 8 inches different in length than another, and the whole structure is perfectly oriented to the points of the compass.
The imagery is unclear, but the figure seems to change to a farmer tending his work animals. Another interpretation sees a continuation of the son image, with the father lifting the son to his cheek.
“Laid meat unto them” – God supplied miraculous food in the wilderness (see Ex 16; Deut 8:16).
5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
“Egypt…Assyria “ – the tender tone changes to threat of exile to the two countries between which Israel had vacillated. It is ironic that the people rescued from Egypt should be returned there because of their disloyalty to the One who had rescued them.
6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.
7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.
8 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.
The stubborn son was subject to stoning, but the Lord’s compassion overcame His wrath and He refused to destroy Ephraim (Israel).
“Admah…Zeboim” – cities of the plain overthrown when Sodom was destroyed and symbolizing total destruction.
There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished. The so-called[1] Queen’s Chamber and King’s Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only pyramid in Egypt known to contain both ascending and descending passages.
The main part of the Giza complex is a setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu’s wives, an even smaller “satellite” pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.
“God, and not man” – although Israel has been as unreliable as man, God will not be untrue to the love He has shown toward Israel. Israel was to be punished, but not destroyed.
10 They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.
“Roar like a lion” – rather than threatening destruction God’s roar was now a clear signal to return from exile.
“The west” – the islands of the sea, as well as coastlands.
11 They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.
“As a bird…as a dove” – suggests swiftness of return and is not derogatory, as was the earlier comparison to a silly dove.
12 Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.
Constructed around 2500 B.C. to hold the remains of King Khufu of the 4th dynasty, the Great Pyramid at Giza contains more than two million stone blocks weighing on average about two and a half tons each.
One of the most famous structures on the list of the seven wonders of the ancient world is The Great Pyramid of Giza. What makes this structure the most recognizable on the list? Not only is this pyramid the oldest structure on the list, but it is the only structure that still remains.
The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest man made structure in the world for 3800 years which is not only a testament to its durability but to its mark as one of the most remarkable structures built.
Archaeologists continue to investigate how those huge limestone and granite blocks were hefted into place. They came from distant quarries, up to 500 miles away, and must have been transported down the Nile to Giza on barges.
Some sort of ramp was probably used to haul them up the sides of the emerging pyramid, which rose to a height of 481 feet.
Within the magnificent and impressive structure are passageways leading to the King’s Chamber, containing a stone sarcophagus for the pharaoh’s remains. The tomb was robbed ages ago, leaving no mummy or grave treasures.
So-called air shafts leading from the King’s Chamber to the surface of the pyramid may have been intended not for ventilation but to allow the king’s spirit to ascend to heaven.
Tens of thousands of laborers toiled for two decades constructing this great monument. Teams of workers with names such as “Victorious Gang” left their titles inscribed on the blocks. Many were peasants, conscripted to labor on the pyramid seasonally.
The building blocks of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt around 450 B.C., wrote that Khufu’s name was “odious, even to posterity,” for the labors he imposed on those who cut and transported the stones and built the Great Pyramid: “100,000 men were thus employed at a time, and they were relieved by an equal number every three months.”
Herodotus was repeating stories told to him thousands of years after Khufu died, but building such monuments must indeed have been taxing on Egypt and its people. That may explain why later pharaohs built smaller tombs than those erected at Giza by Khufu and his 4th-dynasty successors.
