1 Kings 9:15, Solomon Builds a New Egypt

//Let me lead into this topic with an odd verse in Revelation.

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. –Revelation 11:8

This verse has long puzzled scholars, because by its context it’s clearly speaking of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is often compared to Sodom, but where is Jerusalem “spiritually called Egypt?” No such scripture has been found, leading to some wild speculation.

It’s with this question in mind that I approach today’s verse about the kingdom of Solomon.

I’ve long known that King Solomon used slave labor for the construction of God’s temple. But I had never paid attention to today’s verse, telling how he also built three cities with the help of slaves.

What’s the big deal? It’s this.

They’re military bases. Solomon used his massive wealth to construct the House of God in Jerusalem, and then he used his massive wealth to protect it. God’s holy home required slaves to build it, and then slaves to construct military bases to protect it. Then Solomon used his wealth to secure “fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses” for his army, which he stationed in the cities and with him in Jerusalem.

Know where these military chariots and horses came from? Egypt. The nation that kept the Hebrews as slaves for 400 years, and then pursued them as they escaped, using … yes, chariots and horses.

In less time than it took Israel to escape from the Pharaohs, Jerusalem had become the new Egypt. Could this be what Revelation is referring to?