The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh. – Jeremiah 46:25

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 4, 2014): Jeremiah 46

Amun-Re was the chief god of the Egyptian pantheon. In fact, Amun became so all- encompassing of the powers of the gods of Egypt that he threatened to reduce the worship of the Egyptian gods to a monotheistic faith. As time progressed, Amun-Re was not only the king of the gods, he was effectively becoming the only god of Egypt. In the Leiden hymns, a collection of Egyptian poetry written in the latter part of the 13^th Century B.C.E., Amun-Re is hailed as the unity of all Gods. He is the one god. He is the uncreated one, the one that existed before time began and will exist long after time has stopped. And if this is beginning to sound a little like the Christian God, the similarities continue. In Chapter 300, the poetry expressly describes Amun (Amun is the same as Amon in Jeremiah) as the primary god of the Egyptian Trinity. The god that is unity, but embodies the three central gods. He is one – yet three. Specifically the hymn reads –

            All the gods are three :
            Amun, Re and Ptah, without their seconds.
            His identity is hidden as Amun,
            He is Re as face, His body is Ptah.

            Everything that comes from His mouth,
            the gods are bound by it, according to what has been decreed.
            When a message is sent, it is for killing or for giving life.
            Life and death depend on Him for everyone,
            except for Him, Amun, together with Re, [and Ptah] : total, 3.

When we consider that the Amun is the unseen God and is associated with the wind, the Leiden Hymns almost begin to read like the Gospel of John - The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8.)

But Jeremiah makes it clear that Amun-Re, the uncreated one of Egypt is not the uncreated one Israel. Amon of Thebes, the king of the gods of Egypt, the prime deity of the Egyptian Trinity, the creator of everything that is – is nothing more than a pretender. And the God of Israel will never bow to a pretender.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 47