Day 237: Jeremiah 45-48

(The previous post covered prophecies to the remnant left in Judah and the judgments that would come if they attempted to escape to Egypt.)

Jeremiah 45

(This chapter was considered parenthetical. It was a prophecy directly to Baruch and was thought to belong with Chapter 36.)

¹ The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
² Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch:
³ Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for Jehovah hath added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.

(Baruch used similar expressions that Jeremiah used when he was sorrowful.)

⁴ Thus shalt thou say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up; and this in the whole land.
⁵ And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not; for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith Jehovah; but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.

(God used Jeremiah to counsel Baruch. God would spare Baruch's life even when things got worse for the people.)




Jeremiah 46

(This chapter began a new focus: Prophecies against Gentile powers. This theme lasted through Chapter 51.)

¹ The word of Jehovah which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
² Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh-neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah.

(This prophecy was concerned with Egypt. Although verse 2 told us that Nebuchadnezzar smote Egypt, this prophecy was given before that happened.)

³ Prepare ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
⁴ Harness the horses, and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, put on the coats of mail.

(Egypt was told to prepare for war.)

⁵ Wherefore have I seen it? they are dismayed and are turned backward; and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: terror is on every side, saith Jehovah.

(Jeremiah asked "Wherefore have I seen it?" Again, Jeremiah was being compassionate towards the destruction he prophesied and he wanted to know why he was seeing this.)

⁶ Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; in the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen.
⁷ Who is this that riseth up like the Nile, whose waters toss themselves like the rivers?
⁸ Egypt riseth up like the Nile, and his waters toss themselves like the rivers: and he saith, I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy cities and the inhabitants thereof.

(Egypt was in pride and would be destroyed.)

⁹ Go up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, that handle the shield; and the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow.

(Another call to war. This time it included more than Egypt. Cush and Ludim were both of Ethiopian decent and Put was the Libyans, all nations in the north of Africa and closely tied to Egypt.)

¹⁰ For that day is a day of the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour and be satiate, and shall drink its fill of their blood; for the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

(This day of the Lord was simply a day of vengeance from God on Egypt.)

¹¹ Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt: in vain dost thou use many medicines; there is no healing for thee.

(It was too late for Egypt to repair: "no healing.")

¹² The nations have heard of thy shame, and the earth is full of thy cry; for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, they are fallen both of them together.
¹³ The word that Jehovah spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt.

(This section began the recording of the actual prophecy given to Jeremiah concerning Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt…)

¹⁴ Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Memphis and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand forth, and prepare thee; for the sword hath devoured round about thee.

(The first part of this prophecy was very straightforward. The coming destruction of Egypt was to be declared in all of the great cities of that country. The Egyptians were made aware of the coming judgment.)

¹⁵ Why are thy strong ones swept away? they stood not, because Jehovah did drive them.
¹⁶ He made many to stumble, yea, they fell one upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.

(The Egyptian army was made mostly of men from the areas surrounding Egypt, such as the countries mentioned in verse 9. After a major defeat, these men wanted to go back to their homes.)

¹⁷ They cried there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath let the appointed time pass by.
¹⁸ As I live, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts, surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.

(Nebuchadnezzar was coming to conquer Egypt. It was a sure thing.)

¹⁹ O thou daughter that dwellest in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity; for Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up, without inhabitant.

(God told Egypt to prepare for the forthcoming captivity by Nebuchadnezzar.)

²⁰ Egypt is a very fair heifer; but destruction out of the north is come, it is come.
²¹ Also her hired men in the midst of her are like calves of the stall; for they also are turned back, they are fled away together, they did not stand: for the day of their calamity is come upon them, the time of their visitation.

(The "hired men" were the soldiers in the Egyptian army that were not necessarily Egyptian (again, see verse 9). These men were paid to fight for Egypt. Was it any wonder that these men would want to flee when they were faced with defeat?)

²² The sound thereof shall go like the serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
²³ They shall cut down her forest, saith Jehovah, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
²⁴ The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
²⁵ Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saith: Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with her gods, and her kings; even Pharaoh, and them that trust in him:

(The leaders of Egypt would be punished as well as those who trusted in them.)

²⁶ and I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants; and afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith Jehovah.

(The "afterwards it shall be inhabited" referred to peace time during the Millennium.)

²⁷ But fear not thou, O Jacob my servant, neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
²⁸ Fear not thou, O Jacob my servant, saith Jehovah; for I am with thee: for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee; but I will not make a full end of thee, but I will correct thee in measure, and will in no wise leave thee unpunished.

(Israel would be restored. However, God was Just and He had to equal out Justice…therefore, the Israelites would be punished.)




Jeremiah 47
¹ The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.

(The next prophecy concerned with the judgment of the Gentile nations focused on the Philistines…)

² Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall become an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land and all that is therein, the city and them that dwell therein; and the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.

(Again, Babylon would be used to judge Philistia: "out of the north." Remember, the "north" referred to Babylon.)

³ At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong ones, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers look not back to their children for feebleness of hands;
⁴ because of the day that cometh to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remaineth: for Jehovah will destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the isle of Caphtor.

(Tyre and Sidon being "neighbors" to the Philistines would have no help from them after Philistia was destroyed.)

⁵ Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is brought to nought, the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?

(Philistia (Gaza and Ashkelon both being cities of the Philistines) was compared to a person who had been made bald and had cut themselves, both symbols of distress and mourning.)

⁶ O thou sword of Jehovah, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard; rest, and be still.

(The "sword of Jehovah" in this verse referred to the specific usage of Babylon to judge these people...Babylon was Jehovah's sword in these judgments.)

⁷ How canst thou be quiet, seeing Jehovah hath given thee a charge? Against Ashkelon, and against the sea-shore, there hath he appointed it.




Jeremiah 48
¹ Of Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo! for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and broken down.

(The prophecies in this chapter transitioned to a focus on Moab. Remember, Moab was from Lot.)

² The praise of Moab is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation. Thou also, O Madmen, shalt be brought to silence: the sword shall pursue thee.

(Moab had continually acted against Israel and judgment was imminent.)

³ The sound of a cry from Horonaim, desolation and great destruction!

(Horonaim was a city in Moab.)

⁴ Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.

(Moab was destroyed.)

⁵ For by the ascent of Luhith with continual weeping shall they go up; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.
⁶ Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

(The Moabites were told to flee to save their lives.)

⁷ For, because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

(The reason they were judged was because they trusted in themselves and their possessions. They would be taken captive along with Chemosh, the Moabite god. Remember, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh: 1 Kings 11.)

⁸ And the destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed; as Jehovah hath spoken.

(The destroyer was Babylon.)

⁹ Give wings unto Moab, that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein.
¹⁰ Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

(The Moabites were negligent, meant deceitful. Cursed was he who did God's work deceitfully. Deception was a right what with a wrong or no how/why. This verse meant that a man who did God's work with his own how/why was being deceitful.)

¹¹ Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not changed.

(To this point, Moab had not experienced judgment and continued to walk in their own ways.)

¹² Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will send unto him them that pour off, and they shall pour him off; and they shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles in pieces.
¹³ And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence.

(The judgment Moab faced would cause them to be ashamed of Chemosh (their god) just as Israel was ashamed of the gods made in Beth-el.)

¹⁴ How say ye, We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war?
¹⁵ Moab is laid waste, and they are gone up into his cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
¹⁶ The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

(Moab was no longer mighty but waste. Their affliction was near and coming fast.)

¹⁷ All ye that are round about him, bemoan him, and all ye that know his name; say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!
¹⁸ O thou daughter that dwellest in Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the destroyer of Moab is come up against thee, he hath destroyed thy strongholds.
¹⁹ O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and watch: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What hath been done?
²⁰ Moab is put to shame; for it is broken down: wail and cry; tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.

(They were told to mourn because Moab was put to shame.)

²¹ And judgment is come upon the plain country, upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath,
²² and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim,
²³ and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,
²⁴ and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
²⁵ The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.

(All the cities of Moab would experience this judgment.)

²⁶ Make ye him drunken; for he magnified himself against Jehovah: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
²⁷ For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for as often as thou speakest of him, thou waggest the head.

(Moab treated Israel as a joke, they continually mocked (derision) Israel.)

²⁸ O ye inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock; and be like the dove that maketh her nest over the mouth of the abyss.
²⁹ We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; his loftiness, and his pride, and his arrogancy, and the haughtiness of his heart.
³⁰ I know his wrath, saith Jehovah, that it is nought; his boastings have wrought nothing.

(God was aware of Moab's pride. Notice, Moab's pride brought forth nothing…no profit.)

³¹ Therefore will I wail for Moab; yea, I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall they mourn.

(Lamentation for Moab…)

³² With more than the weeping of Jazer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah: thy branches passed over the sea, they reached even to the sea of Jazer: upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage the destroyer is fallen.
³³ And gladness and joy is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to cease from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting.

(There would be no gladness and no joy in Moab. The fruit and wine would cease and since they trusted in these things more than God, they would be filled with sorrow.)

³⁴ From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, even unto Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, to Eglath-shelishiyah: for the waters of Nimrim also shall become desolate.
³⁵ Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, him that offereth in the high place, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

(God would cause idolatry in the high places of Moab to stop.)

³⁶ Therefore my heart soundeth for Moab like pipes, and my heart soundeth like pipes for the men of Kir-heres: therefore the abundance that he hath gotten is perished.
³⁷ For every head is bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

(More imagery of distress and mourning.)

³⁸ On all the housetops of Moab and in the streets thereof there is lamentation every where; for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein none delighteth, saith Jehovah.
³⁹ How is it broken down! how do they wail! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab become a derision and a terror to all that are round about him.

(Just as Israel was a derision (mockery) to Moab, Moab would be a derision to those around him. God was Just.)

⁴⁰ For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread out his wings against Moab.

(Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon would come quickly against Moab.)

⁴¹ Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and the heart of the mighty men of Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

(The mighty men of Moab would experience much pain.)

⁴² And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against Jehovah.

(This was fulfilled. After Moab's captivity to Babylon, the nation was not again brought together.)

⁴³ Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
⁴⁴ He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon him, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.

(Moab would be destroyed in a number of ways.)

⁴⁵ They that fled stand without strength under the shadow of Heshbon; for a fire is gone forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath devoured the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
⁴⁶ Woe unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away captive, and thy daughters into captivity.
⁴⁷ Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith Jehovah. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

(Moab will be restored in the "latter days": the Millennium.)

(This post covered prophecies against Gentile powers: Egypt and north African countries, Philistia, and Moab.)

Day 238