Call to Commitment

Modern Gaza City. Population: 600,000

                                Chapter 47

1.      The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. 

2.      Thus says the LORD: "Behold, waters rise out of the north, And shall be an overflowing flood; They shall overflow the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell within; Then the men shall cry, And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.

3.      At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, At the rushing of his chariots, At the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers will not look back for their children, Lacking courage,

4.      Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; For the LORD shall plunder the Philistines, The remnant of the country of Caphtor. 

5.      Baldness has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon is cut off With the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself? 

6.      "O you sword of the LORD, How long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, Rest and be still! 

7.      How can it be quiet, Seeing the LORD has given it a charge Against Ashkelon and against the seashore? There He has appointed it." 

 The judgment of the Philistines takes its proper place after Egypt, because they follow the great empire, along with its Pharaohs, as enemies of Israel. Egypt dominated and enslaved the nation, but the Philistines were an enemy near at hand, on their southwest border, continually harassing and threatening them. The history of Israel is intertwined with that of the Philistines.

 

Pharaoh Necho

                                    Chapter 46

 

 Preparation of the Egyptian army for war

        1.      The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the nations. 

 2.      Against Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 

 3.      "Order the buckler and shield, And draw near to battle! 

 4.      Harness the horses, And mount up, you horsemen! Stand forth with your helmets, Polish the spears, Put on the armor! 

 5.      Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back? Their mighty ones are beaten down; They have speedily fled, And did not look back, For fear was all around," says the LORD. 

 6.      "Do not let the swift flee away, Nor the mighty man escape; They will stumble and fall Toward the north, by the River Euphrates. 

 7.      "Who is this coming up like a flood, Whose waters move like the rivers? 

 8.      Egypt rises up like a flood, And its waters move like the rivers; And he says, 'I will go up and cover the earth, I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.' 

 9.      Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots! And let the mighty men come forth: The Ethiopians and the Libyans who handle the shield, And the Lydians who handle and bend the bow. 

We say so often that the Scriptures are the revelation of God and He is revealed in them in myriads of ways. I would like to mention three great topics, among many, which we have encountered in the book of Jeremiah that describe His ways. I mentioned one in the last chapter: 1) There are prophecies to the individual, as the word to Baruch, earlier to the Ethiopian eunuch, proving the Lord’s interest in each person. 2) In the following chapters, we will study prophecies to other nations, besides Israel, to show that God is the Lord of the whole earth and is interested in every nation. 3) We will notice in the way this book ends in chapter 52:31-34, that God wants to leave the reader on a positive note. He not only does this at the end of Jeremiah, but it is His practice throughout the Bible. The Lord wants to show that He is very compassionate and merciful, as James describes Job’s final days on earth, in the last chapter of his letter (Jm.5:11).

 Beginning in this chapter and continuing through chapter 51, Jeremiah joins with Isaiah and Ezekiel in giving several prophecies to nations outside of Israel. Daniel´s prophecies, as well, were on an international level, particularly aimed at four world powers – Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. Let’s not forget that Jonah and Nahum’s word was exclusively for Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire. Obadiah’s word was for Edom and other prophecies to foreign nations are interspersed in the minor prophets.

 To outline the rest of the book, this chapter concerns Egypt; chapter 47, the Philistines, Tyre and Sidon. In chapter 48, there is a prophecy for Moab and chapter 49 concerns a variety of nations… Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam. Chapters 50 and 51 have to do with Babylon and finally, chapter 52, reiterates the conquest of Jerusalem. Then, there is a remarkable ending to the book, the Holy Spirit being careful not to end the book without mentioning King Jehoiachin’s release from a Babylonian prison, and brought to the emperor’s table for the rest of his days. 

 

Charles Spurgeon

Chapter 45

 

A personal word, recorded for all to heed    

  1.      The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 

2.      "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 

       3.      'You said, "Woe is me now! For the LORD has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my                                 sighing, and I find no rest." ' 

4.      "Thus you shall say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land.      

5.    And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh," says the LORD. "But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go." ' "

This chapter goes back to the time, when wicked Jehoiakim reigned in Judah and the Lord instructed Jeremiah to write his prophecies in a book. To briefly review the account in chapter 36, we will recall that the prophet dictated to Baruch all that the Lord had given to him concerning the future of Judah. The work took at least nine months, and up to a year or more to finish, because it began in the fourth year of Jehoiakim and Baruch read from it in the fifth year and ninth month.  You may remember that the king burnt the first work, so Jeremiah and Baruch wrote it the second time. It has been preserved from that time to the present, and in 2023, we study and learn from it.

 This short chapter is a word specifically for Baruch, God showing concern for an individual. It is comforting to know that this is true and is proven throughout the Bible. The Lord, not only watches over the nation of Israel, but moves in the lives of each individual. Sometimes His word to them is written, more often it is simply a private benefit for each person. At the end of the Gospel of John, we have a written account of Jesus dealing with Peter. John follows, as Peter walks with Jesus, and Peter asks, “What about this man?” The Lord shows to him, that His work in the life of another person, is not anyone else’s concern, answering, “What is that to you? You follow Me” (Jn.21:21-22). The portion should be a great encouragement for the least of His followers, proving that God takes personal interest in him.

 God’s word to Baruch, on the other hand, is a lesson for the world of God’s people to know, because it is written in the Bible, so we will learn from it today. It gives us an idea of Baruch’s attitude in the difficult time of King Jehoiakim and God’s counsel to him (1 and 2). Baruch is a man with potential to achieve success in life.  

 

Pharaoh Hophra (Louvre Museum)

Chapter 44

 

 The Lord reminds the Jews in Egypt of the calamity in Jerusalem

  1.      The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt who dwell at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, 

 2.      "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them,

3.      because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers. 

 4.      However I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, "Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!" 

 5.      But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods. 

 6.      So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.' 

 7.      "Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain, 

 8.      in that you provoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

I find the timeline of events that occur interesting, as this chapter begins, so please allow me to review them. The biblical account is very precise, dating the final conquest of Jerusalem, as having taken place on the 11^th year, the 4^th month and 9^th day of the reign of Zedekiah. The date in World History is not as precise, but certainly gives reasonably accurate times concerning these events. Historically, Jerusalem was overcome in 590-586 B.C.

 Almost immediately, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah governor of Judah. Only two months later, he was murdered by Ishmael, who took with him the important people left in Gedaliah´s care. The captains of Judah’s army, led by Johanan, pursued Ishmael, failing to capture him, but were able to free the prisoners. These people, including the royal princesses, daughters of Zedekiah, became his followers. Temporarily they went to live near Bethlehem, in a place called Chimham. 

 

See the city of Tahpenhes, marked in red

                                   Chapter 43

 

Johanan rejects Jeremiah’s prophecy

  1.       Now it happened, when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, all these words, 

 2.      that Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, "You speak falsely! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.' 

 3.      But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon." 

 4.      So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would not obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah. 

 5.      But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to dwell in the land of Judah, from all nations where they had been driven— 

 6.      men, women, children, the king's daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 

 7.      So they went to the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they went as far as Tahpanhes.