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.

 The Philistine roots are included in the genealogies of Genesis, among the offspring of Mizraim, a son of Ham. They are listed as brothers with the Egyptian tribes (Ge.10:6-14). Abraham, sojourner in the land of promise, during the time that he lived in Beersheba, made a treaty with the king of the Philistines, Abimelech. Already Abimelech was a threat (Ge.20:2), not only to Abraham and Sarah, but to the promise of God, concerning a son to come through Sarah. That exact same threat was repeated against Isaac and Rebekah, and the purpose of the Lord through them (Ge.26:7-11). Isaac’s livelihood also came under attack, when the Philistines stopped up the wells dug by Abraham (Ge.26:15).

 When the Israelites left Egypt, God led them away from the Philistines’ land, to avoid a military conflict. The Philistines were left unconquered after the time of Joshua. Their gods were included, when Israel became idolatrous under the Judges. At the time of Judge Samson, the Philistines oppressed God’s people and Samson’s life purpose was to break their hold upon Israel. He did that mightily, destroying the Philistine lords, along with 3,000 people, among whom he died also.

 It was at a skirmish with the Philistines that Eli, the priest, and his sons died, and the Ark of the Covenant was captured. It was their undoing to take the ark and the Lord brought a curse upon their god, Dagon, and all the land. They anxiously returned the ark to its owners. Samuel, the prophet, and King Saul continued with the war against the Philistines throughout their life, and Saul died at the hand of the Philistines.

 Then, we have the famous duel between the Philistine champion, Goliath, and the youth, David. Later, David and an army of 600, went to live with a Philistine king of Gath, Achish, with whom he was entrapped to fight against his own people, the Lord rescuing him. King Saul and his son, Jonathan, David’s friend, died in that battle. King David fought with the Philistines throughout his reign and subdued them. War with the Philistines continued from time to time, throughout the history of the kings.

 I will mention one last incident in the history of Israel, concerning their relations with the Philistines. It had to do with King Ahaziah of the northern kingdom, who lived in Samaria. He was injured in an accident and sent servants to the Philistine city of Ekron, to inquire of their god, Baal-Zebub, as to whether or not he would recover. The prophet Elijah encountered them on their journey with these words: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub?” He promptly sent them back to the king with the message that he would surely die (2 K.1:1-17).

 The Philistines had five major cities, governed by five lords: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath. The Gaza Strip, in the southwest corner of Israel, is well-known to us today and the city of Gaza continues to exist, with a population of almost 600,000. So does Ashdod, a port city, on the Mediterranean Sea. Ashkelon is a modern city with about 150,000 people. Ancient Ekron and Gath have been excavated by archeologists.

 The text informs us that Pharaoh Necho attacked Gaza, but Jeremiah’s prophecy, although it occurs before the Egyptian attack, concerns an invasion from the north, from the Chaldeans (1). As is common in the Bible, waters or a flood speaks of a great multitude of people. There will be tremendous consternation in the nation of the Philistines (2), as they flee, smitten with fear, before the invading Babylonian army, so much fear that they leave their children behind (3). Help from Philistia for their allies of Tyre and Sidon, on the Mediterranean coast just to the north, has been cut off.

 The judgment of Tyre and Sidon is in relation to that of the Philistines, because of Nebuchadnezzar’s attacks upon both places. It is interesting to study the advances of Alexander the Great, who makes a more thorough destruction of Tyre, than Nebuchadnezzar had done, and then, his army comes down the coastland of the Mediterranean to attack the Philistines. The Spirit of God, fully aware of the roots of the Philistines, mentions the country of Caphtor, as related to them (4, Ge.10:14). Only a remnant remains, after Pharaoh’s attack and the Chaldean attack that followed.

 Only a remnant is left in the two cities, Gaza and Ashkelon, as well. Baldness and cutting into flesh is a heathen indication of extreme sorrow (5). The Lord asks them how long the heathen practices will continue, since it can do nothing against judgment from heaven. The correct response would be for them to leave these barbaric demonstrations and submit to the God, who is dealing with them.

Humanity cries for an end to the judgment from the sword of the Lord. The Philistines, the cities of Ashkelon and the coastland beg for it to be placed back in the scabbard (6), but it is time for men to learn the ways of God. The perfect judgment of God must arrive at its goal to restore righteousness through judgment. Humanism must take a back seat, crying for an end to punishment. I am reminded of the plea of the thief on the cross, “Save Yourself and us” (Lk.23:39). But God is fulfilling all righteousness and His Son must hang there to the death! It is Good Friday, the day in which God deals righteously with sin. Sunday is on the horizon. As one preacher put it, “It is better to rise from the dead, than to come down from the cross!” It is time for the ways of God to be recognized and accepted, over man’s ways (7).