The Egyptians, the Philistines, and the Moabites – Jeremiah 46-48

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  This is Episode #237 and today we’ll read Jeremiah 46-48 together.  Jeremiah predicts Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of the Egyptians, the Philistines, and the Moabites.  

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2!  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me – from the beginning – simply reading God’s word together.  We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament.  But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New.  So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work.  I’m really glad you’re here!

Jeremiah Chapter 46

This is the word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah about the nations:

Prophecies against Egypt

About Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt’s king, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in the fourth year of Judah’s King Jehoiakim son of Josiah:

Deploy small shields and large;

approach for battle!

Harness the horses;

mount the steeds;

take your positions with helmets on!

Polish the lances;

put on armor!

Why have I seen this?

They are terrified,

they are retreating,

their warriors are crushed,

they flee headlong,

they never look back,

terror is on every side!

This is the Lord’s declaration.

The swift cannot flee,

and the warrior cannot escape!

In the north by the bank of the Euphrates River,

they stumble and fall.

Who is this, rising like the Nile,

with waters that churn like rivers?

Egypt rises like the Nile,

and its waters churn like rivers.

He boasts, “I will go up, I will cover the earth;

I will destroy cities with their residents.”

Rise up, you cavalry!

Race furiously, you chariots!

Let the warriors march out —

Cush and Put,

who are able to handle shields,

and the men of Lud,

who are able to handle and string the bow.

That day belongs to the Lord, the God of Armies,

a day of vengeance to avenge himself

against his adversaries.

The sword will devour and be satisfied;

it will drink its fill of their blood,

because it will be a sacrifice to the Lord, the God of Armies,

in the northern land by the Euphrates River.

Go up to Gilead and get balm,

Virgin Daughter Egypt!

You have multiplied remedies in vain;

there is no healing for you.

The Lord has Thrust Him Down

The nations have heard of your dishonor,

and your cries fill the earth,

because warrior stumbles against warrior

and together both of them have fallen.

This is the word the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the coming of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to defeat the land of Egypt:

Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol!

Proclaim it in Memphis and in Tahpanhes!

Say, “Take positions! Prepare yourself,

for the sword devours all around you.”

Why have your strong ones been swept away?

Each has not stood,

for the Lord has thrust him down.

He continues to stumble.

Indeed, each falls over the other.

They say, “Get up! Let’s return to our people

and to our native land,

away from the oppressor’s sword.”

There they will cry out,

“Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise;

he let the opportune moment pass.”

As I live —

this is the King’s declaration;

the Lord of Armies is his name —

the king of Babylon will come like Tabor among the mountains

and like Carmel by the sea.

Get your bags ready for exile,

inhabitant of Daughter Egypt!

For Memphis will become a desolation,

uninhabited ruins.

Egypt is a beautiful young cow,

but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.

Even her mercenaries among her

are like stall-fed calves.

They too will turn back;

together they will flee;

they will not take their stand,

for the day of their calamity is coming on them,

the time of their punishment.

Put to Shame

Egypt will hiss like a slithering snake,

for the enemy will come with an army;

with axes they will come against her

like those who cut trees.

They will cut down her forest —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

though it is dense,

for they are more numerous than locusts;

they cannot be counted.

Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,

handed over to a northern people.

The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says, “I am about to punish Amon, god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, Egypt, her gods, and her kings — Pharaoh and those trusting in him. I will hand them over to those who intend to take their lives — to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his officers. But after this, Egypt will be inhabited again as in ancient times.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Reassurance for Israel

But you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid,

and do not be discouraged, Israel,

for without fail I will save you from far away,

and your descendants from the land of their captivity!

Jacob will return and have calm and quiet

with no one to frighten him.

And you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

for I will be with you.

I will bring destruction on all the nations

where I have banished you,

but I will not bring destruction on you.

I will discipline you with justice,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

Jeremiah Chapter 47

Prophecies against the Philistines

This is the word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah about the Philistines before Pharaoh defeated Gaza. This is what the Lord says:

Look, water is rising from the north

and becoming an overflowing wadi.

It will overflow the land and everything in it,

the cities and their inhabitants.

The people will cry out,

and every inhabitant of the land will wail.

At the sound of the stomping hooves of his stallions,

the rumbling of his chariots,

and the clatter of their wheels,

fathers will not turn back for their sons.

They will be utterly helpless

on account of the day that is coming

to destroy all the Philistines,

to cut off from Tyre and Sidon

every remaining ally.

Indeed, the Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,

the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.

Baldness is coming to Gaza;

Ashkelon will become silent.

Remnant of their valley,

how long will you gash yourself?

Oh, sword of the Lord!

How long will you be restless?

Go back to your sheath;

be still; be silent!

How can it rest

when the Lord has given it a command?

He has assigned it

against Ashkelon and the shore of the sea.

Jeremiah Chapter 48

Prophecies against Moab

About Moab, this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:

Woe to Nebo, because it is about to be destroyed;

Kiriathaim will be put to shame; it will be taken captive.

The fortress will be put to shame and dismayed!

There is no longer praise for Moab;

they plan harm against her in Heshbon:

Come, let’s cut her off from nationhood.

Also, Madmen, you will be silenced;

the sword will follow you.

A voice cries out from Horonaim,

“devastation and a crushing blow!”

Moab will be shattered;

her little ones will cry out.

For on the Ascent to Luhith

they will be weeping continually,

and on the descent to Horonaim

will be heard cries of distress over the destruction:

Flee! Save your lives!

Be like a juniper bush in the wilderness.

Because you trust in your works and treasures,

you will be captured also.

Chemosh will go into exile

with his priests and officials.

The destroyer will move against every town;

not one town will escape.

The valley will perish,

and the plain will be annihilated,

as the Lord has said.

Make Moab a salt marsh,

for she will run away;

her towns will become a desolation,

without inhabitant.

The one who does

the Lord’s business deceitfully is cursed,

and the one who withholds

his sword from bloodshed is cursed.

Moab has been left quiet since his youth,

settled like wine on its dregs.

He hasn’t been poured from one container to another

or gone into exile.

So his taste has remained the same,

and his aroma hasn’t changed.

Therefore look, the days are coming —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

when I will send pourers to him, who will pour him out.

They will empty his containers

and smash his jars.

Mourn for Moab

Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,

just as the house of Israel was put to shame

because of Bethel that they trusted in.

How can you say, “We are warriors —

valiant men for battle”?

The destroyer of Moab and its towns

has come up,

and the best of its young men

have gone down to slaughter.

This is the King’s declaration;

the Lord of Armies is his name.

Moab’s calamity is near at hand;

his disaster is rushing swiftly.

Mourn for him, all you surrounding nations,

everyone who knows his name.

Say, “How the mighty scepter is shattered,

the glorious staff!”

Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,

resident of the daughter of Dibon,

for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;

he has destroyed your fortresses.

Stand by the highway and watch,

resident of Aroer!

Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping,

“What happened?”

Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.

Wail and cry out!

Declare by the Arnon

that Moab is destroyed.

“Judgment has come to the land of the plateau — to Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, Dibon, Nebo, Beth-diblathaim, Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, Beth-meon, Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of the land of Moab, those far and near. Moab’s horn is chopped off; his arm is shattered.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

“Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the Lord. Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock. Wasn’t Israel a laughingstock to you? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.”

Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs,

residents of Moab!

Be like a dove

that nests inside the mouth of a cave.

Not a Shout of Joy

We have heard of Moab’s pride,

great pride, indeed —

his insolence, arrogance, pride,

and haughty heart.

I know his outburst.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

It is empty.

His boast is empty.

Therefore, I will wail over Moab.

I will cry out for Moab, all of it;

he will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

I will weep for you, vine of Sibmah,

with more than the weeping for Jazer.

Your tendrils have extended to the sea;

they have reached to the sea and to Jazer.

The destroyer has fallen on your summer fruit and grape harvest.

Gladness and celebration are taken from the fertile field

and from the land of Moab.

I have stopped the flow of wine from the winepresses;

no one will tread with shouts of joy.

The shouting is not a shout of joy.

“There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they make their voices heard as far as Jahaz — from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah — because even the Waters of Nimrim have become desolate. In Moab, I will stop” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “the one who offers sacrifices on the high place and burns incense to his gods.

Therefore, my heart moans like flutes for Moab, and my heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres.

Moab Will Become a Laughingstock

And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished. Indeed, every head is bald and every beard is chopped short. On every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist. On all the rooftops of Moab and in her public squares, everyone is mourning because I have shattered Moab like a jar no one wants.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “How broken it is! They wail! How Moab has turned his back! He is ashamed. Moab will become a laughingstock and a shock to all those around him.”

For this is what the Lord says:

Look! He will swoop down like an eagle

and spread his wings against Moab.

The towns have been captured,

and the strongholds seized.

In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors

will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.

Moab will be destroyed as a people

because he has exalted himself against the Lord.

Panic, pit, and trap

await you, resident of Moab.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,

and he who climbs from the pit

will be captured in the trap,

for I will bring against Moab

the year of their punishment.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Those who flee will stand exhausted in Heshbon’s shadow

because fire has come out from Heshbon

and a flame from within Sihon.

It will devour Moab’s forehead

and the skull of the noisemakers.

Woe to you, Moab!

The people of Chemosh have perished

because your sons have been taken captive

and your daughters have gone into captivity.

Yet, I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the last days.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

The judgment on Moab ends here.

Close

Jeremiah begins a series of judgements by God against the nations surrounding Judah.  These were carried out by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.  In Chapter 46, Jeremiah prophecies the defeat of Egypt.  Chapter 47 details the conquest and plunder of the cities of the Philistines.  And in Chapter 48, Jeremiah prophecies the complete destruction of the nation of Moab.  

The peoples of Egypt would only be punished and not extinguished.  However, both the Philistines and the Moabites would cease to exist as a nation after their conquest by Nebuchadnezzar.  

It’s important to remember that Nebuchadnezzar was not solely focused on the capture and domination of Judah.  Indeed, he was interested in ruling the entire middle east.  Nebuchadnezzar’s ambition allowed God to use him to carry out His will and judgements against the nations of the Middle East.  

God can use anyone He chooses to carry out His will, even without that person knowing they are being used.  This is made clear in Jeremiah 43:10 where Jeremiah begins the passage by stating, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon…’ Nebuchadnezzar was an agent of the Almighty God, a mere pawn playing his part in God’s ultimate plan for the universe.

As Christians, it’s important for us to remember that God is in control.  Not just some of the time.  Not just most of the time.  But all of the time.  He has a plan for all of us, great and small alike.  It may not be obvious to us, but this is where faith and trust in God is the best course of action for our lives.  

What do you think?  Share your thoughts with me at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

See You Tomorrow!

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will be changed.  Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions.  And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there.  If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you tomorrow!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.