seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Jeremiah 46:1
This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:
2 Concerning Egypt:
This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
3 “Prepare your shields, both large and small,
and march out for battle!
4 Harness the horses,
mount the steeds!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 What do I see?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are defeated.
They flee in haste
without looking back,
and there is terror on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee
nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates
they stumble and fall.
and march out for battle!
4 Harness the horses,
mount the steeds!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 What do I see?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are defeated.
They flee in haste
without looking back,
and there is terror on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee
nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates
they stumble and fall.
7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their people.’
9 Charge, you horses!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
March on, you warriors—men of Cush[a] and Put who carry shields,
men of Lydia who draw the bow.
10 But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour till it is satisfied,
till it has quenched its thirst with blood.
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice
in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
like rivers of surging waters?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their people.’
9 Charge, you horses!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
March on, you warriors—men of Cush[a] and Put who carry shields,
men of Lydia who draw the bow.
10 But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour till it is satisfied,
till it has quenched its thirst with blood.
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice
in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,
Virgin Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
there is no healing for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
both will fall down together.”
Virgin Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
there is no healing for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
both will fall down together.”
13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:
14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes:
‘Take your positions and get ready,
for the sword devours those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.
16 They will stumble repeatedly;
they will fall over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
to our own people and our native lands,
away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17 There they will exclaim,
‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;
he has missed his opportunity.’
proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes:
‘Take your positions and get ready,
for the sword devours those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.
16 They will stumble repeatedly;
they will fall over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
to our own people and our native lands,
away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17 There they will exclaim,
‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;
he has missed his opportunity.’
18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,
whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains,
like Carmel by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,
you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis will be laid waste
and lie in ruins without inhabitant.
whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains,
like Carmel by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,
you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis will be laid waste
and lie in ruins without inhabitant.
20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
but a gadfly is coming
against her from the north.
21 The mercenaries in her ranks
are like fattened calves.
They too will turn and flee together,
they will not stand their ground,
for the day of disaster is coming upon them,
the time for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
like men who cut down trees.
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
“dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,
they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
given into the hands of the people of the north.”
but a gadfly is coming
against her from the north.
21 The mercenaries in her ranks
are like fattened calves.
They too will turn and flee together,
they will not stand their ground,
for the day of disaster is coming upon them,
the time for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
like men who cut down trees.
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
“dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,
they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
given into the hands of the people of the north.”
25 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. 26 I will give them into the hands of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the Lord.
27 “Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
for I am with you,” declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”
do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
for I am with you,” declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”
a. Jeremiah 46:9 That is, the upper Nile region
Short yesterday.... not so short today.
This is from the easy English site.
This is primarily speaking of Babylon who they were captive to. Babylon will be destroyed, and they will return to their land God gave them. This chastisement they suffered was to turn them back to God. This also includes the inhuman acts against them, like the holocaust in Germany in World War 2. One sixth of all the Jews were killed in these atrocities against them. God has always saved a remnant of them. They are moving back to their Promised Land today.
The Egyptians knew that they were losing the battle. They were so frightened that they rushed away. They did not hesitate and look back. They were in a hurry. So they tripped and they fell. They wanted to escape from the Babylonian army. Carchemish was near to the River Euphrates. They had nowhere to escape.
Soldiers from other countries had joined the Egyptian army for pay. Soldiers came from Cush, which is Ethiopia. They came from Put, which might be Libya. Other soldiers may have been African men who were living in Libya. Or they came from Lydia in Asia Minor. The soldiers from there were skilful with bows (Isaiah 66:19). But it is the LORD who will win the battle against his enemies. He will punish Egypt because of its sins. In battles, people used swords to kill the enemy. Jeremiah described a sword like a hungry animal. A hungry animal eats until no food is left. The sword will kill all the people. It will kill people until it has done enough.
Gilead was famous for its medicine called balm. Balm was oil that had a sweet smell. It reduced pain and healed an injury. Egypt had many years of medical knowledge. However, Egypt was unable to heal its own injuries. Jeremiah had described his own people as a sick nation. Even medicine from Gilead would not help Egypt. The Egyptian soldiers would cry out as they tripped over each other. Other nations would hear what was happening. Everyone would know about the shame of Egypt's defeat.
After the battle of Carchemish, Nebuchadnezzar prepared to attack Egypt. He did not begin to attack until 568 or 567 BC. But Egypt would be unable to help itself.
Apis was one of the Egyptian false gods. It had the shape of a strong bull. But that false god could not help the soldiers because the LORD defeated it. Some soldiers had come to earn money in the Egyptian army. But they realised that there was no hope. So they decided to return to their own countries for safety.
Pharaoh had praised his own power. But he had missed the opportunity to win the battle. People called him, 'Noisy one who does nothing'. Isaiah had called Egypt 'the animal who does nothing' (Isaiah 30:7).
There is a large fly that stings cows. This causes trouble for the cows. In a similar way, Nebuchadnezzar will cause trouble for Egypt. The army needed to increase its number, so it hired soldiers. Young cows become fat when the farmer looks after them well. The army looked after the soldiers well. But they would be of no use when trouble came. They would run away. They would behave like animals when something frightened them.
The snake was one of the false gods of Egypt. The Pharaoh wore a type of crown on his head. And he had a metal snake on the front of it. This showed that he had power as king. A snake makes an angry noise as it slides away. In a similar way, Egypt would not be happy as it tried to escape from the Babylonian army.
Amon was the chief false god of Thebes, the capital city of Upper Egypt. The LORD was punishing, rather than destroying Egypt. Egypt would remain as a country. In the future, people would live in Egypt again.
God keeps warning these people. Those refugees from Judah were supposed to stay in Judah..... but nooo..... they had to flee to Egypt.... where the Babylonian army was headed..... and those soldiers in Egypt.... a lot of them were mercenaries.... paid.... and when God used the Babylonian army to kick their butts.... that paycheck wasn't big enough.... so they ran. Jeremiah warned them not to go to Egypt..... Now they had to go through more major battles.... the Babylonians were going to destroy Egypt too..... Jeremiah warned them not to go to Egypt..... but these stupid humans refused to listen to Jeremiah.... because they didn't like what he was saying.
