#1106 Jeremiah 46 Biting Flies Cause Gliding Serpents

 

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

2 About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3 “Prepare buckler and shield,

and advance for battle!

4 Harness the horses;

mount, O horsemen!

Take your stations with your helmets,

polish your spears,

put on your armor!

5 Why have I seen it?

They are dismayed

and have turned backward.

Their warriors are beaten down

and have fled in haste;

they look not back—

terror on every side!

declares the Lord.

6 “The swift cannot flee away,

nor the warrior escape;

in the north by the river Euphrates

they have stumbled and fallen.

7 “Who is this, rising like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge?

8 Egypt rises like the Nile,

like rivers whose waters surge.

He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,

I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’

9 Advance, O horses,

and rage, O chariots!

Let the warriors go out:

men of Cush and Put who handle the shield,

men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.

10 That day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,

a day of vengeance,

to avenge himself on his foes.

The sword shall devour and be sated

and drink its fill of their blood.

For the Lord God of hosts holds a sacrifice

in the north country by the river Euphrates.

11 Go up to Gilead, and take balm,

O virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain you have used many medicines;

there is no healing for you.

12 The nations have heard of your shame,

and the earth is full of your cry;

for warrior has stumbled against warrior;

they have both fallen together.”

13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;

proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;

say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,

for the sword shall devour around you.’

15 Why are your mighty ones face down?

They do not stand

because the Lord thrust them down.

16 He made many stumble, and they fell,

and they said one to another,

‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people

and to the land of our birth,

because of the sword of the oppressor.’

17 Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

18 “As I live, declares the King,

whose name is the Lord of hosts,

like Tabor among the mountains

and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.

19 Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,

O inhabitants of Egypt!

For Memphis shall become a waste,

a ruin, without inhabitant.

20 “A beautiful heifer is Egypt,

but a biting fly from the north has come upon her.

21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst

are like fattened calves;

yes, they have turned and fled together;

they did not stand,

for the day of their calamity has come upon them,

the time of their punishment.

22 “She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;

for her enemies march in force

and come against her with axes

like those who fell trees.

23 They shall cut down her forest,

declares the Lord,

though it is impenetrable,

because they are more numerous than locusts;

they are without number.

24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;

she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.”

25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the Lord.

27 “But fear not, O Jacob my servant,

nor be dismayed, O Israel,

for behold, I will save you from far away,

and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

28 Fear not, O Jacob my servant,

declares the Lord,

for I am with you.

I will make a full end of all the nations

to which I have driven you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

I will discipline you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” Jeremiah 46 ESV

Jeremiah 46 Judgment on Egypt

1-2. Concerning the nations - God's sovereignty envelopes a much greater jurisdiction then men would care to admit or imagine. "My god is the god of this city, approves this sin, admires my way of life, does what I say, would never judge. It's my body, my mind, my life."

“God knows who he is. He is not a regional supervisor. He is not a tribal deity. He is the God of all nations. His sovereignty is not limited to a single culture, nation, or ethnic group.” (Ryken)

…18Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground— because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” 20And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.… Genesis 3: 18-20

At Carchemish - Egypt had been a world power for some time, and they held much influence and interest in Judah. Solomon had married into Egyptian circles long ago, but it was in the law unto kings not to go back to Egypt, not to get many horses from there either. The people of Israel had long been plagued by their idolatries. Another world power is coming on to the scene, and that is Babylon, which will bump heads with Pharaoh.

“It was on his way there [Carchemish] that Pharaoh Neco had slain King Josiah of Judah in 609 when Josiah tried to turn him back.” (Kidner) Pharaoh kept his army in Carchemish four years, dominating the area and waiting for the inevitable confrontation with rising Babylon. When it came, the Egyptians were routed.

3-12. Mount, oh horsemen - A vivid depiction of the great army of Egypt, the hope of Israel, preparing for battle.

They are dismayed - They got all dressed up with armor and shiny spears, yet in just moments it is over, the mighty Egyptians are running, and terror is all around. Like a hognose snake, they came out puffed up, pretending to be a something more formidable, but when the enemy didn't flee, their spirits gave way, and all they could do is play dead or run away.

I will rise, I will cover the earth - Many have said this, and their kingdoms have come and gone, ruins that are the marvel of archeologists, studied with spade and brush. They all play at being God, something impossible, and so delusional, the stuff that should land them in a mental institution, yet they find followers.

…12How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations. 13You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. 14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”… Isaiah 14: 12-14

Advance, O horses and rage, O chariots - 

…6Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand. 7Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8They collapse and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.… Psalm 20: 6-8

Men of Cush and Put - Cush is the land of Ethiopia, a much larger territory at times than present. It's warriors were considered fierce.

Like many armies, the ancient Egyptian army that came to Carchemish had many foreign soldiers, both slaves and mercenaries. - E W

13-26. Noisy one who lets the hour go by - He was all talk and show it seemed, and those that were with him as mercenaries are leaving to return to their own lands. He is now seen as one not to be feared, a roaring lion with no teeth or paws.

Are like fattened calves - They were there for the pay, and to share glory and spoil if it came cheap, but like the hirelings they are no shepherds, not vested in it. All were easy and fair game for Babylon.

Like a serpent gliding away - On your belly you shall crawl, no longer the hooded king, that rises above, and eats other serpents. Babylon is the honey badger to this cobra, and he is unimpressed.

“The reference to Egypt gliding away like a snake is a sarcastic comment on the humbling of one of the most vaunted national deities, and one which was prominent in the royal insignia.” (Harrison)

27-28. I will discipline you in just measure - Jacob is assured the place of an heir, the treatment of a son. He will not go unpunished, but God will save a remnant unto His own purpose and glory.