How
judgment began at the house of God we have found in the foregoing prophecy
and history; but now we shall find that it did not end there. In this and
the following chapters we have predictions of the desolations of the
neighbouring nations, and those brought upon them too mostly by the king of Babylon, till at length
Babylon
itself comes to be reckoned with. The prophecy against
Egypt
is here put first and takes up this whole
chapter, in which we have, I. A prophecy of the defeat of Pharaoh-necho's
army by the Chaldean forces at
Carchemish, which was accomplished soon after, in the
fourth year of Jehoiakim, ver. 1-12. II. A prophecy of the descent which
Nebuchadnezzar should make upon the land of Egypt, and his success in it,
which was accomplished some years after the destruction of Jerusalem, ver.
13-26. III. A word of comfort to the Israel of God in the midst of those
calamities, ver. 27, 28.
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The
Judgment of Egypt.
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B.
C. 608.
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1 The word of the LORD
which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles; 2
Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt, which was by
the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.
3 Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle. 4
Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your
helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.
5 Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their
mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for
fear was round about, saith the LORD.
6 Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall
stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates. 7 Who
is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as
the rivers? 8 Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his
waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and
will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants
thereof. 9 Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let
the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the
shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow. 10
For this is the day of the Lord GOD
of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and
the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their
blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice
in the north country by the river Euphrates. 11 Go up into
Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou
use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
The first verse is the title of that part of this book, which relates to the
neighbouring nations, and follows here. It is the word of the Lord which
came to Jeremiah against the Gentiles; for God is King and Judge of
nations, knows and will call to an account those who know him not nor take
any notice of him. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel prophesied against these nations
that Jeremiah here has a separate saying to, and with reference to the same
events. In the Old Testament we have the word of the Lord against the
Gentiles; in the New Testament we have the word of the Lord for the
Gentiles, that those who were afar off are made nigh.
He begins with Egypt, because they were of old Israel's oppressors and of
late their deceivers, when they put confidence in them. In these verses he
foretells the overthrow of the army of Pharaoh-necho, by
Nebuchadnezzar, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, which was so
complete a victory to the king of Babylon that thereby he recovered from the
river of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of
Egypt, and so weakened him that he came not again any more out of his
land (as we find, 2 Kings xxiv. 7), and so made him pay dearly for his
expedition against the king of Assyria four years before, in which he slew
Josiah, 2 Kings xxiii. 29. This is the event that is here foretold in lofty
expressions of triumph over Egypt thus foiled, which Jeremiah would speak of
with a particular pleasure, because the death of Josiah, which he had
lamented, was now avenged on Pharaoh-necho. Now here,
I. The Egyptians are upbraided with the mighty preparations they made for
this expedition, in which the prophet calls to them to do their utmost, for
so they would: "Come then, order the buckler, let the weapons of
war be got ready," v. 3. Egypt was famous for horses--let
them be harnessed and the cavalry well mounted: Get up, you
horsemen, and stand forth, &c., v. 4. See what preparations
the children of men make, with abundance of care and trouble and at a vast
expense, to kill one another, as if they did not die fast enough of
themselves. He compares their marching out upon this expedition to the
rising of their river Nile (v. 7, 8): Egypt now rises up
like a flood, scorning to keep within its own banks and threatening to
overflow all the neighbouring lands. It is a very formidable army that the
Egyptians bring into the field upon this occasion. The prophet summons them
(v. 9): Come up, you horses; rage, you chariots. He challenges
them to bring all their confederate troops together, the Ethiopians,
that descended from the same stock with the Egyptians (Gen. x. 6), and were
their neighbours and allies, the Libyans and Lydians, both seated in
Africa, to the west of Egypt, and from them the Egyptians fetched their
auxiliary forces. Let them strengthen themselves with all the art and
interest they have, yet it shall be all in vain; they shall be shamefully
defeated notwithstanding, for God will fight against them, and against him there
is no wisdom nor counsel, Prov. xxi. 30, 31. It concerns those that go
forth to war not only to order the buckler, and harness the
horses, but to repent of their sins, and pray to God for his presence
with them, and that they may have it to keep themselves from every wicked
thing.
II. They are upbraided with the great expectations they had from this
expedition, which were quite contrary to what God intended in bringing them
together. They knew their own thoughts, and God knew them, and sat in heaven
and laughed at them,; but they knew not the thoughts of the Lord, for he
gathers them as sheaves into the floor, Mic. iv. 11, 12. Egypt saith (v.
8): I will go up; I will cover the earth, and none shall hinder me; I
will destroy the city, whatever city it is that stands in my way. Like
Pharaoh of old, I will pursue, I will overtake. The Egyptians say
that they shall have a day of it, but God saith that it shall be his day: The
is the day of the Lord God of hosts (v. 10), the day in which he
will be exalted in the overthrow of the Egyptians. They meant one thing, but
God meant another; they designed it for the advancement of their dignity and
the enlargement of their dominion, but God designed it for the great
abasement and weakening of their kingdom. It is a day of vengeance
for Josiah's death; it is a day of sacrifice to divine justice, to which
multitudes of the sinners of Egypt shall fall as victims. Note, When men
think to magnify themselves by pushing on unrighteous enterprises, let them
expect that God will glorify himself by blasting them and cutting them off.
III. They are upbraided with their cowardice and inglorious flight when they
come to an engagement (v. 5, 6): "Wherefore have I seen them,
notwithstanding all these mighty and vast preparations and all these
expressions of bravery and resolution, when the Chaldean army faces them, dismayed,
turned back, quite disheartened, and no spirit left in them." 1.
They make a shameful retreat. Even their mighty ones, who, one would
think, should have stood their ground, flee a flight, flee by
consent, make the best of their way, flee in confusion and with the utmost
precipitation; they have neither time nor heart to look back, but fear
is round about them, for they apprehend it so. And yet, 2. They cannot
make their escape. They have the shame of flying, and yet not the
satisfaction of saving themselves by flight; they might as well have stood
their ground and died upon the spot; for even the swift shall not flee
away. The lightness of their heels shall fail them when it comes to the
trial, as well as the stoutness of their hearts; the mighty shall not
escape, nay, they are beaten down and broken to pieces. They shall
stumble in their flight, and fall towards the north, towards
their enemy's country; for such confusion were they in when they took to
their feet that instead of making homeward, as men usually do in that case,
they made forward. Note, The race is not to the swift nor the battle to
the strong. Valiant men are not always victorious.
IV. They are upbraided with their utter inability ever to recover this blow,
which should be fatal to their nation, v. 11, 12. The damsel, the
daughter of Egypt, that lived in great pomp and state, is sorely wounded
by this defeat. Let her now seek for balm in Gilead and physicians
there; let her use all the medicines her wise men can prescribe for the
healing of this hurt, and the repairing of the loss sustained by this
defeat; but all in vain; no cure shall be to them; they shall never
be able to bring such a powerful army as this into the field again. "The
nations that rang of thy glory and strength have now heard of
thy shame, how shamefully thou wast routed and how thou are weakened by
it." It needs not be spread by the triumphs of the conquerors, the
shrieks and outcries of the conquered will proclaim it: Thy cry hath
filled the country about. For, when they fled several ways, one mighty
man stumbled upon another and dashed against another, such confusion
were they in, so that both together became a pray to the pursuers, an
easy prey. A thousand such dreadful accidents there should be, which should
fill the country with the cry of those that were overcome. Let not the
mighty man therefore glory in his might, for the time may come
when it will stand him in no stead.
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The
Judgment of Egypt.
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B.
C. 608.
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12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and
thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the
mighty, and they are fallen both together. 13 The word
that the LORD
spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should
come and smite the land of Egypt. 14 Declare ye in Egypt,
and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand
fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.
15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD
did drive them. 16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon
another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to
the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. 17 They did
cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the
time appointed. 18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is
the LORD
of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by
the sea, so shall he come. 19 O thou daughter dwelling in
Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and
desolate without an inhabitant. 20 Egypt is like a very
fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the
north. 21 Also her hired men are in the midst of her like
fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away
together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come
upon them, and the time of their visitation. 22 The voice
thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come
against her with axes, as hewers of wood. 23 They shall cut down
her forest, saith the LORD,
though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers,
and are innumerable. 24 The daughter of Egypt shall be
confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the
north. 25 The LORD
of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of
No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh,
and all them that trust in him: 26 And I will deliver
them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and
afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD. 27 But fear
not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I
will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity;
and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him
afraid. 28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD:
for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations
whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but
correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
In these verses we have,
I. Confusion and terror spoken to Egypt. The accomplishment of the
prediction in the former part of the chapter disabled the Egyptians from
making any attempts upon other nations; for what could they do when their
army was routed? But still they remained strong at home, and none of their
neighbours durst make any attempts upon them. Though the kings of Egypt came
no more out of their land (2 Kings xxiv. 7), yet they kept safe and
easy in their land; and what would they desire more than peaceably to enjoy
their own? One would think all men should be content to do this, and not
covet to invade their neighbours. But the measure of Egypt's iniquity is
full, and now they shall not long enjoy their own; those that encroached on
others shall not be themselves encroached on. The scope of the prophecy here
is to show how the king of Babylon should shortly come and smite
the land of Egypt, and bring the war into their own bosoms which they
had formerly carried into his borders, v. 13. This was fulfilled by
the same hand with the former, even Nebuchadnezzar's, but many years after,
twenty at least, and probably the prediction of it was long after the former
prediction, and perhaps much about the same time with that other prediction
of the same event which we had ch. xliii. 10.
1. Here is the alarm of war sounded in Egypt, to their great amazement (v.
14), notice given to the country that the enemy is approaching, the sword
is devouring round about in the neighbouring countries, and therefore it
is time for the Egyptians to put themselves in a posture of defence, to
prepare for war, that they may give the enemy a warm reception. This must be
proclaimed in all parts of Egypt, particularly in Migdol, Noph, and
Tahpanhes, because in these places especially the Jewish refugees, or
fugitives rather, had planted themselves, in contempt of God's command (ch.
xliv. 1), and let them hear what a sorry shelter Egypt is likely to be to
them.
2. The retreat hereupon of the forces of other nations which the Egyptians
had in their pay is here foretold. Some considerable number of those troops,
it is probable, were posted upon the frontiers to guard them, where they
were beaten off by the invaders and put to flights. Then were the valiant
men swept away (v. 15) as with a sweeping rain (it is the
word that is used Prov. xxviii. 3); they can none of them stand their
ground, because the Lord drives them from their respective posts; he
drives them by his terrors; he drives them by enabling the Chaldeans to
drive them. It is not possible that those should fix whom the wrath of God
chases. He it was (v. 16) that made many to fall, yea, when
their day shall come to fall, the enemy needs not throw them down, they
shall fall one upon another, every man shall be a stumbling-block to
his fellow, to his follower; nay, if God please, they shall be made to fall
upon one another, they shall be made to fall upon one another, every
man's sword shall be against his fellow. Her hired men, the
troops Egypt has in he service, are indeed in the midst of her like
fatted bullocks, lusty men, able bodied and high spirited, who were
likely for action and promised to make their part good against the enemy;
but they are turned back; their hearts failed them, and, instead of
fighting, they have fled away together. How could they withstand
their fate when the day of their calamity had come, the day in which
God will visit them in wrath? Some think they are compared to fatted
bullocks for their luxury; they had wantoned in pleasures, so that they were
very unfit for hardships, and therefore turned back and could not stand. In
this consternation, (1.) They all made homeward towards their own country (v.
16): They said, "Arise, and let us go again to our own people,
where we may be safe from the oppressing sword of the Chaldeans, that
bears down all before it." In times of exigence little confidence is to
be put in mercenary troops, that fight purely for pay, and have no interest
in theirs whom they fight for. (2.) They exclaimed vehemently against
Pharaoh, to whose cowardice or bad management, it is probably, their defeat
was owing. When he posted them there upon the borders of his country it is
probably that he told them he would within such a time come himself with a
gallant army of his own subjects to support them; but he failed them, and,
when the enemy advanced, they found they had none to back them, so that they
were perfectly abandoned to the fury of the invaders. No marvel then that
they quitted their post and deserted the service, crying out, Pharaoh
king of Egypt is but a noise (v. 17); he can hector, and talk big
of the mighty things he would do, but that is all; he brings nothing to
pass. All his promises to those in alliance with him, or that are employed
for him, vanish into smoke. He brings not the succours he engaged to bring,
or not till it is too late: He has passed the time appointed; he did
not keep his word, nor keep his day, and therefore they bid him farewell,
they will never serve under him any more. Note, Those that make most noise
in any business are frequently but a noise. Great talkers are little doers.
3. The formidable power of the Chaldean army is here described as bearing
down all before it. The King of kings, whose name is the Lord of
hosts, and before whom the mightiest kings on earth, though gods to us,
are but as grasshoppers, he hath said it, he hath sworn it, As I live,
saith this king, as Tabor overtops the mountains and Carmel
overlooks the sea, so shall the king of Babylon overpower all the
force of Egypt, such a command shall he have, such a sway shall he bear, v.
18. He and his army shall come against Egypt with axes, as hewers
of wood (v. 22), and the Egyptians shall be no more able to
resist them than the tree is to resist the man that comes with an axe to cut
it down; so that Egypt shall be felled as a forest is by the
hewers of wood, which (if there by many of them, and those well provided
with instruments for the purpose) will be done in a little time. Egypt is
very populous, full of towns and cities, like a forest, the trees of which cannot
be searched or numbered, and very rich, full of hidden treasures, many
of which will escape the searching eye of the Chaldean soldiers; but they
shall make a great spoil in the country, for they are more than the
locusts, that come in vast swarms and overrun a country, devouring every
green thing (Joel i. 6, 7), so shall the Chaldeans do, for they are
innumerable. Note, The Lord of hosts hath numberless hosts at his
command.
4. The desolation of
Egypt
hereby is foretold, and the waste that should be made of that rich country.
Egypt
is now like a very fair heifer, or calf (v. 20), fat
and shining, and not accustomed to the yoke of subjection, wanton as
a heifer that is well fed, and very sportful. Some think here is an allusion
to Apis, the bull or calf which the Egyptians worshipped, from whom the
children of
Israel
learned to worship the golden calf. Egypt is as fair as a goddess, and
adores herself, but destruction comes; cutting up comes (so some read
it); it comes out of the north; thence the Chaldean soldiers shall
come, as so many butchers or sacrificers, to kill and cut up this fair
heifer. (1.) The Egyptians shall be brought down, shall be tamed, and
their tune changed: The daughters of Egypt shall be confounded (v.
24), shall be filled with astonishment. Their voice shall go like a
serpent, that is, it shall be very low and submissive; they shall not
low like a fair heifer, that makes a great noise, but hiss out of their
holes like serpents. They shall not dare to make loud complaints of the
cruelty of the conquerors, but vent their griefs in silent murmurs. They
shall not now, as they used to do, answer roughly, but, with the poor,
use entreaties and beg for their lives. (2.) They shall be carried away
prisoners into their enemy's land (v. 19): "O thou daughter!
dwelling securely and delicately in Egypt, that fruitful pleasant
country, do not think this will last always, but furnish thyself to go
into captivity; instead of rich clothes, which will but tempt the enemy
to strip thee, get plain and warm clothes; instead of fine shoes, provide
strong ones; and inure thyself to hardship, that thou mayest bear it the
better." Note, It concerns us, among all our preparations, to prepare
for trouble. We provide for the entertainment of our friends, let us not
neglect to provide for the entertainment of our enemies, nor among all our
furniture omit furniture for captivity. The Egyptians must prepare to flee;
for their cities shall be evacuated. Noph particularly shall be desolate,
without an inhabitant, so general shall the slaughter and the captivity
be. There are some penalties which, we say, the king and the multitude are
exempted from, but here even these are obnoxious: The multitude of No
shall be punished: it is called populous No, Nah. iii. 8. Though
hand join in hand, yet they shall not escape; nor can any think to go
off in the crowd. Be they ever so many, they shall find God will be too many
for them. Their kings and all their petty princes shall fall; and their gods
too (ch. xliii. 12, 13), their idols and their great men. Those which
they call their tutelar deities shall be no protection to them. Pharaoh
shall be brought down, and all those that trust in him (v.
25), particularly the Jews that came to sojourn in his country, trusting in
him rather than in God. All these shall be delivered into the hands of
the northern nations (v. 24), into the hand not only of
Nebuchadnezzar that mighty potentate, but into the hands of his servants,
according to the curse on Ham's posterity, of which the Egyptians were, that
they should be the servants of servants. These seek their lives, and
into their hands they shall be delivered.
5. An intimation is given that in process of time Egypt shall recover itself
again (v. 26): Afterwards it shall be inhabited, shall be
peopled again, whereas by this destruction it was almost dispeopled. Ezekiel
foretels that this should be at the end of forty years, Ezek. xxix. 13. See
what changes the nations of the earth are subject to, how they are emptied
and increased again; and let not nations that prosper be secure, nor those
that for the present are in thraldom despair.
II. Comfort and peace are here spoken to the Israel of God, v. 27,
28. Some understand it of those whom the king of Egypt had carried into
captivity with Jehoahaz, but we read not of any that were carried away
captives with him; it may therefore rather refer to the captives in Babylon,
whom God had mercy in store for, or, more generally, to all the people of
God, designed for their encouragement in the most difficult times, when the
judgments of God are abroad among the nations. We had these words of comfort
before, ch. xxx. 10, 11. 1. Let the wicked of the earth tremble, they
have cause for it; but fear not thou, O my servant Jacob! and be not
dismayed, O Israel! and again, Fear thou not, O Jacob! God would
not have his people to be a timorous people. 2. The wicked of the earth shall
be put away like dross, not be looked after any more; but God's people,
in order to their being saved, shall be found out and gathered though they
be far off, shall be redeemed though they be held fast in captivity, and
shall return. 3. The wicked is like the troubled sea when it cannot rest;
they flee when none pursues. But Jacob, being at home in God, shall
be at rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid; for what time
he is afraid he has a God to trust to. 4. The wicked God beholds
afar off; but, wherever thou art, O Jacob! I am with thee, a very
present help. 5. A full end shall be made of the nations that
oppressed God's Israel, as Egypt and Babylon; but mercy shall be kept in
store for the Israel of God: they shall be corrected, but not cast off; the
correction shall be in measure, in respect of degree and continuance.
Nations have their periods; the Jewish nation itself has come to an end as a
nation; but the gospel church, God's spiritual Israel, still continues, and
will to the end of time; in that this promise is to have its full
accomplishment, that, though God correct it, he will never make a full
end of it.
