JEREMIAH - CHAPTERS 45-46 THE DAY OF THE LORD OF HOSTS' VENGEANCE
JEREMIAH – CHAPTER 45-46
The Day of the Lord of Hosts' Vengeance
TUESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY
OCTOBER 12, 2021, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
BARUCH’S REBUKE:
Chapter 45 with only five verses is not the shortest chapter in the Bible. Psalm 117 has that privilege.
This is another flash-back to the time of King Jehoiakim. Jeremiah was given a special word from God to Baruch, his scribe. Baruch must have felt like a second- rate adjunct. Even though he addressed the chamber of Princes, the King and many others, it was always on behalf of the Prophet. Many-times he walked away with great consternation. Often, he took messages from the prison where Jeremiah was incarcerated, and acted as a delivery boy. He served Jeremiah through many dangers and perils. Just as often, he took the barbs of Jeremiah’s critics when they deemed him a Jeremiah Clone.
45:2-5: Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel to you, O Baruch: You said ‘Woe is me now! For the LORD has added grief to my sorrow. I Fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.’ “Thus, you shall say to him, “Thus says the LORD: “Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh, says the LORD. but I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.”
First, God told Baruch to stop internalizing all the things happening around him. Judgment was not directed against him. Baruch was to let God do His work of “plucking up,” since He was the one who “planted.”
Second, the LORD struck at the root of the real problem, Baruch’s annoyance in playing second fiddle to Jeremiah. The LORD didn’t mince words. He told Baruch not to seek greatness for himself.
Baruch never ceased being a faithful servant from that day forward. As a result, Baruch has eternal fame for his service to the LORD through Jeremiah. When we serve the LORD’s Kingdom ministry, it will never be a thankless service.
In the halls of religion today, there is much seeking after greatness. As a matter of fact, there has been a perpetual vying to fill the role of spokesperson for all evangelical Christianity. Dr. M. B. Wade, “A lot of good can be accomplished in this world as long as you don’t care who gets the credit.”
Baruch was forever identified as the man Jeremiah trusted at all times, and he never once failed him. The foundation of the LORD is sure, having this seal; the LORD knows those that are His! (2 Ti. 2: 19).
The Judgment of the Nine Nations
‘Nine is the number of finality. Only God’s Kingdom is going to Stand”
Taught by: Carolyn Sissom
October 12, 2021; February 17, 2009
Chapter 46 begins the section of Jeremiah’s prophecies unto the other nations of his day. It is a chronicle of God’s dealings with nine nations during the ministry of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah is indeed a prophet to the nations (1: 4-10). These chapters contain some of the most magnificent poetry in the book. Jeremiah, like Isaiah before him, sees God controlling the history of the world and not just one corner of it. God deals with evil everywhere it occurs (Isa. 13-23 and Ezek. 25-32).
In view of the present condition of our world, we will be able to relate the scriptures to the Lord’s dealings with the nations of the world in the latter days. As we continue through this study, there will be many that we will be able to apply to the nations as well as our own nation.
God stepped into politics and brought down kingdoms. God stepped in with judgment during the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign. This marked the beginning of a series of prophetic words which would affect the history of the world. God began to speak words to the power-nations of Jeremiah’s day, and those judgments unleashed by the prophet still hold authority even in today’s politics.
One that will stand out is 48:29: We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud), his loftiness and his arrogance, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.” “Arrogance” = “swelling pride”.
In Chapter 46, Egypt is the first of the nations addressed by the prophet Jeremiah:
- 46. The word to the Gentiles (Egypt) – Bondage of the sin of the World.
- 47: 1-7 – The word to Philistia – act of mourning – rolling about
- 48: 1-47- The word to Moab – principle of laziness and idleness and reveals
those who will not change or grow.
4. 49: 1-6 - The word to Ammon - - reveals the principle of mixture
5. 49: 7-22 - The word to Edom – The principle of the natural man.
- 49: 23-27- The word to Damascus (Syria) –reveals the principle of the waste of human energy of religious trafficking. The principles of riches or mammon. It is related to the principles revealed in the names Tyre and Sidon. - palaces of Ben-Hadad – son of terror.
- 49: 28-33- The word to Kedar and Hazor:
Hazor – The principle of prejudice, hate, and war. The principle of sectarianism or denominational-ism. (Arabian desert)
Kedar –to be ashy or dark colored -descended from Ishmael)
- 49: 34-39 – The word to Elam – The principle of immaturity - east of the
Tigris-Euphrates.
- 50-51 – The word to Babylon – confusion – gate of Bel- court of chaos
The same political and religious powers and principalities have been “assigned to block the establishment of the government of the Kingdom of God on the earth by instituting false government and corrupt political practices”. (The Political Spirit by Faisal Malack, Destiny Image Publisher)
EGYPT
Chapter 46: 1-2: The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles; against Egypt, against the army of Pharoah-Necho King of Egypt which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiachim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah.
There is first a description of the defeat of the Egyptian army at Carchemish in the middle period of Jeremiah’s life (46: 1-2). Necho’s power grab in Israel did not go unnoticed by the LORD. Just when Necho started “strutting,” Babylon stepped in and defeated the mighty Egyptian army at the famous battle of Carchemish, 605 BC. Jeremiah pointed to God being the cause of that defeat. Eternity will tell the many times the LORD overtly intervened in history.
As each prophecy unfolds, there is one central theme: God is uncovering, ripping away the facades under which they perform; and shows where and how each nation went wrong and what the consequences would be for them.
Necho represents a people of arrogance and pride. They were pagan people with gods and sorcery equaling that of the modern world.
The message to Israel (not just Judah) is “God will provide.” The message to the two nations of Egypt and Babylon is “God is in charge.”
Here the LORD calls Egypt’s troops to war with divine sarcasm.
46: 3-7: Order the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle! Harness the horses, and mount up, you horsemen! Stand forth with your helmets. Polish the spears. Put on the armor! Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back? Their mighty ones are beaten down. They have speedily fled, and did not look back. For fear was all around, says the LORD. Do not let the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape. They will stumble and fall toward the north, by the River Euphrates. Who is this coming up like a flood, whose waters move like the rivers?
Go ahead! Prepare for battle! Harness your horses just as you did at the Exodus. Mount your stallions. Stand tall with helmets on. Polish those spears. Gird up your armor. Now charge! But what’s this I, see? You are not running to the battle; you’re running for your lives. As quickly as you made your charge, you are fleeing in terror.
46: 8-9: Egypt rises up like a flood. Its waters move like the rivers. He (Necho) says, “I will go up and cover the earth. I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’ Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the mighty men come forth: the Ethiopians and the Libyans who handle the shield, and the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.
The Egyptians viewed themselves in terms of military superiority. “I will go up and cover the earth,” was not an advertisement for a paint company. All of Africa was involved. Ethiopia, Libya and Lydia are only three which are mentioned here. The curse upon Egypt extended and included territories beyond Cairo.
Dr. C. R. Oliver: “I firmly believe that Africa must yet deal with the Egyptian curse. They must repent of their association with the Pharaohs of old or else continue to bear the consequences of that affiliation.”
46:10: For this is the day of the LORD GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. The sword shall devour. It shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood. For the LORD GOD of hosts has a sacrifice in the north country by the River Euphrates.
Since the Egyptians refused to sacrifice to the Living God, God created His own sacrifice. He made Egypt and Babylon the Sacrifice. Jeremiah received this report before it happened in history.
Here is the judgment of Pharoah-Necho, II of Egypt. He was defeated at Carchemish at the great bend of the Euphrates 60 miles east of Haran.
46: 11-12: Go up to Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt. In vain you will use many medicines. You shall not be cured. The nations have heard of your shame. Your cry has filled the land. For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty. They both have fallen together.
The divine sarcasm continues. The bloodbath is overwhelming, the losses great, the wounds critical and severe. Gilead was famous for its healing balm, but even the balm of Gilead will not help. All of her attempts at medicinal treatment are in vain. The defeat at Carchemish was truly disastrous to the point that the nations would hear of Egypt’s shame. The cry of her dying warriors would be heard throughout the land as they collapsed and died.
The victorious Chaldean crown prince Nebuchadnezzar pursued his defeated foe to Egypt. This prophecy was fulfilled in 5468 B.C.
46: 13-14: The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would come and strike the land of Egypt. Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol. Proclaim in Noph and in Tahpanhes; “Say, stand fast and prepare yourselves, for the sword devours all around you.”
Jeremiah called out the names of the Egyptian border cities: Migdol, Noph (Memphis, the capitol of the northern portion) and Tahpanhes (where God’s last appeal to Judah took place).
Since Noph was specifically addressed, that would be like saying, Washington, D.C. represented America or the Kremlin represented Russia.
46: 15-17: Why are your valiant men swept away? They did not stand because the LORD drove them away. He made many fall. Yes, one fell upon another. They said, Arise! Let us go back to our own people and to the land of our nativity from the oppressing sword. They cried there. Pharaoh, king of Egypt is but a noise. He has passed by the appointed time.
RSV reads: Why has Apis fled? Why did not your bull stand? Because the LORD thrust him down.
Apis was an idol bull-god of Egypt. They are defeated because the LORD himself is pushing them down. It is the Lord of Hosts who is fighting against the Egyptians (46:10).
46: 18: As I live, says the King, whose name is the LORD OF HOSTS, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains and as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come.
Yahweh the king can swear irrefutably by his very existence. The coming of nebuchadnezzar will result in judgment.
46:19-23: O you daughter dwelling in Egypt, prepare yourself to go into captivity! For Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant. Egypt is a very pretty heifer, but destruction comes. It comes from the north. Also, her mercenaries are in her midst like fat bulls. For they also are turned back, they have fled away together. They did not stand. For the day of their calamity had come upon them. The time of their punishment. Her noise shall go like a serpent. For they shall march with an army and come against her with axes, like those who chop wood. They shall cut down her forest, says the LORD, though it cannot be searched, because they are innumerable, and more numerous than grasshoppers.
God took responsibility for the defeat of Egypt.
The Hebrew word for Egypt is “Miitsrayim” (#4514) and means upper and lower Egypt. This is the principle of bondage to the world. 1 John 2: 15-17: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Satan is the god and prince of this world system, just as Pharaoh was the god and king of Egypt. Sin and the world are cruel taskmasters, and their wages is death. (Rom 6:23, 8: 1-6: Prov. 14:12).
- The sword will devour them.
- The valiant men will be swept away.
- Egypt is like a very fair heifer (the bull was sacred), but destruction comes.
- her hired men are in the midst of her like fated bullocks – they did not stand.
- The voice thereof shall go like a serpent.
- They will come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.
- They shall cut down her forest.
- They are more than grasshoppers and were innumerable.
- The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded. (I had a dream this week (Feb. 2009) that a spirit of confusion has been called out on many people who are not delivered from the love of the world.)
- She shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
- I will bring punishment on the multitude of Amon, No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods and their kings—Pharaoh and those who trust in him.
Thebes (46:25) was the great metropolis of upper Egypt, and Amon, the great sun deity was adored there.
Then there is a later prophecy that Nebuchadnezzar would invade Egypt. which is an expansion of Jeremiah 43: 8-13 and the judgment of the Remnant of Judah if they went into Egypt. Over 100 years earlier, Isaiah had prophesied the Assyrian invasion of Egypt (Isa. 18-20) (Ezek. 19 & 32).
46:26b: Afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old, says the LORD.
The chapter closes with God’s promise of future blessing and comfort for his people. It would indicate not only the Remnant of Judah that fled to Egypt, but all of his people that he had judged.
The Lord again remembers Israel and His covenant with them. God will preserve Israel.
46: 27-28: Fear not, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from afar off and your seed from the land of their captivity: and Jacob shall return and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear not, O Jacob my servant, says the Lord; for I am with you; for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you; but I will not make a full end of you; but correct you in measure; yet will I not leave you wholly unpunished (KJV).
“No one shall make him afraid” is not the state of modern Israel nor has it been since its inception in 1948. The Lord is not just addressing Judah and the Southern kingdom. Jacob here includes the Christians. However, there is a message to the nations of the earth. “For I will make a complete end of all the nations to which I have driven you.” Does this mean what it says?
Egypt’s great sins was they became God’s adversary.
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Scripture from KJV and NKJV. I entered into the labors of Principles of Present Truth by Kelly Varner, The Road to Captivity by Dr. C. R. Oliver and Jeremiah by Michael L. Brown; Judgment of the Nine Nations by Carolyn Sissom (2009).