Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"Against the Philistines"
Text: Jeremiah 47:1
A MESSAGE TO THE PHILISTINES
The Philistines had been a thorn in the flesh for Israel for the longest time. They had been harassing weaker nations all the time. Their downfall was now prophesied!
“The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet
against the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.
Thus says the LORD:
‘Behold, waters rise out of the north,
And shall be an overflowing flood;
They shall overflow the land and all that is in it,
The city and those who dwell within;
Then the men shall cry,
And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.
At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses,
At the rushing of his chariots,
At the rumbling of his wheels,
The fathers will not look back for their children,
Lacking courage.'”
Jeremiah 47:1-3
1. “The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines,
before Pharaoh attacked Gaza”
a) This was a prophetic word.
b) This message was given to the Philistines before they were attacked
by the Pharaoh.
c) This message predates what was written in Jeremiah 46,
where the fall of Egypt was prophesied.
2. “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, waters rise out of the north,
and shall be an overflowing flood; they shall overflow the land and all that is in it,
the city and those who dwell within; then the men shall cry,
and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail'”
a) The overflowing flood imagery is drawn from the River Nile;
flooding by the Nile was a common occurrence.
b) The flood is a reference to the Egyptians.
c) As a flood inundates the surrounding areas,
so will the Egyptians conquer many of the smaller and weaker nations.
d) The conquered lands would wail because of the destruction that comes with war.
3. “At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses,
at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels,
the fathers will not look back for their children, lacking courage”
a) This is a description of the mighty Egyptian forces.
i) They had strong horses.
ii) They had many mighty chariots.
b) These caused terror in the hearts of the Philistines.
i) The hearts of the fathers would feel great terror
at the sight of the Egyptian forces.
ii) Fathers would be seeking to flee for their lives.
iii) They lacked the courage to tend to their children.
iv) They would literally abandon their own children!