Jeremiah 46:1-12--Judgment on Egypt

Jeremiah 46:1-12
English Standard Version

Judgment on Egypt
46 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."

---

You may have gotten the idea somehow from this book that the LORD only wanted Jeremiah to prophecy against the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and while that makes up the bulk of his message, it would be inaccurate to say that this is all that he prophecies about.  He also gives prophecy against the other Gentile nations.  In this passage, the LORD's prophecy is against Egypt--the place where the people of Judah have run for shelter from Babylon.

The Egyptians are told they should prepare for battle, call out every man and horse they have that is able to fight, and they should wear every piece of armor they have, yet they are also told they will lose this battle.  The LORD has ordained it that they should cease being a great nation.  So many of these nations imagined they would dominate and rule the entire world, and Egypt has visions of this that were not given by God--remember the LORD laid out in the book of Daniel that the LORD promised the Babylonian king and empire that stretched to the ends of the earth.

The Egyptians, even with powerful alliances, will not be able to stop the LORD's wrath from coming.  Ironically, the LORD suggests the Egyptians run to Israel (specifically to the Trans-Jordan area of Gilead) for safety and healing.  Remember how the people of Judah were so afraid that they felt they needed to run away from the Land?  This is the LORD's answer to that.  They may try to flee, but they will not be fast enough.  They may try to look for comfort and healing elsewhere, but they will not find it.

I stopped at verse 12 for the sake of time today, but the prophecy will continue in the passage tomorrow as we pick up at verse 13.