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In This Chapter 12 people 22 places 27 terms 2 resources

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Pharaoh (Neco) 6 Nebuchadnezzar 6 Israel 4 Jacob (Patriarch) 4 Jeremiah (Son of Hilkiah) 2 Jehoiakim 2 Josiah 2 PharaohNeco (Neco) Neco Eliakim (Jehoiakim) Zedekiah (Jehoiakim) Jeshurun (Israel)

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    Deal With 5 Save (Help) 5 Word of the Lord 4 Slaughtering 4 Trust 4 Fear 4 Mighty One 3 Pronounce Innocent 3 Strong-Willed Appoint Fear (State) Awe (State) Fear (Terror) Fear (Reverence) Fear (Awe) Fearful Respect Respect (Among People) Salvation Salvation (State) Save (Restore) Salvation (Physical) Salvation (Deliverance) Salvation (Rescuer) Save (Rescue) Salvation (Means) Saving (Means)

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    Judgment on Egypt

    ⓘ This series of messages is aimed at foreign...

    This series of messages is aimed at foreign nations (see Jeremiah 1:5, 10, and similar messages in Isaiah 13–23; Ezekiel 25–32; Amos 1:3–2:3).

    Through Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord planned to judge all nations from the Euphrates River to Egypt for their rebellion and sins against him (compare Leviticus 18:24–25). Eventually, Babylon would also face God's judgment (Jeremiah 50–51). These chapters were likely written while Jeremiah and Baruch were in hiding (Jeremiah 36:27–32). Among the warnings of doom for the foreign nations' sins are a few statements offering hope for salvation. Collections of oracles against the nations are also found in Isaiah (Isaiah 13–23) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 25–32). Although God used nearby nations to punish his rebellious people, he also held those nations accountable for their actions. The Lord is not only the God of Israel; he is the God of the entire world.

    1This is the word of the LORD about the nations—the word that came to Jeremiah the prophet

    ⓘ Jeremiah used the outcome of a battle known...

    Jeremiah used the outcome of a battle known to Jehoiakim to warn him and the people of Jerusalem. He said Egypt could not protect them from Babylon. Pharaoh Neco believed it was the right time to become the main power in the ancient Near East, so he moved north in 609 BC. Neco spent several years helping parts of the Assyrian army try to stop the Babylonian army's westward advance. However, he was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River in 605 BC. Soon after, the Babylonian army surrounded Jerusalem and forced Jehoiakim to become a Babylonian vassal.

    2concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah:

    ⓘ Leaders gave these military commands when soldiers were...

    Leaders gave these military commands when soldiers were excited, well-armed, and ready to fight.
    3“Deploy your shields, small and large;advance for battle!4Harness the horses; mount the steeds;take your positions with helmets on!Polish your spears;put on armor!
    5Why am I seeing this?
    They are terrified,they are retreating;their warriors are defeated,they flee in haste without looking back;terror is on every side!”declares the LORD.6“The swift cannot flee,and the warrior cannot escape!In the north by the River Euphratesthey stumble and fall.
    ⓘ Despite Pharaoh Neco's boasting and his soldiers' intimidating...

    Despite Pharaoh Neco's boasting and his soldiers' intimidating presence, his tactics neither confused the enemy nor won the battle (compare 1 Kings 20:11).
    7Who is this, rising like the Nile,like rivers whose waters churn?8Egypt rises like the Nile,and its waters churn like rivers,boasting, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;I will destroy the cities and their people.’
    ⓘ The Lord decided that Egypt would lose the...

    The Lord decided that Egypt would lose the battle, so allies would not help much. The Battle of Carchemish was crucial for Babylon's rise as the region's great empire.
    9Advance, O horses! Race furiously, O chariots!Let the warriors come forth—Cush† and Put carrying their shields,men of Lydia drawing the bow.10For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts,a day of vengeance against His foes.The sword will devour until it is satisfied,until it is quenched with their blood.For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrificein the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
    11Go up to Gilead for balm,O Virgin Daughter of Egypt!In vain you try many remedies,but for you there is no healing.12The nations have heard of your shame,and your outcry fills the earth,because warrior stumbles over warriorand both of them have fallen together.”
    ⓘ The defeat at Carchemish caused chaos in Egypt...

    The defeat at Carchemish caused chaos in Egypt and its armies. The Lord was judging Egypt.

    13This is 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“Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;proclaim it in Memphis† and Tahpanhes:‘Take your positions and prepare yourself,for the sword devours those around you.’
    ⓘ The Lord made the Egyptian soldiers afraid, and...

    The Lord made the Egyptian soldiers afraid, and they could not stay organized as they fled from Carchemish through Canaan to their homes in Egypt. Back in Egypt, they strongly criticized Pharaoh Neco, calling him a loudmouth.
    15Why have your warriors been laid low?They cannot stand, for the LORD has thrust them down.16They continue to stumble;indeed, they have fallen over one another.They say, ‘Get up! Let us return to our peopleand to the land of our birth,away from the sword of the oppressor.’
    17There they will cry out:‘Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise;he has let the appointed time pass him by.’
    18As surely as I live, declares the King,whose name is the LORD of Hosts,there will come one who is like Tabor among the mountainsand like Carmel by the sea.19Pack your bags for exile,O daughter dwelling in Egypt!For Memphis will be laid waste,destroyed and uninhabited.
    20Egypt is a beautiful heifer,but a gadfly from the north is coming against her.21Even the mercenaries among herare like fattened calves.They too will turn back;together they will flee, they will not stand their ground,for the day of calamity is coming upon them—the time of their punishment.
    ⓘ The image of a serpent slithering away shows...

    The image of a serpent slithering away shows the fear that took over Egypt. The invaders attacked the people fiercely, like woodsmen chopping wood, after entering the country like a swarm of locusts.
    22Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent,†for the enemy will advance in force;with axes they will come against herlike woodsmen cutting down trees.23They will chop down her forest, declares the LORD,dense though it may be,for they are more numerous than locusts;they cannot be counted.24The Daughter of Egypt will be put to shame;she will be delivered into the hands of the people of the north.”
    ⓘ Amon was a fertility god worshiped in Thebes,...

    • Amon was a fertility god worshiped in Thebes, the capital of Southern Egypt. Amon's idol, shaped like a ram, symbolized the sun. The Egyptians believed this god was very powerful. However, like all other Egyptian deities, it would be destroyed by the all-powerful God of Israel. The Pharaoh, who claimed to be the son of the sun-god, would face the same fate.

    • Egypt will be inhabited: In 601 BC, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt, caused great damage, and then withdrew. He invaded the land again in 568 to 567 BC (Jeremiah 43:8–13; Ezekiel 29:19).

    25The LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am about to punish Amon god of Thebes,† along with Pharaoh, Egypt with her gods and kings, and those who trust in Pharaoh. 26I will deliver them into the hands of those who seek their lives—of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, Egypt will be inhabited as in days of old, declares the LORD.

    27But you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid,and do not be dismayed, O Israel.For I will surely save you out of a distant place,your descendants from the land of their captivity!Jacob will return to quiet and ease,with no one to make him afraid.28And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid,declares the LORD, for I am with you.Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have banished you,I will not completely destroy you.Yet I will discipline you justly,and will by no means leave you unpunished.”