Words Of Truth
"That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth..." (Proverbs 22:21).
Having A Basic Understanding of Some Old Testament Truths
Part 327 – Message To Baruch Through God Is With Jacob (Jeremiah 45:1-46:28)
1. What was God’s message to Baruch the son of Neriah?
“(1) The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, (2) Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; (3) Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. (4) Thus shalt thou say unto him, The Lord saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. (5) And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest” (Jeremiah 45:1-5).
Baruch the son of Neriah was one whom helped Jeremiah in signing the covenant to purchase land (Jeremiah 32:6-15).
Baruch the son of Neriah was a scapegoat for Israel to reject Jeremiah’s message (Jeremiah 43:1-7).
Baruch the son of Neriah had the “woe is me” mindset as he fainted from grief and sorrow during this time of invasion (Psalms 120:1-7). Think about what that means ultimately (Psalms 27:13 and Proverbs 24:10).
Pulling down what was planted (Jeremiah 1:10, Jeremiah 18:7-10, and Matthew 15:13).
Don’t seek good things for yourself, for evil [affliction] is coming at the hand of God (Zephaniah 3:8).
God gave Baruch the son of Neriah’s life back to him for a prize wheresoever he went similar to what we saw with Ebedmelech (Jeremiah 39:15-18).
2. Did the Lord fear Egypt’s rise to battle against His servant Nebuchadrezzar or did the Lord welcome their preparation for battle?
The Lord called them to arms, without fear: “(1) The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles; (2) Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho 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” (Jeremiah 46:1-9).
“Against the Gentiles” is a statement of judgment against those outside of Israel during the time the Law of Moses was in effect (Ephesians 2:11-12).
Nebuchadrezzar was serving the Lord’s will at this point in time (Jeremiah 25:9 and Jeremiah 43:10).
The strong nation of Egypt, not so against God (Isaiah 19:16-18).
None will escape nor could escape (Amos 9:1-5).
The reference to rising waters and the reality (Ezekiel 29:3-6 and Ezekiel 32:1-10).
Egypt thought highly of their might and such an attitude in regard to judgment from God is blasphemous (Isaiah 37:23-24).
Anyone who thinks they are mighty are in trouble (Proverbs 16:18).
3. In the day of God’s vengeance, could the mighty stand against His will?
No, they had no cure with their medicines and the mighty stumbled against the mighty: “(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. (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” (Jeremiah 46:10-12).
“A day of vengeance” is key, for there had been many (i.e. Isaiah 13:1-34:17, Matthew 23:37-24:34, etc.).
The Lord taking vengeance on His adversaries (Nahum 1:1-3).
No cure for the ailments God was going to cause (Ezekiel 30:21-25; cf. Jeremiah 30:12-15).
The nations have heard (Jeremiah 50:46).
4. What was Jeremiah to declare in Egypt?
The surety that they were going to be destroyed and taken captive: “(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” (Jeremiah 46:13-19).
Jeremiah was going to Egypt to declare to them in person how God was going to bring Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon upon them for judgment against them (Jeremiah 25:9 and Ezekiel 30:13). Similar to the task of Joel (Joel 3:9-12).
Consider what it meant for a prophet of God to have to go behind enemy lines and proclaim a message of destruction (Jeremiah 12:17 and Jeremiah 18:7-11).
5. Though Egypt was like a very fair heifer and her hired men like fatted bullocks, what were they up against?
An innumerable amount of invaders from the north, with the Lord behind them, that would leave Egypt confounded: “(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” (Jeremiah 46:20-26).
Egypt is like a very fair heifer… (Jeremiah 50:11).
But destruction is coming from the north (Jeremiah 1:14).
Also her hired men [a man of wages, a hired servant] are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks and that leads to some things… (Deuteronomy 32:15 and Jeremiah 5:28).
The point of the imagery here is that when people do well physically they often overlook their spiritual poverty (Revelation 3:14-22).
Destruction of their forest on top of everything else (Ezekiel 20:46).
Egypt confounded [ashamed; confused] through the judgment of God upon them at the hand of the Babylonians (Psalms 97:7, Psalms 129:5, Isaiah 41:8-11, and Jeremiah 10:14).
Again, God establishes that the punishment upon Egypt and her idols was coming from Him (Isaiah 19:1).
When God does something, He wants everyone to know that it is He that has done it (Joshua 24:31, Psalms 25:14, Psalms 145:9-13, Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 45:1-12, Isaiah 45:18-19, Isaiah 48:11, Ezekiel 12:16, and John 18:20).
God delivered them to Nebuchadrezzar (Jeremiah 44:30).
6. During Egypt’s fall, what message did God send to Israel?
God was planning to save them, not make a full end of them, but correct them in measure: “(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” (Jeremiah 46:27-28).
Isaiah 44:1-8, Jeremiah 5:15-18, Jeremiah 30:10-11, and Amos 9:8-14
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