August 22

Jeremiah 46-48 (biblegateway.com)

The God of All Nations: Judgment and Hope

Jeremiah 46-48 expands the prophet’s message beyond Judah to the surrounding nations, reminding us that Yahweh is not only Israel’s God but the Lord over all peoples. In chapter 46, Egypt is warned of impending defeat at the hands of Babylon, shattering its pride and power. Chapter 47 pronounces judgment against the Philistines, portraying the advancing armies as a relentless flood. Chapter 48 delivers a lengthy oracle against Moab, condemning its arrogance and idolatry while foretelling sorrow and devastation. Yet even in these pronouncements of judgment, glimmers of hope emerge as God promises that He will one day restore Moab, showing that His justice is never without mercy.

Jeremiah 46 – God’s Judgment on Egypt

Jeremiah had been commissioned as a prophet to the nations. He grouped his prophecies concerning the nation of Judah first (chaps. 2-45) because Judah was God’s covenant nation and because she consumed the largest amount of Jeremiah’s prophetic activity. Yet other nations did not escape his prophetic eye. Chapter 46 opens a new section of Jeremiah (chapters 46-51) that records God’s words against the nations surrounding Judah. These chapters declare the Lord’s sovereignty over all nations and assure His own people that the negative promise of the Abrahamic covenant—“him who dishonors you I will curse” (Gen. 12:3)—is still in place.

The first nation to be selected for judgment was Egypt, the great power that many in Judah were tempted to trust for deliverance against Babylon. Jeremiah’s prophecy is directed against Pharaoh Neco and the Egyptian army. Pharaoh Neco had earlier killed King Josiah of Judah, and for a time, Egypt was the dominant power in the region.

The Babylonian Chronicle records that Pharaoh Neco first exploited the weakened state of Assyria by forming an alliance with them. On his way north to aid Ashur-uballit at Carchemish (the last king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire), Neco passed through Palestine, where he defeated Judah’s King Josiah at the Battle of Megiddo in 609 (see 2 Kings 23:33; 2 Chron. 35:20; Dan. 1:1–2).

Confident in his strength, Pharaoh Neco led his army north to challenge Babylon; however, in 605 B.C., during the fourth year of King Jehoiakim (Jer. 46:1–2), Egypt suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Carchemish on the Euphrates River. The Babylonian Chronicle records that after Assyria was finally crushed by the forces of Babylon, the Egyptian forces were overtaken and decisively destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar’s surprise victory not only ended Egypt’s influence over Palestine and Syria but also marked the rise of Babylon as the new world power. By 604 B.C., Babylon had established dominion over Judah, while Egypt was forced to retreat and remain confined to its own borders for the rest of Neco’s reign.

The battle of Carchemish not only shaped world history but also underscored Judah’s folly in trusting political alliances instead of the Lord. Beginning in verse 3, the Lord paints a vivid picture of the preparations for battle. Soldiers are told to ready their shields, harness their horses, and don their helmets (v. 3-4). Yet despite all their military readiness, panic and defeat overwhelm them, and the Egyptian forces flee in terror (v. 5). Verse 6 declares that “the swift cannot flee away, nor the warrior escape,” showing that human strength cannot stand against God’s decree.

The Babylonian Chronicle confirms this picture of hopeless confusion and defeat. The Egyptian army “withdrew” before the Babylonians, but the Babylonians “overtook and defeated them so that not a single man escaped to his own country” (Donald J. Wiseman, Chronicle of Chaldean Kings (626-556 B.C.) in the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1956, pp. 67-9).

Egypt is then compared to a beautiful but ineffective Nile River that rises in pride but ultimately cannot stop Babylon’s advance (v. 7-9). Despite their impressive armies—Cushites, Libyans, and Lydians (v. 9)—their efforts are in vain, for this is God’s appointed day of vengeance. It is described as “the day of the Lord,” when He executes justice against His enemies, with Babylon as His instrument. God would bring vengeance on Egypt until it was completely destroyed. Only then would His sword of judgment be satisfied. God compared this slaughter to the offering of a sacrifice as He destroyed the Egyptians at Carchemish by the River Euphrates (v. 10).

The prophet depicts the aftermath with haunting imagery: Egypt’s land is covered in blood. Even the famed “balm of Gilead,” known for its healing properties, cannot heal Egypt’s wound (v. 11). Their destruction is beyond remedy because it comes from the hand of God Himself. Surrounding nations would hear of Egypt’s shame as her cries of anguish and pain filled the earth. The mighty warriors would stumble over one another as they would fall down together in defeat. Egypt’s shame would have international proportions (v. 12).

Verses 13–26 contain an undated prophecy announcing Babylon’s future invasion of Egypt. Although Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Egypt at Carchemish in 605 B.C., he did not actually invade Egyptian territory until around 571-567 B.C. (43:8-13). The warning of his advance was to be proclaimed in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes—the same cities mentioned earlier in 44:1, where many Judeans had fled after Jerusalem’s fall. These strongholds of Lower Egypt were urged to prepare their defenses, but God declared they would not stand. Egypt, once a refuge for Judah’s exiles, would itself fall under Babylon’s judgment, showing again the futility of trusting in human powers rather than the Lord (v. 13-19).

Egypt is mocked as a “beautiful heifer” (v. 20), attractive but vulnerable, about to be bitten and destroyed by a stinging fly from the north (Babylon). Even her mercenary soldiers and foreign allies hired for protection will fail her and turn back in retreat (v. 21). The devastation will be total. Egypt is compared to a forest consumed by the axe (v. 22-23). Egypt’s idols and gods will also fall under judgment, as the Lord declares, “I will punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt with her gods and her kings” (v. 25). The humiliation of Egypt will be a lesson to the nations: God alone controls history and the fate of empires.

Yet the chapter closes with a word of hope, not for Egypt but for God’s covenant people. In verses 27-28, the Lord speaks directly to Jacob (Israel). While He affirms that He will bring judgment on the nations where His people have been scattered, He promises to preserve them. “Fear not, O Jacob my servant… I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end” (v. 28). This is a recurring theme in Jeremiah: judgment is severe, but God’s covenant faithfulness ensures the survival and restoration of His people.

Jeremiah 46 reminds us of the futility of trusting in worldly powers. Judah often looked to Egypt for security, but God shows that even the mightiest nations fall when He brings judgment. The New Testament reinforces this truth: believers are warned not to place their confidence in human rulers or wealth (1 Timothy 6:17), but to trust in Christ alone as the one who overcomes the world (John 16:33).

The downfall of Egypt also highlights God’s sovereignty over all nations. No empire is beyond His reach, and no power can stand against His decree. This should both humble nations today and encourage believers who witness global unrest. Just as God controlled the rise and fall of ancient empires, He remains Lord over the affairs of the world now (Acts 17:26).

Finally, the closing verses point us to the hope of God’s people. Even when surrounded by chaos and judgment, God’s covenant promises hold firm. Just as Israel was preserved through exile, Christians are promised eternal security in Christ: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Our hope is not in worldly alliances or powers, but in the faithful God who keeps His word.

Jeremiah 47 – Judgment on the Philistines

This short but powerful chapter delivers a prophecy against the Philistines, Israel’s long-standing enemies on the western coast along the Mediterranean. Jeremiah 47 begins with the statement that the word of the Lord came “before Pharaoh struck Gaza” (v. 1). The precise date of this event is uncertain, with the two most likely possibilities being 609 B.C., when Pharaoh Neco marched north through Palestine to confront the Babylonians (2 Kings 23:29-30), or 601 B.C., when he defeated Babylonian forces in a battle recorded in the Babylonian Chronicle.

The prophecy opens with the imagery of waters rising from the north (v. 2). This refers to the Babylonian armies sweeping down like a flood, overwhelming the land of the Philistines. The devastation will reach as far as the cities of Tyre and Sidon, indicating that the whole coastal region will feel the impact of God’s judgment. The Philistines will have no ally strong enough to deliver them from Babylon’s power.

The effect of this invasion is described vividly in verse 3: the sound of galloping horses and chariots will terrify even fathers, who are so overcome with fear that they abandon their children. This highlights the utter hopelessness and panic that will seize the people—when natural family instincts of protection collapse, the severity of the disaster is unmistakable.

Verse 4 declares that this destruction comes as the Lord executes His purpose against the Philistines. He will “cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains,” meaning that not even their neighboring allies can save them. Caphtor, commonly identified as Crete, is thought to be the Philistines’ ancestral homeland.

The devastation is further emphasized in verse 5, where Gaza and Ashkelon, two of the major Philistine cities, are pictured as shaved bald, a sign of grief and humiliation. The remnant of their strength is said to be perishing, leaving them defenseless. The chapter closes in verses 6-7 with Jeremiah’s anguished cry: “Ah, sword of the Lord! How long till you are quiet?” He longs for the end of destruction, but the answer is firm, as God’s sword cannot rest until it has carried out His appointed judgment against Ashkelon and the seacoast.

Jeremiah 47 again demonstrates that God’s justice extends beyond His covenant people to all nations. The Philistines, who had opposed Israel since the time of the Judges (Judges 13-16; 1 Samuel 4-6; 17), are now receiving the full measure of God’s judgment. This reminds us that while God may allow nations to prosper for a time, He will ultimately hold them accountable for their violence, pride, and opposition to His purposes.

The imagery of the “sword of the Lord” (v. 6-7) reminds us that judgment is God’s work, not man’s. In Romans 12:19, Paul echoes this principle when he writes, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Believers are not to take vengeance into their own hands, but to trust God’s timing in bringing justice.

Finally, the terror and hopelessness of the Philistines stand in sharp contrast to the security promised to God’s people. While nations tremble and fall under judgment, those who belong to the Lord are promised peace and restoration (as we saw in Jeremiah 46:27-28). For Christians, this security is fulfilled in Christ, who bore the ultimate judgment for sin on the cross so that those who trust in Him will never face God’s wrath (Romans 8:1).

Jeremiah 48 – Judgment Against Moab

This chapter is a detailed prophecy against Moab, a nation with deep historical ties to Israel but also a long record of hostility, from the time God’s people were preparing to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 22-24) to the time the Moabites formed a coalition with the Ammonites and the Meunites against Judah (2 Chron. 20:1–29). The Moabites were descendants of Lot through an incestuous relationship with one of his daughters (Genesis 19:30–37).

The country of Moab was east of the Dead Sea. It was separated from Edom on the south by the Zered River and from Ammon on the north by the Arnon River. Moab often rejoiced in Israel’s troubles and trusted in its wealth, fortresses, and pagan gods. Jeremiah 48 announces God’s coming judgment, showing that pride and false security bring destruction.

The chapter opens with a series of pronouncements of woe over Moab’s cities—Nebo, Kiriathaim, Heshbon, Madmen, Horonaim, and others (v. 1-5). These place names remind the reader that judgment will be thorough, touching the entire land. The imagery is devastating: cries of destruction echo through the valleys, and people flee weeping as their cities fall. In verses 4–5, Moab is pictured as crying out in anguish, with refugees descending the slopes toward Zoar as they try to escape.

Verse 7 identifies the heart of the problem: Moab trusted in its “works and treasures,” and therefore it would also fall into exile. Furthermore, Chemosh shall go into exile

with his priests and his officials. Chemosh was the main god of the nation of Moab (Numbers 21:29), and child sacrifice was an important part of his worship (2 Kings 3:26, 27). God’s judgment made it clear that human-made resources and gods are no match for the Lord Almighty. Moab’s idolatry, like Judah’s, would be powerless to save them from the judgment of the Lord.

Verses 10–13 contain sobering warnings. God pronounces a curse on those who do the work of the Lord negligently (v. 10), showing that He expects Babylon, His instrument, to fully carry out His justice. Moab’s complacency is described in verse 11 with the metaphor of wine left undisturbed: just as wine not poured from vessel to vessel retains its flavor, Moab had settled in comfort and self-security. But God would “send pourers” (the Babylonians) to overturn them, leaving them shattered (v. 12). God vowed that days were coming when He would arouse Moab from her complacency.

The prophecy continues by mocking Moab’s reliance on Chemosh (v. 13), declaring that just as Israel had been shamed by its false trust in Bethel, so Moab would be disgraced in its idolatry. Bethel was where one of the two golden calves was set up in the northern kingdom after Israel divided into northern and southern kingdoms. The northern kingdom set up golden calf idols in Bethel and Dan to keep people from going to worship in Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom. Israel found out too late that her trust in the false god at Bethel could not prevent her destruction and deportation. Moab would learn the same lesson regarding her god.

Moab’s pride and boasting are first condemned in verses 14-17, where God calls the nations to witness her downfall and declares that even her mighty warriors will be powerless (v. 15). This theme of arrogance resurfaces in verses 29-30, which emphasize Moab’s loftiness and haughty heart: “We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—of his loftiness, his pride, his arrogance, and the haughtiness of his heart.” Yet despite all this boasting, God makes clear that Moab’s power and achievements will come to nothing, and her mockery of Israel will be repaid with shame and ruin. The prophecy further illustrates her destruction through vivid agricultural imagery: joy and gladness will vanish from Moab’s vineyards (v. 33-35), wine presses, once symbols of prosperity, will fall silent, and the land itself will echo with cries of mourning instead of celebration.

Yet even amid judgment, Jeremiah conveys deep compassion. In verses 31-32, God laments for Moab, weeping for its people and comparing their vineyards to once-fruitful vines now destroyed. This grief underscores that God’s compassion extends even to His enemies and all of creation, mourning the necessity of punishment. In verse 36, God raised a cry of lament for Moab that sounded like the high-pitched sound of a flute. God mourns that Moab’s people will lose the possessions they spent a lifetime collecting (Isa. 15:7; 16:11). Though God, in his justic,e brings righteous judgment against sinners and takes delight in the purity and holiness of his judgment, he also feels sorrow at the destruction that the judgment brings upon human beings created in his image.

The chapter concludes with a note of hope. After describing the devastation and exile (v. 39–46), the final verse promises restoration: “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, declares the Lord” (v. 47). Though Moab must face judgment for its pride and hostility, God’s final word is not complete annihilation but the possibility of future mercy.

Jeremiah 48 teaches several vital lessons. First, it shows the danger of pride and complacency. Like Moab, nations and individuals can become settled in their own achievements, wealth, or false security. But God will not allow prideful self-reliance to go unchallenged. This principle is echoed in Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Second, the prophecy underscores the futility of idolatry. Moab trusted in Chemosh, just as Judah trusted in the temple without true faith (Jeremiah 7). Both would be proven false. For believers today, this is a warning against placing hope in modern idols—whether money, power, status, or even religious forms without genuine faith. Only the Lord is a secure refuge.

Third, God models a heart of compassion even in judgment. Though He announces Moab’s destruction, He does so with sorrow and lament, mourning the ruin of a people and their land. This challenges Christians to combine conviction about God’s justice with genuine love and grief for the lost, echoing Paul’s words in Philippians 3:18: “I tell you even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.”

Finally, the promise of restoration in verse 47 reminds us of God’s mercy beyond judgment. Even after severe discipline, He holds out the possibility of renewal. This points forward to the gospel, where Christ bore the ultimate judgment for sin so that both Jew and Gentile might receive restoration and hope.

Conclusion

These oracles remind us that God’s authority extends over every nation and people group. No empire, no idol, and no false security can stand against Him. Egypt, Philistia, and Moab all serve as reminders that pride and rebellion lead to ruin, but humility and repentance open the door to mercy. For today’s believer, Jeremiah 46–48 encourages us to see God as sovereign over global affairs and personal lives alike. He is not a distant regional deity but the Lord of all, and His plans—both for justice and restoration—cannot be thwarted.

Footnotes:

Battle of Carchemish. 

In 612 B.C., Nineveh fell to a combined Babylonian and Median force under Nabopolassar, ending Assyria’s dominance. The last Assyrian ruler, Ashuruballit II, shifted his capital to Haran, but that city too was captured in 610. Although Ashuruballit secured an alliance with Egypt’s Neco II and continued to hold portions of territory along the Upper Euphrates for a few years, his efforts could not restore Assyria’s former power. By 605, the remnants of the once “invincible” Assyrian army, together with their Egyptian allies, were decisively defeated at the Battle of Carchemish. This victory, led by Crown Prince Nebuchadnezzar, marked a turning point in Near Eastern history. Carchemish signaled the final collapse of the vast Assyrian Empire and paved the way for the rise of an even greater Persian Empire after the relatively brief Neo-Babylonian period. Though Egypt briefly extended influence into Palestine and Phoenicia, Nebuchadnezzar’s forces quickly consolidated control, securing Babylonian dominance over all of Syro-Palestine by 604.

 (Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Je 46:2).

Babylonian Chronicles.

The Babylonian Chronicles are a collection of ancient cuneiform tablets that record year-by-year accounts of Babylon’s history, including wars, royal campaigns, political events, and even astronomical phenomena. Written by Babylonian scribes, these chronicles span centuries, though many tablets are fragmentary. They are especially significant for biblical history because they describe events that parallel the accounts of Jeremiah, Kings, and Chronicles. For instance, they recount the fall of the Assyrian Empire and the Battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., where Nebuchadnezzar decisively defeated Egypt and Assyria, marking the rise of Babylon as the dominant world power. These accounts also provide details about Nebuchadnezzar’s campaigns in Judah, including the events leading to the fall of Jerusalem. By confirming and expanding upon the biblical record, the Babylonian Chronicles stand as valuable historical evidence of how God used Babylon as an instrument of judgment, just as the prophets had foretold.

Egyptian Attack on Gaza.

In 601 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar turned his attention toward Egypt, beginning preparations for an invasion. Before advancing, however, he had to secure control over Palestine, which included receiving King Jehoiakim’s pledge of loyalty to Babylon. These delays postponed any direct assault on Egypt until November of that year. Nebuchadnezzar may have anticipated an easy victory like that of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in 663, but circumstances had changed. The Saite pharaohs of Egypt’s Twenty-Sixth Dynasty had heavily fortified their defenses, constructing multiple lines of strongholds along the Gaza road and further south to block any invading army, whether approaching along the Mediterranean coast or across the desert interior. According to Herodotus, Nebuchadnezzar’s forces suffered defeat at the Egyptian fortress of Migdol, located on the eastern edge of the Nile Delta. Following this victory, Pharaoh Necho II pursued the Babylonians northward, seizing Gaza and holding it for two years, until Nebuchadnezzar returned with another campaign in Palestine.

 (Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Je 47.1).

Moabite situation at the end of the seventh century.

At the end of the seventh century B.C., Moab, like Philistia, was a vassal state under Assyrian control. Assyrian records list four Moabite kings who paid tribute during this period, continuing through the reign of Ashurbanipal. After the fall of Jerusalem, Herodotus notes that the Transjordanian kingdoms of Moab and Ammon came under Babylonian dominance, a strategic move by Nebuchadnezzar to exclude Egyptian influence from Syro-Palestine and to control the crucial caravan routes through the region. Egypt had long maintained economic and political interests in Moab, dating back to the reign of Thutmose III (c. 1479–1425 B.C.), as evidenced by the eighth-century Shihan Stele, which depicts the Moabite god Chemosh wearing an Egyptian-style kilt. (Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Je 48:1).