Jeremiah 46:13-24 – God is our sure refuge

The battle between Egypt and Babylon at Carchemish was a watershed battle. It marked the beginning of Egypt losing its grip as the world's dominant power. In Jeremiah 46:14-24 Jeremiah now foresaw and declared another defeat of Egypt at the hand of the Babylonians. This time the battle would not be fought somewhere else but in Egypt itself.  Verse 14 sounds the battle cry that was quickly followed by descriptions of Egypt’s defeat.

Using poetic language, Jeremiah described how the once mighty army of Egypt was humiliated. They fell to the Babylonians’ advance. Verse 16 suggests that the mercenary soldiers who were recruited abandoned their position, preferring to return to their homeland away from the oppressors. As they desert Egypt their employer, they even had the audacity to taunt the Pharaoh. This was what they said in verse “Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a big noise; he has let the appointed time pass by!” They were saying that Pharoah could only boast but had no resolve to deal with the problem. These mercenaries engaged were of not much use either. Thought hardened soldiers, verse 21 described them as grossly overfed soldiers. They were of not much use and would not stand their ground to fight, but would desert at the moment that count.    

 

The Lord had ordained that Egypt would be overwhelmed by Babylon. So Egypt would be overshadowed by Babylon like Mount Tabor overshadowing the surrounding land and Mount Carmel overshadowing the sea. The Egyptians referred to as “daughters” in verse 19 should be ready to be taken into exile even as Memphis, a reference to Egypt would be destroyed and made desolate. Egypt’s defeat was also a defeat of her gods. So in this passage, imageries of animals were being used to ridicule the gods of Egypt.

 

In verse 20 Egypt was referred to as a pretty heifer. This was making fun of Apis, the Egyptian's bull god.  In this verse, instead of a strong bull, Egypt was described as just a fattened calf, and Babylon was like a gadfly, a pesky insect that would come from the north to trouble the land. The snake was also used to picture the disgrace of Egypt.  The serpent is a symbol of the supremacy of Egypt. It was a royal emblem. Jeremiah said that on the day of Babylon's invasion, Egypt like a snake would slither away.  And using the locust illustration in verses 23-24, was by way of reminding them of how God used the locust plague in one of judgments on Egypt in the day of Moses. God guaranteed their defeat by Babylon from the north. The Babylonians would clear Egypt like lumberjacks cutting wood and clearing the forest.  

 

Lesson: there is only one true God with real power and might. It was foolishness for the people of Judah to think that they could rely on the Egyptians to deal with Babylon. It would have done them a world of good to yield to God’s dealing than to see the solution elsewhere. Like them our greatest source of help is God, it would be foolhardy for us to go anywhere else to seek a solution for our problem. God is our best go-to in times of need. He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.