Sharper Iron — A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build: Jeremiah’s Oracle against Egypt

Rev. Matt Wietfeldt, Director of Admissions and the Christ Academy program at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 46:1-28.

The book of Jeremiah begins a section of oracles directed to the foreign nations surrounding the land of Israel. Jeremiah faithfully preaches God’s Word according to his call to be a prophet to the nations beginning with the land of Egypt. The historical setting is the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C. Though the Egyptian commanders barked their orders in confidence of victory, the Babylonian army defeated them. This was no historical accident; this was the LORD’s doing. He brought His day of judgment upon the Egyptians as He had once done in the Passover and the Exodus. By bringing the Babylonians to wreak havoc on Egypt, the LORD showed that He, and not Pharaoh, was truly King. Through these actions, the LORD reminded His own people that He had not forgotten them and was working for their ultimate salvation. The LORD also was calling Egypt to repentance and faith in him alone.

“A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their faithless idolatry and warns them of the destruction that is coming in the Babylonian exile. Yet Jeremiah does not leave us without hope in the midst of such dark days. Jeremiah and all who believe the Word of God he preached survive because of hope that is found in the righteous Branch from the line of David, Jesus Christ.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Jeremiah 46:1-28

Judgment on Egypt

46 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

²About 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!
⁴Harness the horses;
    mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
    polish your spears,
    put on your armor!
⁵Why 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?
⁸Egypt 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.’
⁹Advance, 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.
¹⁰That 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.
¹¹Go up to Gilead, and take balm,
    O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
    there is no healing for you.
¹²The 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.”

¹³The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

¹⁴“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;
    proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,
    for the sword shall devour around you.’
¹⁵Why are your mighty ones face down?
    They do not stand^[a]
    because the Lord thrust them down.
¹⁶He made many stumble, and they fell,
    and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
    and to the land of our birth,
    because of the sword of the oppressor.’
¹⁷Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
    ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

¹⁸“As I live, declares the King,
    whose name is the Lord of hosts,
like Tabor among the mountains
    and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
¹⁹Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
    O inhabitants of Egypt!
For Memphis shall become a waste,
    a ruin, without inhabitant.

²⁰“A beautiful heifer is Egypt,
    but a biting fly from the north has come upon her.
²¹Even her hired soldiers in her midst
    are like fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
    they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
    the time of their punishment.

²²“She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;
    for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
    like those who fell trees.
²³They shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
    though it is impenetrable,
because they are more numerous than locusts;
    they are without number.
²⁴The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
    she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.”

²⁵The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. ²⁶I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the Lord.

²⁷“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
    nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
    and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
    and none shall make him afraid.
²⁸Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the Lord,
    for I am with you.
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.
I will discipline you in just measure,
    and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 46:15 Hebrew He does not stand

English Standard Version (ESV)

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).