Jeremiah 46:1
The Bible says in Jeremiah 46:1-10, The word of
the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;[2]
Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho 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.[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. This passage of scripture
emphasizes the fact that God is in control of all the nations of the earth. God
is in control even when the nations go to war with each other. God decides who
wins and who loses. This is an important concept to remember. War is the
ultimate competition between nations. That means that God is involved when
people compete with one another. God is involved with all competition because God
is involved with all things. The way to do your best in any competition is to
trust in God. In all areas of life there is competition: in academics, in
sports, in your career, everywhere. Do your best and trust the results to the
Lord: that is how to succeed. Success is not measured by the outcome as we
observe things. Success is doing your best and trusting in the Lord. God
decided that
Every time that God judges a nation in
this world, such judgment is symbolic of the final judgment when Jesus will
bring judgment upon all nations. Compare what is said in Jeremiah 46:10 about
the judgment of the Egyptians to what is said about the return of Christ. It
says in Jeremiah 46:10, 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. And it says
about the return of Christ in Revelation 19:11-21, And I saw
heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.[12]
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had
a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.[13] And he was clothed
with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.[14]
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in
fine linen, white and clean.[15] And out of his mouth goeth a sharp
sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of
Almighty God.[16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.[17] And I saw an angel
standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls
that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the
supper of the great God;[18] That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the
flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of
them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small
and great.[19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and
their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,
and against his army.[20] And the beast was taken, and with him the
false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them
that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.[21]
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which
sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their
flesh.
The Bible says in Jeremiah 46:11-16, 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.[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. Jeremiah 46:11 is a
verse that makes an important point about healing. Everyone wants to be
healthy. That is normal. The Bible has a lot to say about physical health. Paul
wrote in First Thessalonians 5:23, And the
very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and
soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many of the dietary rules that God gave to the children
of
There are a couple of other Biblical
principles about what you eat that are also important to remember. One
principle is to give thanks to God for whatever you eat. Every good thing comes
from God and that includes every bite of food that you eat. The Word of God is
the spiritual food. We should be thankful for both the spiritual food and the
physical food that God supplies for us. Jesus gave thanks to the Father for the
food that He ate. It says about Jesus in Matthew 15:36, And he took
the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to
his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. It also says in Ephesians
5:20, Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Another biblical principle that has to
do with what we eat and our health is the fact that Christians are permitted to
eat all things. We can eat or not eat whatever we choose. God gives us great
freedom as we follow Him. We are not under law. There is a great warning
against teachers who want to put binding and legalistic restrictions on
Christians. It says in First Timothy 4:1-5, Now the Spirit speaketh
expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving
heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;[2] Speaking lies in
hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;[3] Forbidding
to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be
received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.[4]
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received
with thanksgiving:[5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Looking back at what is said in
Jeremiah 46:11, in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be
cured. This is not a verse that speaks against getting the best medical
treatment that you can get. Common sense and modern medical science tells us to
get the best medicine and the best doctor that we can for whatever afflicts us.
If you neglect either one of these two criteria, you will not get the best
results. Both of these principles are seen in James 5:13-15, Is any among
you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.[14] Is
any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:[15] And
the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and
if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Notice the two requirements for Christians to be in the best health possible:
prayer and anointing with oil. This anointing with oil is not a religious
ceremony. The word that is translated anointing refers to the practical
application of oil, and does not have a ceremonial meaning. Olive oil was used
in the first century as an important medicine. In other words this passage in
James is saying that Christians should use what is best medically and they
should pray about their physical afflictions. Do not neglect either one. The
problem with the Jewish people in the time of Jeremiah was that they used
medicines, but they were not rightly related to the Lord and did not pray about
their afflictions. Leave the Lord out of your life, and the Spirit may say the
same thing to you: in vain shalt thou use
many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
The Bible says in Jeremiah 46:17-26, 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.[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. There are
several important truths seen in this judgment upon
Why did God decide to punish the
Egyptians? God said in Jeremiah 46:25, Behold, I will punish the multitude
of No, and Pharaoh, and
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Copyright; 2013 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved