Scripture Daily

Context No. 203 of 4322 · Jeremiah

Context · Reflection

Jeremiah 47:1-7: in context

1The LORD’s word that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck Gaza. 2The LORD says: “Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and will become an overflowing stream, and will overflow the land and all that is therein, the city and those who dwell therein. The men will cry, and all the inhabitants of the land will wail. 3At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong ones, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers don’t look back for their children because their hands are so feeble, 4because of the day that comes to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; for the LORD will destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the isle of Caphtor. 5Baldness has come on Gaza; Ashkelon is brought to nothing. You remnant of their valley, how long will you cut yourself? 6“‘You sword of the LORD, how long will it be before you are quiet? Put yourself back into your scabbard; rest, and be still.’ 7“How can you be quiet, since the LORD has given you a command? Against Ashkelon, and against the seashore, there he has appointed it.”

This short oracle concerns the Philistines, Israel's neighbors on the coastal plain and their enemies for centuries. It is dated before Pharaoh struck Gaza, so it is set against a specific campaign, though the disaster it describes comes from the north, meaning Babylon.

The imagery is water. Waters rise out of the north and become an overflowing torrent, flooding the land and everything in it, the city and its inhabitants. Then the sound: the noise of the stamping hooves of stallions, the rushing of chariots, the rumbling of wheels. And an image of panic so complete that fathers do not turn back for their children, because their hands have gone slack.

Then the last two verses, which are unusual for these oracles. The prophet addresses the sword itself, and it is closer to a plea than a taunt. Ah, sword of the LORD, how long until you are quiet? Put yourself into your scabbard, rest and be still. And then the answer, which refuses him: how can it be quiet, when the LORD has given it a charge? Against Ashkelon and the seashore, there he has appointed it. The prophet asks the weapon to stop and is told it has orders. What have I asked to be over that is not finished yet, and can I keep going without an answer to that?

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