JEREMIAH
43
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2003 James Melough
43:1.
“And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all
the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God
had sent him to them, even all these words,”
43:2.
“Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all
the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God
hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:”
This is the only
mention of Azariah in the book of Jeremiah, but Johanan is mentioned several
times, and always in a good connection, but here it is indicated that he was a
proud man, in addition to which he called Jeremiah a liar, and carried the
prophet and the rest of the people forcibly with him down into Egypt, his
disobedient departure into that land being the last mention of him in
Scripture.
43:3.
“But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us
into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us
away captive into Babylon.”
Johanan
continues his tirade by accusing Baruch, Jeremiah’s amanuensis, of being the
instigator of the advice not to go to Egypt, but to remain in the land,
falsely attributing to Baruch the ulterior motive of wishing to have them
slain or taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar.
43:4.
“So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the
people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah.”
43:5.
“But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all
the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had
been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;”
43:6.
“Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person
that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of
Neriah.”
43:7.
“So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the
Lord: Thus came they even to Tahpanhes.”
Thus in defiance
of God’s command to remain in the land of Judah, these wilful men compelled
all the people to go with them into Egypt. Tahpanhes means thou wilt fill
hands with pity, a meaning that doesn’t appear to have any special
significance in the present context.
Keeping in mind
that Egypt represents the world of business and pleasure living in
independence of God, the spiritual lesson here is that unspiritual self-willed
men, taking the place of leaders amongst God’s people, also tend to lead them
away from God and into the world, as they apply worldly wisdom rather than
scriptural principles to problems that arise amongst believers.
It is generally
believed that Jeremiah died in Egypt.
43:8.
“Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,”
43:9.
“Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln,
which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men
of Judah;”
43:10.
“And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I
will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will
set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his
royal pavilion over them.”
God here
declares the folly of seeking shelter from Nebuchadnezzar in Egypt. (The
spelling Nebuchadrezzar is a form that is closer to the Babylonian original
than is the usual Nebuchadnezzar).
43:11.
“And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are
for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as
are for the sword to the sword.”
The words “such
as are for death to death” are understood by many to be a reference to death
by pestilence.
43:12.
“And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall
burn them, and carry them away captives; and he shall array himself with the
land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth
from thence in peace.”
The Babylonians
would burn the Egyptian temples, and burn or carry away the idols. The ease
with which Nebuchadnezzar would accomplish that work was likened to the ease
with which a shepherd puts on his coat. Some, however, take the symbolic
picture to be of the meticulous care with which Nebuchadnezzar would cleanse
the land of the idols, the care being similar to that with which a shepherd
carefully purges his clothing of vermin.
43:13.
“He shall break also the images of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt;
and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.”
“... the images
of Bethshemesh” are understood by many to have been the obelisks adorning the
temple of the sun god; and according to The Wycliffe Bible Commentary
“One of the
Heliopolis
obelisks is now in Central Park in New York City, another on the Thames
Embankment in
London. Both are wrongly called ‘Cleopatra’s
Needle.’”
Rebel Judah, as
idolatrous as the Egyptians, would also share their fate when God sent
Nebuchadnezzar as His agent to punish the wickedness of both, and to destroy
the very land which they had foolishly considered a place of safety.
The only place
of absolute security is in obedience to God’s will.
[Jeremiah
44]