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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XLVII.</FONT>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter reads the Philistines their doom, as the former read the
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Egyptians theirs and by the same hand, that of Nebuchadnezzar. It is
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short, but terrible; and Tyre and Zidon, though they lay at some
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distance from them, come in sharers with them in the destruction here
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threatened.
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I. It is foretold that the forces of the northern crowns should come
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upon them, to their great terror,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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II. That the war should continue long, and their endeavours to put an
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end to it should be in vain,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:6,7">ver. 6-7</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer47_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer47_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer47_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer47_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer47_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer47_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer47_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Judgment of the Philistines.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> that came to Jeremiah the prophet
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against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
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2 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Behold, waters rise up out of the north,
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and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land,
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and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein:
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then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall
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howl.
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3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong
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<I>horses,</I> at the rushing of his chariots, <I>and at</I> the rumbling
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of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to <I>their</I>
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children for feebleness of hands;
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4 Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines,
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<I>and</I> to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that
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remaineth: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will spoil the Philistines, the remnant
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of the country of Caphtor.
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5 Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off <I>with</I> the
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remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
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6 O thou sword of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, how long <I>will it be</I> ere thou be
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quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
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7 How can it be quiet, seeing the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath given it a charge
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against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he
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appointed it.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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As the Egyptians had often proved false friends, so the Philistines had
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always been sworn enemies, to the Israel of God, and the more dangerous
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and vexatious for their being such near neighbours to them. They were
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considerably humbled in David's time, but, it seems they had got head
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again and were a considerable people till Nebuchadnezzar cut them off
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with their neighbours, which is the event here foretold. The date of
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this prophecy is observable; it was <I>before Pharaoh</I> smote Gaza.
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When this blow was given to Gaza by the king of Egypt is not certain,
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whether in his expedition against Carchemish or in his return thence,
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after he had slain Josiah, or when he afterwards came with design to
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relieve Jerusalem; but this is mentioned here to show that this word of
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the Lord came to Jeremiah against the Philistines when they were in
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their full strength and lustre, themselves and their cities in good
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condition, in no peril from any adversary or evil occurrent. When no
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disturbance of their repose was foreseen by any human probabilities,
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yet then Jeremiah foretold their ruin, which Pharaoh's smiting Gaza
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soon after would be but an earnest of, and, as it were, the beginning
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of sorrows to that country. It is here foretold,
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1. That a foreign enemy and a very formidable one shall be brought upon
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them: <I>Waters rise up out of the north,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Waters sometimes signify multitudes of people and nations
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+17:15">Rev. xvii. 15</A>),
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sometimes great and threatening calamities
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:1">Ps. lxix. 1</A>);
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here they signify both. They <I>rise out of the north,</I> whence fair
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weather and the wind that drives away rain are said to come; but now a
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terrible storm comes out of that cold climate. The Chaldean army shall
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overflow the land like a deluge. Probably this happened before the
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destruction of Jerusalem, for it should seem that in Gedaliah's time,
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which was just after, the army of the Chaldeans was quite withdrawn out
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of those parts. The country of the Philistines was but of small extent,
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so that it would soon be overwhelmed by so vast an army.
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2. That they shall all be in a consternation upon it. The men shall
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have no heart to fight, but shall sit down and cry like children:
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<I>All the inhabitants of the land shall howl,</I> so that nothing but
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lamentation shall be heard in all places. The occasion of the fright is
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elegantly described,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Before it comes to killing and slaying, the very <I>stamping of the
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horses</I> and <I>rattling of the chariots,</I> when the enemy makes
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his approach, shall strike a terror upon the people, to such a degree
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that parents in their fright shall seem void of natural affection,
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<I>for they shall not look back to their children,</I> to provide for
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their safety, or so much as to see what becomes of them. Their
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<I>hands shall be so feeble</I> that they shall despair of carrying
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them off with them, and therefore they shall not care for seeing them,
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but leave them to take their lot; or they shall be in such a
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consternation that they shall quite forget even those pieces of
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themselves. Let none be over-fond of their children, nor dote upon
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them, since such distress may come that they may either wish they had
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none or forget that they have, and have no heart to look upon them.
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3. That the country of the Philistines shall be spoiled and laid
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waste, and the other countries adjoining to them and in alliance with
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them. It is a day <I>to spoil the Philistines, for the Lord will spoil
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them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Note, Those whom God will spoil must needs be spoiled; for, <I>if God
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be against them, who can be for them?</I> Tyre and Zidon were strong
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and wealthy cities, and they used to help the Philistines in a strait,
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but now they shall themselves be involved in the common ruin, and God
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will cut off from them every <I>helper that remains.</I> Note, Those
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that trust to help from creatures will find it cut off when they most
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need it and will thereby be put into the utmost confusion. Who the
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<I>remnant of the country of Caphtor</I> were is uncertain, but we find
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that the Caphtorim were near akin to the Philistines
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+10:14">Gen. x. 14</A>),
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and probably when their own country was destroyed such as remained came
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and settled with their kinsmen the Philistines, and were now spoiled
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with them. Some particular places are here named, <I>Gaza, and
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Ashkelon,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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<I>Baldness has come upon them;</I> the invaders have stripped them of
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all their ornaments, or they have made themselves bald in token of
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extreme grief, and they are <I>cut off,</I> with the other cities that
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were in the plain or valley about them. The products of their fruitful
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valley shall be <I>spoiled,</I> and made a prey of, by the conquerors.
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4. That these calamities should continue long. The prophet, in the
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foresight of this, with his usual tenderness, asks them first
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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<I>How long will you cut yourselves,</I> as men in extreme sorrow and
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anguish do? O how tedious will the calamity be! not only cutting, but
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long cutting. But he turns from the effect to the cause: <I>They cut
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themselves,</I> for the sword of the Lord cuts them. And therefore,
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(1.) He bespeaks that to be still
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>O thou sword of the Lord! how long will it be ere thou be
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quiet?</I> He begs it would <I>put up itself into the scabbard,</I>
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would devour no more flesh, drink no more blood. This expresses the
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prophet's earnest desire to see an end of the war, looking with
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compassion, as became a man, even upon the Philistines themselves, when
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their country was made desolate by the sword. Note, War is the <I>sword
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of the Lord;</I> with it he punishes the crimes of his enemies and
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pleads the cause of his own people. When war is once begun it often
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lasts long; the sword, once drawn, does not quickly find the way into
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the scabbard again; nay, some when they draw the sword throw away the
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scabbard, for they <I>delight in war.</I> So deplorable are the
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desolations of war that the blessings of peace cannot but be very
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desirable. O that <I>swords might be beaten into ploughshares!</I>
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(2.) Yet he gives a satisfactory account of the continuance of the war
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and stops the mouth of his own complaint
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge</I>
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against such and such places, particularly specified in its commission?
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<I>There hath he appointed it.</I> Note,
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[1.] The sword of war hath its charge from the Lord of hosts. Every
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bullet has its charge; you call them blind bullets, but they are
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directed by an all-seeing God. The war itself has its charge; he saith
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to it, <I>Go, and it goes--Come, and it comes--Do this, and it does
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it;</I> for he is commander-in-chief.
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[2.] When the sword is drawn we cannot expect it should be sheathed
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till it has fulfilled its charge. As the word of God, so his rod and
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his sword, shall accomplish that for which he sends them.</P>
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