Jeremiah Forty Three
by Dr. Henry M. Morris
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
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Jeremiah 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,
Jeremiah 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:
Jeremiah 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 captives into Babylon.
Baruch. Note that Jeremiah's faithful scribe had been preserved, with Jeremiah, through all the turmoil of the preceding twenty years or so, as God had promised (Jeremiah 45:5). Both Baruch and Jeremiah were taken to Egypt against their will and advice (Jeremiah 43:5-6).
Jeremiah 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.
Jeremiah 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;
Jeremiah 43:6 Even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan 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.
Jeremiah 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.
into the land of Egypt. The “Elephantine Papyri,” found in 1904 on the island of Elephantine at the first cataract in the Nile River, showed that there was indeed a large colony of Jews in Egypt around 400 b.c.
the land of Egypt. Part V of the book of Jeremiah (chapters 43-44) deals with his ministry to the refugees in Egypt. There, God made it clear, through Jeremiah, that Egypt also would fall to Nebuchadnezzar, and the apparent escape of the Jews would prove a futile and tragic mistake. This is always the ultimate outcome of deliberate rejection of the will and word of God.
Tahpanhes. This was a city in northeastern Egypt, in the Nile Delta.
Jeremiah 43:8 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
Jeremiah 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;
Jeremiah 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.
his throne upon these stones. It would do no good to flee to Egypt. As Jeremiah predicted, Nebuchadnezzar did indeed soon invade and defeat Egypt, just as he had Judah.
Jeremiah 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.
Jeremiah 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.
Jeremiah 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.
Beth-shemesh. This city, a center of sun-worship, was known by the Greeks as Heliopolis.
