Jeremiah 47 explained: A Flood Coming for the Philistines

When the message came (v. 1)

This message is dated to before an Egyptian king attacked Gaza, a major Philistine city, but we don't know exactly which attack is meant. The point seems to be that Jeremiah spoke while the Philistines still looked secure.

A flood from the north (vv. 2-3)

The rising waters picture a huge army pouring in, most likely Babylon's, which destroyed the Philistine city of Ashkelon around 604 BC. The terror is so great that parents run without turning back for their children, because their hands have gone weak with fear.

No help left for allies (v. 4)

Tyre and Sidon were wealthy port cities to the north that might have counted on the Philistines as allies, and that support is about to vanish. Caphtor is the Philistines' remembered homeland, often identified with the island of Crete, though this is not certain.

Gaza and Ashkelon in mourning (v. 5)

Shaving the head and cutting the skin were common mourning customs in that region, practices Israel's own law forbade. The question "how long?" suggests grief that drags on without end.

The sword that cannot rest (vv. 6-7)

Someone, perhaps the prophet or the suffering Philistines, begs the LORD's sword to go back in its sheath. The answer is blunt: it cannot rest while it has orders against Ashkelon and the coast.

Key verse: Jeremiah 47:6

Something to think about

When something terrible seems unstoppable, is it possible to accept that it is happening and still cry out for it to end, and what does holding both at once look like?