"Ah, sword of the Lord! How long until you are quiet? Put yourself into your scabbard, rest and be still! How can it be quiet, when the Lord has given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the seashore - there he has appointed it" (vs. 6-7).
Jeremiah sees God taking an active role in the destruction of the Philistines, perpetual troubler of Israel. In verse 4, he states, "For the Lord is destroying the Philistines." Here God is seen as an active agent of their destruction, rather than just passively permitting woe to come upon them.
When judgment comes upon the land, as the prophet sees happening with the emergence of Egypt and Babylon's great struggle for dominance, it's hard to say what kind of collateral damage may be inflicted. Just as God promises to watch over Judah to prevent His people from being entirely wiped out in Jeremiah 46, here His eye is also on the Philistines in the midst of the tumult. However, it is not to preserve them but to remove them that God is unleashing His sword!
No comments:
Post a Comment