Jeremiah 47

47:1-7 This message from the Lord was directed against the Philistine cities along the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and their allies farther north. The Lord had determined that these cities would be destroyed in connection with the Babylonian invasion of the area.

47:2 A flood: This metaphor depicts the movement of the Babylonian armies into the coastal area, beginning in 609 BC and peaking in 605 BC (cp. 1:11-14).

47:4 The time has come . . . the Lord is destroying: The Lord controlled what would happen, as well as when events would occur. • The Philistines had come into the southeastern coastal areas from the island of Crete between 1200 and 1100 BC. The northern cities, Tyre and Sidon, were colonized at about the same time by distant cousins of the Philistines who mixed with the native Canaanites.

47:5 Gaza was a major Philistine city. • head shaved bald: The city’s people expressed their grief by following this ritual (cp. Isa 15:2; Mic 1:16). • Ashkelon, another Philistine city a few miles north on the coast, would be emptied.

47:6 O sword of the Lord: God used the Babylonians to enact his justice. This request might have come from the Philistine cities being attacked by the Babylonians. The people were eager for the attacks against them to stop.

47:7 The punishment would not end soon, because the judge had declared his judgment and his mission had to be accomplished: Ashkelon . . . must be destroyed.