What is the meaning of Jeremiah 47:7? How can it rest • The “it” is the “sword of the LORD” mentioned in the previous verse (Jeremiah 47:6). A sword is built for action, not display; the picture is of a weapon unsheathed and already swinging. • Rest is impossible while divine judgment is unfinished (Isaiah 34:5-6; Ezekiel 21:3-5). • Psalm 7:12 reminds us, “If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword.” His justice keeps moving until its purpose is satisfied. when the LORD has commanded it • Command makes the sword’s activity non-negotiable. God’s word “will accomplish what I please” (Isaiah 55:11). • Numbers 23:19 emphasizes that the LORD “does not change His mind.” Once He orders judgment, pause is not an option (Jeremiah 1:12; Jeremiah 25:29). • Our comfort: the same certainty supports every promise of grace. If the command to judge is unstoppable, so is the command to save (John 6:37). He has appointed it • Appointed speaks of purposeful scheduling, not random violence (Habakkuk 1:12). • The LORD sometimes appoints human armies as instruments of discipline (Isaiah 10:5-6), yet the sword remains His. He directs both timing and target (Revelation 17:17). • Behind frightening events stands a Sovereign who never loses control; His appointments are just, measured, and timed for His glory. against Ashkelon • Ashkelon, one of five principal Philistine cities, had long opposed Israel (1 Samuel 17). • Earlier prophets echoed this sentence: “Ashkelon will be deserted” (Zephaniah 2:4; Amos 1:8; Zechariah 9:5). • History records successive waves—Babylonian, later Greek, and Roman—fulfilling the ruin spoken here, underscoring Scripture’s accuracy. and the shore of its coastland • The phrase widens the target: every coastal stronghold of Philistia. Isaiah used similar language against Tyre (Isaiah 23:2) and Ezekiel against Philistia (Ezekiel 25:16). • God’s sword sweeps from city centers to outlying villages; nothing escapes when He decrees a territory’s downfall (Jeremiah 25:20). • Even the sea that once seemed a protective moat cannot shield them; the LORD of hosts commands land and water alike. summary Jeremiah 47:7 portrays an unstoppable divine sword. It cannot rest, because God Himself has commanded and appointed it to strike Philistia—specifically Ashkelon and every coastal refuge. The passage showcases the certainty of God’s judgments, the precision of His appointments, and the thorough reach of His sovereign authority. What He decrees, He performs—whether in warning or in promise—and history bears witness to the faithfulness of His word. |
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