Jeremiah
47 reminds me how big fears from the past can still influence us
today. Psychologists tell us that most fears are age-specific and
simply disappear as we mature from infants through adolescence. But
there are some fears that can remain giants, even in adulthood. In
today’s chapter, God issues His discipline on the Philistines.
“This is the word of the Lord
that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines“.
The most famous Philistine of all was Goliath of Gath, the giant
that challenged Israel to fight him one on one. “If
he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if
I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve
us” (1 Samuel 17). Recall
Israel’s reaction to him, “And
all the Israelites were dismayed
and terrified“. Goliath’s
goal was to force Israel to reject God and serve them instead. That
is the enemy’s plan for us too. The enemy uses fear and deception
to get our attention away from God. Today many young people turn
away from God out of a fear. Fear of rejection, fear of ridicule,
fear of being different. It was the shepherd boy David that took on
the giant. David’s greatest weapon was that he already had
experience trusting God. “The
Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear
will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine“.
Friend, are you dealing for big fears from the past?
We
can’t just ignore those fears. Like Goliath, they will howl at us
and stand in our way, preventing us from moving on. David knew his
God was bigger than any problem he might face. David said, “You
come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against
you in the name of the Lord Almighty… whom you have defied.
This
day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you
down and cut off your head“.
God gives Jeremiah enough details of the destruction of the
Philistines to paint a vivid picture, “See
how the waters are rising in the north; they will become an
overflowing torrent“. The
Babylonian invasion would be heard before it was seen, “The
people will cry out… wail
at the sound of the
hooves of galloping steeds… of
enemy chariots and the rumble of their wheels“.
Egypt had been the big bully in the playground, but now a new
challenger was rising up.
As
the chapter ends, we see the Philistines will be cut off permanently,
“For
the day has come to destroy all
the Philistines and to remove all survivors“.
Though He used the Babylonian army, make no mistake, God was in
control, “The Lord is about to
destroy the Philistines“.
Jeremiah mentions, the “sword
of the Lord” and asks, “how
long till you rest?” Here is
the final lesson from Goliath. David “took
hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath… he
cut off his head with the sword“.
The sword of the tormentor became the Sword of the Lord once David
took hold of it. Are you feeling defenseless? According to Hebrews,
4:12, you too can take hold of a powerful weapon. “For
the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart“.
Even the biggest fears are made to look small as we move closer to
God Almighty. Will you pick up His Word today?