Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was in Tahpanhes, Egypt, as part of the account of his personal experiences and going into Egypt. Its setting is after the Jews who were left in Judea fled to Egypt following Zedekiah's captivity, going down to Egypt contrary to God's direction. That direction had been given through Jeremiah that they should remain in the land, even after they had inquired of him. Their choice to seek Egypt's protection would bring sword, famine, and pestilence upon the fugitives, because Egypt was soon to fall to the king of Babylon.
In chronological order the chapter belongs after chapters 40-42, following the events recorded there. It stands among chapters 40-45 in the arrangement of Jeremiah's prophecies. The verse introduces the command and prophecy that follow, in which Jeremiah was to hide large stones in the brickwork at the entrance to Pharaoh's house. This was as a sign that Nebuchadnezzar would set his throne there and spread his royal pavilion over them.
Together with the verses that follow, it is one of the Bible's prophecies concerning Egypt and its future history. It is presented as part of the prophetic evidence that Egypt would be invaded and ruled by foreign powers. The brickwork found facing the entrance of the ancient palace is the place described in the following verses where Nebuchadnezzar would spread his royal pavilion. Egyptian inscriptions identify the site as the place where he did so, confirming the prophecy and showing that fulfilled prophecy strengthens faith and hope.
The account shows accurate knowledge of the architectural details of Pharaoh's palace, and excavations at Tahpanhes confirm its historical setting. Baruch was very intimately connected with Jeremiah in God's work there. The people's charge that Jeremiah was speaking not God's word but what Baruch influenced him to speak against them was a great and serious sin of suspicion and unbelief that denied Jeremiah as a true prophet, for which God punished those wicked men with utter destruction. God never chooses a medium through whom to speak directly to a people and then lets another and contrary human influence step in and palm itself off as the manifestation of His Spirit and work.
The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was in Tahpanhes, Egypt, as part of the account of his personal experiences and going into Egypt. Its setting is after the Jews who were left in Judea fled to Egypt following Zedekiah's captivity, going down to Egypt contrary to God's direction. That direction had been given through Jeremiah that they should remain in the land, even after they had inquired of him. Their choice to seek Egypt's protection would bring sword, famine, and pestilence upon the fugitives, because Egypt was soon to fall to the king of Babylon.
In chronological order the chapter belongs after chapters 40-42, following the events recorded there. It stands among chapters 40-45 in the arrangement of Jeremiah's prophecies. The verse introduces the command and prophecy that follow, in which Jeremiah was to hide large stones in the brickwork at the entrance to Pharaoh's house. This was as a sign that Nebuchadnezzar would set his throne there and spread his royal pavilion over them.
Together with the verses that follow, it is one of the Bible's prophecies concerning Egypt and its future history. It is presented as part of the prophetic evidence that Egypt would be invaded and ruled by foreign powers. The brickwork found facing the entrance of the ancient palace is the place described in the following verses where Nebuchadnezzar would spread his royal pavilion. Egyptian inscriptions identify the site as the place where he did so, confirming the prophecy and showing that fulfilled prophecy strengthens faith and hope.
The account shows accurate knowledge of the architectural details of Pharaoh's palace, and excavations at Tahpanhes confirm its historical setting. Baruch was very intimately connected with Jeremiah in God's work there. The people's charge that Jeremiah was speaking not God's word but what Baruch influenced him to speak against them was a great and serious sin of suspicion and unbelief that denied Jeremiah as a true prophet, for which God punished those wicked men with utter destruction. God never chooses a medium through whom to speak directly to a people and then lets another and contrary human influence step in and palm itself off as the manifestation of His Spirit and work.