How long wilt thou cut thyself? Jeremiah 47:5 The tender inquiry of a friend Travellers in the East tell us that among the most melancholy scenes they witness is the following: — Men inflict upon themselves very grievous, voluntary wounds, and then exhibit themselves in public. They even disfigure themselves with gashes m me presence of excited throngs. I am speaking of what has occurred even within, the last few years among the Moslems. When some great prophet or emir is coming that way, a certain number of fanatical Mahometans take swords, spears, and other sharp instruments, and gash themselves terribly therewith, cutting their breasts, their faces, their heads, and all parts of their bodies. Frequently they have taken care to dress themselves in white sheets, in order that, as the blood flows copiously from their bodies, it may be the more clearly seen, that they may become the more ghastly spectacles of misery, or the more fully display the religious excitement under which they labour. As everything in the East remains for ever the same, thin Moslem superstition carries us back to the olden times whereof we read in the Old Testament, when the priests of Baal, having cried in vain to their idol, cut themselves with lances and with knives. Our translators were probably afraid to write the harsher words, and so they translated the passage "knives and lances," but they might have written swords and spears — sharp instruments of a desperate character. Thus they displayed their inward zeal, and thus, perhaps, they hoped to move the pity of their god. The Lord expressly forbade His people, the Jews, to perpetrate such folly. They were not even to shave the corners of their beards, or to hack their hair, as the Orientals do in the hour of their grief; and then they were further prohibited from injuring their bodies by the command ( Leviticus 19:28 ). Men in Eastern lands, not only in connection with fanaticism, but in reference to domestic affairs, will cut themselves to express their grief and anguish, or to make other people believe that they are feeling such grief and anguish. We may congratulate ourselves that we are free from at least one foolish custom. The prophet here speaks to the Philistines who were about to endure the tremendous judgments of God, and, indeed, to be crushed Out as a nation by the Egyptians and the Chaldeans; and he says to Philistia "How long wilt thou cut thyself?" How long would they continue to bring upon themselves such terrible judgments? I. I SHALL ASK THIS QUESTION VERY DESPAIRINGLY — "How long wilt thou cut thyself?" — for many are cutting themselves very terribly, and will have to feel the wounds thereof for a long. time, neither can we induce them to cease therefrom. 1. I allude, first, to some professors of religion who have been Church members for ten, twenty, or more years, and yet have practically done nothing at all for the Saviour. If they were really to awaken to a sense of their neglect, I do not know how long- they would be in anguish, or how deep would be their distress; for if Titus mourned that he had lost a day when he had done no good action for twenty-four hours, and he but a heathen, what would happen to a Christian if he were really to see his responsibility before God, and to feel that he has not only lost a day but a year — perhaps many years? Have not some of you well-nigh lost a whole lifetime? 2. The same may be applied, and applied very solemnly, too, to those who backslide — who, in addition to being- useless, are injurious, because their example tends to hinder others from coming to Christ. Oh, if any of you that name the name of Jesus, and have been happy in His service, and have enjoyed high days and holy days in His presence, turn aside, I shall use this lamentation over you! You will do yourselves terrible injury, and I shall shudder as I see the edged tools of sin in your reckless hands. Every sin is a gash in the soul. The Lord will bring you back and save you, as I believe; but oh, how long will you cut yourselves? 3. There is one thing which comes after these, and comes in connection with them. If you and I should know that souls have been lost — lost as far as we are concerned — through our neglect, how long- shall we cut ourselves on that account? Fathers, if you have never sought to bring your children to repentance, how will you excuse yourselves? If you have never prayed with them, or wept with them — if you have never even instructed them in the things of God, what flattering unction will you lay to your guilty consciences? What will you say, mother, if your daughter passes into eternity unforgiven, and you have never tried to lead her to Jesus? 4. One other most solemn use may be made of this question" God grant that it may never be so, but if any one of you should die in his sins, how long will you regret it, think you? Oh, thou who hast lost eternal life, how long wilt thou cut thyself? If thou shouldst miss Christ, and miss mercy, and miss heaven, and miss eternal glory, if there were naught else, how long wilt thou bemoan thyself? With what depth of anguish wilt thou smart to have lost all this — to have, in fact, lost all which makes up life and joy! II. I SHALL ASK THIS QUESTION HOPEFULLY, trusting that in many their sorrow is nearing- its end. 1. This text may be very profitably and prudently applied to those who have been bereaved, and who, being bereaved, sorrow, and sorrow to excess. "How long wilt thou cut thyself?" Is not thy child in Jesus' bosom? Has not thy friend gone among the angels, to join the sweet singers of God? Is it not a gain to the departed, though it be a loss to thee, that they are translated to the place of everlasting bliss? 2. Turning to quite another character, I would use the same expression for another purpose. There are some persons with whom God is dealing in great love, and yet they are very rebellious. "How long wilt thou cut thyself?" Already they have met with great disasters and misfortunes: they will meet with many more. when the dogs are out hunting, they run in packs. The plagues of Egypt are ten at least, and every one who plays the Pharaoh may expect the full number. 3. I might use this expression even to the Jewish nation itself. Ah, God, through what seas of trouble have they had to swim since the day when they said, "His blood be on us, and on our children"! 4. But, now, all this has rather kept me from my main design, which is to speak to those dear friends of ours who are afflicting their souls with needless fears. No good can possibly come by a continuance in their unhappy moods: they are cutting themselves quite needlessly. They might at once have peace, and rest, and joy if they were willing to accept the Lord s gracious way of salvation. Despairing and desponding are not commanded in the Gospel, but they are forbidden by it. Do not cultivate these gross follies, these deadly sins. Do not multiply these poisonous weeds — this hemlock and this darnel — as if they were fair flowers of paradise. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. Jeremiah 47:6 War overruled for God's glory James Hay, D. D. Notwithstanding all the boasted improvements of modern times, in knowledge and refinement, wars have not been less frequent than formerly, when mankind were in a rude and barbarous state. In making this reflection, the philosopher may profess his astonishment, but the genuine Christian will weep. Such are the mournful and ruinous effects which sin has produced in the world. Not only has it filled men's minds with enmity against God, but also with implacable enmity and revenge against one another. I. WHENCE IT IS THAT THE SWORD OF WAR MAY BE CALLED THE SWORD OF THE LORD. 1. Because the seasons in which this sword is drawn are governed or appointed by the Lord. The kindling of war, or the settling of peace, are appointed by the providence of that God who ruleth over all the earth. The direction of cabinets, the ambition of princes, of governors, of statesmen, are only the instruments which God employs with a powerful and a holy hand, to execute His will. 2. Because it receives its direction from the Lord. When God gives the commission, when He opens the brazen gates of destruction, no country, no city is secured against the ravages of war; and when His providence forms a wall of protection around a country, no army can prevail, no weapon formed against it can prosper, for the Almighty God Himself is its fortress, its pillar, and its strength. 3. Because the execution done by it is of the Lord. It is a saying of King William, who had himself been in many battles, that "every bullet had its billet"; intimating that it was under God's direction whom to miss and whom to strike. 4. Because God sanctifies and glorifies Himself in its operation. In the management of war, the reputation of kings and statesmen, of generals or soldiers, is considered, but this is only a secondary consideration. The glory of the Lord, whom the Scriptures call a Man of War, is illustrated and made conspicuous in the eyes of the world. The slayer and those who are slain are His creatures and subjects, and the instruments which defend the one and kill the other are His sword. II. THE REASON WHY ALL GOD'S PEOPLE SO ARDENTLY LONG TO SEE THE SWORD OF WAR SHEATHED AND AT REST. 1. Conviction that the wrath of God bringeth upon man the punishment of the sword, will cause the saints to long earnestly for its being sheathed and at rest. 2. All God's people will earnestly long to see the sword of war in -its scabbard and at rest, when they reflect what multitudes of men are hurried by it into eternity without thought or preparation. 3. God's people earnestly long to see the sword of war sheathed and at rest, when they reflect on the unparalleled distresses and miseries inflicted on those countries which are the seat of war. Gracious persons are deeply affected with the miseries of their fellow-creatures, even though they he enemies. 4. God's people earnestly desire to see the sword of war sheathed and at rest, that Christ's Gospel may be propagated throughout the whole world, and its Divine power and influence felt by all nations. ( James Hay, D. D. ) The sword of the warrior the sword of the Lord A. Shanks. As patriots, prophets felt the miseries which they denounced; as mourners, they lamented the sins which brought on these miseries; and as men, they wept over the graves of the enemies by whom their country had been harassed and wasted. I. THE SWORD OF THE WARRIOR IS THE SWORD OF THE LORD. 1. The seasons in which the sword is drawn and sheathed are appointed by the Lord. The direction of cabinets, the ambition of princes, and the caprices of statesmen in these affairs, are subordinated by His invisible influence to His own will, without violating the order of second causes, or breaking in upon the freedom of rational agents. 2. The sword of the warrior is put in commission by the Lord. 3. The direction of the sword of the warrior is from the Lord. The seat of war is marked out, and its bounds circumscribed, in the purpose of the will of God; and thither the warrior marches without mistaking his way, whether it he to the shore of Tyrus, the valley of Jehoshaphat, the plains of Blenheim, the heights of Saratoga, or the mountains of Armageddon. 4. The execution done by the sword of the warrior is of the Lord. "A sparrow falleth not to the ground without our heavenly Father," and in the day of battle, no soldier loses his life without His knowledge and predetermination. 5. By the sword of the warrior the Lord sanctifies and magnifies Himself. According to the states of the sufferers wars of conquest and extirpation are corrections and punishments, and whichever of the sides gains or loses the victory, the supremacy of Jehovah over all is main, rained, and the glory of His justice and holiness displayed and magnified. The cause in which the sword is drawn is always sinful on one side, and frequently sinful on both sides. But whatever be the quality of the cause, the views of men, or the issues of the contest, the Lord will not lose His end. He rules in the seat of war, and commands on the day of battle. II. THE REASONS FOR WHICH MOURNERS IN ZION LONG TO SEE THIS SWORD SHEATHED. 1. Compassion for those who are delivered to the sword, or subjected to the insolence and rage of fierce and lawless men whose tender mercies are cruelty. 2. Knowledge of the consequences of driving men unprepared into eternity. 3. The peace of God, which rules in the hearts of mourners in Zion, inclines and constrains them to cry for the sheathing of the sword of the warrior. 4. Convictions that the wrath of God bringeth upon men the punishment of the sword, dispose mourners in Zion to long for its being put up into the scabbard. ( A. Shanks. ) The means of terminating war C. Simeon, M. A. I. THE EVILS OF PROTRACTED WAR. 1. War is a tremendous evil. 2. Well might the prophet desire its speedy termination. II. THE REASON OF ITS CONTINUANCE. 1. War is one of those judgments with which God punishes the sins of men. 2. Till He has effected His purposes by it, no human efforts can bring it to a close. III. MEANS OF ITS TERMINATION. 1. The intention of God's chastisements is to bring us to repentance. 2. On the attainment of this end He will instantly remove HIS judgments from us. IV. SOME HINTS RESPECTING THOSE HEAVY JUDGMENTS WHICH GOD HAS DENOUNCED AGAINST SINNERS IN ANOTHER WORLD, AND RESPECTING THE BEST MEANS OF AVERTING THEM FROM OUR SOULS. ( C. Simeon, M. A. ).

Benson Commentary Jeremiah 47:1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza. Jeremiah 47:1 . The word of the Lord — against the Philistines — “Among the other nations, who were doomed to suffer by the hostilities of Nebuchadnezzar, the Philistines are enumerated, Jeremiah 25:20 ; and the calamities foretold in this present chapter most probably befell them during the long siege of Tyre, when that prince ravaged their country, in order, as it is said, Jeremiah 47:4 , to cut off from Tyre and Sidon all chance of assistance from that quarter. But as no history, sacred or profane, has mentioned the taking of Gaza by the king of Egypt, there is no means of ascertaining the precise date of the delivery of this prophecy.” Before that Pharaoh smote Gaza — “Some have supposed the Pharaoh here spoken of to be Pharaoh-necho, and that he subdued Gaza after the battle of Megiddo, ( 2 Kings 23:29 ,) when the whole country round submitted to his victorious arms. Others have thought that it was Pharaoh-hophra, who, having marched out of Egypt to the relief of Jerusalem, when besieged by the Chaldeans, in the ninth or tenth year of Zedekiah, thought proper to retire again on the approach of the enemy toward him, ( Jeremiah 37:5 ; Jeremiah 37:7 ,) but, on his return, fell upon Gaza, and pillaged it. All this, however, is no better than mere conjecture.” — Blaney. Jeremiah 47:2 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. Jeremiah 47:2-3 . Behold, waters rise out of the north — Waters sometimes signify multitudes of people and nations, Revelation 17:15 ; sometimes great and threatening calamities, Psalm 69:1 , these waters mean both. By the north, in this prophecy, the country of the Chaldeans is intended, from whence it is here foretold an army should come and overflow the land like a deluge, spreading devastation and destruction everywhere. At the noise of the stamping, &c. — The word ?????? , here rendered stamping, occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Scriptures. The LXX. render it, ????? , impetus, force, rushing along: the Syriac and Chaldee, by words that respectively denote a progressive motion. “But Grotius,” says Blaney, “seems to have expressed it most happily, who has rendered ???? ?????? , a quadrupedante sono: having in view, no doubt, that line of Virgil, Æn. 8: 596. Quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum. We may therefore render it, At the galloping sound, or, at the sound of the galloping,” of the hoofs of his strong horses — Hebrew, ?????? , of his mighty ones; namely, horses. At the rushing of his chariots, the rumbling of his wheels — Blaney unites these two particulars in one, and reads, “At the rattling of the multitude of his wheels as he drove along.” The fathers shall not look back to their children — To provide for their safety, or so much as to see what becomes of them; for feebleness of hands — Their bodily vigour being dissolved, or relaxed, through the impression made by fear on their minds, which shall be such as to incapacitate them from exerting their strength to any efficacious purpose. Jeremiah 47:3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses , at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands; Jeremiah 47:4 Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. Jeremiah 47:4 . To cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper, &c. — The siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar was an action famous in the histories of that age, the siege lasting thirteen years. Zidon was partaker of the same fate with Tyre, both in prosperity and adversity: see Isaiah 23:2 ; Isaiah 23:4 . And her destruction is joined with that of Tyre by Ezekiel chap. 28. The remnant of the country of Caphtor — Or, the isle of Caphtor; called the remnant of the Philistines, Amos 1:8 ; and the remnant of the sea-coast, Ezekiel 25:16 . The expression denotes either a colony transplanted from Caphtor, or else that small remainder of the Philistines, after they had been almost all destroyed in former times, according to the judgments denounced against them by Amos 1:8 , and Isaiah 14:19 , &c., Caphtor, or Caphtorim, were the ancient inhabitants of Palestine: see Deuteronomy 2:23 . The Caphtorim and Casluhim were two neighbouring nations, and nearly related to each other, being both descended from Misraim the father of the Egyptians: see Genesis 10:13-14 ; which may be the reason why Moses there derives the pedigree of the Philistines from the latter of these two. The ancients generally suppose Caphtor to be the same with Cappadocia. These two nations might go out of Egypt, their native soil, and settle themselves in Cappadocia, where they passed under the general appellation of Caphtorim, and afterward return back to their own native country, and settle in Palestine. Jeremiah 47:5 Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself? Jeremiah 47:5 . Baldness is come upon Gaza; how long wilt thou cut thyself, &c. — Under great calamities, and for the loss of any near kindred, it was usual for men to express their grief by shaving their heads, and cutting their flesh. Instead of Ashkelon is cut off, &c., Blaney reads, Ashkelon is put to silence, observing, that “silence likewise is expressive of great affliction. Thus Job’s friends are said to have sat with him seven days and seven nights upon the ground without addressing a word to him, because they saw his grief was very great, Job 2:13 . And so the Hebrew word here used, ???? , is to be understood, ( Isaiah 15:1 ,) of Moab’s being made speechless with grief and astonishment the night that its cities were spoiled: see chap. Jeremiah 48:2 .” With the remnant of their valley — Instead of this interpretation, the LXX. read ?? ?????????? ?????? , the remnant of the Anakims. And this reading may be thought to derive some countenance from what is said Joshua 11:22 . But we shall see reason to prefer the present reading of the text, if we consider the situation of Gaza and Ashkelon, about twelve miles distant from each other, near the sea, in a valley, of whose beauty and fertility an accurate traveller has given the following description: “We passed this day through the most pregnant and pleasant valley that ever eye beheld. On the right hand a ridge of high mountains; (whereon stands Hebron;) on the left hand the Mediterranean sea; bordered with continued hills, beset with variety of fruits. The champaign between, about twenty miles over, full of flowery hills, ascending leisurely, and not much surmounting their ranker valleys; with groves of olives, and other fruits, dispersedly adorned.” — Sandys’s Travels, book 3. p. 150. The author adds, that in his time, “this wealthy bottom (as are all the rest) was, for the most part, uninhabited, but only for a few small and contemptible villages” — a state of desolation, owing to the oppressions of a barbarous and ill-advised government. But we may easily conceive the populousness that must have prevailed there in its better days, especially if we consider the power which the Philistines once possessed, and the armies they brought into the field; although their country was scarcely forty English miles in length, and much longer than it was broad. — Blaney. Jeremiah 47:6 O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. Jeremiah 47:6-7 . O thou sword of the Lord — By the sword of the Lord, war is here intended, with which, as a great instrument of calamity and destruction, God punishes the crimes of his enemies, and pleads the cause of his people. Some have understood the prophet as speaking in the words of the Philistines, complaining of the havoc which the sword made among them; but however weary they might be of the war, and desirous of its ceasing, it is not likely they should see the hand of God in it, or term it his sword. The words are rather to be considered as the lamentation of the prophet, (and it is a most pathetic and animated one,) over the miseries with which God, in his just displeasure, was punishing the nations for their sins. How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath, given it a charge against Ashkelon, &c. — Here the prophet returns an answer to the foregoing inquiry, importing, that the havoc made by the sword was the effect of God’s irreversible purpose and decree. He gives the sword its commission, and it slays when and where he appoints, and continues to destroy a longer or shorter time, as he determines. When it is drawn, it will not be sheathed till it has fulfilled its charge. As God’s word, so his rod and his sword shall accomplish that for which he sends them. Jeremiah 47:7 How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Jeremiah 47:1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza. CHAPTER XVIII THE PHILISTINES Jeremiah 47:1-7 "O sword of Jehovah, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard; rest, and be still."- Jeremiah 47:6 ACCORDING to the title placed at the head of this prophecy, it was uttered "before Pharaoh smote Gaza." The Pharaoh is evidently Pharaoh Necho, and this capture of Gaza was one of the incidents of the campaign which opened with the victory at Megiddo and concluded so disastrously at Carchemish. Our first impulse is to look for some connection between this incident and the contents of the prophecy: possibly the editor who prefixed the heading may have understood by the northern enemy Pharaoh Necho on his return from Carchemish; but would Jeremiah have described a defeated army thus? "Behold, waters rise out of the north, and become an overflowing torrent; They overflow the land, and all that is therein, the city and its inhabitants. Men cry out, and all the inhabitants of the land howl, At the sound of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions, At the rattling of his chariots and the rumbling of his wheels." Here as elsewhere the enemy from the north is Nebuchadnezzar. Pharaohs might come and go, winning victories and taking cities, but these broken reeds count for little; not they, but the king of Babylon is the instrument of Jehovah’s supreme purpose. The utter terror caused by the Chaldean advance is expressed by a striking figure:- "The fathers look not back to their children for slackness of hands." Their very bodies are possessed and crippled with fear, their palsied muscles cannot respond to the impulses of natural affection; they can do nothing but hurry on in headlong flight, unable to look round or stretch out a helping hand to their children:- "Because of the day that cometh for the spoiling of all the Philistines, For cutting off every ally that remaineth unto Tyre and Zidon: For Jehovah spoileth the Philistines the remnant of the coast of Caphtor. Baldness cometh upon Gaza; Ashkelon is destroyed: O remnant of the Anakim, how long wilt thou cut thyself?" This list is remarkable both for what it includes and what it omits. In order to understand the reference to Tyre and Zidon, we must remember that Nebuchadnezzar’s expedition was partly directed against these cities, with which the Philistines had evidently been allied. The Chaldean king would hasten the submission of the Phoenicians, by cutting off all hope of succour from without. There are various possible reasons why out of the five Philistine cities only two-Ashkelon and Gaza-are mentioned; Ekron, Gath, and Ashdod may have been reduced to comparative insignificance. Ashdod had recently been taken by Psammetichus after a twenty-nine years’ siege. Or the names of two of these cities may be given by way of paronomasia in the text: Ashdod may be suggested by the double reference to the spoiling and the spoiler, Shdod and Shoded; Gath may be hinted at by the word used for the mutilation practised by mourners, Tithgoddadi, and by the mention of the Anakim, who are connected with Gath, Ashdod, and Gaza in Joshua 11:22 . As Jeremiah contemplates this fresh array of victims of Chaldean cruelty, he is moved to protest against the weary monotony of ruin:- "O sword of Jehovah, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put up thyself into thy scabbard; rest, and be still." The prophet ceases to be the mouthpiece of God, and breaks out into the cry of human anguish. How often since, amid the barbarian inroads that overwhelmed the Roman Empire, amid the prolonged horrors of the Thirty Years’ War, amid the carnage of the French Revolution, men have uttered a like appeal to an unanswering and relentless Providence! Indeed, not in war only, but even in peace, the tide of human misery and sin often seems to flow, century after century, with undiminished volume, and ever and again a vain "How long" is wrung from pallid and despairing lips. For the Divine purpose may not be hindered, and the sword of Jehovah must still strike home. "How can it be quiet, seeing that Jehovah hath given it a charge? Against Ashkelon and against the seashore, there hath He appointed it." Yet Ashkelon survived to be a stronghold of the Crusaders, and Gaza to be captured by Alexander and even by Napoleon. Jehovah has other instruments besides His devastating sword; the victorious endurance and recuperative vitality of men and nations also come from Him. "Come and let us return unto Jehovah: For He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up." { Hosea 6:1 } The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.