Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 46:17

They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt [is but] a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.

17. They cried there a noise ] Read, Call ye the name of Pharaoh (so far accord Syr. and Vulg., and so the LXX, who add Neco) a Crash. Thus Dr., who compares for a name symbolical of a great disaster Jer 20:3, and for the Hebrew word used here Jer 25:31 (“a noise”); Hos 10:14; Amo 2:2 (“tumult”). Cp. Psa 40:2 R.V. mg., “ tumult or destruction.”

he hath let the appointed time pass by ] the time for effectual preparation to resist. The period of grace is over. The Hebrew verb in this clause ( he‘bir) is thought to be a play on the name Hophra (cp. Isa 30:7 with note in C.B. for a contemptuous play on a name for Egypt). If this be so, the v. can hardly be a gloss (Du.) or otherwise non-Jeremianic (Gi.), and it will help to authenticate the whole passage ( Jer 46:14 ff.). A later writer would probably have known that it was as a matter of fact not Hophra but his successor Amasis who was ruler of Egypt at the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion (See on Jer 43:13).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Translate it with the versions: They have called (or, Call ye) the name of Pharaoh king of Egypt – A noise: he hath overstepped the appointed time. For this custom of giving prophetic names see Jer 20:3; Isa 8:3, … The words mean that Pharaoh is a mere empty sound, and that he has allowed the years of prosperity, which he enjoyed at the beginning of his reign, to pass by; having misused them, nothing now remains but his ruin.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Jer 46:17

Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise.

Religious judgments

How the Bible can torment its adversaries!–mock them, contemn them, dash them in pieces like a potters vessel. Yet it is never mere contempt. The contempt of the Bible is the penal side of a profound philosophy. Its contempt is as necessary as its Gospel–nay, more, its Gospel renders its contempt necessary. Our God is a consuming fire, God is love, the wrath of the Lamb. So when Pharaoh-Necho–mighty man–is called by the contemptuous term of noise no mere sneer is employed. This is a righteous judgment, a moral estimate, a correct representation of things as they are in reality, not of things as they appear to be. In all judgments we must have regard to distance, proportion, perspective. Pharaoh king of Egypt, with horses, chariots, swords, spears, hosts of men, is a terrific power; but to a man standing in the quiet of the Divine sanctuary, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise–a waft of wind, a curl of smoke dying whilst it rises. If men would but consider this law of proportion the whole estimate of life would undergo an instantaneous and complete reversion. The text brings before us the great subject of religious judgments–by religious judgments I mean estimates. We must call religion into the house if we would take a true appraisement of what we possess. Only religion, as interpreted in Holy Scripture, can tell you what you are and what you are worth.

1. With regard to those religious estimates or judgments, note how fearless they are. They are not judgments about personal manners, social etiquette, little and variable customs; they challenge the whole world. We are moved by their heroism. Religious judgments do not fritter away our time and patience in discussing little questions and petty problems: they summon kings to their bar and call nations to stand back and be judged. There is a national entity as well as a personal individuality. Blessed is the voice that, fills a nation; grand is the Gospel that spreads itself over the whole world. We cannot do without the heroic element, the heroic judgment, the broad estimate, the complete arbitrament, that takes within its purview and decision everything concerning individual life and general civilisation. You must have the great call, the sublime challenge, the heroic appeal, the white throne that stretches itself from horizon to horizon, and before which kings are as little men and little men as kings–the grand astronomical pomp and majesty before which all else settles into its right relation. That you have in the Bible, and nowhere else.

2. The judgments of the Bible are rational as well as fearless. Under all contempt there is a rock of logic. Why does the Bible contemn things? Because of their proportion. It knows the exact proportion which everything bears to the sum-total of things and to the sovereign purpose of the Divine government. Then the judgments of the Bible are rational because the matter or element of duration is continually present to the minds of the inspired writers. The inspired writer has been locked up with God, and turning away from that glory all other things become as the baseless fabric of a vision. If we could see God we should be filled with contempt regarding all things, in so far as they affected to hinder us by their greatness or overpower us by their solidity.

3. Then the judgments of the Bible are also critical. They are very dainty in their expression: they take the right word with an inspired ingenuity. Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise. You cannot amend that comment. Try to amend anything Jesus Christ ever said. As well amend a dewdrop; as well paint the lily. And the nations, according to the biblical estimate, are but a wind that cometh for a little time and then passeth away; and our life is but a vapour, dying in its very living. These are the condensations of Omniscience; these arc the sharpened points whetted in eternity; these stand incapable of amendment.

4. But fearless, rational, critical–is there no word that comes nearer to my own necessity? Yes, there is a word that touches us all to-day: these religious judgments are inspiring. Man wants inspiration every day. The Bible was not inspired once for all, in the sense of having its whole meaning shown in one disclosure. Inspiration comes with every dawn, distils in every dew-shower, breathes in every breeze; it is the daily gift of God. How are these judgments inspiring? Because they enable a man who is right in his spirit and purpose to say, If God be for us, who can be against us? (J. Parker, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 17. They did cry there] Dr. Blayney translates this cry thus: –

_______ “O Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

A tumult hath frustrated the appointed meeting.”

These allies sent their excuse to Pharaoh, that the disasters they had met with had prevented them from joining him as they had intended.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

That is, the Ethiopians and Lubims that should come to help the king of Egypt should cry, or the Chaldeans or the Egyptians themselves should cry, Pharaoh is but a noise, that is, hath made a great noise, but it cometh to nothing: others make the sense, Pharaoh is a man of noise, or tumult. that hath made a great deal of disturbance to himself and us.

He hath passed the time appointed; that is, say the most, he hath passed the time himself fixed whereat he would come and fight the Chaldeans. But these words compared with the next verse incline others to think, that either Pharaohs soldiers or his allies are here brought in mocking at Pharaoh, promising himself that the king of Babylon would not come, and laughing at Jeremiahs prophecy, saying the time appointed was past, that is, the time of his coming mentioned by Jeremiah was past. Jeremiah foretells that Pharaohs army and confederates would see reason to cry out, Pharaoh, in saying so, was but a noise.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

17. therein their own countryseverally, the foreign soldiers (Jer46:16) cry, “Pharaoh is,” c.

but a noiseHethreatens great things, but when the need arises, he does nothing.His threats are mere “noise” (compare 1Co13:1). MAURERtranslates, “is ruined,” literally (in appropriateabruptness of language), “Pharaoh, king . . . ruin.“The context favors English Version. His vauntings of what hewould do when the time of battle should come have proved to be emptysounds he hath passed the time appointed (namely, for battle withthe Chaldeans).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

They did cry there,…. Not the Chaldeans, deriding Pharaoh and his army, and mocking them, saying the following words, as some; nor the Egyptians in Egypt, as Kimchi, complaining of their king; much less in Carchemish, as others; since this prophecy refers to another event, time, and place; but the auxiliaries of Egypt in the field of battle; these did cry out aloud, as follows:

Pharaoh king of Egypt [is but] a noise; he boasted and bragged of great things he would do, and does nothing; he promised to bring a large army into the field, and talked big of attacking the enemy with great ardour and fury, and hectored and blustered as if he feared him not, and was sure of victory; but when it came to the push, his courage failed him; and it may be said of him what the man said of his nightingale, “vox et praeterea nihil”, a voice, and nothing else. This was not Pharaohnecho, as the Septuagint have wrongly inserted, but Pharaohhophra, Jer 44:30; or it may be supplied thus, “Pharaoh king of Egypt [is a king of] noise” l; a noisy, big, and blusterous king in words, but in deeds nothing:

he hath passed the time appointed; to join his auxiliaries, in order to give the enemy battle; and so left them in the lurch, of which they complain; or through his dilatoriness lost the proper opportunity of attacking him. Some indeed understand it, not of the king of Egypt, but of the king of Babylon; as if the sense was this, the Egyptians cried aloud, and encouraged themselves and their allies against the king of Babylon; saying, what Jeremiah the prophet said concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and his destruction is all mere noise; there is nothing in it; for the time set by him for that event is passed and over: others, because the word has sometimes the signification of a solemn meeting or festival, take the meaning to be, that Pharaoh king of Egypt being brought to utter destruction, as the word for noise may signify, or being a noisy tumultuous prince, who brought ruin on himself and others, has thereby caused the solemn feasts to pass away m, or the festivals to cease; whether in a civil or a religious way; but the first sense seems best.

l “rex Aegypti, [rex] tumultus”, Munster, Vatablus; “rex perturbationis”, Calvin; so Ben Melech; “rex Aegypti, [vir] strepertus est”, Piscator, Junius & Tremellius. m “transire fecit solennitatem”, De Dieu.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

This verse ought to be joined with the preceding, for he refers to the cries of the soldiers who had been deceived by their own hopes: they at length cried, Pharaoh is to us a king of confusion. The Prophet predicts what was to be; but he speaks, according to what was usually done, in the past time; for the Prophets announce unknown things as before their eyes, in order to gain credit to their prophecies. He then says, that there would be a cry among the soldiers, Pharaoh the king of Egypt is a king of confusion; for the word שאון, shaun, is to be read in the genitive case; as though the Prophet had said that the soldiers would really find that Pharaoh would not turn out according to his boasting. The name of Egypt first filled him and the whole nation with arrogance; and further, it was dreaded by the neighbouring nations. When, therefore, they came to Pharaoh, they thought that they were coming to some sort of a god. The Prophet derided that foolish confidence unreasonably entertained, and says, “They shall cry there, O Pharaoh, magnificent king, thou art now a king of tumult,” or confusion.

What follows is not well explained, as I think, by interpreters; for they all, with one consent, think that Pharaoh is derided, because he delayed time, after having before said that he would go against Nebuchadnezzar; as earthly kings, when they think themselves sufficiently prepared, do not wait until the enemy is at hand, or finds them at home, but go to meet him at a distance. Others think that the time for war had been proclaimed, as it was usual formerly for both sides to proclaim a certain day on which they were to come to a conflict. But from the last verse we may gather that the Prophet meant another thing, he then derides, if I am not mistaken, the folly of Pharaoh for another reason, even because he thought that those threatenings were vain and empty, which had been dispersed by the Jews; for the Egyptians were not ignorant of what had been predicted by the Prophets. Isaiah had long before cried out against the Jews, because they made treaties with the Egyptians, and fled there for aid. There is no doubt but the courtiers, in order to gain favor, said to them, “Behold, our Prophets hinder us as much as they can, and we must take care lest they turn aside the people: while then there is time, let us make the treaty, which will be useful to you as well as to us.” As, then, the destruction of Egypt had been predicted many years before, and as the Egyptians remained in safety after Judea was overthrown and laid waste, it is probable that they became more hardened, thinking that the time had elapsed. And this view, as I have said, is confirmed by the context. For it follows, —

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

THE BIG NOISE

Jer 46:17

Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise (Jer 46:17).

OCCASIONALLY slang phrases find some basis in Scripture. When people behave badly, are bestial in conduct, we speak of them as common cattle. Here we have a Biblical precedent. Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, was the language of the Prophet Amos (Amo 4:1). Just now you may hear it said of some loud self-advertiser, Oh, he is just a big noise and so once again slang finds some Scriptural backing. Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise.

Noise affects different people differently. Some like it. We know folk who believe noise and spirituality are synonymous. If they go to a meeting where there is a great deal of noise and demonstrations of various kinds, it is accepted as a sign of the presence of the Holy Ghost. They never stop to ask when the work of the Spirit took on those features. I have read the second chapter of the Book of the Acts many, many times, and there is no indication of disorderly speech or conduct recorded there. Even when people spake in new tongues, they were clearly understood and easily comprehended; there is no evidence that any of them foamed at the mouth; that any of them fell on the ground. The only instance of foaming and falling recorded in the New Testament is that where a child was being dispossessed of a demon, which tare him as it went out.

In writing on Pentecostalism, which seems to have sprung up in Pauls day, the inspired Apostle pled for orderly conduct and calm speech, not more than three speaking in tongues in any meeting and only on the condition that an interpreter be present, But in the midst of giving these directions for calmness the Apostle adds, In the Church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

There are people who needlessly fear a noise! A decent amen disturbs the equilibrium of many a near-saint, and a loud hallelujah would jar and almost paralyze some congregations.

On the other hand, there are some of us that think anything is preferable to complete silence in the churches. It is too indicative of death.

We are perhaps akin to the woman who was alarmed about burglars, and every sound she would hear in the house, she was sure one was breaking in. Her husband told her that that was not the method of burglars. They never made any noise. If they broke a window it was so quietly done that you couldnt hear a creak. When they entered the house they did so in their stocking feet. After that she could never sleep, for when the house was quiet she was sure it was filled with burglars.

But just the same we live in a world of noise, and not a few of its people are like Pharaoh, but a noise. This text, interpreted in the light of its context, reveals the popular opinion, the prophetic utterance and people of promise.

THE POPULAR OPINION

They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed (Jer 46:17). This indicates what the Babylonians thought of him.

They held Pharaohs government in contempt. They saw his valiant men swept away; they looked on their backs as they ran from the foe. They saw them smitten to the ground; yea, even in their confusion, smiting one another and seeking nothing so much as a hiding place.

After all, the men of a nation constitute its character. If they are courageous, it is strong; if they are cowardly, it is in easy collapse.

Ralph Connor, the author of many popular Canadian novels, once said,

Not wealth, not enterprise, not energy can build a nation into sure greatness; but men and only men with the fear of God in their hearts.

There are people who imagine that the Name of God is a back number, and that the fear of God is a fading superstition, but all such philosophers are either ignorant of, or indifferent to, history. The present attempt in Russia to build a nation without God is but a noise. The sound thereof is reverberating around the world, but when the sound has died, it will be found that little substance remains.

They used to tell the story of a man down on the Ohio River who built a steamer, expecting to ply the water of that stream, and by carrying freight and passengers make a fortune. But when he had finished it, he found that the whistle was so big and loud that when it was turned on it stopped the steamer. It is a parable. There are some people so loud that you cant hear what they say.

Atheism in general is after that manner. It boasts itself wise, but it is only the philosophy of a fool. It assumes all competence, but it reveals no character.

Dr. Mason is reported to have heard a comparatively young man ridiculing Christianity. He was calling attention to an instance in which a somewhat famous individual who made loud profession of Christianity, had sadly sinned and disgraced the Name of Christ, and the young atheist was expatiating on this wretched ensample of a Christian character, and Dr. Mason said, Just a moment; Sir! Did you ever hear anybody hold up an atheist to scorn because he had defiled himself or plunged deep into sin?

Certainly not, said the young man.

Has it ever occurred to you why this is so? continued Dr. Mason.

No; it never has, said the man, What would you say?

Because nothing better is expected of atheism, was Dr. Masons reply. It is but a noise!

Babylon planned Egypts speedy conquest. Looking into the tenth verse of this chapter we find,

For this is the day of the Lord God of Hosts, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Him of His adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of Hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

To the daughter of Egypt the Lord said, In vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.

Sin is always bringing its subjects closer and closer to defeat and destruction. Down in one of the mountain fastnesses of Kentucky some federal officers following a trail, found that it ended in a secret distillery where liquor was being illegally made. Over the door to this institution were the significant words, Two miles from here to hell. The sign was suggestive enough and for some of its patrons probably exceeded the distance.

In the city of Fort Worth, Texas, a man who was once the judge of the court, but who began with temperate drinking, and ended in a final debauch of continued drunkenness, lay dead. Two columns in the newspaper told the story of his rise in youth from ignorance to the highest education; from poverty to wealth; from an unknown working lad to the dignified dispenser of justice; but the loud-mouthed crowd who call you to the fellowship of a social class, and who laugh to scorn a man who cant be temperate in all things, tempted him to share their philosophy first, but later to die a disgraceful death; after years of drinking and miserable existence as a social outcastthis was the end!

It was the noisy crowd that sent Christ to the Cross, and it is the loud-mouthed that deceive and destroy their fellow-men.

Babylon derided Egypts pretense of power. That was what they meant when they said, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise. There is nothing to him! You recall the Old Testament illustration of this thought.

Goliath was a whale of a man. He exceeded even Saul in stature; more than head and shoulders above his fellows, and his brawny legs and arms were Sampsonian in suggestion, and when he saw the ruddy, beautiful David coming out of the camp of Israel toward him, he laughed and derided him, and doubtless with a coaxing wave of his hand said, Come on, little lad; Ill make mince meat out of you, and feed you to the birds. But when the smooth pebble from Davids sling smote him in the forehead, and when David had drawn out of his own sheath his sword and cut off his head, it would have been perfectly all right for that victorious lad as he turned back to his own amazed but proud camp, to shout, Goliath was a big noise!

You remember Gamaliels speech made in an effort to calm those who were about to slay Peter and the other Apostles; how he said this,

Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.

For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought (Act 5:35-36).

The council of Gamaliel has at least one element of wisdom in it. It was intended to keep the men from acting too hastily in condemnation of men who had done great things; but it is adapted to counsel men against too ready a following of the boaster, for though Theudas promised to lead them to immeasurable victories he only succeeded in affecting for them slaughter.

There are thousands of people bleeding financially because they listened to boasters; enduring bankruptcy because they gave willing ears to boosters, to men who were but a noise. But the context as already suggested calls attention to

THE PROPHETIC UTTERANCE

The Lord had spoken to this same Pharaoh and by consulting the context we may see what the Lord said,

As I live, saith the King, whose Name is the Lord of Hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.

O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant (Jer 46:18-19).

Prophecy is pre-written history. When God has spoken, man should attend. It is utterly useless to turn a deaf ear to His voice in the day of apparent prosperity, and then turn to Him, in piteous appeal, when the hour of judgment has struck.

There are thousands of men who prefer the philosopher to the prophet; who listen to the scientist rather than the seer; who put their trust in the speeches of students (?) rather than in the statements of inspired penmen.

The Lord foretold this coming downfall.

As I live, saith the King, whose Name is the Lord of Hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.

O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant (Jer 46:18-19).

A young man was found in tears. An older fellow went to him and in sympathy said, Sir; can I do anything for you? The young man answered, Can you undo anything? Thats what I want to know. I corrupted a man, and only yesterday he died in my arms in a drunken delirium. Can you undo anything? Not after death!

The Andover theology attempted to tell people they would have a second chance, that in the next world, if not in this, they might repent and be saved, but New Testament theology knows no such promises. On the contrary John writes,

If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it (1Jn 5:16).

There comes a time when it is too late, a time when reparation is impossible. Jesus Himself gave us a parable on this subject. He likens

The Kingdom of Heaven * * unto ten virgins * *.

Five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not (Mat 25:1-12).

There comes a time when knocking, asking, and seeking bring no response.

When the door of Noahs ark was shut and the forty days rain had begun, it was too late to profit by the word which had been preached to them. Egypt is a type of all them that trust in themselves rather than in God, and set their own wisdom above the Divine Revelation.

The Lord also predicted the agent of judgment.

The daughter of Egypt shall he confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north (Jer 46:24).

Gods agent of judgment is not always Gods servant. The people of the north were no more acceptable to the Lord than were the Egyptians; but He used the Babylonians to punish the sins of the Egyptians. That often takes place.

It was no sign that France and England and America were acceptable to God because they triumphed against Germany. It was, however, an indication that Germany deserved judgment. But the truth is that in the world war of 1914 to 1918, just as in this conflict between Babylon and Egypt, both sides suffered because both were sinners.

We know that Jeremiah, Gods voice in this matter, was no more acceptable to the Egyptians than the true prophet is acceptable to the present generation. The prediction of coming judgment is very unpopular, but there are times when a prophets silence would be a terrible sin.

Newell Dwight Hillis was in Venice some years ago. It was just before the Campanile fell. He interviewed the old architect who had been in charge of the tower for over thirty years, and who had given repeated warnings of the coming peril. His warnings had only brought reprimands and finally his dismissal. The Saturday before the tower fell the prophet of doom took his son to it; showed him that even then it was falling, and he took the train out of town saying that it would break his heart and finally kill him if he had to witness the final crash; and within forty-eight hours the tower was a heap of ruins.

Jeremiah is a warning voice as every true prophet of God is, but they regarded him then as true prophets are now regarded, as morbid, dyspeptic, warped in judgment, and wholly untrustworthy.

History, however, justifies the true Prophet because it fills and fits the mold of prophecy. Egypt went as the Lord had said. Pharaohs downfall was the fulfilment of the spoken Word.

The Lord declared the overthrow would be complete.

The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:

And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon (Jer 46:25-26).

There are times when mere reform is not sufficient. There are issues that are permanently settled. Of Pharaoh himself it was said, He hath passed the time appointed, and it was even so.

A man planted a primrose. It grew and its green leaves and flowers were beautiful to look upon. One day the leaves began to fade, and the petals of the flowers to wilt. He dug about it and fertilized it, poured water to the roots, and watched and waited. The green leaves grew paler still, and the flowers faded entirely, and when both were dead he tore it out of its receptacle and examined it to see what was wrong, and lo, a worm, working under the surface, had eaten through the heart of the same, and it was dead. This also is a parable.

It is in vain to cultivate that which is under Divine condemnation. Its root troubles must be corrected or its future will be written in failure, and established in death.

But thanks be unto God, Jeremiah is also a true Prophet, and he does not end this chapter without a fair prospect which relates to another people.

THE PEOPLE OF PROMISE

But fear not thou, O My servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest mid at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

Fear thou not, O Jacob My servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee.

Gods servants then, were assured safety. One of the best tracts in existence is a little tract entitled, Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment. It deals with that eternal question, Can Gods people become the devils people; Can the saved be finally lost? In this controversy the Armenians stand on one side and preach the possibility of falling from grace and the Calvinists stand on the other side and insist that it cannot be so. Each of them has a considerable array of texts in his behalf,

The first quote Joh 15:6:

If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

They are also wonderfully familiar with Heb 10:26-29:

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

He that despised Moses Law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the Blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

But most of all do they rest in the authority of Heb 6:4-6:

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the Heavenly Gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

And have tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.

But they are met by their opponents with texts that seem equally positive and a bit more clear, for instance Joh 3:36:

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.

Corroborated as it is by Joh 6:47:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.

Also Joh 5:24, the last of which reads,

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

They get still further comfort out of Joh 10:28:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.

Paul also has provided many texts as a basis for their belief. 2Ti 1:12:

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.

And still further Rom 8:38-39:

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

and is ground, therefore, for the saints rest.

It is a fact that God never forgets His own, and it is truth that no man is able to pluck them out of My Fathers hand!

Peace was to be their eventual portion.

Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

It sounds like a New Testament invitation:

Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Mat 11:28-30).

And yet this New Testament invitation confirms the Old Testament teaching, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind in stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.

Some few of the Old Testament saints reached this high conception and were happy in it. Hear Isaiah for instance, a man in intimate touch with God, and one whose knowledge of Divine grace seems to exceed them all, as he victoriously shouts,

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. They who thus believe with joy * * draw water out of the wells of salvation (Isa 12:3).

Even His chastisement was only for their good.

Fear thou not, O Jacob My servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will J not leave thee wholly unpunished (Jer 46:28).

In the New Testament we have these words, Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.

Let no Christian imagine, therefore, that personal hardships are the proof of disfavor with God. The comforters of Job engaged in a false philosophy when they tried to persuade him that his suffering was the product of his sin. Job was the best man of his day, and while he was a sinner, by way of comparison with the conduct of others, he was a saint; but his gold was refined by the fire. So saints are made saintly in the heated flame.

Paul writing to the Hebrews argued logically enough,

Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby (Heb 12:9-11).

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

(17) They did cry there . . .Better, There they cry . . . The difficulty of the verse has led to very various renderings. The meaning of the English version is that the exiles returning to their own land would say that Pharaoh with all his haughty boasts was but an empty noise, that he had passed the limit of Gods long-suffering, and that the day of retribution had come. A slight change in the Hebrew words, however, gives, They have called the name of Pharaoh king of Egypt, A Noise; he hath passed (or lost) the appointed seasoni.e., the time allowed by the long-suffering of God. This is supported by some of the ancient versions, and may be accepted as the best rendering. The LXX. and Vulg. agree in taking the opening words as an imperative, Call ye the name of Pharaoh . . . ; but the former, as if despairing of the meaning, simply reproduces the Hebrew words that follow in Greek letters, while the latter translates, Tumultum adduxit tempus (Time, the appointed time, has brought the noisei.e., of war and destruction), as if it were, like Magor-missabib, a new nomen et omen given to the Egyptian king. Luther, giving another meaning to the words translated appointed time, renders Pharaoh king of Egypt lies prostrate, he has left his tent. Ewald, following the line of the Vulgate, renders the name by which Pharaoh is spoken of as tumult, which a sign or moment disperses, the tumult being his boastful clamour, the sign the token of Jehovahs will. Hitzig agrees more closely with the English version in the latter clause, and it may be accepted as having on the whole most in its favour.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

17. Noise Rather, destruction. There they cry, Pharaoh is destruction.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments