Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

In lots of the books of prophecy, we read about prophecies not only for Israel and Judah, but also for the enemy nations.

Jeremiah is no exception. He spends the next few

chapters addressing the surrounding nations directly, and we read three of those chapters today.

In chapter 46, the first country he holds accountable is Egypt. He's already told us what's coming for them,

but today he tells them what's coming for them, and he does it in two separate oracles.

While they're initially in a position of power, they'll be brought low.

Their towns will be destroyed, their soldiers will attempt unsuccessfully to flee,

and as their nation is crumbling, their leader Pharaoh will be rendered powerless.

Verse 17 says he's all bark and no bite. In verse 19, God tells the Egyptians, Pack your bags. Next stop, exile. A nation is going to invade you from the north and they'll demolish all the things you expect to save you. Your forest may be impenetrable, but they'll chop it down because nothing can withstand my command. At the end of the chapter, God circles back around to have a chat with the Israelites who have

disobeyed him and fled to Egypt.

And he's much more gentle with them than he was the last time he spoke with them about this.

He starts out by reminding them, don't be afraid.

And surely by now you know why they can be fearless, right?

Because he is with them. Throughout Scripture, the most common reason given for God's kids not to be afraid is that his presence

is with them no matter what happens. If we can remember who God is and how much he loves us,

then the awareness of his nearness is the antidote to fear. God tells them a few ways

he's going to handle things with them in the midst of dealing with Egypt where they're currently

hiding out. He's going to offer protection and deliverance, but he's also going to bring discipline

and punishment. While two of those sound awesome and two sound not so great, all four things are evidence of his love,

because they're things every loving father provides for his kids.

In chapter 47, we read an oracle to the Philistines, another long-standing enemy of the Israelites.

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