13 This is the [m]message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol,
Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the sword has devoured those around you.’
15 “Why have your mighty ones become prostrate?
They do not stand because the Lord has thrust them down.
16 “They have repeatedly stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen one against another.
Then they said, ‘Get up! And let us go back
To our own people and our native land
Away from the [n]sword of the oppressor.’
17 “[o]They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a big noise;
He has let the appointed time pass by!’
18 “As I live,” declares the King
Whose name is the Lord of hosts,
“Surely one shall come who looms up like Tabor among the mountains,
Or like Carmel by the sea.
19 “Make your baggage ready for exile,
O daughter dwelling in Egypt,
For Memphis will become a desolation;
It will even be burned down and [p]bereft of inhabitants.
20 “Egypt is a pretty heifer,
But a [q]horsefly is coming from the north—it is coming!
21 “Also her mercenaries in her midst
Are like [r]fattened calves,
For even they too have turned back and have fled away together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their calamity has come upon them,
The time of their punishment.
22 “Its sound moves along like a serpent;
For they move on [s]like an army
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23 “They have cut down her forest,” declares the Lord;
“Surely it will no more be found,
Even though [t]they are now more numerous than locusts
And are without number.
24 “The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Given over to the [u]power of the people of the north.”
It isn’t super clear whether this belongs to the same timeframe as the previous passage, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, or if it belongs to the time where the remnant of Israel had sought refuge in Egypt, some 15-20 years later. In either case, the message doesn’t change, God was going to bring judgment and calamity on Egypt.
In the earlier years, God told His people not to seek an alliance with Egypt because they would not be of any help. We see a possible reference to this in v. 17, where Pharaoh has “let the appointed time pass by!” When Israel needed help, Egypt said, “Oh sure, we can take care of those pesky Babylonians!” Yet when push came to shove, Egypt was nowhere to be found.
Though Egypt is described as a people “more numerous than locusts” they would be “put to shame, given over to the power of the people of the north (Babylon).” And perhaps that is why Jeremiah inserts these “flash back” passages here. Egypt wasn’t going to be punished because the remnant sought refuge there. Rather, God had already planned judgment for Egypt, and He didn’t want His people to be caught in the middle.
Israel was already going through enough due to their stubbornness and rebellion, they didn’t need to pile on top of it–but they did. Rather than believe God’s word about Egypt, they chose to put their trust in this “big noise” (v. 17). Yet we can be guilty of the same, and there are plenty of things in this world that seem sure and safe. Whether we seek the security of a home, or a good-paying job, family, friends, or whatever, none of them are indeed sure.
None of those are bad things, but we ought not to place our hope and focus on them. Instead, our help and our hope come from God, who made all these things (and more). God is calling for us to put our trust in Him every day, just as He called His people in the days of Jeremiah. Don’t fall into the trap of this world, where nothing is sure, but trust in God who can hold you eternally safe and secure.