After the burdens borne by the beasts from the south, and those who sent their wealth to Egypt, trusting in a people who offered them no benefit, who hoped to gain strength through Pharaoh’s might and relied on Egypt’s shadow, the prophetic message foretold, illustrating the return to Jerusalem and liberation from exile initiated by Cyrus, heralding the end of days and the ultimate joy of the righteous.
The message returns to those previously warned against going to Egypt. The notable distinction here is that the command was specifically directed to Judah not to seek assistance in Egypt, and due to their disdain for God's command, it is foretold that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would annihilate both Israel and Egypt—both those who fled and those who assisted them. Jeremiah elaborates on this extensively. Thus, woe to those who venture to Egypt, disregarding the Lord's commandments out of fear of the Chaldeans, placing their trust in idolaters who claim to honor God, depending on horses while neglecting what is written: "A horse is a false hope for salvation" (Psalm 32:17), and placing their faith in chariots, carriages, and riders, forgetting the song that declares, "The horse and rider He has hurled into the sea" (Exodus 15:1). They failed to trust in the Holy One of Israel, who through Jeremiah promised assistance to those remaining in Judah. Their failure to seek the Lord signifies a disdain for His words rather than a mere lack of inquiry. This echoes the words regarding the corrupt priests, "My people who long for the Lord do not call upon Him" (Psalm 52:5).
The Lord Himself, in His wisdom, has brought upon them dire calamity, represented by Nebuchadnezzar, or calamity as a concept rather than a person, and He has not annulled the prophetic words He spoke. Therefore, He will rise against Judah—the house of the most wicked—and against the aid provided by the Egyptian oppressors. Egypt, as translated by the LXX, signifies humanity rather than God, and their horses represent flesh without spirit. As it is written in Jeremiah, "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and relies on flesh for strength, whose heart departs from the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:5). He will be like a lone shrub in the desert, oblivious to the good that is coming (Jeremiah 17:6). Additionally, it is noted elsewhere, "The salvation of man is futile" (Psalm 59:13), or more accurately in Hebrew, "in man." When the Lord reaches out His hand in discipline, symbolically as a driver releasing the reins of galloping horses, both the Egyptian ally and Israel, to whom aid was afforded, will meet their demise.
This understanding can also apply to those who, during times of persecution, hardship, and strife, fail to put their faith in the Lord, instead relying on the support of Egypt and worldly figures, forgetting that Abraham faced peril in Egypt, and that God's people toiled with clay and made bricks in a land identified spiritually as the iron furnace. This is reflected in the Book of Revelation, where it is stated that the location of our Lord's crucifixion is spiritually identified as Sodom and Egypt (Revelation 11:8).
THEOSIS