The Word of Knowledge

The Word of the Lord in Jeremiah chapter 47 is a word of knowledge. Jeremiah knew and prophesied by the Spirit of the Lord what would happen to the people of Gaza. The Spirit of the Lord also included words about Egypt, Tyre and Sidon in this prophecy.

“The Word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. ‘Thus says the Lord: behold, waters rise out of the north and shall be an overflowing flood; they shall overflow the land and all that is in it, the city and those who dwell within; then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail. At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers will not look back for their children, lacking courage, because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; for the Lord shall plunder the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.’” Jeremiah 47:1-4

A word of knowledge is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Gifts of the Holy Spirit are explained In 1 Corinthians 12. In 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4, 7-8, Paul wrote, “Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.” “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.” “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a word of wisdom, to another a word of knowledge by means of the same Spirit.” In the Bible, a word of knowledge is a spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit that provides truth that couldn’t be known by natural means. It can manifest as thoughts, images, dreams, or even physical sensations, conveying knowledge for the purpose of guidance.

In John 16:13, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit guides His followers into all truth. If we are guided by truth, we are not deceived. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are navigational in nature. For example, the Greek word for the gift of administration in 1 Corinthians 12:28 is “κυβέρνησις” (kubernesis) means “to steer” or “to rule or govern.” This gift steers people correctly.

When my wife and I took the Gospel to China, the Holy Spirit gave us words of knowledge at times that helped us. For example, one time we were waiting at a bus stop. Our plan was to join a gathering of believers that evening. The buses at that stop usually arrived every 10-15 minutes, but this time, an half hour had passed and no bus arrived. Sherry and I were the only ones waiting there, so we began to pray, and an unpeaceful feeling came over us. After Holy Spirit removed peace from us, we returned home. The next day, we received news that soldiers had invaded the meeting. One missionary and many Chinese believers were taken captive by them. Thanks to the Holy Spirit giving us a word of knowledge in a very special way, we avoided being taken captive. If arrested, I would have been fired from my job and we would have lost our home in China.

In the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit gave to Agabus words of knowledge. Acts 11:27-29 says, “And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.” Thanks to the Holy Spirit and God’s listening servant Agabus, God’s people in Jerusalem did not go hungry during a famine.

In Acts 21:10-11, the Holy Spirit gave to Agabus a word of knowledge for the Apostle Paul. “He took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” This word of knowledge came to pass because Paul went to Jerusalem, but at least, Paul knew beforehand what would happen. In Acts 21:13, he told his fellow believers, “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus.”

Jeremiah received his prophetic words from the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” How did David, a man of war and a nation’s king, write the Book of Psalms? The Psalms have very accurate prophetic words that describe the coming of Messiah (see Psalm 22:16-18). In 2 Samuel 23:2, David testified, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; His word was on my tongue.” The Holy Spirit gave Jeremiah and David the right words to say.

The Holy Spirit gives gifts to those who witness for Jesus Christ. In Acts 5:29, Peter and the other apostles answered those who opposed them, saying, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” In Acts 5:32, they testified, “We are His [Christ’s] witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” To witness for Christ is to die to self and to live for Christ.

The Holy Spirit’s word for the Philistines via Jeremiah was that the Pharoah’s army would overflow their nation from the north. Now, Egypt is south of Gaza so why would Pharoah’s army flow over them from the north? The Holy Spirit gave Jeremiah a word of knowledge. What was not known at the time was that Pharoah would attack Tyre and Sidon to the north of Gaza first, and then attack Gaza afterwards. The Philistines had hoped that the people of Tyre and Sidon would help them against the Pharaoh, but that was not going to happen.

The Holy Spirit used the imagery of a flood overflowing Gaza when He spoke of Pharoah’s army overrunning Gaza. In Revelation 12:15-16, the Holy Spirit uses the imagery of a serpent spewing a flood out of his mouth to destroy those who keep God’s commandments and the testimony of Jesus. The imagery of the earth opening its mouth to swallow the flood symbolizes God eliminating the army that thought to destroy His people. In this case of the Philistines, God did not intervene. They did not pray to Him. In the case of the saints, God did intervene.

Jeremiah prophesied, “The Lord shall plunder the Philistines.” The Lord took credit for Gaza’s demise. They had no use for Him and for His prophets. So, He did not help them in the day that tries by fire. In fact, when the Philistine fathers heard the hooves of horses and the rumbling of chariot wheels approaching, they fled for their lives. They didn’t look back. They even left their children behind. How could they be so heartless?

In Jeremiah 47:4, the Lord mentions the remnant of Caphtor. The Caphtorim and Philistines are both descendants of Mizraim. Mizraim is the Hebrew name for ancient Egypt. In Genesis 10:13, Egypt is listed as “the father of Casluhim from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim.” They are all descendants of Noah’s son Ham according to Genesis 10:6-20.

Later, in Amos 9:7, the Lord brought the Philistines back to their land from Egypt. Amos wrote, “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?”

“Baldness has come upon Gaza. Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself? Jeremiah 47:5

Gaza is represented as one who will shave her head. Shaving the head and cutting one’s flesh was a way of mourning among the pagans according to Leviticus 19:28 and Jeremiah 48:37. Ashkelon is located on a long strip of low land along the Mediterranean west of the mountains of Judea. They too would cut themselves as they mourned their losses.

“O you sword of the Lord, how long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, rest and be still! How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord has given it a charge against Ashkelon and against the seashore? There He has appointed it.” Jeremiah 47:6-7

The Lord expresses the words which the Philistines will be saying during this attack. They will ask the sword of the Lord to be silenced and put away. But Pharoah’s sword will not comply with their wishes because it has been commanded by the Lord to strike them.

There are websites like https://www.gotquestions.org/Palestinian-descent.html that explain the history of the Philistines. One website said that the Philistines were completely wiped out and replaced by Arab people from the surrounding areas including as far away as Türkiye. The Greeks and Romans were the first invaders to begin referring to the lands that were formerly known as Israel and Philistia as Palestine. In any case, whether in the time of Jeremiah or in our time today, one lesson that we take away from Jeremiah 47 is to be guided by and to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit.