What we are going to do here is trace the ancestry of the Philistines. Now at the beginning of the chapter we have the sons of Noah listed, of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Do you know who Mizraim is? What is their modern name? Egypt, right? The Philistines are derived from, descended from the Egyptians. Now what does Egypt represent? Let us chase the type here. Egypt represents, in the Scriptures, the world apart from God gathering, analyzing, and using knowledge on a carnal basis, using the senses and not using God’s Word by faith to direct their lives.
Now the Philistines, being derived, descended from them are of the same spirit but of a somewhat different aspect. Egypt then, figures or represents worldly wisdom and all that worldly wisdom establishes by way of civilization. So, Egypt figures or represents worldly wisdom, that knowledge through the senses that cannot really know God. God is not discerned by the senses. That is why scientists say there is no proof of God’s existence, because He cannot be measured, weighed, observed in the way that the senses would do those things. Egypt then, represents worldly wisdom and the civilization that was produced by that, and it is a knowledge or wisdom that cannot really know God.
Now, the Philistine represents even a further attainment of the same thing, and much closer to the Promised Land and in fact, even reaching out and striving to enter into it. All you have to do is look where the Egyptians settled in relation to the Promised Land and where the Philistines settled in relation to the Promised Land. The Philistine representing a further attainment of worldly wisdom and even striving to enter into the Promised Land, trying to intrude in it.
For a very long time in biblical history, uncircumcised was almost invariably synonymous with Philistine. The Philistine wants the promise of God, the Philistine wants the Promised Land, but he wants them without circumcision. He wants God to accept him on the basis of his carnal knowledge, which indeed may be tremendous.
Again, secular history as well as some indications from the Bible, give us insight that of all the people adjacent to the Promised Land, the Philistines were by far the most technically advanced. They were the ones who knew how to do things with iron. They were the ones who made the fearsome war chariots. They were the ones who had the awesome war horses, and the fearsome armies, and the giants. Everything about them was advanced, in the Bible’s way of showing things.
So, they are a race of people, famed for bigness, technologically that is, for giants racially. But with all their might, they cannot attain the Promised Land because, as God is showing, they do not want to live by faith.
Knowledge derived from the senses has its place, but with it, man cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, though the Philistine seeks to intrude into it.
In a genealogical way we see that the Philistines were descendants of the Egyptians. Now Egypt represents in the Bible the world apart from God. Gathering, analyzing, using knowledge on a carnal basis (remember Elbert Hubbard, devoid of spiritual knowledge), and not using God’s Word by faith to direct their lives.
The Philistines are of the same spirit, but when one looks at their geographical location, you will find the Egyptians on the outside, peripherally, of the Promised Land, Canaan, and we find the Philistines right up against the borders of the Promised Land. So Egypt possesses worldly wisdom, that is, knowledge through the senses, but cannot really know God. Remember,
Now the Philistines represent a further attainment of the same knowledge, and they are much closer to the truth. You see, they are much closer to the Promised Land, in fact, they are reaching out to try to enter into it. In typologically, the Egyptian does not give a hoot. But the Philistine, he is trying to get into the promised land on the basis of his carnal knowledge.
Now for a very long time in biblical history, uncircumcised was almost invariably synonymous with Philistine. The Philistine wants the promise of God, the Philistine wants the Promised Land, but he wants them without circumcision. He is unwilling to kill the flesh, unwilling to cut away the foreskin of the heart. He does not want to be converted. He wants to attain the Kingdom of God on the basis of his accumulation of carnal knowledge, which indeed may be tremendous. We might even say, on the basis of technology.
It's interesting that Philistines are known for being a race of giants and there is a bit of symbolism there as well. They were a mighty and strong people, symbolic of their intellect, symbolic of their technological achievements that God used their stature of a race of people to indicate their relative size in the eyes of the true people of God. They look as though they are insurmountable. They have everything on their side. They have all the technology, they seem to have all of the wisdom, they seem to have all of the power. The worldly-wise appear to be on their side.
Knowledge derived from the senses has its place, but with it, man cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, though the Philistine seeks to intrude into it.
