I have to begin this post with a confession: I’ve fallen quite behind in my Bible reading plan. Normally about this point, I would be somewhere in the Gospels, but because I’ve fallen behind, I am still right at the beginning point of the Babylonian exile in Israel’s history. Still, this section of Scripture is an area that I am least familiar with, and so it is good that I get to have an opportunity to spend time with some key points that I believe God has been highlighting to me. Sure, earlier in the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, has similar repetitions of some of the lessons outlined in this post and the next. But it’s always refreshing to find another Biblical truth, repeated in a lesser-known portion of scripture compared with where I might normally expect to find it.
Today’s post comes from the book of Jeremiah. In short, in the highlighted sections for today’s post, Israel’s captains rebel against God‘s command and flee to Egypt, forcing Jeremiah to go with them, in the misguided thinking that doing so would help them avoid being killed or captured by the Babylonians. By contrast, God had assured surefire protection if they would’ve stayed put, and assured surefire destruction if they dared to flee to Egypt. In the midst of what amounts to a horrible circumstance for Jeremiah on all sorts of counts, God still found away to use the prophet’s small acts of faith to bring about His work, in this case judgment against rebellious Israelites who still would not heed Him.
But it didn’t start out that way. Israel’s captains asked Jeremiah to intercede with the Lord on their behalf, seeking wisdom on what to do concerning the invasion of the Babylonian army. This first passage shows the initial ask:
“Now all the captains of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but a few of many, as you can see), that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.” Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard. Indeed, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your words, and it shall be, that whatever the Lord answers you, I will declare it to you. I will keep nothing back from you.” So they said to Jeremiah, “Let the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you. Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.””
Jeremiah 42:1-6 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.42.1-6.NKJV
The next passage shows God’s faithful response. Here, He gives the Israelite captains a chance to obey Him, reminding them of the consequences ahead of time if they don’t:
“And it happened after ten days that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: ‘If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand. And I will show you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.’ “But if you say, ‘We will not dwell in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God, saying, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell’— Then hear now the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you wholly set your faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell there, then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die. So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there. They shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. And none of them shall remain or escape from the disaster that I will bring upon them.’”
Jeremiah 42:7-17 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.42.7-17.NKJV
As God continues, He reveals that knows in advance what they’re inclined to do, revealing also that He especially knows their hearts. He doesn’t hesitate to remind them of this:
““For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘As My anger and My fury have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will My fury be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.’ “The Lord has said concerning you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Know certainly that I have admonished you this day. For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and according to all that the Lord your God says, so declare to us and we will do it.’ And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, or anything which He has sent you by me. Now therefore, know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell.””
Jeremiah 42:18-22 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.42.18-22.NKJV
The next passage reveals the Israelite captains’ response, once again proving that God was right all along:
“Now it happened, when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, all these words, that Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.’ But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.” So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah.”
Jeremiah 43:1-4 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.43.1-4.NKJV
The below passage reveals a significant side note of the Israelite captains’ response: they take Jeremiah to Egypt with them. As stated:
“But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to dwell in the land of Judah, from all nations where they had been driven— men, women, children, the king’s daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. So they went to the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they went as far as Tahpanhes.”
Jeremiah 43:5-7 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.43.5-7.NKJV
In case you haven’t figured out already, I typically tend to include a whole lot of background, for the purpose of setting the stage for the thing I felt God specifically highlight. That is, how the Lord used Jeremiah, despite these circumstances, to accomplish His purpose and will.
“Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, “Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes; and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them. When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword. I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment, and he shall go out from there in peace. He shall also break the sacred pillars of Beth Shemesh that are in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire.” ’ ””
Jeremiah 43:8-13 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.43.8-13.NKJV
The next set of text shows God’s response to the Israelites directly, after Jeremiah had done as He had commanded:
““Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain, in that you provoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers.’ “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will set My face against you for catastrophe and for cutting off all Judah. And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine. They shall die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine; and they shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach! For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return and dwell. For none shall return except those who escape.’ ””
Jeremiah 44:7-14 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.44.7-14.NKJV
Immediately after the above passage, the Israelite men respond to Jeremiah by defending burning incense to their false gods, citing prosperity when they did and lack when they didn’t as justification for doing so. Even their wives piped up, indicating their compliance with this form of idolatry. As a result, Jeremiah responds, saying that it was because of their idolatry and forgetting the Lord, that calamity has hit them.
Finally, the text records Jeremiah sharing with the Israelites the punishment not only for sin, but also for unrepentant sin:
“Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt! Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’ Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord God lives.” Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them. Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs. And this shall be a sign to you,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for adversity.’”
Jeremiah 44:24-29 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.44.24-29.NKJV
Below shows God’s final statement before He send each of the Israelites to their punishment:
““Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.’ ””
Jeremiah 44:30 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jer.44.30.NKJV
The morals:
1.) When caught in sin, don’t double down on it. Instead, repent. God is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness if you do so. (1 John 1:9)2.) God can use any circumstance, no matter how hard or terrifying. God still used Jeremiah in his difficulty to bring about His will on the Israelites.3.) In the case of today’s Bible reading, God moved in action on bringing justice to the Israelites for their sins only after Jeremiah obeyed and did his part, no matter how insignificant it might seem.
God still loves you.