Pam Padgett ... teacher
When the king of Babylon carried away the Jews to Babylon, he left a
small number of Jews in Judah and set Gedaliah as governor of the land.
When Jews who were in Moab, Ammon, and Edom heard this, they also
returned to Judah. The people were well fed in the land ....
Jeremiah 40:11 Likewise when all the Jews that were in
Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the
countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah,
and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of
Shaphan; 12 Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they
were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah,
and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.
One of the men, Johanan, warned Gedaliah that the
Ammonites had sent Ishmael to slay Gedaliah, but Gedaliah did not
believe the warning. Ishmael killed
Gedaliah and carried away the people to go to the Ammonites. But
Johanan led captains of the force rescued the people and brought them to
Chimham near Bethlehem, with plans to go into Egypt because they feared the Chaldeans ...
Jeremiah 41:16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the
captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people
whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah,
after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of
war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had
brought again from Gibeon:17 And they departed, and dwelt in the
habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
18 Because of the Chaldeans:for they were afraid of them, because
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom
the king of Babylon made governor in the land.
Before going into Egypt, however, they asked Jeremiah to inquire of God what they should do and said they would obey ...
Jeremiah 42:2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we
beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us
unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a
few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) 3 That the Lord thy God may
shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. 4
Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I
will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall
come to pass, that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will
declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. 5 Then they said
to Jeremiah, The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we
do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall
send thee to us. 6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will
obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be
well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.
The word God gave to Jeremiah was that the people should remain in the land and not be afraid of the king of Babylon, for God would be with them and deliver them ...
Jeremiah 42:7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the word
of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. 8 Then called he Johanan the son of
Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all
the people from the least even to the greatest, 9 And said unto them,
Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present
your supplication before him; 10 If ye will still abide in this land,
then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and
not pluck you up:for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.
11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not
afraid of him, saith the Lord:for I am with you to save you, and to
deliver you from his hand. 12 And I will shew mercies unto you, that he
may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
And God warned them of what would happen if they went against HIS instruction and went into Egypt ...
Jeremiah 42:13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land,
neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, 14 Saying, No; but we will
go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound
of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:15
And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah; Thus
saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces
to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; 16 Then it shall come to
pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the
land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow
close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. 17 So shall it
be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn
there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the
pestilence:and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I
will bring upon them.
The people, however, did not humble themselves and obey the word of the Lord. In pride, they accused Jeremiah of speaking falsely. And they went into Egypt ...
Jeremiah 43:2 Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and
Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah,
Thou speakest falsely:the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not
into Egypt to sojourn there:3 But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee
on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that
they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon. 4
So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and
all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land
of Judah. .... 7 So they came into the land of Egypt:for they obeyed not
the voice of the Lord:thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
When in Egypt, the people burned incense to other gods,
doing wickedly as their fathers had done in Judah before. God sent
warnings to them by Jeremiah, but the people would not pay attention to what
Jeremiah spoke, choosing to follow their own ideas and trusting in other
gods for their provision ...
Jeremiah 44:16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in
the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. 17 But we will
certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn
incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto
her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes,
in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem:for then had we
plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. 18 But since we left
off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink
offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by
the sword and by the famine.
The word of the Lord given to Jeremiah included ...
Jeremiah 44:26 Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith 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 liveth. 27 Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good:and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. 28 Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.
The
people had asked to know the way God would have them go, but then
disregarded the instructions God gave them. As they failed to believe and obey what God told them to do, they
lost sight that
they lacked no wine and summer
fruits in the land of Judah, and that they had been given promises by
God that HE
would be with them, establish them, and deliver them if they stayed in
the land and not go into Egypt. Instead, they trusted in Egypt and
in their own ideas and turned to gods that have no power, provoking the living and true God rather than trusting and obeying HIM.
I was reminded that those who trust in themselves or others instead of God, will be cursed and in a terrible state, not even being able to see
when good comes ...
Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that
trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth
from the Lord. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall
not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the
wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
But those who trust in God, seeking and following HIS word, are established and cared for by God ...
Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth
in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree
planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river,
and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and
shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from
yielding fruit.