I Did It My Way.

When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,’ but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.” So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah. But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven—the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at Tahpanhes. – Jeremiah 43:1-7 ESV

Everyone has a right to their own opinion. But when the God who created the universe speaks, it would seem that His opinion should carry a bit more weight. And in the case of the people of Judah, you would think that they would learned to listen to what He had to say. Up until this point, every single prophecy Jeremiah had verbalized on behalf of God had come to pass, down to the last detail. So, when Jeremiah had returned to Johanan and the others with God’s word concerning whether they should escape to Egypt or remain in the land, he gave them God’s clear-cut, non-negotiable answer. And they refused to accept it. They accused Jeremiah of lying. They insinuated that it was all part of a plot instigated by Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe. Reading this passage as somewhat objective, third-party observers, it is difficult to understand how these people could be so stubborn or so stupid. How could they refuse to accept the words that Jeremiah spoke as having come from God? What possible reason could he have to lie to them? And how in the world did they arrive at the conclusion that Baruch was somehow to blame?

It seems rather clear that Johanan and his companions in crime had never intended to do anything but run away to Egypt. They were looking for God’s blessing on their plan, not insight into what He would have them do. When they didn’t get the answer they were looking for from God, they accused Jeremiah of lying and Baruch of plotting. Their minds had been made up a long time ago. Staying in the land had never been a viable option for them. And I think they knew in their hearts all along that God was going to tell them to do just that.

It would appear that there were other factors going on here. Their decision to go to Egypt was impacted and influenced by some personal factors that carried significant weight for Joahana and Azariah. They must have believed that this move to Egypt was going to have a particularly positive influence on them personally. Perhaps they believed that the Pharoah, who had not love affair with Babylon, would welcome them with open arms and reward them for bringing additional forces to use in his campaign against King Nebuchadnezzar. After all, Azariah was a guerilla leader who had troops under his command. Johanan may have been planning to auction off all the people he was taking with him once he got to Egypt. There had to be other factors involved in their decision-making process. And, inevitably, when anyone rebels against God’s revealed will, it is motivated by selfishness and pride. Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptations of the serpent and ate the fruit of the tree denied to them by God, because they desired to be like God. Absalom, the son of King David, staged a successful coup against his own father, because he desired to be king – even though it was not the will of God. He had been driven by pride, anger, and a lust for power. And he had been willing to depose the prophet-anointed, God-appointed king of Israel to get what he wanted.

In the book of Isaiah, there is recorded a word from God spoken against the king of Babylon. But it is also believed to be a prophetic statement regarding the original fall of Satan after he had rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven.

“How you are fallen from heaven,
    O shining star, son of the morning!
You have been thrown down to the earth,
    you who destroyed the nations of the world.
For you said to yourself,
    ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.
I will preside on the mountain of the gods
    far away in the north.
I will climb to the highest heavens
    and be like the Most High.’” – Isaiah 14:12-14

The desire to play god had always been a problem for mankind, ever since the fall. The innate and inbred desire for autonomy and control has always plagued us. And we are perfectly content to listen to God as long as what He says complements our own decision-making. But should God tell us to do something we find distasteful or in direct opposition to our own will, we simply reject it as untrue or flat out refuse to obey. Pride is a powerful force. Autonomy is a seductive mistress, with the ability to dull our senses and cause us to turn away from the sovereign and holy will of God.

The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about this matter and provides ample warning regarding the need for wisdom and the fear of the Lord.

Wisdom will save you from evil people,
    from those whose words are twisted.
These men turn from the right way
    to walk down dark paths.
They take pleasure in doing wrong,
    and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.
Their actions are crooked,
    and their ways are wrong.

Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,
    from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.
She has abandoned her husband
    and ignores the covenant she made before God.
Entering her house leads to death;
    it is the road to the grave.
The man who visits her is doomed.
    He will never reach the paths of life.

So follow the steps of the good,
    and stay on the paths of the righteous.
For only the godly will live in the land,
    and those with integrity will remain in it.
But the wicked will be removed from the land,
    and the treacherous will be uprooted. – Proverbs 2:12-22 NLT

Notice all the references to paths, steps, the right way and the wrong way. Johanan and his companions have been given the right way – the godly, righteous way. Jeremiah had told them exactly what God would have them do. But they were going to walk down the wrong path, the dark path. And in doing so, they would step out from under God’s gracious provision and protection. They would reject His wisdom and turn to their own sin-dominated wills for direction. And this section of chapter 43 ends with the sobering and prescient-filled statement:

The people refused to obey the voice of the Lord and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes. – Jeremiah 43:7 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The Yellow Brick Road of Disobedience.

At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Then he summoned Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.

“For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says, 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 in anything that he sent me to tell you. Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.” – Jeremiah 42:7-22 ESV

Johanan and the people had asked Jeremiah to seek the will of God concerning whether they should stay in Judah and face the wrath of King Nebuchadnezzar over the murder of the man he had appointed as governor, or should they hightail it to Egypt. They had assured the prophet that they would do whatever God told them to do. So, ten days later, Jeremiah came back with the new from God. And it is not what they had been expecting or desiring to hear. He let them know, in no uncertain terms, that God wanted them to stay right where they were, and God communicates His message with two if-then conditional statements. The first described what would happen if they obeyed His will and stayed in the land.

“If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you.” – Jeremiah 42:10 ESV

Obedience would bring the blessing of God. Rather than punish them, He would protect them, even preventing the king of Babylon from seeking revenge against them. They would no longer have to fear Nebuchadnezzar. God Almighty would stand in the gap and act as a shield of protection for them. There was no need to run and seek shelter in Egypt, because they had God on their side. But God knew their hearts and so, He gave them the second scenario.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die.” – Jeremiah 42:15-16 ESV

They had a choice to make. They could obey God and live, or they could disobey God and take their chances in Egypt. But if they chose option B, they would discover that Egypt would make a lousy savior. Their problems would follow them there, because there is no escape from the wrath of God. It was King David who wrote:

Where can I go to escape your spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence?
If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be.
If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn,
and settle down on the other side of the sea,
even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,
and the light will turn to night all around me,”
even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,
and the night is as bright as day;
darkness and light are the same to you. – Psalm 139:7-12 NLT

Of course, David meant his words as a positive statement regarding God’s inescapable presence. He took comfort in the fact that there was no place where God was not present and His not all-pervasive. But for Johanan and the remnant of the people of Judah, they would find out that there was no escape from God judgment for disobedience. God had ordained the fall of Judah and He had chosen to use Nebuchadnezzar to do it. He had also told the people of Judah on numerous occasions, that it was His will that those who were left behind after the fall of Jerusalem were to stay in the land and remain under the submission of the Babylonians. What they didn’t realize was that God had a purpose behind His command. He intended the Babylonians to provide the remnant, in their weakened and vulnerable state, with protection from the mightiest nation on the planet. Their conquerors would become their defenders. But in order to enjoy that divinely ordained protection, the people of Judah would have to choose to remain under Babylonian rule. They would have to trust God and give up their desire to run from what they perceived as a threat on their lives.

But God knew what was going to happen, and He didn’t need His omniscience to come to that conclusion. He had seen this scenario played out time and time again with His people. He was well-acquainted with their hearts and their propensity to do things their own way. He even told them what they were probably thinking:

“We will not stay here; instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger.” – Jeremiah 42:13-14 NLT

Notice the rationale behind their decision. Freedom from war, the end of conscription of their young men for war, and no more hunger and starvation as a result of war. They viewed their escape to Egypt as a panacea for all their perceived problems. But the yellow brick path of disobedience never leads to the Emerald City. Choosing to disobey the will of God never ends well. It may seem appealing and, even logical, but it will always result in disappointment and disillusionment. Remember what happened to Johan when he refused to do what God commanded him to do? He was to take God’s offer of repentance to the people living in the city of Ninevah. But rather than obey God, Jonah chose to get on a boat and head in the opposite direction. And how did that work out for him? He ended up in a storm, getting thrown overboard, swallowed by a large fish, and thrown up on the beach. On top of all that, he ended up doing God’s will anyway. And what is fascinating about the story of Jonah is that the fish was actually the means of Jonah’s salvation, not a punishment from God. God sent the fish to keep Jonah from drowning, and Jonah reflects his awareness of this fact in his own words:

“You threw me into the deep waters,
into the middle of the sea;
the ocean current engulfed me;
all the mighty waves you sent swept over me.
I thought I had been banished from your sight,
that I would never again see your holy temple!
Water engulfed me up to my neck;
the deep ocean surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
I went down to the very bottoms of the mountains;
the gates of the netherworld barred me in forever;
but you brought me up from the Pit, O Lord, my God.” – Jonah 2:3-6 NLT

As Jonah sank into the depths of the sea, he called out to God to save him, and God sent the fish to do just that. The fish was his means of escape. Yes, he had to remain three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, but his life was spared. And, as a result, he was able to heed God’s second call to go to Ninevah and, this time, he went.

Johanan and the people of Judah had their answer from God. Now, the question was what they were going to do with it. How would they respond? Jeremiah seemed to already know, because he flatly told them:

“You said, ‘Just tell us what the Lord our God says, and we will do it!’ And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the Lord your God any better now than you have in the past. So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.” – Jeremiah 42:20-22 NLT

They weren’t going to listen. They were not going to obey. They had already made up their minds and had the maps and provisions for their journey to Egypt pre-prepared. They probably had their bags packed. And it wouldn’t be long before they were on their way, following the yellow brick road of disillusionment and false hope. This should bring to mind a warning God gave to the people of Judah earlier in this very same book.

This is what the LORD says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’” – Jeremiah 6:16 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Great Intentions, But…

Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant—because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.” Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the Lord your God sends you to us. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.” – Jeremiah 42:1-6 ESV

There had been a lot decisions being made among the remnant of the people of Judah who had been left in the land after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Gedaliah, the Babylonian-appointed governor, refused to heed the warning of Johanan about an assassination plot on his life. And he did not seek the counsel of God or even of Jeremiah, God’s prophet. In fact, ever since Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah and left him in charge, Jeremiah is suspiciously nowhere to be seen. His name isn’t even mentioned in all of chapter 41. Yet, he had been placed under Gedaliah’s care.

Then there was the decision of Ishmael, a member of the family of King David, who decided to side with the King of Ammon and played a personal role in the assassination of Gedaliah. Once again, there is no indication that he sought the will of God in making this fateful decision. He and the King of Ammon had plans and they obviously felt no need to consult with God or seek His approval.

Then, there was Johanan’s decision to pursue Ishmael and take revenge for his murder of Gedaliah. Johanan was able to rescue the people who had been captured by Ishmael and free them, but Ishmael himself escaped. And there is every indication that Johanan had plans to seek asylum in Egypt in order to escape what he knew would be the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar for the death on Gedaliah.

Then Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders took all the people they had rescued in Gibeon—the soldiers, women, children, and court officials whom Ishmael had captured after he killed Gedaliah. They took them all to the village of Geruth-kimham near Bethlehem, where they prepared to leave for Egypt. They were afraid of what the Babylonians would do when they heard that Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the Babylonian king. – Jeremiah 41:16-18 NLT

But now, as chapter 42 opens, Johanan, the people and all the military leaders who had been able to escape during the fall of Jerusalem, approach Jeremiah and ask Him to pray on their behalf.

“Please pray to the Lord your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before. Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.” – Jeremiah 42:2-3 NLT

This request sounds extremely spiritual. They are asking the prophet of God to approach Yahweh on their behalf and seek to discover what His will might be for them. They know they are in a dangerous predicament. Even though it was Ishmael, in a plot with the king of Ammon, who murdered Gedaliah, the Babylonians are not going to launch a lengthy investigation to determine culpability and hand out punishment. They will see this as a rebellion against their authority and move to suppress it. The Babylonians were not known for their diplomacy or their patience with those who refused to submit to their rule. So, Johanan and his companions were legitimately concerned that the actions of Ishmael were going to bring down the wrath of King Nebuchadnezzar on their heads. And they come to Jeremiah indicating that they want to know what God would have them do.  Jeremiah agrees to their request and promises to seek the will of God, assuring them that he will tell them everything that God tells him, holding nothing back. And they respond:

“May the Lord your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do! Whether we like it or not, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.” – Jeremiah 42:5-6 NLT

You can almost sense what is about to happen, can’t you? If you know anything about the history of the people of Israel, this entire passage should create a sense of déjà vu – a feeling that you have seen this before. Think back to the days when Moses presented to the people of Israel the laws and commands of God in the wilderness. When he had told them what God expected of them, they had responded: “We will do everything the Lord has commanded” (Exodus 24:3 NLT).

Fast-forward to the days when Joshua was leading the people in their conquering of the land of Canaan, promised to them by God. He told the people:

“So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone.” – Joshua 24:14 NLT

He warned them what God would do if they failed to remain faithful and obedient to God.

“You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.” – Joshua 24:19-20 NLT

But they still responded:

“No, we will serve the Lord!” – Joshua 24:21 NLT

“We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone.” – Joshua 24:24 NLT

There are other occasions recorded in Scripture where the people of God made unwavering promises to remain faithful to God and do what He told them to do. There are examples of individuals who pledged to do what God commanded, but who failed to keep their word. It is an ongoing, repetitive scenario found throughout the Old Testament. So, it is easy to read verses 1-6 of Jeremiah 42 and have some serious doubts whether Johanan and the people are really going to keep their promise to do whatever God tells them. There is a track record established that indicates that, unless God tells them what they want to hear, they are going to do what they want to do. Their collective will is going to overshadow the will of God.

What jumps out at me is the manner in which the people of God have always had a tendency to pray to Him wanting nothing more than for Him to rubber stamp their plans. And we must include ourselves as guilty regarding this same offense. How many times do we go to God, desiring Him to give us His blessing on decisions we have already made? We seek His approval of our plans. We want Him to validate and approve of our agenda, not reveal to us His own.

Back in chapter 37 of Jeremiah, there is the story of King Zedekiah seeking out Jeremiah and asking him to pray to God on behalf of the people.

“Please pray to the Lord our God for us.” – Jeremiah 37:3 NLT

But that request is prefaced by the statement:

But neither King Zedekiah nor his attendants nor the people who were left in the land listened to what the Lord said through Jeremiah. – Jeremiah 37:2 NLT

The king and the people had not yet listened to one thing the prophet had said to them, in spite of the fact that he had been speaking on behalf of God. So, why would his request to have Jeremiah pray to God on their behalf indicate that he was suddenly ready to do whatever it was that God said? Asking to know God’s will is pointless if you have no intention of following it. Desiring to know what God would have you do means nothing if you have already determined your next step. When we discover that God’s will for us is not what we expected or desired, our natural inclination is to follow our own desires and implement our own plans. And the people of Judah had a long record of doing just that. So, it is easy to assume that what is going to happen in the next verses is going to follow the established pattern. Jeremiah will seek the will of God. He will share it with Johanan and the others. They they will do what they have already determined to do.

Warren Wiersbe writes: “Sometimes God’s people take this false approach in discerning the will of God. Instead of honestly seeking God’s will, they go from counselor to counselor, asking for advice and hoping they’ll find somebody who will agree with their hidden agenda.”

Sad, but true. And we will see how the people of God react to hearing the will of God. What will they do? Will they listen to what God has to say? Will they do what He tells them to do, even if it seems to make no sense and contradicts their own plans? Seeking the will of God has no inherent value if you never intend to obey the will of God. Asking God to bless your plans and approve of your will is nothing more than asking God to do your bidding. It is treating God like a Genie in a bottle, granting you your three wishes and making your dreams come true. But that is not the God of the Bible.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Planning Without God Results in Godless Outcomes.

But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at the great pool that is in Gibeon. And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from Gibeon. And they went and stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. – Jeremiah 41:11-18 ESV

If you recall, at the close of chapter 40, there was an encounter between Gedaliah, the newly appointed governor of Judah and Johanan son of Kareah. Johanan and some other military leaders had come to warn Gedaliah of a plot on his life.

“Did you know that Baalis, king of Ammon, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to assassinate you?” But Gedaliah refused to believe them. – Jeremiah 40:14 NLT

Johanan warned and Gedaliah ignored. And within days, Gedaliah was dead, murdered by Ishmael. But Johanan, rather than simply walk away with an I-told-you-so attitude, decides to avenge the death of Gedaliah and rescue all those Ishmael had taken captive. Johanan and his troops catch up to Ishmael at a watering spot near the town of Gibeon. We’re not told why Ishmael took this route, and it was not exactly a direct route to Ammon, where he was headed. But regardless of his motivation, Ishmael’s plans took him to Gibeon, where Johanah and his troops surprised them. Immediately, the people who had been taken captive by Ishmael turn on him and begin fighting alongside Johanan and his men. In the midst of all the chaos, Ishmael and eight of his men escape. But Johanan sets the captives free and takes them with him “to the village of Geruth-kimham near Bethlehem, where they prepared to leave for Egypt” (Jeremiah 41:17 NLT).

This last statement is significant. Johanan had already made plans for he and his troops to escape to Egypt. And now, he decides to have the recently rescued citizens of Mizpah join them. But where did he get this idea from? Why had he determined to make his way to Egypt? It would seem that he feared what King Nebuchadnezzar would do when he found out that the governor he had appointed over Judah had been murdered, along with some Babylonian soldiers. Johanan knew that the king of Babylon was not going to look kindly on this act of abject rebellion against his authority. So, rather than wait around to see what Nebuchadnezzar might do, Johanan decided to seek refuge from Egypt, a supposed ally of Judah. But notice what is missing. There is no indication that Johanan received a word from God to go to Egypt. This does not appear to be a divinely ordained plan. And any plan that lacks God’s blessing is ultimately doomed to failure.

This brings to mind another journey to Egypt made by Abraham and his wife, Sarah. There little trip was due to a famine in the land of Canaan. Abraham made the call to leave Canaan and journey to Egypt where they might find food and water. But again, there is no indication that God had given His blessing on this trip. And it ended up with Sarah nearly being guilty of have adultery with the the Pharaoh. It was only because God struck Pharaoh and his household with disease that this whole affair didn’t end up being a total disaster. Pharaoh discovered that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and angrily confronted Abraham for deceiving him. But rather than kill Abraham, he returns his wife to him and expels them from Egypt.

What about David? Do you recall the time he was attempting to escape from King Saul and decided to escape to Gath? This whole story has a what-were-you-thinking aspect to it. Gath was the hometown of Goliath, the great warrior who David had killed. And to top it all off, David had stopped at the city of Nob to get food and provisions. While there, he had taken the sword of Goliath that was stored there for safe keeping. This was the very same sword David had used to cut off the head of Goliath. So, David, the killer of the Philistine champion, shows up in Goliath's hometown, wearing Goliath’s sword on his belt. And the Philistines can’t believe their eyes. The Philistine military commanders are highly suspicious.

But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing,

‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” – 1 Samuel 21:11 NLT

Waking up to his senses, David immediately realized the stupidity of his decision and came up with the desperate idea to feign insanity – literally.

David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.” – 1 Samuel 21:12-13 NLT

It worked. They let David go. But his trip almost cost him his life. And his stop in Nob would end up resulting in the deaths of the priests who lived there. When King Saul caught wind that they had assisted David in his escape he had them slaughtered.

So Doeg the Edomite turned on them and killed them that day, eighty-five priests in all, still wearing their priestly garments. Then he went to Nob, the town of the priests, and killed the priests’ families—men and women, children and babies—and all the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. – 1 Samuel 22:18-19 NLT

None of this had been God’s plan. He had never sanctioned this little trip to Gath with a side stop in Nob. And because it was out of His will, it ended up resulting in needless suffering and death.

So, here we have Johanan leading a group of people to Egypt. He has not received a direct word from God. He has not heard anything from the prophet of God. It appears that he made his decision based on nothing more than fear and human reason – the very same motivating factors behind Abraham’s trip to Egypt and David’s journey to Gath. Making plans apart from God’s will can be life-threatening; not just to us, but to all those around us. But we all have a nasty way of coming up with our own Egypts and Gaths. We find ourselves in trouble and then start looking for somewhere to run or hide. We look for a way out, a way of escape. But unless that way comes from the Lord, it will always end up creating problems, not solving them. Now, you might say that Abraham ended up leaving Egypt loaded with gifts from Pharaoh. The passage in Genesis clearly states:

So Abram’s wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh, and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. – Genesis 12:15-16 NLT

And when Abraham left Egypt, it clearly tells us:

Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions. – Genesis 12:20 NLT

Abraham left wealthier than he had arrived. And the very next chapter reinforces this idea.

So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. (Now Abram was very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold.)…

Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. But the land could not support them while they were living side by side. Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live alongside one another. So there were quarrels between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. – Genesis 13:1-2, 5-7 NLT

What appears to be good fortune as a result of his non-God-sanctioned trip to Egypt, turned out to be nothing but a headache over time. The “blessings” he got for heading to Egypt without God’s approval would prove to be curses. His abundance of flocks led to disunity between he and his nephew Lot. And when he gave Lot the first choice of land to occupy so they could part ways, Lot took the best land. Then, before long, Lot ended up moving to Sodom. And, eventually, Abraham would be forced to rescue Lot when he was captured along with the other citizens of Sodom. All because Abraham had gone to Egypt, lied to Pharaoh, and received an extravagant dowry from Pharaoh so he could have Sarah as his wife. Our best plans apart from God’s blessing and direction are futile and will prove fruitless. And Johanan’s plan would prove to be no less so.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Resisting God’s Will.

In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.

On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samaria, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.

Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with Gedaliah was the large cistern that King Asa had made for defense against Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites. – Jeremiah 41:1-10 ESV

To full comprehend what is going on in this passage, we have to take a look back at an earlier part of the book where God had Jeremiah deliver a message to King Zedekiah. This was the occasion when God had commanded Jeremiah to make a yoke of wood and leather, put it around his neck and then prophesy the following words to the king:

“I made the earth and the people and animals on it by my mighty power and great strength, and I give it to whomever I see fit. I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power of my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. All nations must serve him and his son and grandson until the time comes for his own nation to fall.” – Jeremiah27:5-7 NLT

The presence of Nebuchadnezzar and his troops in Judah was by the decree of God. This wasn’t a case of happenstance or even the result of decision made by Nebuchadnezzar himself. Yes, he obviously had to issue the orders to invade Judah, but it was under the sovereign will and by the decree of God Almighty.

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. – Proverbs 16:9 NLT

The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases. – Proverbs 21:1 NLT

What Ishmael failed to realize was that Gedaliah’s role as the governor of Judah was part of God’s foreordained plan. He mistakenly saw the fall of Jerusalem and the deportation of King Zedekiah to Babylon as an opportunity to seize the throne. As a member of King David’s family, he saw himself as a legitimate heir with every right to be king. But what he overlooked was that God had a plan for Judah and even the king of Babylon was being used by God to accomplish that plan. So, in essence, Gedaliah was God’s choice to rule over Judah after the fall of Jerusalem. And yet, Ishmael had other plans. He had no interest in what God might be trying to do. He saw an opportunity and he seized it – even if it meant committing murder and violating the will of God to do it.

It is important to note that Ishmael is clearly presented as a descendant of David. He is referred to in the passage as “Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family” (Jeremiah 41:1 ESV). Elishama’s name is found in the list of the sons born to David.

And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David. And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. – 2 Samuel 5:13-15 ESV

Why that is important is because it provides a stark contrast between Ishmael and his ancestor, David. If you recall, after David had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel, hand-picked by God to replace King Saul, he ended up spending several years of his life running from Saul. God had arranged for David to be anointed, but His plan did not include David’s immediate ascension to the throne. Saul remained king. And he greatly feared David and did everything in his power to see that he be eliminated. And on two separate occasions, David had the opportunity to take Saul’s life, but he refused. On the first occasion, Saul happened to walk into a cave where David and his men were hiding. When David’s men encouraged him to take advantage of the opportunity to kill Saul and take his throne, David responded:

“May the Lord keep me far away from doing such a thing to my lord, who is the Lord’s chosen one, by extending my hand against him. After all, he is the Lord’s chosen one.” – 1 Samuel 24:6 ESV

On the second occasion, David and one of his men made their way into the camp of King Saul and his troops as they slept. They were able to make it unnoticed right to the place where the king slept. Abishai, David’s companion, offered to kill Saul on the spot, but David once again responded:

“Don’t kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord’s chosen one and remain guiltless?” – 1 Samuel 26:9 NLT

David was unwilling to take Saul’s life because he had not been given permission to do so. He recognized that, until God chose to remove Saul, he would remain the king of Israel, and as a result, David was obligated to honor him as such.

David went on to say, “As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be swept away. But may the Lord prevent me from extending my hand against the Lord’s chosen one!” – 1 Samuel 26:10

Now, compare the actions of David with those of his descendant, Ishmael. Gedaliah had been appointed the governor of Judah by the king of Babylon. But the king of Babylon, according to God Himself, was under His direct orders. And yet, Ishmael didn’t seem to care. Unlike his ancestor, Ishmael had no problem raising his hand against the Lord’s anointed. With careful planning and premeditation, he murdered Gedaliah. Not only that, “Ishmael also killed all the Judeans and the Babylonian soldiers who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah” (Jeremiah 41:3 NLT).

We know that Ishmael was operating under the influence and direction of the King of Ammon. He was taking his cues from an enemy of Judah rather than seeking what the Lord would have him do. There is little doubt that Baalis, the Ammonite king, had no love for the Babylonians. In fact, on that occasion when Jeremiah had been commanded by God to make and wear the yoke, he was also commanded to deliver his message to the king of Ammon regarding God’s plan to use Nebuchadnezzar as His tool of punishment.

“Make a yoke out of leather straps and wooden crossbars and put it on your neck. Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send them through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. Charge them to give their masters a message from me.” – Jeremiah 27:2-4 NLT

But Baalis and Ishmael didn’t care what God had to say. They didn’t approve of God’s plan and weren’t willing to submit to God’s appointed leader. Perhaps Baalis believed that if he could stir up trouble in Judah by having the Babylonian-appointed governor murdered, it would force Nebuchadnezzar to concentrate all his efforts and resources in Judah and leave the land of Ammon alone. But whatever his motivation, he was clearly violating the will of God. And the murdering rampage of Ishmael would continue, filling a cistern with the bodies of the slain.

Don’t overlook the significance of Ismael’s choice to throw the bodies of the dead into a cistern. Normally designed to provide life-sustaining water for the people of the city, this cistern was re-purposed by Ishmael to hold the lifeless bodies of those he had slain. Their corpses would end up polluting the water, making the cistern a place of death rather than life. This should bring to mind a stinging indictment from God, delivered earlier in the book of Jeremiah.

"For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me--the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” – Jeremiah 2:13 NLT

Opposing God’s will brings death, not life. Refusing to submit to His divine plan for our lives will never result in an improved outcome. Ishmael would learn the hard way that God’s way is always the best way.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

A Tad Too Trusting.

When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.

Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.” – Jeremiah 40:7-16 ESV

The Babylonians came, conquered, and captured. Then they left a rag-tag remnant of Jewish people under the leadership of a guy named Gedaliah. The capital city of Jerusalem was in a shambles. The temple had been destroyed. All the gold, silver, and anything of value had been looted and hauled off as booty by the Babylonians. The entire territory surrounding Jerusalem had been equally devastated by the lingering presence of the Babylonians as they laid siege to the city and plundered their way around Judah. 

Jeremiah had been placed under the care of Gedaliah by the royal representative of King Nebuchadnezzar. And Gedaliah had been given the responsibility to manage the remaining citizens of Judah, answering directly to the king of Babylon. As the governor over what was left of Judah, Gedaliah had a huge task ahead of him. It seems that the Babylonians never occupied Judah or attempted to colonize it. They took what they wanted and left. It was going to be up to Gedaliah to manage the chaos and confusion that remained. And it quickly becomes apparent that there were a lot of rebel or guerilla groups who had fled from the Babylonians and had managed to hide until they were gone. Now, they came out of the woodwork. Once they heard the Babylonians had left Judah, they made their way to see what Gedaliah was going to do. Would he provide leadership to this disparate groups and begin the process of restoring the former glory of the nation of Judah? When these various militias arrived, Gedaliah gave them some advice, and it was probably not what they wanted to hear.

Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonians meant them no harm. “Don’t be afraid to serve them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,” he promised. “As for me, I will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to meet with us. Settle in the towns you have taken, and live off the land. Harvest the grapes and summer fruits and olives, and store them away.” – Jeremiah 40:9-10 NLT

What? Serve the Babylonians? Plant crops? Occupy the cities? Live off the land? What kind of leadership was this? And then when the common people, who had fled to the nearby lands of Moab, Ammon, and Edom heard the Gedaliah was the new governor, they made a beeline to see what he was going to do to rebuild their once-great land. At best, things were highly unstable. At worst, they were dangerously volatile. Any time a leadership vacuum exists, there will always be a variety of individuals who feel the need to fill the void with their own presence. Gedaliah may have been appointed governor by the king of Babylon, but that wasn’t going to ensure him a long-term, problem-free reign. Almost immediately, he finds out about a plot against his life.

Soon after this, Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They said to him, “Did you know that Baalis, king of Ammon, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to assassinate you?” – Jeremiah 40:13-14 NLT

That didn’t take long. The king of Ammon decided to take advantage of all the instability in Judah and conspire with another Judean prince to have Gedaliah murdered. But Gedaliah is un-phased by the news. He refuses to believe it’s even true. So, Johanan scheduled a private meeting with Gedaliah and offered to take care of Ishmael himself. He would be happy to eliminate the threat in order to maintain some semblance of peace and calm in the nation. But, once again, Gedaliah refuses to believe that Ishmael was really out to kill him and chooses to do nothing.

What makes Gedaliah’s refusal to take this threat seriously is that Ishmael was a descendant of David and a legitimate contender for the throne of David. He had also been an official in the administration of King Zedekiah before his ignominious fall. So, there was probably some truth to the rumor regarding Ammon’s plans for Gedaliah’s assassination. What is conspicuously missing in this story is the name of Jeremiah. The prophet had been placed in the care of Gedaliah and, yet, Gedaliah never thinks to consult the man of God regarding this matter. He doesn’t ask Jeremiah to consult with God on his behalf. He simply refuses to believe that the rumors about Ishmael were true and does nothing. And his decision would be proved dead wrong.

At this point in the history of Judah, the only person Gedaliah should have trusted was the prophet of God, whose every word of prophecy had come true. Gedaliah should have sought out the man of God in order to get wisdom and direction from God. But he went with his gut. He trusted his instincts. He wanted to give Ishmael the benefit of the doubt and trust his fellow man. And he would learn an invaluable and costly lesson about human nature.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

He Lived Among the People.

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, “Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he lived among the people.

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’”

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, “The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. Now, behold, I release you today from the chains on your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. If you remain, then return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land. – Jeremiah 39:11-40:6 ESV

For nearly two decades, Jeremiah had lived as an outcast among his own people. He was greatly disliked by the people, hated by the king and his officials, and treated like a social pariah. He had been given the unenviable task of speaking as God’s prophet, delivering His call to repentance and warnings of pending judgment. Little, if anything, Jeremiah had to say to the people was well-received. They despised his constant calls to repent. He was a like corporate conscience, convicting the people of their rebellion against God and reminding them of their need to return to Him in humility. But that is not something they wanted to do. And being reminded of their sins day in and day out was not something they particularly enjoyed. Jeremiah got on their nerves. He caused them to feel guilty over all their guilty pleasures. They wished him nothing but ill will. They had even demanded that he be put to death. Even the king had given permission to have Jeremiah thrown in an empty cistern or well, where he would die a slow, agonizing death. But God had rescued Jeremiah and it had been Zedekiah, the king, who was forced to watch his sons killed right in front of him and then had his eyes gouged out.

But Jeremiah, the social outcast, was to enjoy a different outcome to this story. When the Babylonians finally invaded Jerusalem, ransacking, pillaging and taking thousands of its citizens captive, Jeremiah was treated with dignity and respect. The Babylonian officials released him from his confinement in the court of the guard, where King Zedekiah had left him. Jeremiah was placed in the custody of Gedaliah. This man is carefully described as “son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan” (Jeremiah 39:14 NLT). This designation is important, because Anikam was the official in the court of Jehoiakim the king, who had spoken up for Jeremiah after he had been accused of being a false prophet. He had played a major role in helping to spare Jeremiah’s life. And Shaphan, Gedaliah’s grandfather, was the official who had brought to the attention of King Josiah the discovery of the book of the law. This had led to Josiah instituting reforms in Judah, attempting to call the people back to the worship of Yahweh alone. This family would continue to play a significant part in Jeremiah’s life and God would reward them for their efforts on the prophet’s behalf, with Gedaliah eventually being made the governor of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar.

God’s hand was on Jeremiah. He had been faithful to God, delivering the words given to him by God and standing up to the forces aligned against him. Now, God was going to reward Jeremiah for his efforts. When he found himself in chains along with the others who had been selected to be taken as captives to Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, delivered a surprising message to Jeremiah. 

“The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land, just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him. That is why it happened. But I am going to take off your chains and let you go. If you want to come with me to Babylon, you are welcome. I will see that you are well cared for. But if you don’t want to come, you may stay here. The whole land is before you—go wherever you like. If you decide to stay, then return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. He has been appointed governor of Judah by the king of Babylon. Stay there with the people he rules. But it’s up to you; go wherever you like.” – Jeremiah 40:2-5 NLT

It’s important to keep in mind that this is a pagan from the court of the king of Babylon. He was not a worshiper of Yahweh and yet, he knew that the fall of Judah had been the work of God. He knew that it had been God who had brought disaster upon the people of Judah and he also knew why. Because they had disobeyed God. This pagan, who had his own gods he worshiped and revered, was well aware that the fall of Judah was because they had been unfaithful to their God. And recognizing Jeremiah as a prophet, he offered him a choice of either returning with him to Babylon or remaining in the land of Judah. Jeremiah was being offered a chance to escape the destruction and devastation of Judah and return to Babylon where Nebuzaradan promised to care for him, or he could remain in Judah under the care of Gedaliah. It was up to him. But before Jeremiah could make his decision, Nebuzaradan made it for him, encouraging him to remain in Judah. Then he “gave Jeremiah some food and money and let him go” (Jeremiah 40:5 NLT).

It is interesting to note that Jeremiah was treated with dignity and respect by the conquering armies of Babylon. And in the midst of this section of the story, we are given a glimpse into Jeremiah’s treatment of Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, who had rescued Jeremiah out of the cistern. While Jeremiah had still been confined to the court of the guard, God had given him a message concerning Ebed-melech.

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction, but I will rescue you from those you fear so much. Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken!’” – Jeremiah 39:16-18 NLT

God was taking care of His own. He protected Gedaliah because of his family’s treatment of Jeremiah. He rewarded Ebed-melech for risking his life to plead for the release of Jeremiah. And He gave Jeremiah his freedom by speaking through a royal official of the Babylonian court. While Jerusalem smoldered and thousands of its citizens were being led away in chains, God was sparing a remnant. Jeremiah, Gedeliah, and Ebed-melech would join “the few who were still left in the land” (Jeremiah 40:6 NLT). They would remain behind, while the rest of their fellow citizens were deported to Babylon. Jeremiah would live among the people. Why? Because his job was not yet done. He still had work to do.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

You Can Run, But You Can't Hide.

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and he passed sentence on him. The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. The Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. – Jeremiah 38:21-28 ESV

Payday had come. All that Jeremiah had been prophesying about the last two decades came to fruition. God’s words became Zedekiah’s worst nightmare. The city of Jerusalem fell and all its citizens, officials and royal ruler, experienced the fate that God had in store for them.And Zedekiah, true to form, did what any leader lacking in moral fortitude would do, he tried to escape. As his royal capital and its citizens are being slaughtered or captured as slaves, Zedekiah and his troops attempt to escape under the cover of night through the palace gardens. But their little plan failed, because they were seen, followed and captured. Up until the very last minute, Zedekiah was doing everything in his power to get our from under God’s sovereign decree concerning his fate. God had told him that if he surrendered to the Babylonians, all would go well with him.

“If you surrender to the Babylonian officers, you and your family will live, and the city will not be burned down.” – Jeremiah 38:17 NLT

Zedekiah had been given a choice and a chance to make it. He had been fairly warned by God – on multiple occasions. He was clearly told what would happen if he refused to surrender.

“But if you refuse to surrender, you will not escape! This city will be handed over to the Babylonians, and they will burn it to the ground.” – Jeremiah 38:18 NLT

So, what does King Zedekiah attempt to do? Escape. And in doing so, he directly violated the command of God – yet again. He should have considered the words of one of his esteemed predecessors, King David. It was he who had learned a valuable lesson regarding God’s sovereign power and omnipresence, and wrote:

I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
    but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you. – Psalm 139:7-12 NLT

Zedekiah could run, but he would find it impossible to run from God’s will concerning his life. The old adage,: “He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day” sounds logical and reasonable, except when it violates the expressed will of God. Zedekiah was going to learn the hard way that attempting to escape God’s ordained will was more difficult than trying to escape the omnipresent Babylonians.

Zedekiah was captured, bound in chains and taken to the ancient city of Riblah, where King Nebuchadnezzar had some sort of headquarters established. It would seem that the victory over Jerusalem was so assured, the Nebuchadnezzar had not even been there for its eventual fall. So, Zedekiah, his family and royal officials were brought before the king of Babylon. And we’re told, “There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah” (Jeremiah 39:5 NLT). Judgment day had come for King Zedekiah. He would be judged by a pagan king, but Nebuchadnezzar was actually acting as a vassal for God. Earlier in the book of Jeremiah, God referred to Nebuchadnezzar as his servant.

Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. – Jeremiah 25:8-9 ESV

Later on, after the fall of Jerusalem, the remnant of the Jews left in Judah, will attempt to escape from the deplorable conditions in Judah by running to Egypt. This would be in direct violation of God’s commands. So, once again, God will warn them through His prophet, Jeremiah, that He will use His servant, Nebucadnezzar to punish them.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. – Jeremiah 43:10-11 ESV

It seems that those who refuse to obey God’s commands are always the first to try and escape the consequences. As sinful human beings, the only thing more distasteful to us than obeying the will of God is having to suffer the consequences for failing to do so. We stubbornly hold on to the belief that we are free to do what we want. And, in a way, we are. But we are not free to escape the judgment that comes with disobedience to the will of God. Zedekiah could refuse to surrender, but he could not refuse to suffer the judgment of God for doing so. And that judgment would come at the hands of a pagan king, whose concept of judgment would be brutal and blunt. It is important to keep in mind that Zedekiah had been placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar. He owed his royal position and the power and wealth that came with it to this foreign king. He was a vassal, a servant to King Nebuchadnezzar. But from day one, Zedekiah had chosen to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, refusing to submit to his sovereignty over him. And this was nothing more than a sign of Zedekiah’s refusal to submit to God. Nebuchadnezzar was a servant of God. And now, God’s servant was going to mete out God’s judgment.

The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons at Riblah. The king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains to lead him away to Babylon. – Jeremiah 39:6-7 NLT

All did not go well for Zedekiah, because Zedekiah did not serve God well. He had been rebellious, disobedient, impulsive, headstrong and, more than anything else, unbelieving. He had not trusted God that His way was best. He did not believe that God was serious and would do what He had promised. The author of the book of Hebrews provides us with some serious words of warning concerning the sin of unbelief.

That is why the Holy Spirit says,

“Today when you hear his voice,
    don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled,
    when they tested me in the wilderness.
There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
    even though they saw my miracles for forty years.
So I was angry with them, and I said,
‘Their hearts always turn away from me.
    They refuse to do what I tell them.’
So in my anger I took an oath:
    ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. – Hebrews 3:7-12 NLT

Zedekiah had turned away from the living God. He had refused to believe His words or heed His warnings. And he would suffer a fate worse than death: Having to watch as his sons were slaughtered before his eyes and then having his eyes gouged out. And while all of this was going on in Riblah, the city of Jerusalem was being sacked and burned. Its citizens were rounded up and taken captive. The king’s palace and the temple of God were plundered and destroyed. The walls of the city were torn down. And the once mighty city of Jerusalem was left in a state of total devastation.

But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in the land of Judah, and he assigned them to care for the vineyards and fields. – Jeremiah 39:10 NLT

What a sad statement. It provides us with a stark reminder of just how devastating the fall of Judah had been. There was no one left in the nation but the poorest of the poor. Nebuchadnezzar left behind a skeleton population to maintain the fields and vineyards, but took all the rest as his captives to Babylon. The entire nation of Judah had spent decades trying to run from God, but now they knew that they couldn’t hide. They could not escape His presence or His judgment. Payday had come. The due date on their debt to God had finally arrived. And they would pay with their lives. But the saddest thing about this whole story is that if the people of Judah had chosen to run to God, instead of away from Him, they could have avoided all of this. If they had repented instead of rebelling, they would have experienced His blessing. And the apostle Paul reminds us:

These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. – 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

Stuck in the Mud.

But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

“‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
    and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
    they turn away from you.’

All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”

Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’ then you shall say to them, ‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken. – Jeremiah 38:21-28 ESV

Jeremiah had been released from the cistern and been brought before the king. Zedekiah had planned to pose a question to Jeremiah, but before he could do so, the prophet had delivered the very same message that had gotten him thrown in the cistern to begin with.

“This is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the Babylonian officers, you and your family will live, and the city will not be burned down. But if you refuse to surrender, you will not escape! This city will be handed over to the Babylonians, and they will burn it to the ground.’”  – Jeremiah 38:17-18 NLT

It wasn’t what the king wanted to hear. And he told Jeremiah that his greatest fear was that, if he surrendered to the Babylonians, they would turn him over to the people of Judah who had already surrendered. He feared revenge. But Jeremiah assured him that this would not happen.

“You won’t be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord. Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you.” – Jeremiah 38:20 NLT

“All will go well with you.” That was the message the prophet gave to the king. But the condition was that Zedekiah had to surrender. He had to submit to God by surrendering to the king of Babylon. He had to humble himself and trust that God’s way was the best way. As bad as it may have appeared at face value, God’s command to give up was going to be the best way in the long run. And we know that, because we have recorded for us what happened to Zedekiah because he refused to do it God’s way.

When King Zedekiah and all the soldiers saw that the Babylonians had broken into the city, they fled. They waited for nightfall and then slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.

But the Babylonian troops chased the king and caught him on the plains of Jericho. They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. He made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons and all the nobles of Judah. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. – Jeremiah 39:4-7 NLT

Zedekiah would choose to do it his way, rather than God’s, and he would suffer the consequences. Rather than thing going well for him, he would have to watch his sons killed right before his eyes, then suffer the agony of having his eyes gouged out. So, the last thing he would ever remember seeing was the murder of his sons. And what makes this story that much more sad and pathetic, is that Zedekiah had been given a chance. He had been warned by God and told exactly what to do. Jeremiah had shared a vision he had been given by God.

“But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: All the women left in your palace will be brought out and given to the officers of the Babylonian army. Then the women will taunt you, saying,

‘What fine friends you have!
    They have betrayed and misled you.
When your feet sank in the mud,
    they left you to your fate!’” – Jeremiah 38:21-22 NLT

Jeremiah tells Zedekiah that his wives and concubines will become the property of King Nebuchadnezzar, and they will curse Zedekiah for failing to protect them. And notice their words: “When your feet sank in the mud…” (Jeremiah 38:22). The tables will be turned. Zedekiah had given permission for Jeremiah to be thrown in the empty cistern, where his feet had sunk into the mud. This had been the attempt by men to stifle the word of God by killing the prophet of God. But now, God reveals to Zedekiah that it is he who will find himself sunk in the mud, and unable to escape. His aspirations for greatness will become mired and permanently stalled by God’s sovereign decree. Zedekiah will watch as his wives and children are led away and his capital is burned to the ground. Then, as the very next chapter records, he will be forced to witness the death of his sons, ending any hope of a future dynasty. Then his eyes will be gouged out.

After hearing these words from Jeremiah, the king commanded him to tell no one, on the threat of death. If the court officials should approach Jeremiah and ask what he and the king discussed, Zedekiah instructed him to say that he was begging not to be returned to the cistern. And when Jeremiah was eventually confronted by the court officials, he told them exactly what the king had instructed him to say. Jeremiah would remain a prisoner in the court of the guard until the bitter end. But he was free from the mud of the cistern. God had spared him from dying of starvation at the bottom of a well. And he would live to survive the devastation that was coming. But Zedekiah, the king, would live to regret the day that he refused to listen to the word of God. His stubborn refusal to do things his way, rather than God’s, was going to haunt him the rest of the days of his life.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

Life or Death.

When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate—Ebed-melech went from the king’s house and said to the king, “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the Lord lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared.” – Jeremiah 38:7-20 ESV

Jeremiah is sunk in the mud at the bottom of an empty cistern. He had been placed there by a group of officials from Zedekiah’s court who had become fed up with his constant calls for the people of Judah to surrender to the Babylonians or die. What is interesting in this story is the pathetic lack of leadership on the part of Zedekiah. When his court officials had shown up demanding that he do something about Jeremiah, he had simply responded, ““Do as you like. I can’t stop you” (Jeremiah 38:5 NLT). Now, another one of his court officials appears before him, pleading that he spare the life of Jeremiah, who will surely die if the king doesn’t intervene. Once again, Zedekiah responds, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies” (Jeremiah 38:9 NLT). It would seem that Zedekiah’s leadership abilities were directly effected by whoever was in his presence at the time. His decision to release Jeremiah was not because he had any kind of respect or love for the man. He simply didn’t know what to do. He was frustrated and scared. His capital was surrounded by Babylonian troops who had been laying siege to the city for years now. Yes, they had recently left in order to deal with the Egyptians, but they would be back. He knew this situation was far from over. And he also knew that Jeremiah was causing all kinds of trouble in the city because of his constant prophesying about the coming fall of Judah. Zedekiah was a man without a clue as to what to do. He just wanted it all to go away. He wanted Jeremiah to tell him some good news. So, once the prophet had been released, Zedekiah sent for him.

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. – Jeremiah 38:14 ESV

The specific reference to “the third entrance of the temple” was probably intended to convey that this was a secret meeting. Zedekiah didn’t want his other court officials to know he had released Jeremiah or that he was having a meeting with him. But once Jeremiah arrived, Zedekiah stated his intent:

“I want to ask you something,” the king said. “And don’t try to hide the truth.” – Jeremiah 38:14 NLT

I find this statement from the king a bit interesting. Since when had Jeremiah ever NOT told the truth or attempted to hide anything from the king? He wasn’t in the habit of sugarcoating anything and he wasn’t the kind of man who tended to hide the truth. So, Jeremiah responded, “If I tell you the truth, you will kill me. And if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me anyway” (Jeremiah 38:15 NLT). Jeremiah knew the king well. He was well aware that what Zedekiah wanted to hear from him was not the truth, but a message that painted the future of Judah and his kingdom in a positive light. He wanted good news. And Zedekiah made a promise to Jeremiah that he wouldn’t kill him or turn him back over to the court officials. He just needed answers and, preferably, positive ones. Jeremiah anticipated what it was that Zedekiah was going to ask him, so before the king could pose his question, he said:

“This is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the Babylonian officers, you and your family will live, and the city will not be burned down. But if you refuse to surrender, you will not escape! This city will be handed over to the Babylonians, and they will burn it to the ground.’” – Jeremiah 38:17-18 NLT

Same song, second verse. Actually, it was the first verse all over again. Jeremiah simply picked up where he had left off before he had been thrown in the cistern. His time in the mud at the bottom of the cistern had not changed his mind or convinced him to stop delivering the message God had given him. Yes, he was standing before the most powerful man in the kingdom, who had full authority to spare him or demandhis death, but Jeremiah answered to a great authority: God Almighty. So, he told Zedekiah what God had said, not what the king wanted to hear. He spoke the truth. Even if it meant he would have to die for doing so.

And Zedekiah expressed his greatest fear.

“But I am afraid to surrender,” the king said, “for the Babylonians may hand me over to the Judeans who have defected to them. And who knows what they will do to me!” – Jeremiah 38:19

He feared his own people more than he did the king of Babylon. He was afraid that those citizens of Jerusalem and Judah who had already surrendered to the Babylonians would hold him personally responsible for the fall of their nation. They would pour our their frustration and anger on him for the devastating state of affairs in Judah. And the thought of what they would do to him petrified Zedekiah. So, Jeremiah assured him that all would be well, if he would just do what God commanded and surrender to the Babylonians. God would protect him. Yes, he would lose his crown and his kingdom. But he would keep his life. All he had to do was obey God. The very same message Jeremiah had delivered to the common people of Jerusalem applied to the highest man in the land as well. No special favors. No special treatment. Just surrender. Simply submit to God’s will.

Obedience brings blessing. The doesn’t mean the blessing is always in the form of deliverance from life’s problems or release from the consequences of our sinful actions. God was offering the choice between life and death. That was the message He had delivered to the king and the people before:

“Tell all the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Take your choice of life or death! Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life” – Jeremiah 21:8-9 NLT

Obedience would bring life. Yes, it would also entail captivity in Babylon, but that captivity would be marked by God’s protection because it would be within His will. But to choose to reject God’s will would result in death. All Zedekiah had to do was obey God and submit to His will. Which brings us back to Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian. This man was a foreigner, a non-Jew, but he served in the court of the king. And according to the passage, he showed more faith than any of the other court officials or even the king himself. And in the very next chapter, God has Jeremiah give this man, whose name is never mentioned again in Scripture, a personal message of assurance.

Now the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, “Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will carry out against this city what I promised. It will mean disaster and not good fortune for it. When that disaster happens, you will be there to see it. But I will rescue you when it happens. I, the Lord, affirm it! You will not be handed over to those whom you fear. I will certainly save you. You will not fall victim to violence. You will escape with your life because you trust in me. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’” – Jeremiah 39:15-18 NLT

Ebed-Melech would see the fall of Jerusalem. He would be an eye-witness observer of all that God had predicted. But rather than dying because he remained in the city – against God’s expressed will, Ebed-Melech would be spared. God would rescue him. God would protect him. While everyone else in the city died at the edge of the sword, Ebed-Melech would escape with his life. All because he had placed his trust in God. How? By speaking up for the prophet of God. In essence, Ebed-Melech had protected the truth of God by rescuing the prophet of God. He had taken a great risk by going against the wishes of his fellow officials. He had chosen to swim upstream, against the cultural current, and speak up for the God. And his faith was going to be rewarded.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

Dirty Job.

Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: “Thus says the Lord: He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.” So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. – Jeremiah 38:1-6 ESV

No water. Only mud. Keep those four words in mind. Jeremiah has already been put in a dungeon for being accused of treason. After pleading with the king, Jeremiah is released to a comfortable internment in the court of the guard. But he obviously continued to speak up and let anyone who could hear understand that God was still offering two options: Stay in the city and die at the hands of the Babylonians or surrender and live. Remember, Jeremiah was initially arrested because they thought he was taking his own advice and trying to leave the city so he could surrender. But now, under armed guard, Jeremiah continued to spread his “treasonous” message. And the king’s officials don’t like what they are hearing, so they take the matter to King Zedekiah.

“Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!” – Jeremiah 38:4 NLT

Off with his head! That’s essentially what these men were demanding. They wanted Jeremiah dead. And the king, exasperated by Jeremiah’s stubbornness, gives in to their demands.

King Zedekiah agreed. “All right,” he said. “Do as you like. I can’t stop you.” – Jeremiah 38:5 NLT

Well, he could have stopped them – if he wanted to, but he didn’t. He had lost patience. He was sick of hearing all of Jeremiah rhetoric about coming judgment and destruction. Zedekiah refused to believe that God was going to destroy the city of Jerusalem. He still held out hope that God would relent and change His mind. I am not quite sure why he held on to that overly optimistic outlook, but he did – to the bitter end.

So, Jeremiah is taken and lowered into an empty cistern. This is an interesting choice on the part of these men. Remember, the city has been under siege by the Babylonians for some time. They have been running low on food and water. The cistern, which normally would have been full of water, was empty. And this should remind us of something God had said two decades earlier and recorded in the second chapter of this same book:

“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” – Jeremiah 2:13 NLT

The cistern into which Jeremiah was lowered was empty. There was no water. Why? Because God was punishing them for having abandoned Him – the fountain of living water. All across Jerusalem, the man-made cisterns were empty and incapable of sustaining life. Just like the false gods on whom they had placed their hope and wasted their worship, these cisterns were proving useless in time of need. No water. Only mud.

This cistern, that should have been full of water and fully capable of slacking the physical thirsts of the people, was empty. And the mud was an apt symbol of the peoples’ filthy moral standing before God. And it was into this dark, dank and death-inducing atmosphere that Jeremiah was placed. But that had been his circumstances from day one. Nothing had really changed. Judah was a lifeless, spiritually waterless place where the living water of God had dried up a long time ago. But God had promised Jeremiah:

“And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Jeremiah 1:8 NLT

They could place Jeremiah in an empty cistern, but it would do nothing to restore their good fortunes. Putting the prophet of God in the dark was not going to shed any light on their circumstances. Because they were the ones who were devoid of living water. They had turned their backs on God long ago, now He was getting ready to turn His back on them. They had already felt the effects of their rebellion against God. Back in chapter 14, God described the circumstances within the walls of Jerusalem.

Her nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns;
they find no water;
they return with their vessels empty;
they are ashamed and confounded
and cover their heads. – Jeremiah 14:3 ESV

But as we will see in the following verses, God was going to come to Jeremiah’s rescue. Men had placed him in a cistern, but God would redeem him. He would be provided with a way out. But as far as the future of the people of Judah were concerned, their physical and spiritual thirst were going to remain and result in their physical and spiritual death. They would be the ones to suffer in the long run. Jeremiah was in a bad spot, sunk in the mud, and left to die. But God was on his side. He had been faithful. He had done what God had commanded him to do. And God was going to redeem and rescue him.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

Too Stubborn to Listen.

Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people. When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? Now hear, please, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. – Jeremiah 37:11-21 ESV

Verse 5 of this chapter tells us that there was a brief respite in the siege against Jerusalem when the Babylonians abandoned their camps outside the walls in order to deal with a threat from the Egyptians. During this break in the action, Jeremiah made an attempt to leave the city in order to conduct some personal business in the nearby area belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. But as Jeremiah tried to leave the city, he was recognized by one of the guards and accused of trying to defect to the Babylonians. Obviously, Jeremiah was well known in Jerusalem. He had a reputation and it was not a good one. He was the prophet who was always prophesying doom and gloom. He was not well-liked or appreciated by the people. And even the sentry, a man named Irijah, thought Jeremiah was up to no good. His accusation that Jeremiah was defecting to the Babylonians was essentially a charge of treason. And Irijah probably remembered the words of Jeremiah, spoken to the people of Jerusalem, and assumed that Jeremiah was taking advantage of the lifting of the siege to escape the coming destruction.

“Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life!” – Jeremiah 22:9 NLT

In the very next chapter, we will see the officials of the city accuse Jeremiah of treason.

“Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!” – Jeremiah 38:4 NLT

And the “kind of talk” they refer to are the words of Jeremiah encouraging the people to leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!’” – Jeremiah 38:2 NLT

So, it seems that Irijah had every right to suspect Jeremiah’s intentions. And while Jeremiah would vehemently deny the accusation, he was arrested and dragged before the city officials. They were incensed and had Jeremiah flogged and imprisoned. This is a markedly different reaction from the city officials than the one they had when Baruch read the scroll containing the words of God recorded back in chapter six. On that occasion, they had responded positively. In fact, they had told Baruch and Jeremiah to hide. And when they had brought the scroll to King Jehoiakim and he had burned it, they pleaded with him to stop. But something had changed. At this point in the story, they are fed up with Jeremiah. There is a new king and the intensity of the Babylonian siege has everybody on edge. So, when they get the change to take out some of their frustration and anger on Jeremiah, they do so. He was eventually moved to a dungeon cell, where he remained for many days.

Some time later, King Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah and asks him an interesting question: “Do you have any messages from the Lord?” (Jeremiah 37:17 NLT). This is an interesting question. What was Zedekiah expecting Jeremiah to say? For several decades not, Jeremiah had said the same things over and over. His messages had not changed. His words of warning from God had not varied one iota. So, what was Zedekiah thinking the prophet was going to say? Did he really believe that throwing Jeremiah in prison was going to force him to give an upbeat message, rather than a negative one. Was brute force and intimidation against God’s prophet going to change the will of God? We aren’t told what the motivation behind Zedekiah’s question was, but we can assume that he was looking for good news. Yet, he would be disappointed, once again.

Jeremiah’s news was short and sweet: “You will be defeated by the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 37:17 NLT). Probably not what Zedekiah was hoping to hear. But Jeremiah told him the truth. He could have lied and told the king that all would be well. Jeremiah could have told Zedekiah what he wanted to hear and been freed for doing so. But he would not lie. He could not bring himself to speak anything but what he had heard from God.

He did have a question for the king though. He wanted to know why he was being held a prisoner. He had committed no crime. All he had done was prophecy truth. In fact, he challenged the king to compare the words of Jeremiah with those of the false prophets who had been saying that all would be well. What was right? Who had been telling the truth? The siege engines were just outside the walls. The signs of famine, disease and death were everywhere. Jeremiah’s predictions had come true, signifying that they were from God. So, the only thing Jeremiah could be accused of was speaking the truth. And Jeremiah pleads with the king not to put him back in the dungeon for fear that he would die there. Zedekiah agrees to move Jeremiah from the dungeon, but still keeps him a prisoner, placing him in “the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace” (Jeremiah 37:21 NLT), and ordering that he be fed as long as any bread remained available in the city. It seems that Zedekiah still feared that Jeremiah might attempt to run away, so he kept him under lock and key. He was going to make sure that Jeremiah was there to experience every single aspect of the prophecies he had delivered against the city of Jerusalem.

Zedekiah was looking for a way to get out of this terrible jam. He had been placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar. And as soon as he was made king, he had gone out of his way to rebel against Babylon. He attempted to make an alliance with Egypt, which is why the Babylonians had temporarily lifted their siege. They were off dealing with a potential threat from the Egyptians. But it wouldn’t last. The Egyptians would run and the Babylonians would return. And yet, Zedekiah kept looking for ways to change the outcome. He kept hoping for a way out of the predicament they were in. But rather than repent, he kept scheming. Instead of returning to God in humility, he kept searching for ways to escape God’s wrath. Zedekiah represents all those who have heard the call of God, but refuse to heed it. He is that stubborn, hard-headed individual who knows what God requires, but is determined to find another way. He has been offered mercy from God if he will only do what God says. He doesn’t want to do thing God’s way. He has a mind of his own. His will takes precedence over God’s will. He thinks he knows what is best. But he will be proved dramatically wrong. His stubbornness will be his downfall. His refusal to submit to God will result in his humiliation before Nebuchadnezzar. 

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18 NLT

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. – Proverbs 11:2 NLT

Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. – Proverbs 18:12 NLT

Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. – Proverbs 29:23 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

Pray For Us!

Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray for us to the Lord our God.” Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land. And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’” – Jeremiah 37:1-10 ESV

Fast-forward about 18 years. Chapter 37 chronicles events that take place almost two decades after those recorded in chapter 36. Zedekiah is now the king of Judah and the Babylonians, referred to as the Chaldeans, are laying siege to Jerusalem. Jehoiachin (Coniah), the son of Jehoiakim, took the throne after his father, but only lasted three months before he surrendered to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and was taken captive. Then, Nebuchadnezzar replaced him with his uncle, Mattaniah, whose name was changed to Zedekiah.

The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold. He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, 7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war.  – 2 Kings 24:12-16 ESV

Jehoiachin’s surrender was costly. It not only meant his own captivity and deportation, but that of his mother, wives and all his chief officials. On top of that. the Babylonians plundered the palace and the temple; and took thousands of leading citizens of Jerusalem back to Babylon as slaves.

Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah became a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar, answering directly to the Babylonian king and commanded to pay an annual tribute tax. In the face of the ongoing presence of the Babylonians in Judah and the knowledge that God had predicted the fall and destruction of Jerusalem, Zedekiah sent two emissaries to plead with Jeremiah to pray to God on the nation’s behalf. But this time, Zedekiah would have been well aware of God’s predictions of the coming fall of the nation and the less-than-pleasant end that Zedekiah would face. 

Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon. – Jeremiah 34:2-3 ESV

Of course, this prophecy doesn’t sound so bad, but the actual way it all panned out paints a much more bleak and painful image.

Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, they waited for nightfall. Then they slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.

But the Babylonian troops chased the king and caught him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered. They took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. – 2 Kings 25:4-7 NLT

But in spite of God’s warnings against Zedekiah, he refused to repent. Instead, he asked the prophet to pray for he and the nation. He wanted to God’s forgiveness without showing any signs of repentance. He wanted God to show grace and mercy, while he and the people were unwilling to show any signs of true heart change. Part of what seems to have motivated Zedekiah’s request for prayer was the presence of the Egyptians. It seems that he had made a deal with the Egyptians to help bail them out of trouble. In the book of 2 Kings, we read that: “Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon” (2 Kings 24:20 NLT). But while Zedekiah had high hopes that God might use the Egyptians to buy relief from the onslaught of the Babylonians, it was not to be. God gave him bad news:

“Pharaoh’s army is about to return to Egypt, though he came here to help you. Then the Babylonians will come back and capture this city and burn it to the ground.” – Jeremiah 37:7-8 NLT

Zedekiah’s trump card was about to turn and run. They would prove to be no help. And God was not going to rescue them from all that He had predicted would happen. God wasn’t interested in Zedekiah’s request for help, because Zedekiah had not plans to repent. Zedekiah and the people may have been high-fiving one another when the Babylonians vacated their camps outside the walls. They may have excitedly assumed that the worst was over. But they were wrong.

“Do not fool yourselves into thinking that the Babylonians are gone for good. They aren’t! Even if you were to destroy the entire Babylonian army, leaving only a handful of wounded survivors, they would still stagger from their tents and burn this city to the ground!” – Jeremiah 37:9-10 NLT

They couldn’t pray away the Babylonians. Begging God to change His mind wasn’t going to cut it as long they refused to change their ways. They were essentially asking God to repent, to change His mind about destroying them, when they were the ones in the wrong. I am reminded of the response God gave to King Solomon on the day that the temple of God was dedicated. He told the people of Israel:

“At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.” – 2 Chronicles 7:13-16 NLT

Notice what God wants: Humility that reflects an awareness of their guilt and their need for God’s forgiveness; and a turning to Him and away from their sin. THEN, God will hear, forgive and restore. Prayer without humility, a seeking of God and a rejection of sin is pointless and powerless. Those prayers will not be heard or answered. And what is amazing is that Zedekiah and the people of Judah, who had refused to listen to one thing that God had said to them through Jeremiah, had the audacity to expect God to hear their requests to spare them.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

He Would Not Hear.

Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. – Jeremiah 36:27-32 ESV

Jehoaikim could burn the scroll, but he couldn’t eliminate the words of God. He could consign God’s words to the fire, but it would do nothing to alter the plans of God. Judgment was coming. And to prove just how inevitable God’s will was, Jeremiah was instructed to take yet another scroll and dictate the words of God so that Baruch could write them down. But this time, God gave Jeremiah a few additional words just for Jehoiakim.

Then say to the king, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned the scroll because it said the king of Babylon would destroy this land and empty it of people and animals. Now this is what the Lord says about King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no heirs to sit on the throne of David. His dead body will be thrown out to lie unburied—exposed to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. I will punish him and his family and his attendants for their sins. I will pour out on them and on all the people of Jerusalem and Judah all the disasters I promised, for they would not listen to my warnings.’” – Jeremiah 36:29-31 NLT

The original scroll had contained God’s dire predictions of coming judgment due to the sins of Judah. If you recall, when God had instructed Jeremiah to record these words of warning on the scroll, He had also said: “Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings” (Jeremiah 36:3 NLT). When Jehoiakim’s father, Josiah, had been king of Judah, he had rediscovered the book of the Law and, when he had heard it read, he had repented. He had immediately launched an effort to bring spiritual reform to the nation of Judah. He tore his clothes as a sign of mourning and conviction over the sins of he and his people. But Jehoiakim had reacted quite differently. Rather than tear his clothes, he had cut the scroll containing God’s words. Instead of burning the high places where false gods were worshiped in Judah, like his father had done, Jehoiakim had burned God’s message. But his efforts to destroy the words of God would fail miserably. And, eventually he would find that what God says, goes. What He predicts, happens. What He decrees, comes to pass. Ignoring God does not make Him go away.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. – 2 Chronicles 36:5-6 NLT

There seems to be a bit of confusion as to what exactly happened to Jehoiakim. God predicts that “His dead body will be thrown out to lie unburied—exposed to the heat of the day and the frost of the night” (Jeremiah 36:30 NLT). This same prophecy is recorded earlier in the book of Jeremiah.

He will be buried like a dead donkey—
    dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates! – Jeremiah 22:19 NLT

But the book of 2 Chronicles records that he was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and taken to Babylon. So, did he die in Judah or Babylon? It would seem the the Chronicles passage simply states that Nebuchadnezzar had Jehoiakim arrested and “bound in chains” with the intent of taking him to Babylon. But God’s prophecy was fulfilled before that could happen. Jehoiakim would die an ignominious death in Judah, and his body thrown outside the city walls, just as God had said. And while his son, Jehoiachin would claim the thrown after his father’s death, it would not be according to God’s will and his reign would be short-lived – a mere three months. Nebuchadnezzar would remove him and replace him with his uncle, therefore fulfilling God’s prophecy that Jehoiakim would “have no heirs to sit on the throne of David” (Jeremiah 36:30 NLT).

The will of God can be ignored, but it cannot be stopped. Even the might King Nebuchadnezzar would be unable to alter the will of God. He may have had plans to take Jehoiakim back to Babylon, but that is NOT what God had said would happen. God’s will trumps man’s plan every time.

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. – Proverbs 16:9 ESV

Jehoiakim could despise the words of God, but he could not alter the outcome they predicted. He could attempt to eliminate the scroll containing God’s words along with the prophet who spoke them and the scribe who penned them. But his efforts would prove futile. Men and nations refuse to honor God as God. They deny His will and attempt to live their lives as if he doesn’t even exist. But Jehoiakim and, eventually, Nebuchadnezzar, would learn that God is sovereign over all.

Why are the nations so angry?
    Why do they waste their time with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for battle;
    the rulers plot together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.
“Let us break their chains,” they cry,
    “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
    The Lord scoffs at them.
Then in anger he rebukes them,
    terrifying them with his fierce fury. – Psalm 2:1-5 NLT

God’s will will be done. His plans will be fulfilled. What He says will come to pass will do so without any alteration or interference. Kings and nations can rage against Him. Individuals can attempt to act as if He does not exist. But God continues to rule and reign. His will continues to happen just as He has planned it. Jehoiakim could burn the scroll of God, but he would never make a dent in the plans of God.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

The Folly of Fools.

So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments. Even when Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them. – Jeremiah 36:20-26 ESV

This section of chapter 36 provides a sharp contrast between Jehoiakim, the current king of Judah, and that of Josiah, his father. During the reign of Josiah, when the scroll containing the law of God was found during renovation work on the temple, he had reacted quite differently to its reading.

Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king. When the king heard the words of the law scroll, he tore his clothes. – 2 Kings 22:10-11 NLT

Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant. – 2 Kings 23:1-3 NLT

Quite a difference. Josiah had received the word of God with fear and reverence. He had recognized the sins of the people and understood the gravity of their rebellion against God. And he took full responsibility for it.

But what about Jehoiakim? How did he respond when he heard the words of God as spoken to Jeremiah the prophet and recorded by Baruch?

Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. – Jeremiah 36:23 NLT

Arrogantly and fearlessly, he personally burned the scroll containing the words of God – piece by piece – until it was completely destroyed. And he did this even as Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged him to stop. But the king and his advisors were completely unmoved by the warnings of God contained in the scroll. Slowly but surely, the king threw them in the fire, to be consumed, and to illustrate his disdain for them. And the text makes it very clear that, “Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard” (Jeremiah 36:24 NLT).

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. – Proverbs 9:10 ESV

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. – Proverbs 1:7 ESV

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. – Psalm 14:1 ESV

These verses provide a vivid description of what is going on in the winter room of the palace as Jehoiakim slowly destroys the words of God found on the scroll. He has no fear of God. He is a fool. And, in reality, he is acting as if there is not God. But he was not alone. The prophet Ezekiel was given a vision by God, in which he was able to see hidden things going on in Judah, that no one was aware of, but God.

“Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” – Ezekiel 8:12 NLT

The elders of the people were guilty of committing sins against God, in secret, and justifying their actions because they believed that God was unable to see them. In essence, they were acting as if there was no God. They were fools. They were acting just like the wicked described in Psalm 10: “The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!” You see this attitude reflected throughout the psalms, revealing a disturbing trend among God’s people.

“The Lord isn’t looking,” they say,
    “and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.” – Psalm 94:7 NLT

But they were wrong. Their assessment of God’s sovereignty and omniscience was way off the mark. And God lets them know it.

Think again, you fools!
    When will you finally catch on?
Is he deaf—the one who made your ears?
    Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes?
He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you?
    He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing?
The Lord knows people’s thoughts;
    he knows they are worthless! – Psalm 94:8-11 NLT

God was watching as Jehoiakim threw the pieces of the scroll on the fire. As each section containing the words of God was consumed, God’s righteous anger intensified. And the fate of Judah became more permanently sealed. Rather than repent, Jehoiakim sent men to arrest Jeremiah and Baruch. Not content with the destruction of the scroll, he wanted to get his hands on the ones who had produced it. He thought that, by eliminating Jeremiah, his problems would be over. He wrongly assumed that his nemesis was a man, but in reality, Jehoiakim was choosing to do battle with the Lord of Hosts, God Almighty. And that was a battle he was not going to win. He could refuse to listen to the words of God. He could even burn them in a fire. He could attempt to eliminate the prophet of God. But he could not make God go away. And none of his efforts would alter the plan of God one iota.

Think about it, you rebels!
Remember what I accomplished in antiquity!
Truly I am God, I have no peer;
I am God, and there is none like me,
who announces the end from the beginning
and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred,
who says, ‘My plan will be realized,
I will accomplish what I desire,’
who summons an eagle from the east,
from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.
Yes, I have decreed,
yes, I will bring it to pass;
I have formulated a plan,
yes, I will carry it out. – Isaiah 46:8-11 NLT

Jehoiakim was a king. He had a palace. He had some semblance of power and authority. He could strike fear into the hearts of men. But he was not God. He was no match for God. While he could burn a scroll in a fire, God could consume an entire nation with a single word. He could bring destruction in the form of the Babylonians and reduce Jehoiakim’s palace and capital to ashes. But in his pride, Jehoiakim acted as if God didn’t exist. In his foolishness, he assumed God didn’t see and, even if He did, He wouldn’t act. He was wrong. Dead wrong. And God was about to let him know just how wrong he was.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

Read It and Weep.

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. And Jeremiah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am banned from going to the house of the Lord, so you are to go, and on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the Lord's house you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord's house.

In the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord. Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, he went down to the king’s house, into the secretary’s chamber, and all the officials were sitting there: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials. And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Take in your hand the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, while I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.” – Jeremiah 36:1-19 ESV

It has been about 22 years since Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry in Judah. He started when Josiah was king in Judah. Now Jehoiakim sits on the throne. In the two decades he has been acting as God’s spokesman, he has said many things. He has provided the people of Judah with many warnings and pleaded with them repeatedly to return to God and find grace, mercy and forgiveness. But there has been little to no positive response to his messages. The people remain stubbornly opposed to any form of repentance. They refuse to change their ways. So, God instructs Jeremiah to put it all in writing on a scroll. This would create a permanent record of God’s words and a tangible reminder of just how many times He has patiently pleaded with His people to change their ways.

Jeremiah enlisted the aid of Baruch, who carefully recorded on the scroll all that Jeremiah dictated to him. When this process was complete, Jeremiah instructed Baruch to take the scroll and read it in the presence of all the people at the temple on a fast day. It seems that Jeremiah was under some sort of civil restriction that prevented him from going to the temple himself, which is why he sent Baruch. And when the day came, Baruch did as instructed and read from the scroll. The text tells us, “People from all over Judah had come to Jerusalem to attend the services at the Temple on that day” (Jeremiah 36:9 NLT). It was a full house. We’re told that Baruch “stood in front of the Temple room of Gemariah, son of Shaphan the secretary. This room was just off the upper courtyard of the Temple, near the New Gate entrance” (Jeremiah 36:10 NLT). This is an important point of interest, because Gemariah’s father, Shaphan, was the one who had read the rediscovered book of the Law to King Josiah. During Josiah’s reign, he had committed himself to restoring and revitalizing Judah’s spiritual heritage. He instituted a wide range of reforms, including making much-needed repairs to the temple of God. In the process, they discovered the book of the Law.

And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. – 2 Kings 22:8-10 NLT

Now, nearly two decade later, Baruch is reading the scroll containing God’s pronouncements against Judah from the room that belonged to the secretary for the temple, Gemariah, son of Shaphan. This note provides a tangible link back to the days when the book of the Law had been rediscovered and read to the king. And when King Josiah had heard what was written in the book of the Law, he had responded in fear and remorse. He told his spiritual advisors:

“Go, seek an oracle from the Lord for me and the people—for all Judah. Find out about the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s fury has been ignited against us, because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this scroll by doing all that it instructs us to do.” – 2 Kings 22:13 NLT

These men ended up seeking the help of a woman known as Huldah the prophetess. And she gave them a word from God.

Say this to the man who sent you to me: “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, the details of which are recorded in the scroll which the king of Judah has read. This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’” – 2 Kings 22:15-17 NLT

Fast-forward twenty years later and you have Baruch reading a scroll containing the words of God given to Jeremiah. Nothing had changed. The reforms of Josiah had failed to change the hearts of the people. They had continued to abandon God and follow after false gods. Their wickedness had increased rather than diminish.

And when Micaiah, the son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan, heard the words that Baruch read, he went immediately to the palace and reported what he had heard to a group of administrative officials who in the midst of a meeting. Notice that these men were not attending the fast day at the temple. They were too busy working. But when Micaiah told them what was happening at the temple, they immediately sent for Baruch and, when he arrived, they had him read the contents of the scroll to them. Upon hearing the words read by Baruch and, after having determined that they were from Jeremiah himself, they decided that this news needed to get to the king. And knowing that this news was not going to be received well, they instructed Baruch:

“You and Jeremiah should both hide,” the officials told Baruch. “Don’t tell anyone where you are!” – Jeremiah 36:19 NLT

They told Baruch and Jeremiah to go into hiding and then they secreted the scroll itself in the secretary’s office in the palace. Once again, it is interesting to note that there had been a group of men gathered for a meeting in the secretary’s office. One of them was Elnathan son of Acbor. Elnathan’s father had been present at the reading of the law scroll in Josiah’s day, and he had been one of the men sent to seek an omen from the prophetess. So, there is another detail provided that forms a generational link between the days of King Josiah to those of King Jehoiakim. Twenty years had passed, but no read change had taken place, except that the people had actually become worse, not better. The sins of Judah had increased, not decreased. The book of 2 Kings tells us that King Josiah, “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left” (2 Kings 22:2 ESV). But of Jehoaikim it says: “he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done” (2 Kings 23:37 ESV).

Two decades had passed. Three different kings had reigned in Judah. And during that time, God had spoken time and time again through Jeremiah, calling the people of Judah to repentance. But no one would listen. And yet, God had told Jeremiah, “Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings” (Jeremiah 36:3 NLT). That was not to be the case. And God was not surprised by their response. He knew the condition of their hearts. They were incapable of turning from their sins. They were addicted to their spiritual adultery and apostasy. So, judgment was inevitable.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

Failure to Listen.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.”

But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.” – Jeremiah 35:12-19 ESV

The Rechabites had kept their word. Jeremiah had invited them to a private session somewhere within the temple and, under directions given to him by God, had ordered them to drink wine. But they had refused. They were not going to disobey the command given to them by Jonadad, their leader, and they were not going to break the vow they had made to him. When Jeremiah had placed the wine in front of them and ordered them to drink, they had politely deferred, saying:

“So we have obeyed him in all these things. We have never had a drink of wine to this day, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters. We haven’t built houses or owned vineyards or farms or planted crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor.” – Jeremiah 35:8-10 NLT

Now, God commands Jeremiah to take yet another message to the people of Judah warning them of what is about to happen. Remember, this chapter is actually out of chronological order. It takes us back in time to the days when Jehoakim was king. Chapter 34 chronicled the last days of Zedekiah, the king who reigned after Jehoakim. There is no reason given for the out-of-order telling of these events, but it seems to be a simple retrospective recounting of just how things had gotten to the sad state of affairs that led to the fall of Judah and Jerusalem. God’s decision to bring judgment on His people had not been a spur-of-the-moment decision. He had not knee-jerk reacted and flown off the handle in a rage at a single, isolated incident. The nation of Judah, like its northern neighbor, Israel, had a long track record of disobedience and stubborn refusal to listen to the call of God. 

And God allowed His prophet, Jeremiah, to see up close and personal what real faithfulness looks like. The Rechabites provided a living lesson of uncompromising, unwavering obedience. It’s interesting to note that the Rechabites were actually living within the city walls of Jerusalem when Jeremiah made his offer of wine to them. At first blush, this might aappear to be a violation of their vow to Jonadab.

“You and your descendants must never drink wine. And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.” – Jeremiah 35:6-7 NLT

Yet, the Rechabites admitted that they were living in Jerusalem.

“But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked this country, we were afraid of the Babylonian and Syrian armies. So we decided to move to Jerusalem. That is why we are here.” – Jeremiah 35:11 NLT

They made it clear to Jeremiah that their presence in Jerusalem was simply to escape destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. They were seeking refuge, not setting up residence. There is no indication that they had bought houses or had intentions of making Jerusalem their permanent home. Jonadab’s command restricted them from building homes. They were required to live in tents. And, more than likely, that was exactly what they had been doing when Jeremiah called on them and extended his invitation for a meeting in the temple. 

God made it clear to Jeremiah just what the point of this little episode with the Rechabites was all about. Jeremiah was to tell the people of Judah: “Come and learn a lesson about how to obey me” (Jeremiah 35:13 NLT). Then, He had pointed out: “The Recabites do not drink wine to this day because their ancestor Jehonadab told them not to” (Jeremiah 35:14 NLT). These people were obeying the words of a man. But the people of Judah had refused to listen to or obey the words of God. “But I have spoken to you again and again, and you refuse to obey me” (Jeremiah 35:14 NLT). Jonadab spoke, and his people obeyed. God spoke, and His people refused to listen and obey. And God spoke repeatedly. He sent His prophets. They provided timely reminders. They warned and threatened. The offered promises of God’s blessings for obedience. They told of unprecedented curses for refusal to be faithful to their covenant with God. But the people refused to listen. They heard, but they did not obey. And makes a clear comparison between the Rechabites and the Judahites.

“But you would not listen to me or obey me. The descendants of Jehonadab son of Recab have obeyed their ancestor completely, but you have refused to listen to me.” – Jeremiah 35:15-16 NLT

Then God drops the bomb. He says, “Therefore…”. As a result of their blatant disobedience, the people of Judah were going to suffer the judgment of God. And God describes Himself as “the Lord of Hosts”. The New Living Translation reads, “the God of Heaven’s Armies”. And in the Hebrew, it can be literally translated, “Yahweh of armies”. God presents Himself as the commander-in-chief of all the host of heaven. He is all-powerful and has a limitless number of heavenly hosts (angels) at His disposal. Jesus Himself referred to God’s heavenly host on the night he was betrayed in the garden. Peter, in a vain attempt to protect Jesus from capture, had cut off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants. Jesus immediately responded, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53 NLT).

By presenting Himself as Yahweh of armies, God was emphasizing His sovereignty and power. He also described Himself as the God of Israel. The Rechabites had Jonadab. But the Israelites had God. And yet, they still refused to obey Him. So, warns God, “Because you refuse to listen or answer when I call, I will send upon Judah and Jerusalem all the disasters I have threatened” (Jeremiah 35:17 NLT). No obedience? No mercy. But then, God spoke a word to the Rechabites, describing Himself with the very same term.

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed your ancestor Jehonadab in every respect, following all his instructions.’ Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Recab will always have descendants who serve me.’” – Jeremiah 35:18-19 NLT

The God of Israel was promising the people of Recab, who were Kenites and not Jews, that He was going to bless them. This group of people would have a place in God’s presence forever. They would be sustained and protected by God. This simple, nomadic people, would be rewarded for their faithfulness and obedience. And the people of Judah would suffer the consequences of their disobedience. It would seem that God would have us take away the obvious lesson found in this chapter regarding obedience. God puts a high value on faithfulness. When He speaks, He doesn’t just expect His words to be heard, but to be obeyed. It is not enough to read God’s Word. We must apply what we hear to our lives. Knowing what God expects of us is not sufficient. Awareness of His will is not the same thing as obedience to it. Like a sovereign over a nation, God, Yahweh of armies, stands over His people and demands their allegiance and obedience. He is Lord of all. He is the one true God. He is to be heard and obeyed. He is to be feared and revered. The Rechabites would never have considered disobeying their vow to Jonadab. But the people of God regularly and blatantly broke their commitments to God. As the prophet, Samuel, told the disobedient King Saul:

“What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.” – 1 Samuel 15:22-23 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

The Original Promise Keepers.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.” So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. I brought them to the house of the Lord into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold. Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’ We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Syrians.’ So we are living in Jerusalem.” – Jeremiah 35:1-112 ESV

The events in this chapter actually precede those recorded in chapters 32-34. King Jehoiakim is sitting on the throne when the Babylonians make their first foray into Judah. As a result of the Babylonian invasion of that area of the Middle East, Jehoiakim will become a vassal of King Nebuchadnezzar, an arrangement that will last three long years, until 602 B.C., when he will rebel against Babylon. The book of 2 Kings records what happened as a result.

During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets. – 2 Kings 24:1-2 NLT

Jehoiakim found himself having to deal with not only the Babylonians, but raiding parties made up of Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites as well. Jehoakim could attempt to resist the control of Babylon and refuse to submit to King Nebuchadnezzar’s control, but he would not succeed. What he failed to realize was that this was all part of God’s plan. Jehoakim succeeded Josiah as king of Judah. But he did not continue Josiah’s efforts to bring reform to the nation.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestors had done. – 2 Kings 23:36-37 NLT

God has given Jeremiah some fairly stern words to speak to King Jehoakim regarding his reign.

“But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty!
    You murder the innocent,
    oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.” – Jeremiah 22:17 NLT

“I warned you when you were prosperous,
    but you replied, ‘Don’t bother me.’
You have been that way since childhood—
    you simply will not obey me!” – Jeremiah 22:21 NLT

Jehoakim was greedy and godless. He was unjust and disobedient to God. And God had some bad news for this egotistical, money-hungry king:

“It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace
    paneled with wood from the cedars of Lebanon,
but soon you will groan with pangs of anguish—
    anguish like that of a woman in labor.” – Jeremiah 22:23 NLT

So, sometime in the middle of Jehoakim’s reign, God sent Jeremiah on a mission. He was to go to a settlement where the Recabites lived. The Rechabites were descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Jethro had been a Kenite, or non-Hebrew, and Moses had married his daughter. When the Hebrews entered the land of Canaan, the Kenites accompanied them, many of them settling into their own towns and villages. But Jonadab, the son of Rechab, had forbidden his people to drink wine or to live in cities. Instead, they were to live nomadic lives, set apart and compliant with the wishes of their patriarch. And, they had done so for hundreds of years.

God commands Jeremiah to extend an invitation to the Rechabites, requesting that they join him at one of the inner rooms of the temple in Jerusalem. And, oddly enough, God instructed Jeremiah to offer them wine, which he did.

I set cups and jugs of wine before them and invited them to have a drink… – Jeremiah 35:5 NLT

These men, representing their families and clan, found themselves within the city walls of Jerusalem and sitting in a room located in the inner recesses of the temple. There, hidden from view, they were tempted by the prophet of God, under orders from God Himself, with the chance to drink wine. But we’re told, they refused. ‘No,’ they said, ‘we don’t drink wine, because our ancestor Jehonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.’ So we have obeyed him in all these things. We have never had a drink of wine to this day, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters. We haven’t built houses or owned vineyards or farms or planted crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor’” (Jeremiah 35:6-10 NLT).

They flatly said, “No!” They turned down Jeremiah’s offer. It didn’t matter to them that the wine was offered by the prophet of God in the very temple of God. They were not going to disobey their vow. We are not told why Jonadab required his people to make this vow. That point doesn’t seem to matter. What seems to be the issue is that Jehoakim, the king of Judah, had been accused by God of disobedience. He had not kept the laws of God or lived in keeping with the will of God for His people. He did what was evil in the sight of God. But here were the Kenites, these non-Jews, who, when offered the chance to break their vow to abstain from wine, refused to do so. Even though it was being set in front of them by the prophet of God in the house of God. They were committed. They were faithful. There’s was a vow made to a man, but as far as they were concerned, it was unbreakable. And yet, Jehoakim, the king of Judah, and the people over whom he ruled, were guilty of having broken their covenant with God. Not once, but many times and over many centuries.

As we will see in the rest of this chapter, God will use this example of faithfulness and obedience as a living lesson of what He expected from His own people. But they had failed to follow through. Their lives had been a perpetual display of what it means to be unfaithful and unwilling to keep their commitments to God.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

Slaves to Sin.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them, that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying, ‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.’ But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me. You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name, but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.

“Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the Lord. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts—the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. And Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you. Behold, I will command, declares the Lord, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.” – Jeremiah 34:8-22 ESV

It is approximately 588 B.C. and the city of Jerusalem is surrounded. Things are not looking good. Outside the walls of the city, the Babylonian troops can be seen busily at work building siege walls and preparing to assault the city. In the midst of all the chaos and with the words of Jeremiah the prophet ringing in his ears, Zedekiah, the king of Judah, convinces the people to make a covenant with him to release any and all their fellow Hebrews that they owned as slaves. Now, it makes sense to ask why any Hebrew would have a fellow Hebrew as a slave. This was actually quite common in those days. In most cases, the enslavement or servitude was linked to indebtedness. If a Hebrew borrowed money from another Hebrew and could not pay the debt, he become the servant or slave of the lender until the debt was paid off. The book of Proverbs speaks to this situation, warning: “the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:17 ESV). We find some strong words from God regarding the abuse of this system in the book of Amos.

“The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sell honorable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals.” – Amos 2:6 NLT

The people of Judah and Israel had taken advantage of the poor and needy within their midst. Once again, the book of Proverbs speaks to this problem.

Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. – Proverbs 22:16 NLT

Don't rob the poor just because you can, or exploit the needy in court. – Proverbs 22:22 NLT

God had made provision for those who found themselves in debt and in need of help. A Jew who found themselves with no means of income could voluntarily offer themselves as a servant to another Jew. If they owed a debt they could not pay, they could voluntarily become the lenders servant.

“If a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free.

“When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed. Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. Share with him some of the bounty with which the Lord your God has blessed you. Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you! That is why I am giving you this command.” – Deuteronomy 15:12-15 NLT

But notice that God made provision for their release. They were not to remain in servitude indefinitely. And the lender had no right to sell the debtor in order to profit from their sale. At the seventh year, all Hebrews were to release their Hebrew slaves or servants. Their debt was to be considered paid. And the lender was not to send them away empty handed. So, in this chapter, we see Zedekiah making a covenant with the people to release all their Hebrew slaves. We are not told why Zedekiah made this announcement, but we can speculate that he was hoping this action might appease God in some way. Perhaps it was an attempt to increase the number of free men able to serve in the army in the defense of the city. Whatever his motivation, Zedekiah convinces the people to agree to the conditions of the release. But then they change their minds. They renege on their commitment.

…but later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed, forcing them to be slaves again. – Jeremiah 34:11 NLT

We do know from verses 21 and 22, that the Babylonians had evidently disappeared for a period of time. It could be that their unexpected departure led the people to change their minds. They could have believed that the siege was over and they had been delivered from destruction. So, they decided not to keep their commitment. What had appeared to be an act of repentance turned out to be nothing of the sort. Even though they had been faced with their own destruction and possible enslavement themselves, the people were not willing to set free their fellow Hebrews. This all reminds me of a parable that Jesus told in response to a question from Peter regarding the topic of forgiveness.

“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” – Matthew 18:23-35 NLT

The people of Judah were indebted to God. They owed Him for the sins they had committed against Him. And they would have longed for Him to show them mercy and forgive their sins. But here they were, refusing to forgive the debts of those who owed them so much less. It should bring to mind the words of Jesus in His model prayer found in His Sermon on the Mount: “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12 ESV). And Jesus would go on to comment about the issue of forgiveness of debts. “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15 ESV).

God reminds Zedekiah and the people that their actions were reminiscent of the sins of their ancestors. God had given them the command regarding the seventh year, but they had refused to obey. Now, the people of Judah had made a covenant with God and were breaking it.

“Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name. But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again.” – Jeremiah 34:15-16 NLT

So, God gives them the bad news. Since they didn’t keep their vow and set their fellow Hebrews free, God was going to set the offenders free to suffer at the hands of the Babylonians. “I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine” (Jeremiah 34:17 NLT). At the end of the day, the people of Judah were slaves to sin. They were addicted to wrongdoing. They just couldn’t give up their love affair with evil, even when faced with their own destruction. And they would learn the hard way, that the wages of sin is death.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠

No Escape.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the Lord.”

Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, Lachish and Azekah, for these were the only fortified cities of Judah that remained. – Jeremiah 34:1-7 ESV

Chapters 30-33 provided apleasant diversion from all the prophecies that Jeremiah had been required by God to proclaim to the people of Judah. They contain much more optimistic news regarding the long-term future of Judah. But now, in chapter 34, Jeremiah goes back to his original predictions of Judah’s looming destruction. The Babylonians are at thegate – literally. They have the city besieged and it’s only matter of time before the walls fall, the troops descend, and the destruction begins. And God has a special message for King Zedekiah.

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. You will not escape his grasp but will be captured and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. Then you will be exiled to Babylon.” – Jeremiah 34:2-3 NLT

God doesn’t pull any punches. He doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of what is about to happen. It’s not going to be pretty. And Zedekiah is not going to escape the inevitable outcome of Judah’s apostasy and disobedience. Even the king will fall. He will be taken captive. But God has some good news for Zedekiah.

“You will not be killed in war but will die peacefully. People will burn incense in your memory, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who preceded you. They will mourn for you, crying, “Alas, our master is dead!” – Jeremiah 34:4-5 NLT

Granted, at first blush this probably didn’t come across as the best of news to Zedekiah. And it doesn’t completely provide the details of Zedekiah’s ultimate demise. That comes later in the book of Jeremiah.

But the Babylonian troops chased King Zedekiah and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered. They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains, and the king of Babylon led him away to Babylon. Zedekiah remained there in prison until the day of his death. – Jeremiah 52:8-11 NLT

God was going to bring Zedekiah’s reign to an end. He would live out his days in captivity, blind and with the last scene he could remember being the death of his own sons. And this would happen because Zedekiah refused to heed God’s warning and submit to the authority of Nebuchadnezzar as a representative of God’s judgment. Jeremiah 52 tells us: “Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 52:3 NLT). This is what had led to the siege of Jerusalem, a situation that would last three years, leaving the citizens starving to death within the walls and awaiting their inevitable end at the hands of the Babylonians.

The end was coming. The very outcome of God’s prophecies concerning Judah was going to come to pass just as He had said – down to the last detail. And while the preceding chapters had outlined God’s future restoration of Judah and Israel, they would first go through a demoralizing and humiliating fall from God’s grace. They would suffer for their unfaithfulness. God would not and could not overlook their sin. He couldn’t turn a blind eye to their apostasy and spiritual adultery. How would it look if God simply excused their behavior? What would the nations of the earth think if the God of Israel did nothing about the blatant rebellion of the people of Israel? He would be seen as weak and incapable of ruling His own people. There would be no fear of Him among the pagan nations. He would be seen as impotent and inconsequential, rather than a force with which to be reckoned.

Before the grace of God could be experienced, the wrath of God would have to be assuaged. His justice would have to be meted out and the disobedience against His sovereign will would have to be punished. And while Israel and Judah would suffer for their sins, their complete reconciliation to God would eventually happen. There was a day coming when they would be restored to a right relationship with Him. Not because they deserved it. Not because they willingly returned to Him in repentance. But because He would choose to shower them with His grace and mercy, and make available to them the forgiveness made possible through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson≠≠