©Laura Haverkamp
Chapter 42:7-22 (ESV) - 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.”
Question to consider: Why do you think the LORD only promised safety if they remained in the land?
From the statement in the last paragraph starting with “The LORD has said to you…” I believe Jeremiah was providing his own commentary and warning to the people concerning the word of the LORD given to them. I also read it with more than a hint of frustration in Jeremiah’s voice, for up until this point, the people have ignored the word of the LORD and persecuted His messenger.
Jeremiah was giving them an ultimatum— they asked for the LORD’s word and promised to obey it. If they refused to obey at this point, they could expect nothing but judgment. In truth, this was a difficult word to hear. Ishmael had killed Nebuchadnezzar’s appointed man as well as the Chaldeans who had remained behind to help maintain the peace. There was no reason to think that Nebuchadnezzar wouldn’t throw them into a fiery furnace.
Egypt was at least a formidable foe. They may not be as powerful as Babylon, but they were powerful enough that Nebuchadnezzar would think twice about pursuing them. Plus, when you take this idea to its logical conclusion, if Nebuchadnezzar was angry enough to pursue them into Egypt, then he certainly would kill them if they remained in Mizpah.
Of course, this way of thinking assumed that Nebuchadnezzar could act independently of the LORD. While it is true that we are motivated to act by our volition and will, the point at which we attempt to carry out our will bumps up against the hand of God. If the LORD were not sovereign, the devil would have killed us a thousand times over. Nebuchadnezzar was powerful, but not as powerful as the devil, and certainly was no match for the living God.
I find it interesting that the LORD was willing to relent on His judgment against the people if they would only listen to His word and remain in the land. They had no temple or instruments for making sacrifices. They spoke no prayers of confession. They performed no fast. Their salvation from calamity hinged on accepting the promises of God by faith. From the moment the LORD gave Adam the first word at the establishment of the garden of Eden, our relationship with God has been one of receiving His word by faith alone.
Jeremiah had already demonstrated that he was a true prophet of the LORD. Did Johanan have the fortitude to walk with the LORD in faith?
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for continually demonstrating Your willingness to relent from judgment upon those who receive Your word by faith. Now that Your word has become incarnate in the person of Christ Jesus, help us to receive Him by faith as well. Amen.