Isaiah 42:1-3Then Johanan and the army captains and all the people, great and small, came to Jeremiah and said, “Please pray for us to the Lord your God, for as you know so well, we are only a tiny remnant of what we were before. Beg the Lord your God to show us what to do and where to go.”
4 “All right,” Jeremiah replied. “I will ask him and I will tell you what he says. I will hide nothing from you.”
5-6 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the curse of God be on us if we refuse to obey whatever he says we should do! Whether we like it or not, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we send you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”
Jerusalem has fallen, and the Babylonians have carried off many of its citizens, leaving only a remnant. The Babylonians have left Gedaliah in charge of the government, and he is a good and honorable man. Unfortunately, Gedaliah is murdered. Jeremiah 41:1-3 tells us, “1 But in October, Ishmael (son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama), who was a member of the royal family and one of the king’s top officials, arrived in Mizpah, accompanied by ten men. Gedaliah invited them to dinner. 2 While they were eating, Ishmael and the ten men in league with him suddenly jumped up, pulled out their swords, and killed Gedaliah. 3 Then they went out and slaughtered all the Jewish officials and Babylonian soldiers who were in Mizpah with Gedaliah.
Ishmael kidnaps several of the king’s daughters and other prominent citizens and heads for the land of the Amorites; however, Johanan and his men catch up with Ishmael, rescuing the hostages. Ishmael and eight followers escape to the Amorites. But now the citizens of Jerusalem are terrified. What will the Babylonians do when they learn that someone has slaughtered Gedaliah? That’s when these people rush to Jeremiah, seeking answers.
7 Ten days later the Lord gave his reply to Jeremiah. 8 So he called for Johanan and the captains of his forces, and for all the people, great and small, 9 and said to them: “You sent me to the Lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply:
10 “Stay here in this land. If you do, I will bless you, and no one will harm you. For I am sorry for all the punishment I have had to give to you. 11 Don’t fear the king of Babylon anymore, for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand. 12 And I will be merciful to you by making him kind so that he will not kill you or make slaves of you but will let you stay here in your land.
13-14 “But if you refuse to obey the Lord and say, ‘We will not stay here,’—and insist on going to Egypt where you think you will be free from war and hunger and alarms, 15 then this is what the Lord replies, O remnant of Judah: The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: If you insist on going to Egypt, 16 the war and famine you fear will follow close behind you, and you will perish there. 17 That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from sword, famine, and disease. None of you will escape from the evil I will bring upon you there.
18 “For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Just as my anger and fury were poured out upon the people of Jerusalem, so it will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will be received with disgust and with hatred—you will be cursed and reviled. And you will never again see your own land. 19 For the Lord has said: O remnant of Judah, do not go to Egypt!”
Jeremiah concluded: “Never forget the warning I have given you today. 20 If you go, it will be at the cost of your lives. For you were deceitful when you sent me to pray for you and said, ‘Just tell us what God says and we will do it!’ 21 And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey any more now than you did the other times. 22 Therefore know for a certainty that you will die by sword, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.”
Notice the oath that Johanan and his followers swear to Jeremiah, promising absolute obedience. Too bad these people are lying. Jeremiah puts the problem before the Lord, but God doesn’t answer for ten days. Why this delay? God knows Jeremiah’s heart is true; however, God also knows that Johanan and the others have spoken in the heat of the moment. God delays ten days so that when Jeremiah gives God’s answer, there will be no room for backing out.
When Jeremiah calls the people together, they conveniently forget the solemn oath they have sworn. Jeremiah 43:1-4 When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from God to all the people, Azariah (son of Hoshaiah) and Johanan (son of Kareah) and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The Lord our God hasn’t told you to tell us not to go to Egypt! Baruch (son of Neriah) has plotted against us and told you to say this so that we will stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or carried off to Babylon as slaves.”
So Johanan and all the guerrilla leaders and all the people refused to obey the Lord and stay in Judah.
Now we see what is actually going on. These people don’t really want to hear from the Lord; they want Jeremiah to confirm decisions they have already made. The whole group takes off for Tahpanhes, Egypt, forcing Jeremiah and Baruch, his scribe, to accompany them. This decision proves disastrous, for soon Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt, setting up his throne at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace in the center of Tahpanhes. By refusing to obey the Lord, the fugitives have brought destruction on themselves, just as Jeremiah has warned.
What can we learn from this tragic story? It’s not enough to wait on the Lord; we must also obey Him once He speaks. The survivors from Judah refused to obey God because His Will didn’t line up with theirs; however, God knew the Babylonians had no desire to leave the country totally desolate. The Babylonians had left an able governor to handle the province. Even after Ishmael murdered Gedaliah, the Babylonians would still have allowed the Judeans to remain at home to maintain the country and pay tribute. Waste lands don’t generate any tribute, so conquering armies always left settlers behind. The Samaritans who lived in what had been the Northern Kingdom were brought in by the Assyrians to maintain the land after the conquest of the Northern Kingdom.
Bottom line: It’s not enough to simply spend time waiting on the Lord. You must be committed to obedience once God gives guidance, and you can’t try to do your will in God’s Name. David Yonggi Cho developed a church with 850,000 members in South Korea. When asked the secret of his success, Cho simply said, “I pray, and I obey.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to listen and obey. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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