These six chapters tell (mostly in chronological order) of
the continued ministry of Jeremiah after the captivity took place.
As we saw in chapter 39, Jerusalem has fallen at the hands
of the cruel Babylonians, just like Jeremiah has been prophesying for the past twenty-five years. These six chapters for today’s
post tell the story of Jeremiah and a small group of Israelites who were left
in Jerusalem after the fall, which I find to be rather interesting reading. {I usually am more interested in a recording
of Historical facts which are stated in chronological order. Or perhaps it’s just easier for me.}
Chapter 40
The first six verses tell an interesting story. Leading the invasion and captivity of the
people of Jerusalem was the Babylonian military leader named Nebuzaradan. Nebuzaradan seemed to take a special interest
in Jeremiah. This is not difficult to
understand. Jeremiah was imprisoned in
terrible conditions when Nebuzaradan discovered him. The Babylonian figured that if Jeremiah was
so hated by Judah’s government then there must be some redeeming qualities to
the man. Also, Nebuzaradan must have
held in his heart a measure of respect for Jeremiah as a man of God. As a gesture of leniency, Nebuzaradan gave
Jeremiah the choice of going to Babylon with the people of Judah or remaining
in Jerusalem, which would be under Babylonian rule. Nebuzaradan also promised Jeremiah that if he
chose to go to Babylon, Nebuzaradan would see to it that he would be taken good
care of, rather than be treated like a slave.
The choice Jeremiah had was a difficult one. He chose to remain in Jerusalem.
Verses 7-12 give us a brief background of a man named
Gedaliah. He was a member of a prominent
Judean family and a good friend to Jeremiah.
He was generally well liked by the people of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah governor of Judah. Before and during the
invasion, many Judeans escaped and hid in the outlying areas around Judah. Gedaliah encouraged all Judeans to return to their
country, and to cooperate with the Babylonian government. Gedaliah knew that any resistance could only
result in further violence and bloodshed.
Starting in verse 13 and continuing on into through the 3rd
verse in chapter 41, we see the story of a man named Ishmael plotting and
assassinating Gedaliah. It was a set-up,
brought on by what I would consider a combination of jealousy toward Gedaliah
and hatred for the Babylonians. Gedaliah
had served as governor for about five years, and had done what appears to have
been a good job under strange and difficult circumstances.
41:4-18 - Violence, Anarchy, and Chaos
Following the death of Gedaliah at the hands of Ishmael,
things got really bad. Ishmael became
drunk with power after he assassinated the governor. He went on to murder seventy of the eighty
religious Judeans on a pilgrimage.
Ishmael was evil and bloodthirsty.
He appointed himself as the leader to replace Gedaliah. A man named Johanan gathered a group of
Judeans to rebel against Ishmael.
Johanan’s group was successful in destroying the new evil leadership but
Ishmael escaped. So now Johanan was
considered the new leader of the Judeans who were left in the Promised Land.
Chapter 42 – Johanan’s Hasty Decision
As we have just seen, a lot has happened in a very short
period of time. Babylon’s appointed
governor Gedaliah has been assassinated.
Chaos has ensued. The remaining
Judeans have appointed their own leader without the approval by the
Babylonians. Johanan knew that it was
just a matter of time before the Babylonians would send troops to “clean house”
and reestablish order. Johanan thought
the best way to avoid what he anticipated as inevitable punishment, was to flee from Jerusalem. And the only place that seemed
safe was Egypt. However, as this passage
points out, God through Jeremiah did not want them to leave Judah. But by the time Jeremiah could share this
with them, they had already begun their trip south, in a hurry to escape before
the Babylonians could get to Jerusalem.
As we see in verse 7, Jeremiah had been seeking the Lord’s guidance for
ten days before he received a clear understanding of God’s will. Even though it was late coming, it was still
God’s will. When Jeremiah tried to get
the people to turn back to Judah he met with strong resistance.
Chapter 43 – Prophecy of Military Invasion of Egypt
Although the strong aggressive military powers in the region
have come and gone, each wreaking their own flavor of havoc, none have really
threatened to bother Egypt. This was due
to two reasons. Firstly, Egypt was far
away to the southwest and never posed serious threats to any region to the
north east. Secondly, Egypt was always
known as strong military power with the most sophisticated weaponry. Therefore most of the dominant powers left them
alone. This is probably the most
compelling reason that Johanan chose Egypt as the location in which to hide
from the Babylonians. Suddenly and
unexpectedly God spoke through Jeremiah that the mighty land of Egypt was going
to be conquered by the Babylonians. This
came as a shock to all hearers of Jeremiah’s words. In fact, practically nobody believed
him. I need to clear up verses 10-11. God referred to Nebuchadnezzar as His
servant. This does not mean that the
Babylonian king was a Godly man. He certainly
was not. But he was a vessel through
which God accomplished His purpose, not only for Judah, but for Egypt as
well. {I have witnessed in my life many
times that God used ungodly people through which to bless His faithful
servants.
Chapter 44 – Israelites Again Condemned for Idolatry
In this chapter Jeremiah’s book seems to abruptly shift as
it has many times before. He is speaking
to the Jews who have been living in Egypt’s territory. These Jews have assimilated to Egypt and
their gods. They seem to have forgotten
about their Creator and their worship practices have become an abomination to
the Lord. These people made a pitiful
attempt to rationalize their behavior, which only made God more determined to
bring them to account, which He did.
Chapter 45 – Baruch
Remember Baruch? We
read about him in chapter 36. He was
Jeremiah’s scribe who documented in writing all of God’s prophesies during a
twenty-five year period. This very short
chapter is dedicated to Baruch, who has found himself in a state of fatigue,
fear, depression, and loneliness. God
loved Baruch and wanted to help him. God
encouraged Baruch to continue to run the good race. God went on to tell Baruch that He would not
only protect him from those who threatened violence, but assured him he would
accomplish great things.
Next Post – Finishing Jeremiah
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