Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 42:1
Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,
1. Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah ] See mg. We should probably (with LXX) read Azariah here as well. The name Jezaniah may be due to a copyist who thought that the names of captains here must correspond as closely as might be with the list in ch. 40 (see on Jer 42:8 there).
from the least even unto the greatest ] i.e. all, without exception.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Among those delivered by Johanan from Ishmael had been Jeremiah and Baruch Jer 43:6; and to them now all, without exception, come for counsel.
Jezaniah – He is called Azariah in Jer 43:2. The Septuagint, in both places, call him Azariah. Since there is little reason for identifying him with Jezaniah the Maachathite Jer 40:8, it is probable that the Septuagint is right in calling him in both places Azariah, and that the reading Jezaniah arose from some scribe assuming that his name must be found in the earlier list.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jer 42:1-6
All the people . . . came near, and said unto Jeremiah the prophet.
The people and the prophet
I. Prayerfulness. Pray for us. The prophet was implored to intercede with God on behalf of his countrymen. That which prosperity had failed to teach, was quickly learned in the day of adversity. God is honoured when His people cast themselves on His all-sufficiency; and He will repay their confidence by revelations of enlarged, and ever-enlarging, favour.
II. Teachableness. That the Lord thy God may show, &c. Matthew Henry well says, In every difficult and doubtful case our eye must be up to God for direction: we cannot be guided by a spirit of prophecy, which has ceased; but we may pray to be guided in our movements by a spirit of wisdom, and the hints of providence.
1. A teachable spirit is not a credulous spirit. It does not believe, except on evidence; as the preacher is to persuade men, so is he ever to re-echo the first words God addresses to His rebellious creatures, Come, now, and let us reason together.
2. A teachable spirit is not a captious spirit.
3. A teachable spirit is not a reluctant spirit. (W. G. Barrett.)
The Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you.—
Portrait of a true preacher
I. The true preacher seeks his message for the people from Heaven. I will pray, &c. There are preachers who seek their message from the theories of philosophy, from the works of literature, from the conclusions of their own reasoning. But a true teacher looks to Heaven. In his studies his great question is, What saith the Lord; in his ministration his language is, Thus saith the Lord. We cannot render the spiritual service to humanity, of which it is in urgent need, by endeavouring to instruct it with human ideas, even though they come from the highest intellects of the world. The ideas of God can alone renovate, spiritually enlighten, purify, ennoble, and save the human soul.
II. The true preacher delivers his message to the people full and faithfully. I will keep nothing back from you.
(1) Though it strike against your prejudices.
(2) Though it enkindle your indignation. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XLII
Johanan and the remnant of the people desire Jeremiah to ask
counsel of God what they should do, 1-3.
The prophet assures them of safety in Judea, but destruction in
Egypt, 4-18;
and reproves their hypocrisy in asking counsel with which they
had no intention to comply, 19-22.
NOTES ON CHAP. XLII
Verse 1. The captains of the forces] The different leaders of the small bands or companies, collected from different parts of the land. The principal are those here named.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The three following chapters give us an account of what happened to Johanan the son of Kareah, and the rest, after the slaughter of Ishmael, and their going to dwell in the habitation of Chimham, in order to their going into the land of Egypt; their coming to Jeremiah to go and inquire of the Lord for them, his inquiry of God, with the revelation of the Divine will unto him, that they should not go into Egypt, promising Gods protection of them if they did not go, threatening their destruction if they did go; their proud answer to Jeremiah, and resolution to go, which they accordingly did, and there fell in with the idolatry of the Egyptians, for which God by his prophet threateneth them with an utter ruin.
After that this captain Johanan (who now had made himself head of the Jews) had fixed their abode in the habitation of Chimham in the way to Egypt, with thoughts of going down to inhabit there, for fear of the Chaldeans coming to revenge the death of Gedaliah upon all the remainder of the Jews, both these captains and many of the people, or some of all sorts of the people, (for it cannot be imagined that every particular person came,) made their address to the prophet Jeremiah, who probably was with them, carried away by Ishmael, and rescued by this captain.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then all the captains of the forces,…. Having taken up their residence at the habitation of Chimham, in their way to Egypt, where they were desirous of going, and being afraid of the Chaldeans, as they pretended:
and Johanan the son of Kareah; or, “even Johanan” s; especially and particularly he, the principal captain and chief spokesman in this affair:
and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah; said to be the son of a Maachathite,
Jer 40:8;
and all the people from the least even unto the greatest: a phrase expressive of the universality of them in the strongest terms:
came near; that is, to Jeremiah; who either was at Mizpah when Gedaliah was slain, but preserved by the Lord; and though carried captive by Ishmael with the rest, was rescued by Johanan; and now along with him: or rather after he had been with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and made a short stay there, he went to Anathoth, and there abode till now; and when Johanan took those that were left at Mizpah, he gathered together all the rest of the Jews in different places to him, in order to go to Egypt, and among the rest the Prophet Jeremiah; for it can hardly be thought, had he been at Mizpah when Ishmael was there, he would have escaped without a miracle.
s “imprimis Johanan”, Schmidt; “nempe Johanan”, Piscator, Grotius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“And there drew near all the captains, namely, Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from little to great, Jer 42:2. And said to Jeremiah the prophet, Let our supplication come before thee, and pray for us to Jahveh thy God, for all this remnant (for we are left a few out of many, as thine eyes see us); Jer 42:3. That Jahveh thy God may tell us the way in which we should go, and the thing that we should do.” Of the captains, two, viz., Johanan and Jezaniah, are mentioned as the leaders of the people and the directors of the whole undertaking, who also, Jer 42:1., insolently accuse the prophet of falsehood, and carry out the proposed march to Egypt. Jezaniah is in Jer 40:8 called the Maachathite; here he is named in connection with his father, “the son of Hoshaiah;” while in Jer 43:2, in conjunction with Johanan the son of Kareah, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah is mentioned, which name the lxx also have in Jer 42:1 of this chapter. Hitzig, Ewald, etc., are consequently of the opinion that in our verse has been written by mistake for . But more probable is the supposition that the error is in the of Jer 43:2, inasmuch as there is no reason to doubt the identity of Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah with the Jezaniah descended from Maacha (Jer 40:8); and the assumption that is incorrect in two passages (Jer 42:1 and Jer 40:8) is highly improbable. They go to the prophet Jeremiah, whom they had taken with them from Mizpah, where he was living among the people, with the rest of the inhabitants of the place (Jer 41:16). as in Jer 37:20; see on Jer 36:7. The request made to the prophet that he would intercede for them with the Lord, which they further urge on the ground that the number left out of the whole people is small, while there is implied in this the wish that God may not let this small remnant also perish; – this request Ngelsbach considers a piece of hypocrisy, and the form of asking the prophet “a mere farce,” since it is quite plain from Jer 43:1-6 that the desire to go to Egypt was already deeply rooted in their minds, and from this they would not allow themselves to be moved, even by the earnest warning of the prophet. But to hypocrites, who were playing a mere farce with the prophet, the Lord would have probably replied in a different way from what we find in Jer 42:8-22. As the Searcher of hearts, He certainly would have laid bare their hypocrisy. And however unequivocally the whole address implies the existence of disobedience to the voice of God, it yet contains nothing which can justify the assumption that it was only in hypocrisy that they wished to learn the will of God. We must therefore assume that their request addressed to the prophet was made in earnest, although they expected that the Lord’s reply would be given in terms favourable to their intention. They wished to obtain from God information as to which way they should go, and what they should do, – not as to whether they should remain in the country or go to Egypt. “The way that we should go” is, of course, not to be understood literally, as if they merely wished to be told the road by which they would most safely reach Egypt; neither, on the other hand, are the words to be understood in a merely figurative sense, of the mode of procedure they ought to pursue; but they are to be understood of the road they ought to take in order to avoid the vengeance of the Chaldeans which they dreaded, – in the sense, whither they ought to go, in order to preserve their lives from the danger which threatened them.
Jer 42:4-6 Jeremiah replies: “I have heard (i.e., acceded to your request); behold, I will pray to Jahveh your God, according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatever Jahveh answers you I will tell you, I will not keep anything from you.” Jer 42:5. They said further: “Let Jahveh be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not just according to all the word which Jahveh thy God shall send thee (to declare) unto us. Jer 42:6. Whether it be good or bad, we shall obey the voice of Jahveh our God, to whom we send thee, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of Jahveh our God.” , Pro 14:25, and , Isa 8:2; Psa 89:38. Both predicates occupy emphatic positions. God is to be a faithful witness, not in regard to the truth of what they say, but as regards the fulfilment of their promise, so that, if they would not obey His word, He might come forward to punish them. is construed with a double accusative: to send away a person with something, i.e., to give him a commission. After “whether it be good or evil,” there is no need for supplying “in our eyes” ( ), as Hitzig and Graf allege: “whether it please us or not;” the subject is : “we will obey the word, whether it be good or evil,” i.e., whether it announce good or evil to come (cf. Ecc 12:14). The Kethib occurs only in this passage in the Old Testament; the Qeri accordingly substitutes : the former, however, is taken from the vulgar tongue, and should not be altered here. does not mean “ because we obey,” but “when we obey.” The hearing is the condition, not the cause of the prosperity.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Jeremiah Agrees to Consult God. | B. C. 588. |
1 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, 2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) 3 That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. 4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us. 6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.
We have reason to wonder how Jeremiah the prophet escaped the sword of Ishmael; it seems he did escape, and it was not the first time that the Lord hid him. It is strange also that in these violent turns he was not consulted before now, and his advice asked and taken. But it should seem as if they knew not that a prophet was among them. Though this people were as brands plucked out of the fire, yet have they not returned to the Lord. This people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; and contempt of God and his providence, God and his prophets, is still the sin that most easily besets them. But now at length, to serve a turn, Jeremiah is sought out, and all the captains, Johanan himself not excepted, with all the people from the least to the greatest, make him a visit; they came near (v. 1), which intimates that hitherto they had kept at a distance from the prophet and had been shy of him. Now here,
I. They desire him by prayer to ask direction from God what they should do in the present critical juncture, Jer 42:2; Jer 42:3. They express themselves wonderfully well. 1. With great respect to the prophet. Though he was poor and low, and under their command, yet they apply to him with humility and submissiveness, as petitioners for his assistance, which yet they intimate their own unworthiness of: Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee. They compliment him thus in hopes to persuade him to say as they would have him say. 2. With a great opinion of his interest in heaven: “Pray for us, who know not how to pray for ourselves. Pray to the Lord thy God, for we are unworthy to call him ours, nor have we reason to expect any favour from him.” 3. With a great sense of their need of divine direction. They speak of themselves as objects of compassion: “We are but a remnant, but a few of many; how easily will such a remnant be swallowed up, and yet it is a pity that it should. Thy eyes see what distress we are in, what a plunge we are at; if thou canst do any thing, help us.” 4. With desire of divine direction: “Let the Lord thy God take this ruin into his thoughts and under his hand, and show us the way wherein we may walk and may expect to have his presence with us, and the thing that we may do, the course we may take for our own safety.” Note, In every difficult doubtful case our eye must be up to God for direction. They then might expect to be directed by a spirit of prophecy, which has now ceased; but we may still in faith pray to be guided by a spirit of wisdom in our hearts and the hints of Providence.
II. Jeremiah faithfully promises them to pray for direction for them, and, whatever message God should send to them by him, he would deliver it to them just as he received it without adding, altering, or diminishing, v. 4. Ministers may hence learn, 1. Conscientiously to pray for those who desire their prayers: I will pray for you according to your words. Though they had slighted him, yet, like Samuel when he was slighted, he will not sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for them, 1 Sam. xii. 23. 2. Conscientiously to advise those who desire their advice as near as they can to the mind of God, not keeping back any thing that is profitable for them, whether it be pleasing or no, but to declare to them the whole counsel of God, that they may approve themselves true to their trust.
III. They fairly promise that they will be governed by the will of God, as soon as they know what it is (Jer 42:5; Jer 42:6), and they had the impudence to appeal to God concerning their sincerity herein, though at the same time they dissembled: “The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us; do thou in the fear of God tell us truly what his mind is and then we will in the fear of God comply with it, and for this the Lord the Judge be Judge between us.” Note, Those that expect to have the benefit of good ministers’ prayers must conscientiously hearken to their preaching and be governed by it, as far as it agrees with the mind of God. Nothing could be better than this was: Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, that it may be well with us. 1. They now call God their God, for Jeremiah had encouraged them to call him so (v. 4): I will pray to the Lord your God. He is ours, and therefore we will obey his voice. Our relation to God strongly obliges us to obedience. 2. They promise to obey his voice because they sent the prophet to him to consult him. Note, We do not truly desire to know the mind of God if we do not fully resolve to comply with it when we do know it. 3. It is an implicit universal obedience that they here promise. They will do what God appoints them to do, whether it be good or whether it be evil: “Though it may seem evil to us, yet we will believe that if God command it it is certainly good, and we must not dispute it, but do it. Whatever God commands, whether it be easy or difficult, agreeable to our inclinations or contrary to them, whether it be cheap or costly, fashionable or unfashionable, whether we get or lose by it in our worldly interests, if it be our duty, we will do it.” 4. It is upon a very good consideration that they promise this, a reasonable and powerful one, that it may be well with us, which intimates a conviction that they could not expect it should be well with them upon any other terms.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
JEREMIAH – CHAPTER 42
JEREMIAH’S COUNSEL SOUGHT BY THE REMNANT
For forty years no one has paid much attention to the counsel of Jeremiah, but it appears here that he had finally been recognized as a true, trustworthy and respected prophet of Jehovah. The condition of the refugees is such as almost forces them to consult him about their future movements. They are not actually seeking spiritual guidance; they want to know whether Jehovah will approve their migration to Egypt. They still have not learned to trust and wait on the Lord in every situation, (comp. Exo 14:13; Php_4:19; Eph 3:20; Pro 3:5-6). Jeremiah did not fail them. He came to them with a definite word from Jehovah -a word of assurance, consolation and everlasting love.
Vs. 1-6: “PRAY FOR US!”
1. Recognizing the utter bankruptcy of their position among the nations, the diminished remnant of Judah (Deu 28:62; Isa 1:9; La 1:1) unites to seek Jeremiah’s prayer, counsel and intercession with Jehovah, (vs. 1-2; 37:3; comp. 1Sa 7:8; 1Sa 12:19; Isa 37:4; Jas 5:16).
2. They ask him to seek the Lord’s specific guidance – that they may walk in His way, (vs. 3; 6:16; comp. Psa 86:11).
3. Jeremiah agrees to pray to the Lord in their behalf and to withhold nothing that the Lord gives in answer, (vs. 4; comp. Exo 8:29; 1Sa 12:22-23; 1Ki 22:14; Psa 40:10).
4. Then they solemnly pledged, before the Lord (comp. Jdg 11:10; Mal 3:5; contr. Jer 43:2), to obey the voice of the Lord -whether it seemed “good” of “evil” to them, (Exo 24:7; Deu 5:27; Jos 24:24) – knowing that their welfare was in following the Lord with their whole hearts, (vs. 5-6; Deu 5:29-33).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
I have said that John, and his associates, and the whole people acted much more culpably by coming to the Prophet, than if they had not done so, and had gone directly to Egypt: for they either came dissemblingly, and thus designedly spoke what was false, or they were extremely stupid, and hypocrisy had wholly deprived them of their understanding. They came to the Prophet to ask counsel; nay, that he might be to them God’s interpreter, and that thus they might know what to do; and they promised to obey, as we shall hereafter see. However this may have been, they sought an oracle in which it was their duty to acquiesce, except they resolved openly to shake off the yoke and to show themselves to be gross and profane despisers of God. They came to the Prophet, when yet it was their fixed purpose, as we shall see, to go to Egypt.
He who asks counsel, ought first to see that he bring no prejudice, but be free and honest: but it is, however, a fault too common, that men deliberate and ask counsel, when they have already settled what to do; nay, nothing is more common than this; for those who consult do not, for the most part, wish to learn what is right, but that others should fall in with their own inclinations. He who has resolved on this or that point, pretends that he is in doubt, and held in suspense; he asks what ought to be done: if the answer be according to his wishes, he embraces what is said; but if he who is consulted, disapproves of what he has already resolved to do, he rejects the counsel given. Such was the dissimulation described by the Prophet, when the leaders of the forces and the whole people came to him.
He mentions, first, the leaders of the forces, and then John the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshiah He adds these two last; but it was to give them honor, as when the angel said,
“
Go and tell his disciples and Peter.” (Mar 16:7)
He did not put aside Peter, as though he was inferior to all the rest; but for the sake of honor he mentions his name, after having spoken generally of them all. So also here, the Prophet names generally the leaders, but as John the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah were the chief men, he expressly gives their names. He adds, the whole people, from the least to the greatest This does not refer to age; but what he means is, that all, of every grade, came with one consent to Jeremiah. It was not then the conspiring of a few men, but all from the least to the greatest had resolved to go to Egypt; and yet they came, as though with an honest purpose, to the Prophet; wherefore? They wished their own perverse design to be approved by God, and thus to subject God to their own will and humor; for they did not suffer themselves to be ruled by his Spirit, but audaciously disregarded his word. The Prophet then shews that they were all implicated in the same sin.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.Chronology as in previous chapter. Observe: Jeremiah and Baruch had been among the captives of Ishmael, whom Johanan rescued (chap. Jer. 43:6).
State of the Nation.The preceding chapter reveals the baseness of the royal seed and the infatuation of the peoples latest leader. This chapter discloses the obstinacy of the people from the least to the greatest in disobeying Gods purpose and in dissembling their prayers. Thus, all Gods chastisements leaves them still a rebellious nation and justifies the severity of His disciplinary punishments.
Personal Allusion.Jer. 42:1. Jezaniah: called Azariah (chap. Jer. 43:2).
Literary Criticisms.Jer. 42:2-3. THE LORD THY GOD. Some few authorities have , our God. But probably the form is correct, The Lord thy God, expressing the peoples sense of Jeremiahs peculiar relationship to Jehovah But when the prophet replies (Jer. 42:4), The Lord your God, as if to remind them that He had not cast them off, they change the form of expression into The Lord our God (Jer. 42:6).
Jer. 42:12. I will show mercies unto you, that he, &c., i.e. I will give you compassion, or will excite pity for you; i.e. in the king of Babylon.
SUBJECT OF CHAPTER 42
WILFULNESS IN PRAYER: GODS GUIDANCE ASKED HYPOCRITICALLY
Jer. 42:2-3. Theme: PERPLEXED SUPPLIANTS. That God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.
If only these words had been sincere, could their request have been better, or their language more devout?
(A.) Regarding the words as IF SINCERE, they suggest
I. Inquirers anxiously seeking the light.
II. Suppliants humbly craving Gods favour.
III. Baffled souls troubled to gain clearer leading.
IV. Obedient children eager more perfectly to do Gods will.
(B.) Regarding the words AS HYPOCRITICAL, they show
I. Good words may be spoken by false lips.
II. Wilful inquirers mocking God with a pretence of seeking guidance.
III. Contumacious sinners assuming the disguise of piety.
IV. While in the very path of transgression (chap. Jer. 41:17), rebels will dissemble and ask Gods permission.
Jer. 42:4. Theme: NO CLOAK FOR THEIR SIN.
I. Disobedience done without full knowledge is a lesser crime than when clearer light is asked and gained. Had they gone to Egypt without seeking Gods decision upon their course, their rebellion would have been less defiant and blasphemous.
1. The awful guilt of sinning against light!
2. The baseness of asking light while intending to defy it.
II. Audacity reaches its culmination when rebellion ventures to trifle with prayer. Plainly they used prayer merely to get their own way, but determined to act as they wished should God oppose them.
1. Hypocrisy flaunts its pretences in the very face of God.
2. Determined sinners sometimes use religion to gain their own ends.
III. Judgment will be weighted by the woe of slighted grace.
1. God may be sought in prayer; their conduct proves they knew this.
2. Divine guidance is granted to the perplexed; this also they knew, yet trifled with it.
3. Abuse of Gods goodness will provoke the sternest justice; and darken the souls doom.
Jer. 42:6. Theme: ABSOLUTE SUBMISSION TO GODS DIRECTION. Consider the state of affairs: Jerusalem overthrown; only a few people left in the city; internal conspiracies: Gedaliah and Ishmael; a remnant rescued from Ishmael by Johanan; a despondent and subdued people.
Now arose the question as to the next movement: Should they remain in their country amid disturbances, or go to Egypt and place themselves under foreign protection?
Life it full of this asking, What next? From that day to this.
The words To whom we send thee show that the people knew they had a prophet among them whom they could send to the Lord. But we have no one whom we can commission to go to God for us; we must go each one for ourselves.
Yet are we not less sure of a hearing; for we have a Mediator between God and man, and Him the Father heareth always.
I. God appealed to for direction in difficult circumstances. This was of old done by Israel as a nation habitually; they hearkened to Gods direction in their oracles. This is the instinctive act of a godly soul. Marks out whether godly or not. Should use God freely.
1. Can we as surely learn Gods voice now as when He spake by such direct communication? It was so assuring to have a personal hearing and answer. Yet if God has given counsel for every case, and given it once for all in His written Word, we can refer to that. To question that the Bible holds advice for our personal and special wants, is to doubt the wisdom of God who inspired the word for all His people, for every circumstance, for all time.
Besides which, prayer is our privileqe freely to use, as well as the Scriptures.
Do ye not also send us, Gods messengers, to Him for a word from the Lord for you? Take heed how ye hear.
Moreover, cannot God impress upon our minds and hearts His will? By His Holy Spirit; by working within us to will and do of His good pleasure.
2. Is it right to hazard ourselves when we act from the persuasion that we are doing Gods will? Whether it be evil, we will obey.
But that inquiry means, Shall expediency alone rule us, so that we only do what seems advantageous to us and not evil?
But if this were our guiding law, would missionary pioneers go with the Gospel where destruction threatened them? Would needy men, for conscience sake, stand aside from gain and reward? Would faithful disciples of Jesus carry their cross and endure suffering and toil in following Him? Would the Christian worker penetrate into vile courts where fever raged? Would disciples expose themselves to the ordeal of fierce mocking, &c.? Would the widow have surrendered all her living?
Not expediency, therefore; but implicit obedience.
3. Can God really command what seems adverse to our good? Yes; good or evil; i.e., it may seem so to us.
Johanan thought that he and the remnant would be safest in Egypt (Jer. 42:14). But God refused (Jer. 42:19).
In asking Gods counsel they knew beforehand He might refuse their wish. Yet they promised to abide by His counsel, whether it be good or whether it be evil. For Gods thoughts are not our thoughts, neither His ways our ways.
Surely it is only to mock God to ask Him to guide, and then only to obey when we approve! Shall we receive good at the hands of the Lord, and shall we not also receive evil?
II. Mans resolve of unfaltering obedience to the voice of the Lord.
Nothing could be more unreserved than this avowal: Whether it be good or evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord, &c.
If He is the Lord our God, then such complete trust is natural and right.
1. Their acknowledgment of perplexity (Jer. 42:3). They could not tell what was best or wisest to do; so sought guidance. Too often pride prevents our making such an acknowledgment; and not only when baffled by lifes perplexities, but equally in spiritual quests. But we are here reminded once again that it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. We walk in darkness, stumbling; but knowing not at what we stumble. If we are thus incompetent to choose and act alone in earthly affairs, how much more in eternal matters! Baffled concerning these trifling things, how shall we direct our career towards heaven? We cannot. Acknowledge ignorance, therefore, and incompetency; and go to God.
2. Their belief in the Divine wisdom. However it may seem to us, good or evil, God knows best what we should do; go to Him and inquire. Even the foolishness of God is wiser than mans wisdom. He is perfect in knowledge. All His people believe this. Therefore if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, &c. Pray more when perplexedin providencein religion. God will then teach you, and show you the way wherein, &c. (Jer. 42:3).
3. Their intention respecting the Lords answer. And here we are confronted with an astonishing illustration of the influence of self-will; how blinding! (chap. Jer. 43:2). Did they mean to abide by the reply Jeremiah brought? They took an oath that they would (Jer. 42:5); but ye dissembled in your hearts, &c. (Jer. 42:20). This is very awful. Oh! let us heed lest we do the same, set aside the Divine counsels by our wilfulness. Do we not often pray for guidance, have we not also vowed obedience, did we not profess to lay ourselves out for service; and somehow there came to us a conviction of Gods will; but it was contrary to our secret inclinations, so we beguiled it away! Beware of dissembling in your hearts when you deal with God!
Good or evil. Let us be honest in our resolve. Ask God, meaning to obey; and obey as if we believe God had taught us what to do. This is faith, nothing doubting.
III. Implicit obedience to God Involves our highest welfare. That it may be well with us, when we obey, &c. True, Godliness is great gain; always for our good to obey.
1. God will befriend those who rely upon Him (Jer. 42:10-11). It is an old truth, God preserveth His saints. We are His, if we trust in Him; and He is for us. I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken (Psa. 37:25). According to your faith be it done unto you.
2. He will deal most graciously with those who obey Him (Jer. 42:12). Show mercies; not only avert ill, but add blessings. Yes, and more; God would dispose the heart of the king of Babylon to their favour, that he may have mercy upon you and cause you to return to your own land (Jer. 42:12). For when a mans ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
3. He will gather His faithful people together, and far exceed their prayers and hopes in His dealings with them. For God would effect their ultimate restoration to their land, would raise again about them all the old joys of Jerusalem, and recover to them their lostnational and spiritualprivileges. This they desired; but it was more than they asked.
To an obedient child we not only give what it requests, we draw the child to our very heart. Thus doth God. He will gather us into close and tender relationship to Himself. Yes, and in due season, to His land, where foes shall no more invade, and we shall never more be separated from the Lord our God. And in the spiritual blessings with which He will enrich us until the day of our gathering together unto Him, we shall find that it is well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.
Jer. 42:7. Theme: A DELAYED ANSWER TO PRAYER.
i. Revelation waited for; the prophet would not speak till he had heard.
ii. Interval for deliberation; that the people might judge of their own willingness to accept the message of God.
iii. Obedience tested; for true obedience bows to Gods time, as well as to His way and will.
Jer. 42:11. Theme: GODS REPENTANCE. I repent Me of the evil that I have done unto you. God is said to repent when He alters His outward methods of dealing with men (Augustine).
I am satisfied with the punishment I have inflicted on you, if only you add not a new offence (Grotius).
Jer. 42:14. Theme: DELUSIONS OF DISOBEDIENCE.
I. A forbidden course. To go into the land of Egypt.
The reason for this prohibition was that Egypt was infamous for idolatry, full of the snares of luxury, doomed for its oppression of their ancestors. It was a standing prohibition (Deu. 17:16).
II. Coveted advantages. Where we shall see no war, &c.
1. Sin always entices with delusive promises. But Egypts troubles were just setting in, and there would be only war and woe till it was destroyed.
2. Sinners show their rebellion in disbelieving Gods promises (Jer. 42:10-11), as if He were a liar (1 John Jer. 42:10).
III. Vain hopes.
1. Though they had deserved only evil, they still dreamed of peace and prosperity. So do transgressors still deceive their own souls.
2. Though they intended further transgression, they boasted in the prospect of comfort. But the ways of transgressors are hard; and though hand join in hand, they shall not go unpunished.
Jer. 42:16. Theme: CALAMITY PURSUING TRANSGRESSORS. The sword which ye feared shall overtake you there; and the famine whereof ye were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt.
i. Because sinners carry their own woe with them wherever they go, even into hell.
ii. Because God follows transgressors wherever they go, and His being with them makes their terror.
I. The very evils we think to escape by sin, we bring the more surely upon ourselves.
1. For the act of sinning renders punishment certain.
2. Wrong courses never can lead aright.
3. Adopting evil devices in order to avert evil results is the height of frenzy and folly.
II. What our hearts most eagerly determine often proves most fatal to us.
1. Because the heart is deceitful and wicked, and to follow its devices and desires lands us in rebellion against God and neglect of our highest spiritual good. Whoso trusteth his own heart is a fool.
2. Because sin blinds our perception of good and magnifies the advantages of evil.
It reverses the telescope when looking at good and minimises it; but it turns the instrument in full focus on evil, and vastly enlarges it. The god of this world blinds the minds of them that believe not.
3. Because the highest blessings we receive come to us through self-denial and suffering. Certainly not through indulgence! Take up thy cross and follow Me. Strait it the gate that leadeth unto life.
III. No hiding-place can be found for escape from the penalties of wrong.
1. Not on earth. If I take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the earth. See Jer. 42:17.
2. Not in death. If I make my bed in Hades.
3. Not in eternity. For judgment and doom meet the sinner there (Rev. 6:15-17. See Jer. 42:18.)
Jer. 42:18. Theme: APPEAL TO PAST JUDGMENTSA WARNING. As Mine anger and My fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall My fury be poured forth upon you.
I. Predicted doom fulfilled. For what had occurred had been foretold (chap. Jer. 7:20; Jer. 18:16). God had acted true to His word.
II. Repeated guilt threatened. The arrows of the Lord are in quiver, ready!
III. Neglected warnings punished. In vain all appeals (Jer. 42:19); certain therefore the doom (Jer. 42:21-22).
Jer. 42:20. Theme: HYPOCRISY OF DESIRING THE PRAYERS OF OTHERS. Frequently persons desire their ministers prayers, yet are strangers to fear of God, and negligent of duty. Place a false and dangerous dependence on others prayers. Remnant of the Jews left from captivity entreated Jeremiahs prayers (Jer. 42:2), and took oath to obey voice of Lord (Jer. 42:5). But they had determined to go to Egypt, and asked his prayers hypocritically. Text.
I. Consider on what principle desiring the prayers of others is grounded.
1. A persuasion that it is our duty to pray one for another. (1.) This a dictate of reason (Ezr. 6:10; 1Ma. 12:11). (2.) Expressly required in the word of God (Jer. 29:7; 1Ti. 2:1; Jas. 5:16). Thus Samuel saith (1Sa. 12:23). (3.) The pious custom of good men. Abraham for Sodom. Hezekiah sent Isaiah to pray for him and his kingdom. Christ prayed for disciples; Paul, in all his epistles, for his friends.
2. Desiring the prayers of others supposeth that God hath often answered intercessory prayers of good men. God loves good men; they have an interest in heaven; others are favoured for their sake (Gen. 20:7; Job. 42:8). Moses prayed, and Amalek was vanquished, fire in camp quenched, plague stayed, destructive serpents removed, Miriams leprosy healed, plagues taken from Pharaoh; God so influenced by his prayers that He said, Let Me alone, &c. (Exo. 32:10). Hezekiahs prayer for offenders (2Ch. 30:20). Same truth implied in inhibition of prayers (Jer. 7:16; Jer. 11:14; Jer. 14:11; Jer. 29:7). Peter delivered from prison (Act. 12:5); Paul rescued (2Co. 1:11). On this principle the intercession of Christ is founded; Father loveth Him, &c., heareth Him always.
3. It supposeth that it is very desirable, specially in some cases, to have the prayers of others for us; that we reap advantages. God heeds the pleadings of those He loves. There are special circumstances when particularly desirable; physical prostration, when cannot pray for ourselves; perplexity or distress of mind, as in Job. 37:19; in cases of great importance and difficulty, as Jer. 42:3. Encouraged by Christs promise (Mat. 18:19).
II. When they who desire the prayers of others may be said to dissemble in their hearts.
1. When they desire them without sincerity; through form and custom; when a mere compliment to the piety of those they ask; when done under pretence to humility; when only desire temporal blessings, averse to spiritual (1Ki. 13:6; Act. 8:24). So also when public praise is returned for deliverances (Isa. 26:16); yet no public glory for mercies (Luk. 17:18).
2. When they will not pray for themselves; practically live without God, neglect public worship and secret devotion. Imagine that ministers prayers more acceptable than their own. Not use proper means to obtain what they ask: health, prosperity, self-conquest.
3. When they will not do what God by His word and ministers requireth. Jews promised (Jer. 42:5-6); yet were resolutely determined on their course, contrary to command of God. Pharaoh (Exo. 4:28). Men ask our prayers, but will not part with their lusts, nor practise duties as enjoined.
III. Show the hypocrisy and evil of this conduct.
1. It is a high affront to the all-seeing and holy God. It is mocking God (Jer. 42:20; Jer. 42:22).
2. It is deceiving and grieving to those friends whose prayers they desire. They hope for the best; yet if discern insincerity they will have no heart to pray for you. In affliction, prayers sought; but neglect your intercessors and religion in your prosperity.
3. Prayers offered for such persons are not likely to avail. Margin reads, You have used deceit against your own souls.
Servants in praying families, heed this. Weak persons who look to godly persons prayers in their last moments (Pro. 28:9). Holy mens prayers may secure a temporary good (Jas. 5:15), but ensure no lasting advantage; no salvation of the soul.
Application.(1.) Learn with what dispositions of mind we should desire the prayers of others: in sincerity; concurring with them; ready to obey God (Psa. 65:2). (2.) That we should be ready to pray one for another. Our intercessions may bless; and we shall be blessed in return (Psa. 35:13). (3.) It is particularly wicked to dissemble in our hearts when we profess dependence on the intercession of Christ. His intercession not intended to supersede our prayers (Rev. 8:3; Heb. 7:25). If you neglect prayer, or pray formally, or live in violation of His teachings, you offer indignity to His holy character and office of mediator.Abstract of Sermon by Rev. Job Orton, Kidderminster, A.D. 1775.
Jer. 42:21-22. Theme: ADMONISHED AND ABANDONED.
I. Wilful self-deceit. They tried to beguile themselves that they were acting religiously, and were ready to listen to Gods word, and were doing what was pleasing to Him; while all the time they were resolved to follow their own course, yet hoped that God would give approval to their rebellion.
Like instances of self-deceit, Num. 22:5; Num. 22:19; Mat. 23:11; Luk. 18:11; and 1Ti. 4:2.
II. Given over to delusions. All further counsels, persuasions, prayers for you are useless. You both believe a lie, and will have none of My reproof. For such obstinacy there is no cure; you must now be left to be filled with the knowledge of your own devices.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
2. The request of the prophet (Jer. 42:1-6)
TRANSLATION
(1) Then all the officers of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people both small and great, drew near (2) and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, May our petition, we beg you, be accepted before you. Pray on our behalf unto the LORD your God on behalf of all this remnantfor we are only a few left from many, as you can observe with your own eyes(3) that the LORD your God may declare to us the way which we should go and the thing we should do. (4) And Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard. Behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words. And it shall come to pass that any word which the LORD shall answer you, I will relate to you. I will not withhold from you a thing. (5) And they said unto Jeremiah, May the LORD be a true and faithful witness between us if we do not act in accordance with every word which the LORD your God shall send you concerning us. (6) Whether it be good or bad we will hearken to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you in order that it may be well with us, because we obey the LORD our God.
COMMENTS
It is while the people were encamped near Bethlehem that Jeremiah returns to the narrative. Nothing has been recorded about his activities since he chose to dwell with Gedaliah in Mizpah (Jer. 40:7 to Jer. 41:18). Since Jeremiah is with the remnant at the inn of Chimham it would seem reasonable to assume that he had been among the captives led away by Ishmael.[352] At any rate Jeremiah now comes to the fore again as the spiritual counselor of the people. The entire group of fugitives assembled before the prophet in order to receive an oracle from the Lord. Johanan and Jezaniah[353] acted as spokesmen for the group (Jer. 42:1). Very courteously they made their request. They desire that God might direct their path (Jer. 42:2).
[352] This seems preferable to the alternative view that Jeremiah and Baruch had been absent from Mizpah during the mid of Ishmael and joined the group later by their own choice.
[353] Another Jezaniah is mentioned in Jer. 40:8.
Jeremiah listened to the well-worded plea of the leaders with sympathetic ears. He still loved his people dearly and so agrees to fulfill their request. Jeremiah knew, however, that these people already had their minds made up as to what they were going to do. They had decided that it was necessary to flee into Egypt and they assumed that this decision would be indorsed and confirmed by the Lord. After all, what other alternative was there? Anticipating that God would not approve of their plan, Jeremiah warns the people that he will speak only that which the Lord reveals. He will not alter the word of God to suit the present circumstances. He would not hold back the truth (Jer. 42:4). Somewhat over enthusiastically the people take a vow that they will act in accordance with the word of God (Jer. 42:5-6). It is obvious from what follows that they were not sincere in this declaration. Like so many of Gods people, they were willing to follow His word only in so far as His word met with their approval.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
XLII.
(1) Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah.Possibly identical with Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite (Jer. 40:8). In Azariah the son of Hoshaiah (Jer. 43:2) we may recognise his brother. The LXX., indeed, reads Azariah here, and it is possibly the true reading.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE REMNANT DESIRE JEREMIAH TO INQUIRE OF GOD, Jer 42:1-6.
1. All the captains The “captains” who were with the scattered Jews in the neighbourhood.
Johanan and Jezaniah In addition to the “captains” above referred to. This last is called, in Jer 43:2, “Azariah.” This has led to the conjecture that an error has crept into the Hebrew text as to the form of this name. The Septuagint in both places gives the name Azariah.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The People Approach Jeremiah And Seek Guidance, Giving The Impression Of Wanting To Obey YHWH ( Jer 42:1-6 ).
As a result of what had happened to Jerusalem Jeremiah had now been proved to be a true prophet of YHWH. Thus on finding him among the captives the people came to him ostensibly in order to receive the word of YHWH. What they really wanted was a religious assurance that the plan which they had formulated was the right one. They wanted God to back up their plans, rather than themselves wanting to fall into line with God’s plans.
There may be a deliberate parallel between what is said here and what is said in Exodus 24. In both cases the covenant is renewed with a promise being made by the people that they would obey it. It is setting the scene in both cases for their future disobedience.
Jer 42:1
‘Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, came near,’
It would appear that Johanan was the recognised leader of the military forces, probably by common consent of the commanders, with the son(s) of Hoshaiah possibly being the recognised leaders of the people in general. Compare Jer 43:1 where Azariah the son of Hoshaiah takes precedence over Johanan in dealing with Jeremiah’s prophecy. Jezaniah as used here may simply have been another name for Azariah, or it may be that the two were brothers, both belonging to the same aristocratic family. He may or may not have been the same person as Jezaniah the Maachathite (Jer 40:8). But it is emphasised here that both they, and all from highest to lowest, were concerned to seek Jeremiah’s support for their venture. This is speaking, of course, of those who were planning the flight to Egypt. Purportedly they wanted YHWH’s guidance. Actually it would turn out that they simply wanted to be told that they were right. It was not that they were deliberately dishonest. They genuinely wanted God’s will, but only as long as it conformed to theirs. And we must remember that they lived in a day when turning to the divine about future plans was looked on as the necessary thing to do. The gods were always consulted before any great enterprise. It is not therefore their religious sincerity which is in doubt but the condition of their hearts.
Jer 42:2-3
‘And said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let, we pray you, our supplication be presented before you, and pray for us to YHWH your God, even for all this remnant, for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes do behold us, that YHWH your God may show us the way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do.”
For the last phrase compare Exo 18:20. Outwardly their hopes were very pious. They wanted to know YHWH’s will and to do it. Indeed they claimed that they wanted to walk in the way of YHWH. And so they asked Jeremiah to pray to YHWH so that He would guide them (as it will turn out, as so often with us today, it was on condition that He said what they wanted Him to say). Note the reference to the remnant. They were very conscious that their once well populated land was now comparatively sparsely populated, mainly through slaughter, and through death by means of famine and pestilence, and through fleeing as refugees, rather than through exile, for only the cream of the people had actually been exiled. Isaiah in Jer 6:11-13 had prophesied that Judah would be reduced to a remnant and that even that remnant would need to be purged. Here now was a remnant but it will soon become apparent that they too need to be purged. Outwardly, however, they give the impression of having learned their lesson.
Note that here they speak of ‘YHWH your God’, the idea being that Jeremiah was very much YHWH’s prophet, and that YHWH was the One from Whom he received His prophecies. Other prophets would go to other gods and even many gods, but they knew that Jeremiah had only one God.
Jer 42:4
‘Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to YHWH your God according to your words; and it will come about that whatever thing YHWH will answer you, I will declare it to you. I will keep nothing back from you.”
Jeremiah then assured them that he had heard their cry for help, and that he would pray to YHWH on their behalf as they had requested. He further promised that he would assuredly tell them what YHWH’s answer to them was, and would keep nothing back from them. This emphasis suggests that Jeremiah was already aware that his reply was not likely to please them. He knew that God did not want His people to return to Egypt (compare Isa 30:1-4; Hosea 11; Eze 17:15; and often). Egypt was doomed (Ezekiel 29-32)
Note again the designation ‘YHWH your God’, this time spoken to the people. Jeremiah wants them to recognise in their turn that YHWH is their sole God too, the God to Whom they owe covenant responsibility, and the God Who is interested in their concerns.
Jer 42:5
‘Then they said to Jeremiah, “YHWH be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not according to all the word with which YHWH your God will send you to us.” ’
In bold words they asserted their determination to obey YHWH. They called on YHWH to act as a true and faithful prosecuting witness among them if they failed to obey His words which would He would send to them through Jeremiah. In other words they were indicating that they would be prepared to face up to a searching examination of their obedience. It was a powerfully phrased request. All seemed set well for the future. In this confident declaration we discover a decided similarity with similar declarations in the past. It indicated confirmation of the covenant. See Exo 24:3; Exo 24:7; and compare Jos 24:21.
Jer 42:6
‘Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of YHWH our God, to whom we send you, that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of YHWH our God.’
Indeed, they declared, they would obey the voice of YHWH through Jeremiah whether it spoke good or evil, in other words whatever it spoke, so that it might be well with them. The thought was pious and theologically correct. The problem was that they meant it only if it fitted in with their own ideas of what they should do, something common to many of us in our dealings with God.
Note that taking up Jeremiah’s indication that YHWH was ‘their God’ they now themselves spoke of Him as ‘our God’. By this they were acknowledging their responsibility to look only to Him as their only God and to obey and worship Him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
SECTION 2 ( Jer 26:1 to Jer 45:5 ).
Whilst the first twenty five chapters of Jeremiah have mainly been a record of his general prophecies, mostly given during the reigns of Josiah and Jehoiakim, and have been in the first person, this second section of Jeremiah (Jer 26:1 to Jer 45:5) is in the third person, includes a great deal of material about the problems that Jeremiah faced during his ministry and provides information about the opposition that he continually encountered. This use of the third person was a device regularly used by prophets so that it does not necessarily indicate that it was not directly the work of Jeremiah, although in his case we actually have good reason to think that much of it was recorded under his guidance by his amanuensis and friend, Baruch (Jer 36:4).
It can be divided up as follows:
1. Commencing With A Speech In The Temple Jeremiah Warns Of What Is Coming And Repudiates The Promises Of The False Prophets (Jer 26:1 to Jer 29:32).
2. Promises Are Given Of Eventual Restoration And Of A New Covenant Written In The Heart (Jer 30:1 to Jer 33:26).
3. YHWH’s Continuing Word of Judgment Is Given Through Jeremiah And Its Repercussions Leading Up To The Fall Of Jerusalem Are Revealed (Jer 34:1 to Jer 39:18).
4. Events Subsequent To The Fall Of Jerusalem (Jer 40:1 to Jer 45:5).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Commencement Of Judah’s Restoration Is Thwarted By The Assassination Of Gedaliah The Governor And By The Refusal Of The People To Listen To Jeremiah As They Take Refuge In Egypt ( Jer 40:1 to Jer 43:13 ).
This deals with ‘the word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH’ after he had been delivered from his manacles by Nebuzaradan. It opens with the historical background to this prophecy in which Gedaliah, Nebuchadrezzar’s appointed Governor, commences the re-establishment of Judah in the land (40), and is then assassinated (Jer 41:1-10), resulting in the decision by the people of Judah to seek refuge from Nebuchadrezzar’s revenge in Egypt (Jer 41:11-18). However, prior to doing so they consult Jeremiah who gives them ‘the word of YHWH’ that they are to remain in the land under His protection (42).
But as always Judah choose to disobey YHWH and do seek refuge in Egypt, with the consequence that Jeremiah vividly prophecies that Nebuchadrezzar’s retribution will overtake them there (43).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
SECTION 2 ( Jer 26:1 to Jer 45:5 continued).
As we have previously seen this Section of Jeremiah from Jer 26:1 to Jer 45:5 divides up into four main subsections, which are as follows:
1. Commencing With A Speech In The Temple Jeremiah Warns Of The Anguish That Is Coming And Repudiates The Promises Of The False Prophets (Jer 26:1 to Jer 29:32).
2. Following On After The Anguish To Come Promises Are Given Of Eventual Restoration, Central To Which is A New Covenant Written In The Heart And The Establishment Of A Shoot (Branch) Of David On His Throne (Jer 30:1 to Jer 33:26).
3. YHWH’s Continuing Word of Judgment Is Given Through Jeremiah, The Continuing Disobedience Of The People Is Brought Out, And Jeremiah’s Resulting Experiences Leading Up To The Fall Of Jerusalem Are Revealed (Jer 34:1 to Jer 39:18).
4. Events Subsequent To The Fall Of Jerusalem Are Described Including The Rejection By The Remnant Of Judah Of YHWH’s Offer Of Full Restoration (Jer 40:1 to Jer 45:5).
We have already commented on Subsections 1 in Jeremiah 4; subsection 2 in Jeremiah 5; and subsection 3 in Jeremiah 6. We must now therefore consider subsection 4 here. This subsection deals with various experiences of Jeremiah amidst what remained of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem.
SECTION 2. Subsection 4). Events Subsequent To The Fall Of Jerusalem, Including The Rejection By The Remnant Of Judah Of YHWH’s Offer Of Full Restoration, Resulting In Further Judgment On God’s Recalcitrant People ( Jer 40:1 to Jer 45:5 ).
Within this subsection, which opens with the familiar words ‘the word which came to Jeremiah from YHWH –’ (which in this case indicates that the section as a whole which follows contains prophecies of Jeremiah which are put into an historical framework, for what immediately follows is historical narrative), we have described events subsequent to the fall of Jerusalem:
‘The word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH –.’ The appointment of Gedaliah as governor of Judah and his attempt, along with Jeremiah, to re-establish it as a viable state (Jer 40:1-16).
Gedaliah’s assassination by a recalcitrant prince of Judah, who himself then had to flee to Ammon, resulting in the feeling among many who had been re-established in Judah that it would be necessary to take refuge in Egypt (Jer 41:1-18).
The people promise obedience to YHWH and are assured by Jeremiah that if they remain in Judah and are faithful to Him YHWH will ensure that they prosper, whereas if they depart for Egypt it can only result in disaster (Jer 42:1-22).
Jeremiah’s protestations are rejected by the Judeans who take refuge in Egypt and are warned by Jeremiah that soon Nebuchadrezzar would successfully invade Egypt itself (Jer 43:1-13).
‘The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt –.’ Having settled in Egypt the people return to idolatry, rejecting Jeremiah’s warnings of the consequences, and are assured by him that they will suffer as Jerusalem has suffered, with only a remnant being able to return to Judah (Jer 44:1-30).
‘’The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah –.’ YHWH’s assurance given to the faithful Baruch in the days of Jehoiakim that He would be with him, come what may (Jer 45:1-5).
It will be noted that the markers given by the author actually divide the subsection into three parts, Jer 40:1 to Jer 43:13, Jer 44:1-30 and Jer 45:1-5. Thus ‘the word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH –’ is a phrase which covers the whole of Jer 40:1 to Jer 43:13, with Jer 40:1 b-42:6 being the necessary historical introduction to the actual ‘word from YHWH’ given in Jer 42:7 onwards. The importance of this word is emphasised by the ten day wait. (In comparison with this incorporation of a prophecy within an historical framework we should note how constantly in Genesis covenants and words from YHWH were regularly put within an historical framework).
The main purpose of this section is in order to establish:
1. that what has happened to Judah and Jerusalem was YHWH’s own doing, as verified even by Nebuchadrezzar’s imperial guard commander.
2. that nevertheless YHWH had not totally forsaken His people but would re-establish them if they looked to Him and were obedient,
3. that their future success depended on that obedience, an obedience which proved to be lacking.
It is difficult for us to realise quite what a crushing blow the destruction of Jerusalem would have been to Jewry worldwide. All their pet beliefs had been brought crashing down. Whilst many were in exile far away from their homeland they had gained confidence from the fact that the Temple still stood and that the covenant worship still continued. But now the idea of the inviolability of the Temple had proved invalid, Jerusalem had been destroyed, and the very power of YHWH was being called into question. Could therefore now any trust be placed in YHWH? It was therefore necessary in this regard that it be emphasised by Jeremiah that it was not YHWH Who had failed, but His people. He brought out that they had in fact brought their devastation on themselves. The new beginning that he had promised could only arise out of the ashes of the old, because the old had been distorted beyond all recognition. His words would be a bedrock on which their new ideas about YHWH could be fashioned.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Refugees Seek YHWH’s Guidance Through Jeremiah But On Receiving It Reject It Because It Does Not Fit In With Their Inclinations With The Consequence That Jeremiah Prophesies Judgment Against Them ( Jer 42:1 to Jer 43:13 ).
That Judah had still not learned its lesson comes out in that on receiving the word of YHWH from Jeremiah they immediately reject it and determine to follow their own inclinations. We have here a reproduction in miniature of the whole history of Israel. They sought to Egypt rather than to YHWH. They were reversing Israel’ previous deliverance. Jeremiah on the other hand promised them that if only they would obey YHWH all that he had prophesied against Judah would be reversed, but they refused to listen. Mighty Egypt appeared to offer a better guarantee of safety than the promises of YHWH. Little were they to know that mighty Egypt would itself be humiliated by Nebuchadrezzar, and that they would be caught up in the repercussions.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Hypocritical Inquiry
v. 1. Then, v. 2. and said unto Jeremiah, the prophet, v. 3. that the Lord, thy God, may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do, v. 4. Then Jeremiah, the prophet, said unto them, I have heard you, v. 5. Then they said to Jeremiah, The Lord be a true and faithful Witness between us if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord, thy God, shall send thee to us, v. 6. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord, our God, to whom we send thee, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord, our God,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Jeremiah receives a request to inquire of God concerning the proposed emigration, and a “word of the Lord” follows.
Jer 42:1
Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah. For “Jezaniah,” the Septuagint has “Azariah,” the name given in the Hebrew text of Jer 43:2.
Jer 42:2
Said unto Jeromiah the prophet. Jeremiah, we have been already told, was one of the refugees at Mizpah (Jer 40:6), and consequently was forced into the train of Ishmael (Jer 41:16). Pray for us. This petition has been accused of hypocrisy, but the prophecy of Jeremiah assumes throughout that it was made in earnest. The “captains” never supposed it possible that Jeremiah could direct them to stay in Judah; the only question with them was as to the best direction for flight.
Jer 42:5
A true and faithful witness between us; rather, against us. If they broke their promise, Jehovah was to “witness against” them by punishing them.
Jer 42:7
After ten days. Why this delay? Keil thinks it was for the sake of the people, who needed time to collect themselves and listen calmly to the revelation. Ezekiel once waited seven days (Eze 3:16); but this was owing to his own disturbed state of mind. The answer of the Lord extends to verse 18, the last four verses being an epilogue enforcing the Divine declaration. It consists of the promise (verses 9-12) that, if the people will remain quietly in the land, they will be protected; and of the threat (verses 13-18) that, if they presume to migrate into Egypt, they will perish there by sword, famine, and pestilence.
Jer 42:10
Build you, and not pull you down, etc. Some of Jeremiah’s favourite phrases (see on Jer 24:6). I repent me. And yet in 1Sa 15:29 we read that “Israel’s Trust is not a man that he should repent.” The key to the discrepancy may be found in Psa 18:25, Psa 18:26, “With the pious thou showest thyself pious and with the froward thou showest thyself froward.” There is no change in the nature or purpose of God, but only in his conduct towards man. The term “repent” is, therefore, only used analogically.
Jer 42:12
I will show mercies unto you; rather, I will procure you mercy. And cause you to return to. As if the journey to Bethlehem were a virtual Exodus, But it is far more natural to read the consonants of the text in a slightly different manner, rendering, “and cause you to dwell in.” So the Syriac, the Vulgate, and Aquila.
Jer 42:15
And now therefore. Omit “and;” the vau simply marks the apodosis of the two previous verses.
Jer 42:16
The sword, which ye feared; rather, which ye fear. The calamities mentioned were precisely these of which the Jews were apprehensive in their own country. So afterwards, “whereof ye are afraid.” Shall overtake you there. For a further explanation, see Jer 43:8-13.
Jer 42:20
For ye dissembled in your hearts; rather, for ye have gone astray (from the right path) at the risk of your lives; or, another possible rendering, for ye hate led yourselves astray. Hypocrisy is certainly not the accusation which Jeremiah brings against the people.
HOMILETICS
Jer 42:1-6
Taking counsel with God.
I. TROUBLE DRIVES MEN TO PRAYER. In their trouble “all the people, from the least even unto the greatest,” sought help from God through the prayers of Jeremiah. In deep distress there are common wants of humanity, which touch alike the prince and the peasant. Then one common cry will burst from all lips to the God of all flesh. The beggar and the king in their agony utter the same moan, “My God!” There was but “a remnant” of the Jews left in the land. All these united to seek counsel of God. United prayer is prevailing prayer. If we are few, the more reason we should be united, and the more reason that each of us should come forward and do his part. If a congregation is small, it can the less afford that any one member should be prayerless or idle.
II. IN PERPLEXITY WE SHOULD SEEK LIGHT FROM GOD. His Spirit is a Spirit of light. We have a right to expect guidance because we have Divine assurances of this (Psa 32:8). God will guide us, however, through our own thinking, and not by audible voices, nor should we look for the direction in mystic inward impressions, the origin and character of which we cannot test. God has given us eyes, and he expects us to use them. His guidance is the purging of our vision, that we may see the better with our own organs of sight; the rectifying and strengthening of our intelligence and conscience, that we may use these as right instruments for discerning truth.
III. CHRISTIAN MEN SHOULD PRAY FOR OTHERS. Every Christian has now the privilege of being a prophet (Joe 2:28) and a priest (Rev 1:6). Every Christian, therefore, has the responsibility which accompanies his privilege, and is required to act as the intercessor for others. Are we not too selfish in our prayers? Nevertheless it must be remembered that men gain little good from the prayers of others unless they will also pray for themselves. The worst man is not left dependent on the intercession of good men. Through Christ he may approach the heavenly throne with his own cry for mercy.
IV. IT IS THE DUTY OF THOSE WHO ARE CONSULTED TO GIVE PAINFUL AS WELL AS PLEASANT ADVICE. Jeremiah warned the people that he would “keep nothing back.” The seeming kindliness that restrains the utterance of unpleasant but important home truths is really only a cloak for selfishness. The preacher must not shun to declare the whole counsel of Godthe hard sayings of Scripture, the unpopular doctrines of Christianity, the unflattering truths of human nature.
V. IF WE TAKE COUNSEL WITH GOD, WE MUST CONSENT TO OBEY HIM. Otherwise our prayer is a mockery; for God is not an Oracle, but an Authority. What he reveals is not merely hidden mystery, but obligations of duty. He guides us to his will. It is our place to follow the guidance and do what is thus not only declared, but commanded.
Jer 42:3
Divine guidance.
I. THE NEED OF DIVINE GUIDANCE.
1. It arises out of our obligation to do the will of God. We are not left to carve out a career for ourselves, but to fulfil a Divine vocation. With this definite end before us, our life must fail unless we are directly making for it. A harmless life, following its own whims and fancies, is a wasted life. But only God knows his own will. Therefore we need that he shall reveal this to us, to show us, not only the path of safety, but the way he wills us to go. The most clear sighted need this guidance. As servants, we wait for our Master’s orders; as soldiers, we are to follow our Captain’s commands. Without these, how can we do the one thing needful?
2. It arises out of our own ignorance and blindness. We do not know all the circumstances which surround us; we cannot predict the exigencies of the future; the ultimate issue of our actions is beyond our reckoning; the limits of our powers are not known to us; our future requirements and capacities cannot now be gauged. Yet we must decide and act at once in relation to all these unknown quantities. Therefore only a higher wisdom and a larger knowledge can secure us from fatal blunders.
II. THE METHOD OF DIVINE GUIDANCE. The Jews appealed to a prophet. We have no Jeremiah. Yet we have essentially the same means of guidance, now broken into two parts, for the higher education of our spiritual nature.
1. The revelation of God’s will and truth in Scripture. There we have God’s guidance in the words of the prophets, and in addition to that in the higher thought of the apostles of the New Testament and of Christianity. Above all, we have the great example, the speaking lessons, of the life and character of Christ, who is the “Light of the World.” In all this we have larger, clearer views of God’s will and of man’s duty than were given to the Jews under the earlier dispensation.
2. The light of the Spirit of God in our mind and conscience. It may be urged that, while the instructions of the prophets for the guidance of Israel were definite and particular, the lessons which we may gather from revelation are general; and that, though the ideas of conduct thus communicated to us are higher and larger than those of the Jewish economy, they are nevertheless so abstract that we may make great mistakes in the practical application of them. This is true; and therefore, with the less particular revelation, God gives to us more light for the interpretation of it. We live under that dispensation of the Spirit wherein all Christians are, in a measure, prophets, and God’s Spirit is poured out upon all flesh (Act 2:17). By God’s light in our souls, interpreting God’s revelation in Christ, we may know God’s will concerning our lives; and, no longer slaves to the letter of unintelligible precepts, we may carry out the broad principles of the spiritual life by a thoughtful and conscientious application of them to the details of daily life.
III. THE USE OF DIVINE GUIDANCE. God reveals the way; we must walk therein. The direction may be so clear that he who reads may run, yet he must run. The sign post is not a carriage to convey the indolent traveller to his journey’s end. God reveals his will; he leaves it to our free choice and effort to obey it. He does not guide us, like the horse or mule, with bit and bridle. We are not forced to follow the revelation, but we are bound in moral obligation to do so. The main object of the revelation of truth is to guide us in practice. God enlightens our darkness that we may gird up our loins and walk in his ways.
Jer 42:5, Jer 42:6
Implicit obedience.
The people swear to obey the voice of God before they know what injunctions it will lay upon them, They contemplate the possibility of receiving unpleasant commands; but they leave the decision in the hands of God, undertaking to follow it, whatever form it may take. Thus they bind themselves to implicit obedience. Let us consider the obligation and the limitation of implicit obedience.
I. THE OBLIGATION OF IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE. This requires us to obey the voice of God when it calls us to do anything within the range of right and possibility; i.e. anything which a wise and good God would ever command. It implies a possible conflict with our inclination, our opinion, or our worldly interest. Otherwise the obedience becomes a mere form. If we only obey when we like to do the thing required, we are not really obeying a higher will, but simply following out our own will in accidental coincidence with the will above us. True obedience only begins when it leads us to do what Our own wisdom or desire would not have prompted. It must, therefore, be prepared to run counter to these private tendencies. It must be the submission of our will and opinion to God’s will and wisdom. Now, not only is this implicit obedience obligatory, but it is a certain fact that God will put it to the test. His higher will and larger wisdom must often conflict with our foolishness and self-will. Moreover, amid the trials of life, God will certainly sometimes require us to do what seems evil to us, i.e. what is painful and contrary to our wish. Therefore faith is essential to obedience. In so far as we can trust God, we shall be able to obey his darker counsels.
II. THE LIMITATION OF IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE. The highest obligation is to do right. If, therefore, we could be required by a supreme being to do what we knew was wrong, it would be our plain duty to disobey his will. The being who laid such a mandate upon us could not be God. He would be an almighty demon. Were such a monster to exist, it would be the duty of all creatures to resist him, though they became martyrs for their fidelity to righteousness. Our obligation to obey God rests on the fact that he is supremely good, and not merely on his infinite power and greatness. Let us suppose that we received a seemingly Divine mandate requiring what we felt to be wrongwhat should we do? Three courses would then be open to us. We might believe that it emanated from a supreme being who was wicked, and should therefore be disobeyed; we might conclude that we were mistaken in supposing it to come from a supreme beingthat we were suffering from a hallucination; or we might feel convinced that it was sent by the holy God, and that we were wrong in our impression of its unrighteous character. To Christians who believe in a perfectly good God, only the two latter alternatives could present themselves. But here the choice lies between the inward and the outward voice. If, then, the inward voice is clear and unmistakable, we are bound to give the preference to this. The outward voice claims to come from God; but so does the inward voice. If the two conflict, we must choose between them, and then we should feel that it is more likely we are suffering from a delusion in our external perceptions than that what we firmly believe in our conscience to be wrong is yet right. loyalty to God will lead us to obey God’s voice in the conscience above all things. At all events, so long as we believethough even erroneouslythat a thing is wrong to us, it is wrong, and no prophet’s or angel’s words should lead us to perform it without first convincing us that it is right.
Jer 42:7
The answer to prayer delayed.
I. THE FACT. Ten days elapsed before Jeremiah was able to give an answer to the people. When Christ was asked to give his aid at the wedding feast where the wine ran short, he refused to do anything immediately (Joh 2:4); and when summoned to the sick bed of Lazarus, “he abode at that time two days in the place where he was” (Joh 11:6). We must, therefore, expect that a similar delay may sometimes attend the answer of our prayers. Perhaps the interval will be much longer. We have cast our bread upon the waters, and it will not appear till after many days. We should learn, therefore, that prayer does not fail because the response is not immediate. Whatever be the delay, we may be sure that to a true prayer in Christ’s Name the right answer will come at the right time. God is not dilatory. He will never wait beyond the very best season for acting.
II. THE CAUSE. Much of this is mysterious, and we must learn to accept the mysteries of Providence with faith in the unfailing love of God. But some grounds for the delay of God’s answers to our prayers may be discerned and should be considered to check our impatience.
1. There is a season foreverything. God will watch for the fitting opportunity, and send his blessing when it will be most profitable.
2. The fitness of God’s answer to prayer depends on our condition. There are things which would injure us as we are. God waits to be gracious, waits till we are in a fit state to receive his grace.
3. Some things given as the answer to prayer require time for development. At the beginning of Daniel’s prayer the angel was sent, but some time elapsed before the prophet received his message (Dan 9:23). God may set in train the actions which are in answer to our prayer immediately the prayer is made, and we may only be waiting for that result which could not come quicker.
4. Meanwhile God tests our faith by delaying the answer to our prayer. The time is not lost. It is profitably spent in the trial and culture of our own souls. So it is with the greatest blessing of the heavenly reward and with many lesser good things; God withholds them for a time that we may learn to walk by faith.
Jer 42:9-12
The blessedness of patient endurance.
In answer to the appeal of the people for guidance, Jeremiah has to tell them that good will attend them so long as they stay in their land, but curses if they flee to Egypt. Hardships crowd upon them at present, and dangers threaten for the future. But if they will but endure these patiently, God will save and prosper them.
I. WHY THE PEOPLE WERE REQUIRED TO REMAIN IN THEIR LAND.
1. It was the will of God. When we know his will, if we know nothing more, that alone should be a final answer to all questions. Because he is our King we are bound to obey, and because he is our Father his will must be for our good.
2. It was the course of faith. Flight to Egypt was always regarded as a sign of distrust in God and reliance upon the arm of flesh. Repeatedly had the people been warned not to trust “upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh King of Egypt unto all that trust on him” (2Ki 18:21). When Pharaoh takes the place of Jehovah, when any earthly judge is trusted rather than God, it will surely betray us.
3. It was a safeguard for purity. Egypt was a heathen power. An asylum in Egypt would bring temptations to immorality and unfaithfulness to the God of Israel. It is always unwise and wrong to run into temptation in order to escape from trouble.
4. It was a sign of contentment. It is happiest for a man to do his duty in that state of life into which it has pleased God to call him, though if God calls him out of one state to a more prosperous one, he may enjoy the greater comfort thus gained.
II. WHAT PROMISES WERE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO REMAINED IN THEIR LAND.
1. Prosperity would be restored. The troubles of God’s people are transitory. Patient endurance will see the end of all of them. Then God will bring, not bare deliverance, but happiness and prosperity. The Jew looked for this in temporal concerns; the Christian expects it in eternal things.
2. The people would be delivered from danger. God would save them from the King of Babylon. And if this salvation was possible, shall we not believe that all other deliverances are possible, and rest calmly assured that to those who patiently and obediently submit to God no real harm can come? Nebuchadnezzar may triumph insolently; but God can cast him down to the level of the brutes. The lions may roar, but they are chained, or God wilt send an angel to shut their mouths.
III. WHAT ASSURANCES THE PEOPLE HAD THAT IT WOULD BE THUS WELL WITH THEM IF THEY REMAINED IN THEIR LAND.
1. They were assured of the presence of God. “I am with you” (verse 11). If God is with us, we can dispense with the patronage of a Pharaoh, even though a Nebuchadnezzar is thundering at our gates.
2. They were assured of the active help of God. “I am with youto save you.” The very object of God’s presence is his people’s good. When present he does not only observe; he acts, saves, delivers.
3. They were assured of the continued mercy of God. “I will procure you mercy” (verse 12).
4. They were assured that God would overrule their enemy and convert him into their friend. Nebuchadnezzar should be made to have mercy upon the people. Thus what we most fear is led by God to work our good when we are obedient and submissive.
Jer 42:19
Contradictory requirements.
The Jews were here required not to flee into Egypt. Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream to “arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt” (Mat 2:13). The Scriptures represent both commands as coming from God. Yet they are contradictory. This is but one instance of a discrepancy often to be met with. Let us consider the meaning of it.
I. DIVINE REQUIREMENTS MAY BE OUTWARDLY CONTRADICTORY AND YET CONSISTENT IN PRINCIPLE. In general principle what is right once is right eternally; what is right for one man is right for all men; what is right in one place is right everywhere. The moral laws of God are eternal, immutable, universal. They are as true in Sirius as on the earth, to angels and to demons as to men. But the application of these principles necessarily varies.
1. The same act has a different character under different circumstances. Egypt was an imposing heathen power in the days of Jeremiah; it was but a Roman province in the time of our Lord. Flight to Egypt at the earlier time meant distrust in God and reliance on the arm of flesh; no such alternatives accompanied the decision of Joseph. Thus it often happens that consistency to principle will permit and require great variations of conduct according to the changing necessities and dangers of life.
2. The same act may have a different character with different persons. Identical general moral obligations apply to all of us equally. But men have different duties in the carrying out of those principles, according to their constitutional differences of capacity and disposition. One man can stand on the verge of a precipice without a tremor, another turns giddy as he approaches it. For the one to be there is harmless, but it is most dangerous for the other. The first man may do what is no risk to him, but the second will be foolish and wrong if he follow his example. So there are scenes which afford temptation to some temperaments and none to others. The duty to avoid them must vary with this variation of danger.
3. The same act may have a different character according as it is performed with a different motive. Flight may denote cowardice or prudent caution. Passive endurance may be determined by weakness and indolence, or it may result from submissive trustfulness.
II. THE OUTWARD CONTRADICTION OF DIVINE REQUIREMENTS WARNS US TO ESTIMATE ACTIONS SOLELY BY THEIR INNER CHARACTER.
1. We should be careful not to condemn others because their behaviour strikes us as superficially opposed to what is right from our own point of view. Their circumstances, character, and motives may be quite different from what we suspect. The man who is condemned as a miser may be wisely thrifty. He who is regarded as a meddlesome busybody may be conscientiously discharging what to him is a public duty. The seeming devotee of pleasure may be generously laying himself out to brighten the sad world with ministries of happiness to others. The apparently ambitious despot may be an enthusiast for the regeneration of humanity.
2. We must beware of the slavish imitation of the best examples. What was wise and right in them may be positively wrong in us. Even our imitation of Christ must be spiritual rather than external. Surely in calling us to follow him, he does not require us, like St. Francis, to become homeless wanderers, because the Son of man had not where to lay his head. Because he drove out the desecrators of the temple with violence, it may not be right for us to use similar violence, when what was done by him from pure zeal might only be followed by us with angry passions.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR
Jer 42:1-6
Inquiring of God is great crises.
I. THE RIGHT AND DUTY OF IT.
1. Because of his claim to respect and obedience. It was a traditional custom in Israel. Jehovah was their national God. He had delivered them, created them into a nation, and laid them under eternal obligations.
(1) There is a general obligation upon all so to do. Even those who do not recognize any special relation existing between God and themselves have reason for drawing nigh to him. There are moments when the things of life assert their sacredness and awful mystery, when God besets them behind and before. His providence is a continual appeal. And the sense of sin, of helplessness, and of indefinite hope leads them to his footstool.
(2) It is specially incumbent upon those who are related to him through grace. Judah represented ancient Israel, and, although now but a remnant, was still privileged with the presence of a true prophet of God. Christians should be eager and ready to call upon him, as they have the promises reaffirmed in Christ, and the witness of his Spirit in their hearts that they shall not ask in vain. Their whole position is due to his grace, and it is but right that this should be acknowledged.
2. Because of helplessness and danger. The petitioners were “left but a few of many.” They knew that it was through their own folly for the most part that they had been brought to such a pass. We know that in the great crises of life we are unable to guide ourselves. The future is dark and full of trouble.
3. Because of God’s wisdom, power, and love. He knows all things, and is able to deliver from all evil; and he has assured us of his willingness to guide and protect. The larger, grander policy of life is only possible with his inspiration.
II. THE SPIRIT IN WHICH IT SHOULD BE ENTERED UPON.
1. Humility. In external attitude and language they left little to criticize (Jer 42:2). Consciousness of our own need and weakness.
2. Confidence. We must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of all them that diligently seek him. Their requesting Jeremiah to pray to the Lord his God, and their expression of willingness to do as he should advise, showed a measure of faith.
3. Obedience. This they professed (verse 6).
4. Sincerity. (Verse 6.)
III. THE DANGERS TO WHICH IT IS EXPOSED. Notwithstanding all their profession, we can detect:
1. Signs of systematic neglect of God and religious ordinances. The expression “came near” suggests a previous habitual distance from Jehovah. They appear more anxious to conciliate the prophet than him whom he served. There is no confession of sin. Probably Jeremiah had been all but ignored up to that time. What a strange phrase, “the Lord thy God”! The prophet seeks gently to lead them to a better standing”the Lord your God;” which they seem to adopt. “To whom we send thee” still betrays the absence of filial love and intimacy. Their subsequent behaviour showed that:
2. They were unreal and hypocritical in their whole attitude. They had made up their mind as to what was best for them to do, as the resort to the “habitation of Chimham” already proved. With one foot in Canaan, as it were, and another out of it, they pretended to inquire of God. This is a very common practice, but it is one which not only robs prayer of its meaning and efficacy, but also brings upon the head of those who are guilty of it a grievous curse, as in this instance. A portion of their prayer was answered, but in a way they little expected: “The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us.”M.
Jer 42:19-22
Carnal predispositions.
I. THEY ARE THE GREAT SOURCES OF UNREALITY IN RELIGION. In sending Jeremiah to God they did not mean what they said. There was no honest willingness to do as the prophet might reveal. The only hope for them in their forlorn condition is thus tampered with and destroyed. It is possible that at first they may have meant well, but as they proceeded with their inquiry through the prophet they must have known that they had only one intention, which they had not laid aside or even held in abeyance. Yet such is the subtlety of the hypocritical heart that it continues in its hypocrisy until it deceives itself. “They inquire not to learn what is right, but only to receive encouragement to do what they wish.”
II. THOSE WHO INDULGE THEM ARE THEIR OWN WORST ENEMIES.
1. They deceive and injure themselves. “Ye dissembled in your hearts” (verse 20); literally, deceived yourselves; “used deceit against your souls” (margin). Thinking they were taking counsel of God, they were really obeying their fears and lusts. Can a greater wrong be done to one’s self than thisto think one’s self religious and obedient to the heavenly will when one is only selfish and sinful? Safety and happiness lay in following simply the Divine guidance; but this they could not do, for they knew not God’s message when it came. “Thinking themselves wise, they became fools.” Their spiritual nature is henceforth unreliable, and their greatest perils will be encountered in their most religious hours, and when they think themselves most in agreement with God’s will.
2. The curse of God is denounced against them. What they choose will be their destruction. The very things they sought to avoid by going to Egypt are met there. And there is no mitigation; the position is one wholly wrong, and consequently the wrath of God is unceasing until they cease to occupy it. To remain in Egypt, with its idolatries and abominations, was virtually to annul the covenant. Soon every trace of true religion would disappear, and they would become like their neighbours, and be absorbed into the nations in whom God had no pleasure. He cannot tolerate falsehood, pretension, the form of godliness without the reality. And this severity is true mercy. Many a one “plucked as a brand from the burning” has had reason to thank his Saviour that “the way of transgressors is hard.” “Let a man examine himself.” “Be not deceived: God is not mocked.”M.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
Jer 42:1
Jer 43:7
Dissembling in prayer.
This section may teach us much on this very serious matter.
I. WHAT IT IS TO DISSEMBLE IN PRAYER. It is:
1. To pray in a deliberately continued unregeneracy of heart. The hearts of not a few of those Jews who now sought Jeremiah’s prayers were deliberately held in a condition of disobedience. They had never really repented. How many such pray, but their prayer is a dissembling!
2. When allowing ourselves in forbidden paths. The Jews had no business on that border land. It was a yielding to temptation to go there. So when we come from sin to the throne of grace, and go thence to sin again, this is, etc.
3. When we are not setting ourselves to mortify our evil affections. The Jews here showed no real, sincere intention to give up their own will and to obey God’s. They would not have been on that border land had such been the case. And so where there is no real striving against sin, this is, etc.
4. When whilst we pray we regard iniquity in our heart. That is to purpose and intend it; or to look upon it complacently and desiringly. The Jews, whilst praying to know God’s will, were all the while looking with strong desire after what they knew was wrong. Like as when Balaam offered his many sacrifices, his heart was all the while going after its covetousness.
II. WHAT CAN LEAD MEN TO BE GUILTY OF SUCH DISSEMBLING? We should imagine they never could be; that the thing would be too outrageous, wicked, and absurd for any one to be guilty of. And yet there have been and are many such prayers. They may be partly explained by:
1. The force of habit. The locomotive, if left to itself, will run along the rails for considerable time and distance, slowing and stopping only very gradually, though the steam has been shut off the whole while. So those who have been wont to offer prayers will keep up the form and habit, though the heart be wanting.
2. They may be themselves deceived. Their strong desire for God’s sanction might lead them to imagine they would gain it by their prayers.
3. They would not break with God altogether, and they deem that they can keep up their communications by such methods as these.
III. HOW PRAYERS ARE PROVED TO HAVE BEEN OF THIS EVIL CHARACTER.
1. By anger at their refusal. See how angry these Jews were. The state of mind with which we come away from our prayers will show much the true nature of those prayers.
2. When we make them only through others. The Jews left it to Jeremiah. So now men leave to their ministers or friends the prayers they profess to value.
3. When they are followed by open and defiant disobedience. So was it here (Jer 43:1-7). Nothing could more plainly have shown how hollow and insincere were their prayers. And so now, when men pray, and rise up and go and do worse than before, what can their prayers have been?
IV. WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF SUCH PRAYERS? They grieve the Spirit of God. They harden the heart, and tend to make men of a reprobate mind. Cf. our Lord’s words to the Phariseesthe pattern dissemblers of his day. They pave the way to “the damnation of hell.” Thereforethus let us concludebe our prayer, “Search me, O God, and try my heart,” etc.C.
Jer 42:7-18
Man’s utter dependence upon God.
These verses plainly show this much forgotten but never failing truth. They tell how the land of Judah, desolate, unprotected, and oppressed, could be and should be made a happy land for them. Whilst Egypt, the land they hoped so much from, should bring on them all the sorrows which they thought by going there to escape. Thus we are taught that it is according to God’s favour our lives are blessed or unblessed, bright or dark. Mere circumstances are unable to ensure either the one or the other, but the presence or absence of God’s favour alone. Now
I. MEN DO NOT THINK THIS. See their frantic endeavours to make their circumstances pleasant. And how they struggle against adversity, as if all evil were contained in that! Their opinion is very clear.
II. BUT YET IT MUST BE. For:
1. Our happiness or unhappiness depends entirely on the way in which we regard these circumstances. That is to say, it depends upon our mind, upon that which is within us rather than that which is without. Hence what gives great pleasure to one yields none or even the reverse of pleasure to others. The merry laugh of children, e.g,, to one in deep sadness, or irritable, or discontented. And vice versa. But:
2. God has constant access to the minds of us all, and he has made their satisfaction to depend upon him. “Nostrum cor inquietum est donec requiescat in te”. He can flood them with joy in the darkest hourPaul and Silas in the dungeon at Philippi; and he can make the most favourable circumtances powerless to render a man happyHaman because of Mordecai; the conscience stricken, those from whom for any cause he hides his face, are illustrations. And abundant facts prove the powerlessness of mere circumstance over the minds of men.
III. THE INFLUENCE THAT THESE CONSIDERATIONS OUGHT TO HAVE UPON US.
1. Not to lead us to despise circumstances, and so to be careless as to the outward lot of either ourselves or others. For though they have not all power over the mind, God has given them very much powera power that they lose only when he pleases.
2. But to estimate them rightly. This we can only do as we bring into view the unseen and the eternal, which can only be as we live in view of it by the habit of prayer, thought, and practical regard to God’s will as expressed in conscience and his Word. So shall our balances be adjusted, and we shall rightly judge. There is a machine employed at the Mint of such perfect accuracy and finish that, when a number of sovereigns are tested by it, it will automatically and instantly and infallibly reject every one that fails in the least degree to come up to the proper standard of weight. So if we thus bring into view the unseen and eternal, all the crowd of facts and events that come before us day by day will each one spontaneously, promptly, and infallibly be judged, and we shall neither under nor over estimate them but as we ought.
3. To seek above all things the favour of God; for “in his favour is life, and his loving kindness is better than life itself.”C.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG
Jer 42:1-6
Waiting on the Divine ordinance
I. THE REQUEST OF THE PEOPLE
1. The apparent unanimity of it. All the people come, from the least to the greatest. Certainly there were not very many of them. They were but a remnant to begin with, and now still further reduced. But such as they were, an outward unity obtained among them. Outward unity is often obtained with comparative ease, but it must not be forgotten that it may cloak indifference, discord, opposition, and may be followed by contradictory conduct, even on the part of those who make the largest professions of submission.
2. The profession of submission to Jehovah. The request described a real want, whether the people meant all they said or not. And there is no reason to suppose that they did not mean it at the present time of asking. Men ask sincerely enough for Divine guidance, not being able to see at the time how hard it will be to follow it up. They want to be shown a way in which to walk, and then, when the way is shown, it looks too hard and perplexed to be God’s way. They want to be shown the thing to do, and, when it is shown, there appears to be no use in it, no obvious relation of means to ends. Here is a result of prophetic teaching. The people had learnt from many prophetic utterances what they ought to ask for.
3. Their dependence on the prophet. Here is man showing his need of mediation. The people had come to know at last that Jeremiah was the faithful and accepted servant of God, This is the best way of recognizing a good manto ask him to help those in need. And they wished also to commend their desires to the prophet. They wished him to pray a prayer that should be his as well as theirs.
II. THE PROPHET‘S ANSWER. That he complies with the request is little to say. The prayer was one he could pray with all his heart. Well would it have been if he had been asked to offer it years before. That which taxed him was to tell them that he would faithfully report the answer. For he knew that God’s message would go deep into the necessities of the case; that God’s answer could not be comprehended by the limits of man’s desires. This is the temptation of messengers, to keep something back through fear, or expediency, or mistaken kindness. Now, Jeremiah was well assured from a long experience that Jehovah never said a word too many or too few. The genuine promptings of the Spirit of God are the very best guide as to what we should tell men in the hour of their need.
III. THE PROMISE OF THE PEOPLE. They seem to hint that they are ready for difficult and painful requirements. History is not lost upon them so far as their professions are concerned. They hint how they have learnt that disobedience to God brings the worst of evils. One thing, however, they had not yet learnt, and that was the difference between knowledge and power. When men are in great straits they will make large promises in the hope of deliverance; not at all insincerely, but meaning all they say. It was with the people here as it is with people in dangerous illnessesthe way of restored health is to be the way of obedience and piety. That people make such promises shows that the promises are right; the wrong thing is that they lack in strength, persistency, and inward purpose to keep them. God has to make this lack plain before men will humble themselves to have it supplied.Y.
Jer 42:7-12
Divine comforts for those in doubt and fear.
I. THE MEANING OF THE INTERVAL. There are ten days to wait between the prayer of Jeremiah and the answer of Jehovah. Why this waiting? It must have been in some way for the sake of the people. They had said very emphatically they would be obedient; would they be obedient to begin with, to the extent of waiting ten days for God’s answer? It had also to be seen whether they would continue in the spirit of obedience at all; and would they all continue in the same spirit?
II. EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON THE DISPOSITION OF THE PEOPLE. God will do great things for them if only they do not destroy the effect of his actions by their self-will and instability. They were to show their trust in God by abiding in the land. Nothing could be done without this. God uses, to indicate his work for them, two words which imply fixitybuilding and planting. Let us also recollect the greatness of God’s power to them that believe. If we take no trouble to furnish the occasion, we must not complain.
III. THE GREAT WORK GOD IS DISPOSED TO DO. It is indicated by these two net infrequent figures of buildin gaud planting. God was willing to make these people his husbandry, his building (1Co 3:9). He had been lately engaged in a great pulling down and rooting up; and why? Because his people had been putting up the wrong buildings, planting the wrong plant. Every plant not planted by God must be rooted up. God is the Builder, not a mere helper in building. We may be said to be fellow workers with God, but it can never describe him rightly to call him fellow worker with us. The work and the glory are his of building up the holy character, the perfect manhood, the everlasting home. Pie it is who makes his people fruitful in every good word and work. And the way for all this building and planting was now clear so far as God himself was concerned. All the pulling down and rooting up was done. Only let the people give the needed opportunity and all else would prosper.
IV. CAUTION AGAINST NEEDLESS FEAR. The temptation here, as so often, was to fear man too much and God too little or even none at all. “The fear of man bringeth a snare.” The people feared the King of Babylon, forgetting the limits of his rower and the way in which he was controlled by Jehovah.Y.
Jer 42:13-18
A land to be avoided.
How solemn and urgent this warning! Let us ask why it was needed, why God seemed thus to cast doubt on the power of the people to obey him.
I. THE PERILOUS LAND WAS NEAR. They were right in the way to Egypt, having, indeed, moved Egyptwards rather than in any other direction (Jer 41:17).
II. IT HAD OBVIOUS ATTRACTIONS.
1. It seemed to be a land of peace. Egypt had been locked to as a friend and ally. The desolation of Jerusalem had come from the north. When people have been going through a time of war and siege, peace is naturally the blessing put in front of their thoughts. And is not this a good thing, it may be asked? Yes, surely, if peace be desired on high grounds, and from a horror of discord among men. But men may seek it simply to escape from disturbance and from loss of life and property. Their seeking of peace may be a sign of cowardice and altogether grovelling aims. Danger may be escaped by the outer man, only to be concentrated more effectually on the man within.
2. It would be a land of bread. Another recommendation of a land which it was unquestionably right, for men to attend to. Egypt was one of the great granaries of the ancient world. But it did not therefore follow that it was a land to live in. Israelites, in particular, needed to recollect how their fathers, beginning by going to Egypt for bread, ended by sinking into most oppressive bondage. Besides, even the land of bread was at times a land of famine.
3. It consequently looked a land to dwell in. God is the God of his people only when they are in their proper place. He was God of the exiles in Babylon, because their going into Babylon was of his operation. But those who went to Egypt in search of mere immunity from toil and inglorious ease could not expect to have the Divine favour. They wanted to get the great ends of life without discipline, sacrifice, and endurance.
III. THE VAIN PURPOSE TO ESCAPE FROM EVIL. God tries to make the people understand that they take the germs and principles of evil with them. What we find in any place depends on what we bring; and what we bring we must, in process of time, inevitably find. What had there been to hinder the land of Israel from being a land of peace and a land of bread? Nothing but the faithlessness and general wickedness of the people. We cannot sow wickedness in one place, and then hope to go and reap only good things in some other place. God can turn any place, however fruitful, into a wilderness; and, on the other hand, we know how Jesus made a wilderness a place to feed five thousand men. Jehovah spoke with all this severity to these people to make them understand how hard a thing real obedience was.Y.
Jer 42:19-22
Searching the heart.
There is here a very sudden and striking turn away from the tone of the previous part of the message. God looks into the future, and, seeing what actually will happen, seeing that Egypt will maintain its attraction, he warns the people they are going towards a certain doom. Their present state was one of undue, overweening self-confidence; and God will not allow people to remain under deception as to their own weakness, if a startling and abrupt message will serve to arouse them from it. Perhaps we shall not be far wrong in assuming that the changing tone of the prophecy is occasioned by the changing mood of the audience. While the prophet is speaking of the dangers of Egypt, their deep desire after Egypt is half revealed. The one gate into which they wished to enter is peremptorily closed against them. All at once there may have been a sort of awakening to the fact that God knew their hearts better than they did themselves We must recollect, too, that Jeremiah spoke out of no short or imperfect experience. He saw that the people were disappointed; that, instead of a word pointing them towards Egypt, there was sentence upon sentence warning them against it. How hard it is to be sure of knowing the will of God! How easy to mistake for it the impulses of indulgent human prudence! God tells the people plainly they are going to seek for things they wilt never find. Instead of living in peace, they are to die by the sword. Instead of getting abundance of bread, they are to die by famine and by the pestilence that accompanies lack of bread. Here altogether is an example of the need of that prayer in Psa 139:23, Psa 139:24.Y.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
6. THE HYPOCRITICAL INQUIRY
Jer 42:1-6
1Then all the captains of the forces, and1 Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least unto the greatest, came 2near, and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord [Jehovah] thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many,2 as thine eyes do behold us): 3that the Lord [Jehovah] thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.
4Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard3 you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord [Jehovah] your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatever thing the Lord [Jehovah] shall answer you, I will declare 5it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, The Lord be a true4 and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to 6all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send5 thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil6 we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we7 send thee; that it may be well with us, when8 we obey the voice of the Lord our God.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The people request the prophet to inquire of the Lord what is to be done (Jer 42:1-3); Jeremiah promises to do so (Jer 42:4). The people therefore solemnly promise punctual obedience to all that the prophet shall disclose to them as the commands of their God (Jer 42:5-6).
Jer 42:1-3. Then all that we may do. Jezaniah is here called the son of Hoshaiah; in Jer 40:8 he is called the son of the Maachathite, in Jer 43:2 Azariah is named as the son of Hoshaiah. There must then have either been two Jezaniahs and two Hoshaiahs, or there is an error in the text. The LXX. has in Jer 42:1 and Jer 43:2 . There is thus the possibility that here Jezaniah is written by mistake for Azariah.These leaders and the whole people with them address to the prophet the humble petition (comp. rems. on Jer 36:7; Jer 37:20), that he will address to Jehovah in their behalf, the small remnant of the great nation, a prayer for instruction concerning the path to be taken.
Jer 42:4-6. Then Jeremiah our God. When the people express their readiness to submit to the direction of Jehovah, however this may turn out, but afterwards (Jer 43:2-7) rebel so decidedly against this direction, their declaration here must be explained either as hypocrisy or on the supposition that the question was not of remaining in the country, but there was doubt only as to the direction of their flight. They appeal to the Lord to appear as a true and faithful witness against them, if they do not submit to the divine indication expected through the prophet. The Lord however is, as is presupposed in every oath, at the same time Witness and Judge.
[1]Jer 42:1. The before as in Jer 40:8 [=even]
[2]Jer 42:2.On $ comp. olsh., S. 358 and 583.
[3]Jer 42:4. involves the sense of hearing and granting, and is at the same time the token of the acceptance and approval of the petition. It corresponds nearly to the German Gut! [Eng: good!]
[4]Jer 42:5.The expression is found besides only in Pro 14:25 Coll. Jer 42:5. Psa 89:38; Isa 7:2.
[5]Jer 42:5.On with a double accuastive, comp. Naegelsb Gr., 6, 2, c.
[6]Jer 42:6.To we are not to supply for then we must have after . Much rather is whole sentence in apposition to the following , as in Ecc 12:14 to the preceding .
[7]Jer 42:6.The form occurs only here in the Old testament. Comp, Olsh., 95, b, 5. It is indeed possible that it was not incorrectly put into the mouth of the people, for the form usual is post-biblical Hebrew may have been a popular expression even at that that time.
[8]Jer 42:6. is here necessarily because, not if. For there is not question about their obeying. They will obey, but expect prosperity from this obedience as such, apart from the immediate result of the step commanded them. Comp. Jer 24:7.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Jer 40:1-3. Although the calamity, which has come upon Jerusalem, is great and terrible, God does not allow such evil to befal it that good will not result from it, as the Chaldean captain not obscurely intimates, that he has made a fair beginning in the knowledge of the true God. For he confesses, first, that the God of the prophet is a lord; secondly, that He knows future things; thirdly, that He causes His servants to proclaim these beforehand; fourthly, that God has conducted the war and done everything; fifthly, that He was displeased with the sinful manners of the people (among which idolatry was the worst); sixthly, that He has punished their disobedience to His word. Cramer.
2. On Jer 40:4. The friendliness, shown to the prophet, appears to proceed from men, but it comes from God. For Gods works are all made so that they are hidden among the creatures; for as He conceals His wisdom in the creation of heaven and earth, as He hides His kindness in the fruits of the earth, so also He disguises His help in the king of Babylon. For God executes. His works now by rational and anon by irrational creatures. As when He fed Elijah by the widow and by the ravens and by the angels (1Ki 17:3 sqq.; 14 sqq. and Jer 19:5). For all are His instruments. Cramer.
3. On Jer 40:2-3. Nebusaradan attestatione sua comprobat et confirmat veritatem ac certitudinem prdictionum prophet. Unde haud inscite colligi conjicique potest, quod Satrapa ille Babylonicus prditus fuerit agnitione veri Dei eque salvatus. Et sic Deus subinde aliquos ex Magnatibus ad sui agnitionem et ternam salutem traducit (Psalms 68). Potest istud exemplum obverti absoluto Calvinianorum decreto. Frster.
4. On Jer 40:5. In this, that Jeremiah preferred remaining in the country to going to Babylon, it strikes me furtherthat a discreet man, who knows the world and his heart and the true interest of Gods causeis as much as possible contented, and does not think to better himself by going further. He is willing to remain at court unknown, and at any rate he would rather be taken away than go away.The advice, which Solomon gives, is verified, Stand not in the place of great men. We are a generation of the cross, and our symbol is an evil name and little understood. Zinzendorf.
5. On Jer 40:5. In Babylonia honor and a comfortable life invited the prophet, in Judea danger, dishonor and need in the desolated country. In Babylonia a respectable field of labor was opened to him among the great mass of his people, in Judea he had only rabble and condottieri about him. Jeremiah, however, was not a bad patriot, as many accused him of being. By remaining in Judea he showed that the import of his prophecies, apparently friendly to the Chaldeans and hostile to the Jews, had proceeded from the purest love to his people and his fatherland. Thus he imitated Moses, of whom it is written in Heb 11:25, that he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. The holy ground of the fatherland bound him to it, and in additionif he went, who was to take spiritual oversight of the poor forsaken remnant, to proclaim the word of God and bestow on them consolation and admonition? Those who were in Babylon had Ezekiel. And could not the Lord raise up other prophets for them? So he remained with the sheep, who had no shepherd. Jeremiah had not sought his own through his whole life, nor did he here.
6. On Jer 40:7 sqq. Human reason, and indeed nature shows, that in worldly government men cannot be without a head. For as the been cannot be without a queen, or the sheep without a shepherd, so no large number of people can exist without a head and government. God has wisely ordered it, and we should be thankful for the authorities. Cramer.
7. On Jer 40:11 sqq. We may well perceive in this remnant of Judah a fulfilment of the prophecy in Isa 6:11 sqq.: Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and Jehovah have removed men far away, and great is the forsaking in the midst of the land. And if a tenth remains in it, this again must be removed. Yet as the terebinth and the oak, in which when they are felled, a ground-stock still remains, so is its stock a holy scion.
8. On Jer 40:13 sqq. Gedaliah, in whom not only Nebuchadnezzar, but also his people, had confidence, must have been a noble man, to whom it was difficult to think evil of his neighbor. Those who are of a pious disposition, cannot believe so much evil, as is told of people. But we must not trust too much, for the world is full of falseness (Wisd. 37:3). He who believes too easily, will be often deceived, and he who believes no one is also deceived. Therefore is he indeed a happy man, who can preserve the golden mean. Cramer.
9. On Jer 40:13 sqq. Misfortune is like the waves of the sea; when one is broken another follows, and the end of one trouble is the beginning of others. Cramer.
10. On Jer 41:1-3. Judass kiss and Jacobs brethren are very common in the world and take after their grandfather Cain, who spake kindly to Abel and yet had blood-thirsty thoughts (Gen 4:8). Yea, they take after their father, the devil, who is a murderous spirit (Joh 8:44), and disguises himself as an angel of light (2Co 11:14). Cramer.
11. On Jer 41:1 sqq. Similia perfidi exempla (simulat fraternitatis): 2Sa 13:24; 2Sa 20:9 sq. Quadrat etiam huc historia nuptiarum Parisiensium celebratum 1572 mense Augusto. Frster.
12. On Jer 41:4 sqq.
Murder and avarice love to go with each other,
And one crime is often a prolific mother.Cramer.
13. On Jer 41:16 sqq. It is very remarkable that even this last centre and rendezvous of the unfortunate people must be destroyed. It might be supposed that with the destruction of the city and deportation of the people the judgments would have terminated. It seems as if the deed of Ishmael and the removal of the remnant to Egypt transcended the measure of punishment fixed by Jehovah, for the Lord did not send Ishmael, and the removal to Egypt He directly forbade. And yet it seems that only by Ishmaels act and the flight to Egypt could the land obtain its Sabbath rest, which is spoken of in Lev 26:34-35.
14. On Jer 42:1-6. Had not Johanan and his people asked for advice, but gone directly to Egypt, their sin would not have been so great. They feigned, however, submission to the will of God, while they yet adhered to their own will. It is a common fault for people to ask advice while they are firmly resolved what they will do. For they inquire not to learn what is right, but only to receive encouragement to do what they wish. If we advise them according to their inclination they take our advice, if not, they reject it.We must be on our guard when we appeal to Gods decision, that we do not previously decide for ourselves. For thus we fall into hypocrisy, which is the most fatal intoxication and blindness. Heim and Hoffman, The Major Prophets. [Those will justly lose their comfort in real fears, that excuse themselves in sin with pretended fears. Henry.S. R. A.]
15. On Jer 42:7. After the murder of Gedaliah the anger of Nebuchadnezzar seemed inevitable. But the Lord, to whom nothing is impossible (Jer 32:17), promises to perform a miracle, and restore Israel to new prosperity in their land if they will give Him the honor and trust in Him. Nebuchadnezzars heart is indeed in His hand. If this is not acknowledged and Nebuchadnezzar more feared than the Lord, their sin is then against the first commandment.
16. On Jer 42:13 sqq. God reminds His people of the favor with which He adopted them as His people, which was the most sacred obligation to obedience; that Egypt was to them a land of destruction, a forbidden land, as indeed all confidence in human aid is forbidden to those who would live by faith, which was known to them from the history of their fathers and all the prophets. It is a great sin to deem ones self safer under the protection of man than under that of God. It is incomprehensible, how blind unbelief makes people, so that the Jews have not yet learned the truth in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple of God. Heim and Hoffman. Fides futurorum certa est ex prcedentibus. Tertull. Venient hc quoque sicut ista venerunt. Augustin.Frster.
17. On Jer 43:2 sqq. Hypocrites forsooth do not wish to be regarded as rejecting and setting themselves in opposition to Gods word, or accusing God of falsehood. For then is all the world pious, and no one refuses to be submissive to the dear Lord. God is truly God and remains so. It is only against this parson Jeremiah that they must act he lies, he is not sent, his ruling and preaching cannot be endured. Cramer.
18. On Jer 43:3. Observe the old diabolical trick: when preachers practice Gods word and their office with zeal, the world understands how to baptize it with another name and call it personal interest, as even here Baruch must bear the blame, as if he only wished to vent his anger on them and be contrary, Cramer.
19. On Jer 43:6. The ancients here examine the question why Jeremiah accompanied the people to Egypt and take occasion to discuss the 1 Comm. de fuga ministrorum with reference to Augustin. Epist. 150 ad Honorar. With respect to Jeremiah, it is clear that he did all in his power to avert the journey to Egypt. After the whole people, however, were once on their way it was impossible for him and Baruch to remain alone in the deserted country. They were obliged to go with their flock. The more these were wandering, the more need they had of the shepherds. Thus, even if they were not compelled, they had to go with them. It seems, however, to follow from the expression , Jer 43:5, that no choice was given them. The people wished to have the prophet with them. In no case can we say that Jeremiah fled, for according to his own prophecy, he knew that he was going to meet ruin in Egypt.
20. On Jer 43:8-13. At the present day when we wish to convey to posterity the account of some accomplished fact, or the prediction of some fact to be accomplished (ex. gr. a last testament), we take paper and ink, write it down, seal it, have it subscribed by witnesses and preserve it in the registrars or recorders office. In ancient times they took a simpler and surer way. Jacob and Laban simply erected a heap of stones (Genesis 31), the two and a half tribes (Joshua 22) built an altar on the bank of the Jordan. As long as the heap and the altar were standing, the record was transmitted from generation to generation for what object these stone witnesses were set up, and thus, that which it was desired to convey to posterity lived in the memory of men. Jeremiah also knows how to use ink and pen (Jeremiah 32), but here he returns once more to the old manner of preserving archives. He simply places great stones in the clay, declaring what they signify, viz., that here, on this spot, Nebuchadnezzars tent shall stand. Whether the Egyptians and Jews then believed him or not, is of no consequence. The record of these stones and their meaning at any rate remained alive, and the Lords word was thus safely preserved till the day of its fulfilment.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer 40:1-12; Jer 41:1-3; Jer 42:1-16. Israel, the chosen nation, is in its destinies a type of human life in general. Consider only the exodus from Egypt. So also the destinies of the people of Israel, after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, are pretypical. For 1. The deportation of the whole people in chains and fetters is a type of our universal human misery, from which no one (not even Jeremiah) is free. 2. The fate of Gedaliah and the journey to Egypt is a type of the insufficiency of all mere human help. 3. As the Jews after Gedaliahs murder, so men at all times, find protection and deliverance in the Lord alone.
2. On Jer 40:1-6. The Christian in the tumult of the world. 1. He is regarded externally like others. 2. The eye of the Lord watches with special care over him, so that (a) not a hair of his head is bent, (b) all his wants are provided for. 3. He, however, on his part directs all his efforts to the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and will not be turned aside from this either by the violence or the friendliness of the world.
3. On Jer 40:7 to Jer 41:3. Gedaliahs fate an example of what befals even the most noble in times of deep corruption. 1. They enjoy general confidence. 2. They are incapable of attributing extreme wickedness to men. 3. They become a sacrifice to their confidence. 4. They are therefore not in a condition to stay the divine judgments.
4. On Jer 42:1-16. What is the surest way of coming to the right conclusion in difficult cases? 1. To inquire of the Lord. 2. To obey unconditionally the direction which the Lord communicates. [We must still in faith pray to be guided by a spirit of wisdom in our hearts, and the hints of Providence. Henry.S. R. A.]
5. On Jer 43:1-7. Characteristic example of the artfulness of the human heart: the Jews inquire of the Lord and promise to obey His direction (Jer 42:20). But when the direction does not accord with their wish, they at once declare it to be supposititious, not from the Lord. The prophet must be a liar, an alleged enemy has incited him. But what was long previously determined in the heart is obstinately brought to execution. [Those that are resolved to contradict the great ends of the ministry, are industrious to bring a bad name upon it. It is well for persons who are thus misrepresented that their witness is in heaven, and their record on high. Henry.S. R. A.].
6. On Jer 43:8-13. The ways of the Lord are wonderful. Israel flees before Nebuchadnezzar far away to Egypt. But there they are not safe. The Lord causes it to be proclaimed to them that at the entrance of the kings palace at Tahpanhes Nebuchadnezzars tent shall stand. Now indeed there is a brick-kiln there, in the clay of which Jeremiah is to place stones, the foundation stones, as it were, for the Chaldean kings pavilion. Thus the Lord lays the germs of future events, and whatever He prepares in secret He reveals in His own time to the glory of His wisdom, omniscience and omnipotence.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
We have in this Chapter, a renewed instance of the incorrigible hardness of the human heart, void of divine grace. Johanan pretendeth to seek after God, and enquireth of the Prophet. Jeremiah kindly tells the people, but in vain.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Hitherto the character of Johanan seems to have been fair. The zeal he manifested against Ishmael, and the recovery of the captives, is well succeeded by this enquiry. But alas! what sincerity is there in man? The Lord hath given a representation of all such characters, by his servant the Prophet. Eze 33:30-32 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
XII
THE CLOSING SCENES IN THE LIFE OF JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 40-44
These closing scenes in the life of the prophet took place subsequent to the year 586 B.C. and probably before 580 B.C. They occupied a space of about four or five years, possibly a few more.
We commence this discussion by looking at the fate of Jerusalem, and the fate of Jeremiah immediately following that event. In Jer 40:6 we have an account of the fall of the city and its destruction by the men of the Babylonian army. Zedekiah and the chief captain, through a breach in the wall sought to make their escape into the valley of the Jordan and the plains of Moab beyond. The king and the remnant of his army were overtaken and captured by the Chaldeans and taken to Riblah, the headquarters of Nebuchadnezzar. Many of them doubtless escaped. Some of these found refuge in Moab, and some in the mountains of Judah. Thus there was a considerable number of the inhabitants that made their escape by fleeing in every direction.
When the forces of Nebuchadnezzar broke through the walls of the city and took it, the ruthless soldiers of the Chaldeans doubtless wreaked their vengeance upon the inhabitants. Judging from the picture in the book of Lamentations, many were slaughtered and many of the nobles were butchered, but they did not really sack the city. They took many captives. Their main object was to take the inhabitants alive, as there was value in them as slaves, and this was their aim more than mere butchery of the people. Of course, they sought to take the king’s family and all of his household; also the nobles and all the chief families.
When they were destroying the city and taking the royal families, they found Jeremiah, the prophet, for he was imprisoned in the court of the guard. He was bound and taken out as far as Ramah, Jer 40:2-4 : “The captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, Jehovah thy God pronounced this evil upon this place; and Jehovah hath brought it, and done accordingly as he spake. . . . And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which are upon thy hand.” According to the account in the previous chapter he had received direct orders from the king to set Jeremiah free.
This heathen speaks as if he were a very pious man; as if he thoroughly believed in Jeremiah’s doctrine: “The Lord hath brought this evil upon this place and done as he spoke because ye have sinned against Jehovah.” Those are almost Jeremiah’s very words. He speaks to Jeremiah and tells him to go back to Gedaliah, the governor, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. This man that had been appointed governor was a member of the royal family and a great man, one of the princes of Jerusalem. Thus he returned and found that Gedaliah had called the people, and held a rally at Mizpah, about four or five miles from Jerusalem.
We have an account of the colony which was established at Mizpah (Jer 40:7-12 ). It is said that the people, when they heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, governor in the land, committed unto him the men and women and children. (Jer 40:8 gives the names of the princes and chief men. Gedaliah called the people together and made appointments as he had authority to do. It says in (Jer 40:9 , “And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam . . . [and this man, Ahikam, had saved the life of Jeremiah.] Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” Now, that was exactly what Jeremiah had been preaching for years.
Here was one man who was with Jeremiah. It was doubtless because of this fact that Nebuchadnezzar had appointed him to this position. He says in verse (Jer 40:10 : “As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans that shall come unto us.” They could not live in Jerusalem. The city was in ruins. He planned to live at Mizpah, to meet the Chaldeans that would come to him.
In the latter half of (Jer 40:10 , it says, “But ye, gather ye the wine and the summer fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken.” In (Jer 40:11 he says, “The Jews that were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, when they heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah, they returned to their native land.” In the latter part of (Jer 40:12 it says, “And gathered wine and summer fruits very much,” which seems to indicate that the people simply helped themselves to the fields and vineyards that had been left.
The king of Ammon, having heard of this new colony established at Mizpah, with Gedaliah as governor, set to work to induce a certain fanatical Jew by the name of Ishmael, to murder him. We do not know just why he desired the murder of the governor. It may be that he thought that it would mean increase of territory to him and that the people would rally to him and that would mean more power. Again, it may be that this man Ishmael was a fanatical Israelite who hated the Chaldeans and any one of his own people who was friendly to them. So he connived with the king of Ammon to do the deed. When Johanan found out this plot he warned Gedaliah, his friend) that Ishmael was about to take his life. But Gedaliah did not believe it. He felt that no one would dare to take his life, the life of the governor whom the great king of Babylon had appointed, for Nebuchadnezzar would not fail to punish a crime like that. But this man Johanan knew and so he says in (Jer 40:15 , “Let me go, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it.” He knew that if Ishmael should slay the royal governor, Nebuchadnezzar would take vengeance on the people, and all must suffer.
An account of the murder of Gedaliah and his friends is given in Jer 41:1-3 . Ishmael was a fanatical patriot. He came to see Gedaliah, and the chiefs of the king’s officers were with him. They came to Mizpah. So they ate bread together and among Orientals that is a sacred thing. But this man, Ishmael, did not scruple to violate this custom of his fellows. (Jer 41:2 says, “Then arose Ishmael . . . and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him.”
The murder of Gedaliah was concealed, verse Jer 41:4 : “And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it, that there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even four score men, having their beards shaven and their clothes rent.” They had frankincense and meal in their hands to bring them to the house of Jehovah. They were coming to worship. Note now the treachery of Ishmael. It is said in Jer 41:6 that he went forth to meet them, weeping all along as he went. He pretended to be in sorrow. He said to them when he met them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam,” and when they came in to the midst of the city Ishmael slew them and then cast them into the midst of the pit. But ten of them told this villain that they had stores of wealth, and begged him to spare them; so he saved them for the sake of their wealth. That gives us some idea of the character of this man, Ishmael. Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people and departed to go over to the children of Ammon (Jer 41:10 ).
Ishmael gathered together what people he had and started, but Johanan was not idle. He gathered others and pursued and when he came near, all the people who had been carried away captive by Ishmael came over to Johanan but Ishmael managed to escape.
Then the colony went to Bethlehem under the leadership of Johanan. We readily see the plight in which Johanan now found himself. Word would come to Nebuchadnezzar that his faithful governor had been slain. Johanan knew what that would mean, and so did the people. They knew that the great king would send his army, and then there would be no mercy shown. They were afraid of the Chaldeans because Ishmael had slain the governor, Gedaliah (Jer 41:18 ).
An account of the colony at Bethlehem and Jeremiah’s relation to it is found in Jer 42:1-43:7 . We are following the nucleus of the nation, that part of the nation which constituted the organized body of Israel. There were thousands of the Jews in other nations at that time, but we are following here the nucleus. This nucleus constituted the organized germ of the nation. The prophet had been forced to go with them. See verse Jer 42:2 : “Let, we pray thee, our supplication be presented before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God.” Again, in verse Jer 42:3 : “That Jehovah thy God may show us the thing we should do and wherein we should walk.” It looks now as if they were actually turning to the prophet; that they were on his side; that they were coming to his terms. Has he at last succeeded in winning the nation? Not at all, as we shall see.
The prophet said, Well, I will inquire of Jehovah for you. I will do this if you will promise me that you will do what he says. Ten days passed, and the prophet doubtless spent them in prayer, while the people spent them in consultation. At the end of the ten days Jeremiah received his message, and they had likewise made up their minds as to what they were going to do. We have that message in Jer 42:10-11 : “If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith Jehovah: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hands.” Note also Jer 42:13 : “But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land; so that ye obey not the voice of your God, but say, We will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no more war, . . . So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.”
The prophet is able to see through their motive. Notice particularly verse Jer 42:20 : “For ye have dealt deceitfully against your souls; . . . saying unto me, Pray for us unto Jehovah our God.” In other words, he says, While begging me to inquire of God you have already made up your minds what you are going to do. Verse Jer 42:21 : “And I have this day declared it unto you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of God.” Now, that is like many people in modern life. They may want to know what God is going to do, what his will is, and yet at the same time have made up their minds already as to what they are going to do.
They refused to remain in Judah. “Then they spake to Jeremiah and said unto him, Ye have spoken falsely, for Jehovah your God hath not sent you unto us to say, Ye shall not dwell in the land of Egypt, to sojourn there.” Now, that was a very strange saying. Jeremiah had prophesied during forty years that the city would be destroyed, and his prophecy had been fulfilled to the letter, and other things that he had foretold had come to pass, and here he is giving another prophecy, and they listen to him; then tell him that he prophesies falsely; that he is a lying prophet. Notice in Jer 43:3 : “But Baruch setteth thee on against us, to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans to carry us away.” So they went into Egypt.
Jeremiah’s symbolic action in Egypt is described in Jer 43:8-13 . As soon as they arrived Jeremiah performed another of his symbolic actions, verse Jer 43:9 : “Take great stones in thy hand and hide them in mortar in the brickwork, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah.” Professor Petrie, perhaps the greatest of all Egyptologists, found a few years ago in the mortar of the brickwork of the ruins of that very city, great stones hidden in mortar. We do not know that these were the very stones that Jeremiah put there, but certainly it is very suggestive. It looks as if Jeremiah’s prophecy was verified. That city is in ruins. Verse Jer 43:12 : “I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive.”
Now let us look at Jeremiah’s message to the Jews in Egypt (Jer 44:1-14 ). There was a great assembly at Tahpanhes. Jeremiah seizes this opportunity to deliver his message to them about idolatry. Their sins brought punishment upon them. He urges them to repent and turn from idolatry. Verse Jer 44:4 : “Oh, do not this abominable thing.” But the people were determined to remain in idolatry (Jer 44:15-23 ). The men had gathered together and their idolatrous wives were gathered with them. Verse Jer 44:16 : “As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us, we will not hearken unto thee.” In Jer 44:17 he says, “But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven.” Now, we come to a remarkable passage. These people argue that because they stopped worshiping the queen of heaven, their calamities had come upon them. Jeremiah said that it was because they turned from Jehovah; they said that it was because they learned from the queen of heaven. That was the issue. They said that when Josiah made them stop worshiping the queen of heaven, then their troubles began. Then the women began to make their excuse. They said that their husbands allowed them to worship the queen of heaven. They did that, maybe, to keep peace in the family, and now they were being charged with the trouble. The meaning of it all was that these people had simply made up their minds that they would be idolaters, and no power in the universe could turn them from it. Jeremiah had been preaching against it for forty years, and they would not hearken. Now, they tell him that they will not listen, they will not obey. Then Jeremiah presented his argument in answer to their excuses and reasons: You have sinned and this is the reason for your calamity.
This is Jeremiah’s last sermon, that is, it is the last one that we have any record of. He speaks to the people another word: “Hearken to this word: I have sworn by my great name, saith Jehovah, that my name shall no more be named by any man of Judah in Egypt. . . . And they that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt few in number.” He continues as to Egypt: “Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra into the hands of his enemies, as I gave Zedekiah, the king of Judah, into the hands of his enemies.” Indeed, it was only a few years till Nebuchadnezzar did invade Egypt and took it. There were Jews in Egypt until the time of Christ, but unquestionably very few of these Jews in Jeremiah’s time escaped the perilous times that followed. According to the last trustworthy account we have of Jeremiah he was in Egypt. Tradition says that he died at the hands of his own people.
QUESTIONS
1. What is the date of this section?
2. Give an account of the capture of Zedekiah and the chief captain, and those who escaped.
3. What disposition did the Chaldeans make of the inhabitants of Jerusalem ?
4. Give an account of Jeremiah’s capture and release.
5. Give an account of the colony which was established at Mizpah (Jer 40:7-12 ).
6. Give an account of the plot against Gedaliah and the work of Johanan.
7. Give an account of the murder of Gedaliah and his friends (Jer 41:1-8 ).
8. Give an account of the murder of the seventy pilgrims (Jer 41:4-10 ).
9. Describe the counter-attack of Johanan and Ishmael’s escape (Jer 41:11-15 ).
10. What is the result of this murder to Johanan and the people?
11. Give an account of the colony at Bethlehem and Jeremiah’s relation to it (Jer 42:1-43:7 ).
12. What was Jeremiah’s symbolic action in Egypt? (Jer 43:8-13 .)
13. What was Jeremiah’s message to the Jews in Egypt? (Jer 44:1-14 .)
14. How did they receive his message and what reason did they assign? (Jer 44:15-23 .) Give details.
15. What the last words of Jeremiah, where did he die, and what tradition respecting his death?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Jer 42:1 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,
Ver. 1. Then all the captains of the forces and Johanan. ] Or, Even Johanan; he among the rest, and above the rest. Ille huic negotio non interfuit modo, sed etiam praefuit.
And Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah.
And all the people.
Drew near.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jeremiah Chapter 42
The heart, even where unrenewed, feels the need of religion till hardened by sin without conscience or blinded by the speculations of a misguided mind. But, however fair its promise or its actual form, the will is soon put to the test of God’s word, which nothing stands but faith.
“Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us): that the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we way do.” (ver. 1-8.)
Real faith is unsuspicious, and it can afford to be so; for the believer knows in whom he has believed, and can commit oneself and others, the present and the future, to the One whose grace has looked on us for eternity, and whose righteous government notices every word and way and feeling and desire along the road. Hence if wise, one is spared from censoriousness; and though liable to be deceived, it is only when we fail to bring every difficulty to our God. So it was here. “Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.” (Ver. 4-6.) If protestation could have assured the prophet, there was enough then; but he was not ignorant either of man or of Satan. His trust was in God, let the Jew be true or false.
But how painful it is to prove that the flesh betrays itself quite as much by its excessive show of piety as by profanity! It is not by want of fervour that its hollowness is detected by the experienced eye, but rather by too profuse, or at least too self-confident, a readiness to obey the divine will, whatever it be. The duty may be plain; but what of the heart? of the power to go on and to go through? Faith supposes the sense of our own weakness as surely as it counts on God and His grace. Human resolution in divine things has its force only where it is allowed its own will.
“And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest. And said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; if ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up. for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will show mercy unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.” (Ver. 7-12.) The prophet himself waits till the divine answer comes: it was no question of his wisdom, but of God’s word. And God now as peremptorily warns against fleeing into Egypt for protection, as He had before admonished them to submit to the king of Babylon. Faith accepts the chastening of sin, yet withal confides in God and His grace. Unbelief is fruitful in resources, all of which are merely the workings of a rebellious heart and secure nothing but ruin to those who are carried away by it. If they believed, low as their estate was, they need not make haste, and would surely be established; for they would be in His hand who could turn the heart of Nebuchadnezzar toward them: why should they be terrified by their adversaries? “But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: and now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.” (Ver. 13-18.)
Thus God in the long run invariably accomplishes His will. Happy they who are in its current all the way through! If men resist, they gain nothing but grief and disappointment, which temporary success only embitters; but far from hindering the word of Jehovah, they only accomplish it by the measures intended to give effect to their own wishes, and the evils they most dread they bring infallibly on themselves.
“The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day. For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray for us unto the Lord our God, and according unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.” (Ver. 19-22.)
The prophet had walked in patience, the people in dissimulation, and God made all plain to His own glory and in His own time. Justly are those destroyed for their disobedience of God who had made the most pious protestation of unswerving devotedness to His will,
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 42:1-6
1Then all the commanders of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people both small and great approached 2and said to Jeremiah the prophet, Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, 3that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do. 4Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the LORD your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the LORD will answer you. I will not keep back a word from you. 5Then they said to Jeremiah, May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the LORD your God will send you to us. 6Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God.
Jer 42:1 Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah The person mentioned in Jer 42:1 seems to be the same as in Jer 43:2. The Septuagint has Azariah in both places.
both small and great There are several forms of this Hebraic idiom which denote all the people (cf. Jer 6:13; Jer 8:10; Jer 42:8; Jer 44:12). This is a hyperbolic, inclusive idiom which does not mean every person.
Jer 42:2 Jeremiah the prophet This designation is repeated in Jer 42:4. There is no doubt now, after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian army, that Jeremiah was a true prophet (see Special Topic: Prophecy (OT) , cf. Deu 13:1-5). All that he had predicted came true. This is also a warning to those remaining Judeans who seek YHWH’s counsel through him (cf. Jer 42:4).
In a sense this chapter is an example of a reverse exodus. The Judeans refused to trust YHWH and stay in Palestine! Disobedience remains the problem!
the LORD your God This is not a theological statement of the petitioner’s lack of faith in YHWH, but simply a cultural idiom (cf. 1Ki 13:6; Jer 37:3; Jer 42:3; Jer 42:6, and esp. Jer 42:20).
for all this remnant See Special Topic: The Remnant, Three Senses .
because we are left but a few out of many This may be an allusion to Deu 28:62. The covenant people were to be as the stars of heaven, the sand in the seashore, but they rebelled and violated the covenant.
Jer 42:3 This is false piety. They really did not want to know YHWH’s will. They wanted Him to affirm their decision of fleeing to Egypt. They had not followed YHWH’s will (expressed through Scripture and the prophets) up to this point in their history. This is a sample of fox-hole faith (i.e., faith in crisis) that only lasts until the crisis has passed!
Jer 42:4 Jeremiah agrees to pray on their behalf. He will pass on their words to YHWH and will give them exactly His words!
The last phrase of this verse, I will not keep back a word from you, reminds one of the interchange between Eli and Samuel in 1Sa 3:17-18.
Jer 42:5-6 These verses are a tremendous statement of faith, but just not true! They really wanted God to approve their plans. Words of faith do not replace lives of faith!
Jer 42:5 These two theologically significant words, true and faithful, are forms of the same root.
1. true – BDB 54, cf. Jer 2:21; Jer 4:2; Jer 9:5; Jer 10:10; Jer 14:13; Jer 23:28; Jer 26:15; Jer 28:9; Jer 32:41; Jer 33:6; Jer 42:5
2. faithful – BDB 52, cf. Jer 12:6; Jer 15:18; Jer 40:14; Jer 42:5
See Special Topic: Believe, Trust, Faith and Faithfulness in the OT at Jer 15:18.
Jer 42:6 that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God The phrase go well is an idiom from Deuteronomy (cf. Deu 4:40; Deu 5:16; Deu 5:29; Deu 5:33). It is used in Jeremiah in Jer 7:23; Jer 38:20. Remember, the desire of YHWH for His covenant people is blessing so that the nations may be attracted to Him. This is part of the OT’s two ways (cf. Deu 30:15-20, Psa 1:1).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
As Jer 41 records the infamous treachery of Ishmael, so Jer 42records the obstinate disobedience of Johanan. These incidents are recorded (instead of many others) because they show us something of the moral character of the People; and thus furnish us with the reasons for the calamities which overtook them.
Jezaniah. In Jer 43:2 he has a second name, “Azariah”. The Septuagint reads this name here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 42
So in chapter 42:
Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, they came unto Jeremiah, and said unto him, We beg you, that you will accept our supplication, and pray for us unto the LORD [or unto Jehovah] thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are just a few of the many, as your eyes behold us:) ( Jer 42:1-2 )
In other words, “There’s just a few of us left. Now pray to the Lord your God for us.”
That the LORD [or Jehovah] thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do ( Jer 42:3 ).
So they’re asking now that Jeremiah will seek the Lord for guidance. Now notice that they are saying, “The Lord thy God,” or, “Jehovah thy God.” And when Jeremiah answers them, he said,
I will pray unto the LORD your God ( Jer 42:4 )
They are saying to Jeremiah, “Pray to Jehovah thy God,” not really acknowledging Jehovah as their own God in the request. But Jeremiah turns it around and says, “I will pray unto Jehovah thy God.” And then later on he mentions Jehovah our God. So he said, “I will pray unto Jehovah your God.”
according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatever Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will not keep anything back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it is good, or whether it is evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God ( Jer 42:4-6 ),
So they acknowledged Jehovah. And of course, this is when you… this is what it’s all about, when obedience, when He is Jehovah your God then that it just has the intimation of obedience. That’s what worshipping or serving God is all about. That is submission to God as Lord of our lives. And God being a title is the title of that master of your life. What is it that masters your life? That’s your God. People say, “Well, I don’t believe in God.” That’s not true. Everybody is mastered by some principle, some idea. And whatever it is that masters your life, that is your God. So when you acknowledge God, you’re acknowledging whatever force or guiding or directing principle there is in your life. And you’re always obedient to that guiding force or principle of your life.
So inquire. Now here they are. “Look, we promise we will obey. Whatever the Lord tells us. If it’s good or if it’s bad, we’ll obey it. The Lord judge between us. We’re going to obey it.”
And it came to pass after ten days ( Jer 42:7 ),
Now this is interesting to me because Jeremiah, no doubt, had a pretty good connection. You know, we read all the way through how the word of the Lord was coming to Jeremiah in so many different situations. And here he is coming to the Lord now for a specific purpose–to receive instruction and guidance from God for these people who are asking him to seek the Lord for them. And it’s interesting to me that he did not hear for ten days.
How often when we come to God are we looking and expecting for an immediate response. And if God doesn’t speak in the first five minutes that I give Him the opportunity, well then I’ll try something else, you know. After all, I’ve waited here for five minutes to give God a chance to talk to me. And yet here is Jeremiah waiting for ten days to hear the word of the Lord. God’s timing does not always coincide with mine. I so often look at a situation and I say, “Well, Lord, as I see it You have just about five hours to take care of this situation. And if in the next five hours You don’t do something, it’s down the tubes. It’s too late. So You got five hours to do Your work, Lord.” And then I come back, say, “Well, Lord, sixty minutes. It’s about all You got. Lord, You’ve got about five minutes. Oh Lord, You’re too late. You had Your chance. Too bad. Now I’m going to have to step in and do something, Lord, because You didn’t make it.” And there are so many cases where I was so certain that God missed His chance. And yet I found out later that I was just ahead of God’s schedule. I was going by my watch and He was going by His eternal clock. And God worked and God did it and I thought it’s too late. He can’t do it now. There have been times when I was sure, “It’s just too late, Lord. Oh God, You could have done it. Why didn’t You do it, Lord? Now it’s too late.”
You know, oftentimes God delays the answers to prayer in order that He might give more. You remember when Hannah had gone with her husband Elkanah in order to offer their sacrifices unto the Lord. And Elkanah looked at her and he says, “How come you’re so depressed?” She said, “Oh, your other wife and I have been having a real time.” She said, “You give me a son.” He said, “Am I God that I can give you a son?” The other wife was having lots of kids. She couldn’t have any. That was a disgrace in that culture. And it was obvious that Elkanah loved her more than he did his other wife. I can see that polygamy would have all kinds of problems. Who can handle one? And these wives were at each other. And this other one was really getting to Hannah because she didn’t have any children. And so she said, “Give me a son or I perish.” He said, “Am I God that I can give you a child?” He said, “But look, you’ve got me. Aren’t I worth many sons to you?” It didn’t work. She didn’t answer him, but her silence said a lot.
So when they came to the house of the Lord, she was in such bitterness over this whole issue. But she was there on the temple steps or on the steps, the temple wasn’t built then, but there on the step of the court of the place of worship, tabernacle, and she was pouring out her soul to God in deep bitterness, and so much so, that she wasn’t even uttering the words. Just her mouth was moving but she wasn’t uttering the words. And Eli the priest came by and looked at her there in that, you know, just tense and strained condition and he said, “Woman, you better leave the bottle alone. It will take you to the bottom.” She said, “I’m not drunk, sir. I’m not a woman of wine.” She said, “My soul is bitterly grieved before God.” And he said, “Go your way, God grant your request.”
Well, what she was praying was, “God, if You’ll just give me a son, I’ll give him back to You all the days of his life.” Well, you see, the condition of Israel was so low that God couldn’t find any man to lead the people. God needed a man. God couldn’t find a man so he had to find a woman in order to get a man. And he got her attention by closing up her womb and making her childless. And no doubt she had prayed many, many times that God would give her a child, take away the disgrace of her barrenness. But God waited, God delayed the answer. God was intending all the time to answer her prayer. But God needed a man. And so He delayed the answer until her prayer came into harmony with the will of God. “Lord, if You’ll just give me a man child, I’ll give him back to You.” All right! Now you’re in harmony with the purpose of God. And she bore a son and she called his name Samuel. And he became one of the greatest leaders of Israel, leading them out of sure tragedy in that particular period of history and became a marvelous prophet and priest of God. God delayed the prayer, answering the prayer in order that He might give more. God oftentimes does that for us.
Jeremiah waited for ten days.
and the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. And so he called Johanan, and all of those captains that were with him, and all of the people together ( Jer 42:7-8 ),
Down near Bethlehem, there on the road towards Egypt.
And he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; If you will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down; and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you ( Jer 42:9-10 ).
And, again, here the idea of repent is a term that we use of God because we describe the actions of God in human terms, but we read that, “God is not a man,” Deuteronomy, “that He should repent” ( 1Sa 15:29 ). Hath He not spoken? Shall He not perform? But yet God is saying, “I have changed from the evil, or I have completed the evil that I’ve purposed upon you and I’m not going to bring any further evil,” basically, is what God is saying.
Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will show mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land ( Jer 42:11-12 ).
Now don’t be afraid of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. You don’t need to fear him. You are afraid of him, but you don’t need to be afraid of him. For I will have mercy upon you and I will give you mercy in his eyes that he’ll return you to the land.
But if you say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God, saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell ( Jer 42:13-14 ):
So this is what was in the back of their minds in going to Egypt. “We’ll be able to escape war. We won’t hear the sound of trumpet.” That is, the trumpets that are calling the troops to battle. “We’ll not have hunger, and there will we dwell.” So their going to Egypt was a case of convenience. It was a peace-at-any-price kind of a thing. “We’ll escape from war, the sounds of the trumpets of war. And there we’ll have peace. We’ll eat bread and have plenty.”
And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If you wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which you feared, will overtake you; and the famine, which you are afraid, will follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you will die. So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when you enter into Egypt: and you shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more. The LORD hath said concerning you, O remnant of Judah; Go not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day. For you have dissembled in your hearts, when you sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and whatever our God says, or declares to us, that we will do ( Jer 42:15-20 ).
You were deceitful. You were not telling the truth when you vowed to obey the voice of the Lord.
And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn ( Jer 42:21-22 ).
Now here is a classic example of proper counseling by a minister or by a pastor. As pastors, we really are not here to give you legal advice. Nor are we here to give you medical advice. Nor are we here to give you psychological counseling. We are here to give spiritual counseling to people and to talk to them concerning their spiritual problems, and that’s all that we’re qualified to do. And if a person comes for counsel and their problem is legal, then all we can do is send you to an attorney. If it’s medical, we can send you to a doctor. If it’s a deep psychological problem, then we can send you to a psychologist. We’re here to counsel people on the spiritual things and to give to you the Word of the Lord on spiritual issues. Now, we cannot force your action. All we can do is give you the alternatives. “Here’s what the Lord says about this. If you stay here, then this is what God is going to do for you and this is what God has promised to do. If you go down there, then this is what is going to happen. And this is what the Lord says will happen if you go down there.” That’s all we can do is lay out the alternatives from a spiritual standpoint and what the Word of God says about the alternatives. But you have to always make your own choice and own decision of what you are going to do. And really we can’t tell you what to do. All we can do is give you the Word of the Lord and lay your alternatives, lay the alternatives before you and then you make your decision on what you want to do. The choice is always yours. All we can do is lay out the choices and the results of the choices. And then you must decide which path you’re going to take.
So look how effectively Jeremiah did that. “Now look, if you stay in the land, you don’t need to be afraid of Nebuchadnezzar because God will plant you here. And God will be with you and He’ll give you mercies and you’ll find mercies before Nebuchadnezzar and all. And you’re going to prosper; you’ll be blessed. If you go down to Egypt, because you think that you can escape war down there, you think that you can have plenty of bread and you think it’s going to be well down there, the very things that you’re trying to escape are going to follow you down there. The sword will follow you there. The famine will follow you there. War and the famine that you’re worried about here, they’ll follow you there and you’ll die in Egypt. You’ll never come back to the land again. You’re going to perish in Egypt. It’s all over if you go down there. That’s it, it’s over for you.” And so he told them what the Lord had said. And the Lord just gave to them the various choices and the consequence of each choice.
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Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Jer42:1-6
Jer 42:1-3
REQUEST FOR JEREMIAH’S PRAYERS AND PROPHECIES
Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we pray thee, our supplication be presented before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us: that Jehovah thy God may show us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing that we should do.
This passage confirms the presence of the prophet as being a part of the company rescued by Johanan from Ishmael. It was not necessary to go to him, for he was already among them. hence the words, all the people. came near (Jer 42:1).
Pray for us…
(Jer 42:2). The prophet had previously been forbidden to pray for the rebellious people (Jer 7:17; Jer 11:14, and Jer 14:11); But he was now free to do so. Jeremiah at once agreed to do so, but not on the basis that the God to which he prayed was any other than the God of all the people. The people said pray to thy God (Jer 42:3-4); but Jeremiah said, I will pray to your God (Jer 42:4).
That God may show us the way. and the thing that we should do …..
(Jer 42:3). Some scholars believe that this was a hypocritical request; but it may be that the people really thought they desired to know God’s will, when actually, they merely wanted God to confirm what they had already decided to do. We do not certainly know which it was.
Jezaniah…
(Jer 42:1). This man’s name is given as Azariah in Jer 43:2; but, as Ash said, He may have had two names, or there may be a textual confusion.
Jer 42:4-6
JEREMIAH TO PROPHESY; PEOPLE PROMISE OBEDIENCE
Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto Jehovah your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatsoever thing Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not according to all the word wherewith Jehovah thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of Jehovah our God.
This promise seems to be sincere enough, since it even calls upon God Himself to be a witness against them if they should fail to keep their vow.
2. The request of the prophet (Jer 42:1-6)
It is while the people were encamped near Bethlehem that Jeremiah returns to the narrative. Nothing has been recorded about his activities since he chose to dwell with Gedaliah in Mizpah (Jer 40:7 to Jer 41:18). Since Jeremiah is with the remnant at the inn of Chimham it would seem reasonable to assume that he had been among the captives led away by Ishmael. This seems preferable to the alternative view that Jeremiah and Baruch had been absent from Mizpah during the mid of Ishmael and joined the group later by their own choice. At any rate Jeremiah now comes to the fore again as the spiritual counselor of the people. The entire group of fugitives assembled before the prophet in order to receive an oracle from the Lord. Johanan and Jezaniah acted as spokesmen for the group (Jer 42:1). Another Jezaniah is mentioned in Jer 40:8. Very courteously they made their request. They desire that God might direct their path (Jer 42:2).
Jeremiah listened to the well-worded plea of the leaders with sympathetic ears. He still loved his people dearly and so agrees to fulfill their request. Jeremiah knew, however, that these people already had their minds made up as to what they were going to do. They had decided that it was necessary to flee into Egypt and they assumed that this decision would be indorsed and confirmed by the Lord. After all, what other alternative was there? Anticipating that God would not approve of their plan, Jeremiah warns the people that he will speak only that which the Lord reveals. He will not alter the word of God to suit the present circumstances. He would not hold back the truth (Jer 42:4). Somewhat over enthusiastically the people take a vow that they will act in accordance with the word of God (Jer 42:5-6). It is obvious from what follows that they were not sincere in this declaration. Like so many of Gods people, they were willing to follow His word only in so far as His word met with their approval.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Before going forward, Johanan and those associated with him, gathered to Jeremiah, and asked that he pray for them and seek divine guidance. He consented at once to their request, and they promised obedience to whatever command was laid upon them. Ten days elapsed, and then Jeremiah delivered the message of the Lord in answer to Johanan.
It was a distinct command to remain in the land, and not to go into Egypt. Divine protection was promised them if they were obedient, but they were warned solemnly that if they went to Egypt in the hope of escaping from war and hunger, they would find there both the sword and famine.
The end of Jeremiah’s message shows that he knew, in all probability by divine revelation, that the prayer they had asked him to offer for them had not been honest. He seems to have known that, in spite of his message, they would go down into Egypt, and he told them so; and finally declared to them that they would die in Egypt by the sword, famine, and pestilence.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Jeremiah being among the number carried away from Mizpah, the representatives of the people now turned to him. Their words were very fair and well-spoken: “Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee,” they said, “and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us); that the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do” (Jer 42:2-3).
One is reminded of Jehoshaphat professedly seeking the mind of GOD after the alliance with the king of Israel had already been made and his word pledged. Alas, this is but trifling with GOD; yet, dear reader, are we altogether clear of this? How many a saint has set his heart upon a certain course without asking counsel of the Lord; and then, actuated by a feeling of unrest and anxiety, has sought to get the divine approbation for his self-concocted plans!
Notice here that the people do not say, “The Lord our God,” but “The Lord thy God. (Jer 42:2) There is a sense of distance. They do not feel they can approach Him with confidence, hence they turn to Jeremiah, and would fain have him act the part of a go-between, or a mediator. It is always a bad sign when there is diffidence in approaching GOD; when the petitioner has more confidence in the prayers of a ministering servant than in his own.
Unmistakably, it reveals the lack of communion with GOD which inspires confidence in the hour of need. If the eye is single, the whole body is full of light, having no part dark.
If the desire to glorify GOD be supreme in the soul, one can turn to Him for guidance without fear. But when some cherished aim or selfish object is controlling the heart, there is and must be a lack of confidence towards Him.
Such was the present state of the spared remnant. Jeremiah makes no comment upon it, but quietly replies, “I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you” (Jer 42:4). Note how he throws them back on their own responsibility. He says, “The Lord your God,” and speaks of what “the Lord shall answer you.” He will be the spokesman for them, but not the go-between.
In the most solemn way they declare that they will abide by the Word of the Lord, whatever it may be; and no doubt, like many another in a similar place, they really thought they would. But they had settled it in their hearts to go into Egypt, and they counted upon the Lord’s endorsement of their fleshly determination. They replied, “The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us” (Jer 42:5). Then growing bolder, they use the term, “The Lord our God,” declaring, “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God (Jer 42:6). This certainly sounded well. Alas, that “good words and fair speeches” can be so cheap and so meaningless!
A significant ten days was allowed to elapse ere the Lord communicated His mind to His servant – a number suggesting man’s responsibility Godward and man-ward, as set forth in the Ten Commandments given at Sinai. On that ground the remnant could claim nothing. The delay in answering indicates the distance at which they were from GOD. They had failed grievously, and yet there was no repentance (Jer 42:7).
Before all the people, Jeremiah declared the word of the Lord: “Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before Him: If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down; and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent Me of the evil that I have done unto you” (Jer 42:8-10).
What riches of grace are here unfolded! On their part, no adequate sense of guilt; yet on His, such amazing compassion and loving-kindness. If they will but trust Him now in their weak, broken state – if they will rely upon His mighty arm and thus dwell in the land He had given them – if they will accept the chastisement, and bow to His Word, then He will build them up and care for them as a husbandman cares for his vintage.
Obeying His voice, they need have no fear of the wrath of Babylon’s king.
“For I,” says GOD, “am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand. And I will show mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land” (Jer 42:11-12). Restoration and blessing, under the divine protection, would be the happy result of subjection to Himself. On the other hand, it were worse than folly for them to seek relief in Egypt. Nought but dire distress and judgment could result. To go back to Egypt was like a Christian going back to the world for help.
The Lord JESUS “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Gal 1:4). This is the antitype of the deliverance from Egypt of old.
Pharaoh’s land, for the redeemed of the Lord, was a land of bondage – it could never be their home. To settle there in peace and happiness was absolutely impossible. To attempt to do so was to ignore the blood of the passover and the parting of the Red Sea.
For the Christian this would be to forget that he is purged from his old sins through the shedding of the precious blood of CHRIST, and separated from this world by the death of that blessed One.
The Cross of CHRIST has come in between the believer and the world, enabling him to say, God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal 6:14).
As the Red Sea rolled between Egypt and the place of Israel’s blessing, so the death of CHRIST has cut me off from this world if I am a child of GOD. I cannot get back to it now, save by, for the time being, ignoring that solemn fact and acting as though the Cross to me were nothing! Alas, alas, how often, dear fellow-believer, have we so acted! Oh, the shame that it ever should be so! Yet what need there is that we own before GOD with confusion of face our wretched failures in this connection! But of one thing there can be no question: no truly converted soul was ever able to find rest in this world after being delivered from it once.
The history of the remnant here is, like all Scripture, “written for our admonition,” (1Co 10:11) and should speak loudly to our consciences.
To go back to Egypt, for them, must mean increased sorrow and disaster. They might try to persuade themselves that they would there find a land of plenty and quietness, where, undistracted by war and the sound of the trumpet, they could eat bread to the full and dwell in peace; but this was a delusion (Jer 42:13-14). The sword from which they sought to flee should pursue them there, and the famine of which they were afraid should follow close after them, and Egypt should be to them but a graveyard, because of the anger of the Lord which should be poured out upon them (Jer 42:15-18).
The Egyptians might indeed dwell securely in their own land, but not so with the remnant of Israel. The worldling may occupy himself in this scene in comparative quietness and peace, but the child of GOD is spoiled for the world and can never be happy in it.
That the captains and the people had in no sense deceived the Lord with their fair words is evident in what follows.
He admonished them faithfully not to go into Egypt, and then makes bare their hearts:
“For ye have used deceit against your souls,” the prophet declares, “when ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray for us unto the Lord our God; and according unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it” (Jer 42:19-20 margin).
It was in vain to seek to deceive Him whose eyes as a flame of fire penetrate the inmost secrets of the being.
They were not upright before Him. He knew it well, and yet condescended in grace to point out the path of blessing, and warn of the road to ruin. The word had been set before them. Already their downcast faces gave the answer. Jeremiah waits for no reply, but announces:
“Now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, nor anything for the which He hath sent me unto you. Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn” (Jer 42:21-22).
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
CHAPTER 42
1. Jeremiah the intercessor (Jer 42:1-6)
2. The answer from Jehovah (Jer 42:7-22)
Jer 42:1-6. The remnant, the few who were left after the terrible happenings recorded in the preceding chapter were now cast upon the Lord and besought the prophet to pray for them: That the LORD thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. They believed in Jeremiah as a man of God. He promises to do so, and when the answer comes he will not keep back anything.
Jer 42:7-22. The answer came ten days later. Then the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. If he had spoken of himself, sat down and thought out by himself what they were to do now he would have waited ten days. But it was not his counsel, not his opinion or advice; the Lords answer to the divine counsel is that they should abide in the land and that the king of Babylon would not hinder them in any way. Then the Lord would plant them and build them up. The Lord promises them mercies and salvation. But if they went down to Egypt, the Lords anger would be upon them and judgment would overtake them.
In their hearts they had a desire to go to Egypt. He who is the searcher of hearts knew all about it. They used deceit, and now the Lord, knowing that they would not obey, announced through the prophet that they should die by the sword, the famine and the pestilence.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
all the: Jer 42:8, Jer 40:8, Jer 40:13, Jer 41:11, Jer 41:16, Jer 43:4, Jer 43:5
Jezaniah: 2Ki 25:23, Eze 8:11, Eze 11:1, Jaazaniah
from: Jer 42:8, Jer 5:4, Jer 5:5, Jer 6:13, Jer 8:10, Jer 44:12, Act 8:10
came: Jer 42:20, Isa 29:13, Isa 48:1, Isa 58:1, Isa 58:2, Eze 14:3, Eze 14:4, Eze 20:1-3, Eze 33:31, Mat 15:8
Reciprocal: Eze 33:30 – Come Jon 3:5 – from Heb 8:11 – from
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 42:1. Came near indicates a more personal contact, sufficiently near to make a verbal request of Jeremiah. He doubtless was in the group as one of the persons whom Johanan had carried off from Mizpah, having escaped the sword of Ishmael.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 42:1-3. Then all the captains, and all the people That is, both those captains, and many of the people; came near and said unto Jeremiah Who was probably carried away with the other captives by Ishmael, and rescued by Johanan; Let, we beseech thee, our supplications be accepted before thee Thus these men, though wretched hypocrites, yet address the prophet with great respect and reverence, and in words which implied that they thought themselves unworthy to be permitted to ask any favour of him. Probably the evidence they had had so lately of his being a true prophet of the Lord, by the accomplishment of all that he had foretold against both the city and temple, might in some measure occasion their showing him such respect. And pray for us, that the Lord may show us the way wherein we may walk It is the constant method of hypocrites to pretend an absolute submission to the will of God till that will is found to run counter to their inclinations or interest. Lowth.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 42:1. Then came all the captains of the forces. sari, the princes of the army. Johanan and Jezaniah are for dignity named last, because they were of royal blood. All the people, be their number more or less, attended also: their hopes and interests were now at stake. Those princes knew well the law, that God must be consulted; such also was the law of heathen nations. Nor would the eager people be satisfied without an oracle. The sanctuary being destroyed, they had no choice but to consult the identical prophet whose words they had long despised.
Jer 42:7. After ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Chaldaic will fully bear us out in saying, that the Word was the glorious person of Christ. So it is in Jon 4:4; Jon 4:9, and in more than forty other places, especially in the book of Chronicles.Their impetuous passions must wait for the oracle: he would not speak till their minds were calm, and till his words might be more persuasive.
Jer 42:15-16. If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egyptthere ye shall die. They would run from one fire to another. For the truth and accomplishment of this prophecy, we have the testimony of Josephus, who describes the continuous wars of Nebuchadnezzar in the west, the siege of Tyre for thirteen years, Isaiah 23., and the conquest of Egypt, Libya, and other countries. The truth of prophecy has the seals of providence. See on Jer 41:15.
Jer 42:17. By famine and by pestilence. Both here, and at Jer 42:22, and at Jer 44:13, where the word pestilence occurs, it is omitted by the LXX.
REFLECTIONS.
The remnant in the time of sore and complicated affliction, now seek for counsel from the Lord; and with an oath that they would obey; for a reproaching heart told them of their gross treatment of this holy prophet. How far they obeyed, the sequel will show.
The foundation of the Hebrew theocrasy rested on God alone; and they needed no alliances farther than good will, with any of the neighbouring nations. It would be difficult to prove that ever they received any permanent good from connections and intercourse with the heathen; nor did they at any time form such a connection without receiving some calamitous wound, both in their morals and their religion. Against Egypt, and all dependence on that nation for aid and defence, they are often cautioned; because it would corrupt their purity, and imply an insufficiency in the Lord for their protection. Deu 17:16. Isa 30:2. But Egypt was at this time the only power which resisted the conquests of the Chaldeans, and the military men trusted in an arm of flesh for defence. Hence they came to Jeremiah, to solicit his prayers and advice; for now he stood high as a prophet of the Lord. But they did this with hypocrisy in their hearts. If he should advise them to go into Egypt, and consequently give the lie to his former prophecies, in which he had exhorted them to serve the king of Babylon, then they would do so. Thus wicked men will applaud the word of God when it coincides with their interest or their humour. But if he should persevere in bidding them stay in the land, they were secretly resolved to follow their own determination, and take refuge in Egypt. What an astonishment that men should carry dissimulation in so solemn a manner into the divine presence.
After ten days the Lord vouchsafed to speak: for though he be slow to hear when prayer is made for the disobedient, yet he softens even when repentance is very imperfect. The Lord bade them abide in the land, and promised to build them up into a nation again, and not to pull them down. He bade them not to fear the king of Babylon; for he would be with them to deliver them from his hand. So there was yet a ray of hope for the remnant of Judah and of Israel, had they obeyed his voice.
The gracious overtures of providence are often frustrated by the revoltings of man: the fears of the wicked were more than their faith. Disbelieving both the promises and the threatenings of the Lord, they resolved to seek safety in Egypt, and to force every one to go with them. While Jeremiah threatened Jerusalem with fire and sword, those very men, believing the false prophets, thought themselves safe in the city; and now that safety is promised for the remnant in the land, they think themselves unsafe. Oh, deceitful heart of man! Thus the land was left in a manner without an inhabitant, that it might enjoy its sabbaths.
The men who would not believe the promises of God when he repented of the evil he thought to do, were obliged, but ah, too late for mercy, to believe all the terrible words which he had said by Jeremiah. Nebuchadnezzar presently invaded Egypt, slew the king, and appointed another in his stead. So Josephus affirms, and also Megasthenes and Berosus, who flourished about three hundred years before Christ: they even speak in stronger terms of the conquest of Egypt and a great part of Africa by Nebuchadnezzar. Thus it mostly happens, that they who seek a refuge in disobedience to God are sure to involve themselves in greater evils.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 42:1 to Jer 43:7. The Migration into Egypt.Jeremiah is asked by the leaders (Jer 42:1 mg., with LXX) and the people to seek Yahwehs guidance, which they solemnly (Jer 42:5 mg.) promise to follow (Jer 42:1-6). After ten days, the Divine revelation comes to the prophet and is communicated to the people, to the effect that they are to remain in Judah, where Yahweh promises to protect them from the Babylonians; their hope of prosperity in Egypt will be found delusive; Yahweh will treat them in Egypt as He has treated Jerusalem. They are doing harm to themselves by their (intended) disobedience after the pledge given (Jer 42:7-22). The leaders (as Jeremiah had anticipated, from Jer 42:17 ff.) refuse to obey the oracle, alleging that it is not genuine, but inspired by Baruch. They migrate to Egypt, and reach Tahpanhes (Daphne, a frontier fortress, Jer 2:16).
Jer 42:12. Read to dwell in for to return to, with Syr. Vulg.
Jer 42:20. dealt deceitfully: should be, with LXX, done evil.souls: simply selves.
Jer 43:2. saying: read instead, with Giesebrecht, and defiant.
Jer 43:5. Cf. Jer 40:11 f.
Jer 43:6. Cf. Jer 41:10.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
The remnant’s flight to Egypt 42:1-43:7
This chapter continues the narrative begun at Jer 41:4. The remnant leaders asked Jeremiah to obtain the Lord’s instructions concerning their proposed flight to Egypt (Jer 42:1-6).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Johanan and his fellow leaders of the refugees asked Jeremiah to pray for them, as few as they were, that the Lord would tell them what to do. Zedekiah had made a similar request of Jeremiah and then chose to go against what the Lord commanded (Jer 37:3).
Many expositors believe that this remnant had already determined to proceed on to Egypt and simply wanted Yahweh’s blessing (cf. Jer 43:1-3).
"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." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 133.]
I tend to think their request was sincere in view of their words and the Lord’s reply. It seems to me that if they had already decided to leave the land, that the Lord would have responded to them more strongly, as to hypocrites, instead of people who were in the process of making a decision.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER XIV
THE DESCENT INTO EGYPT
Jer 42:1-22 Jer 43:1-13
“They came into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the voice of Jehovah.”- Jer 43:7
THUS within a few days Jeremiah had experienced one of those sudden and extreme changes of fortune which are as common in his career as in a sensational novel. Yesterday the guide, philosopher, and friend of the governor of Judah, today sees him once more a helpless prisoner in the hands of his old enemies. Tomorrow he is restored to liberty and authority, and appealed to by the remnant of Israel as the mouthpiece of Jehovah. Johanan ben Kareah and all the captains of the forces, “from the least even unto the greatest, came near” and besought Jeremiah to pray unto “Jehovah thy God,” “that Jehovah thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing we may do.” Jeremiah promised to make intercession and to declare faithfully unto them whatsoever Jehovah should reveal unto him.
And they on their part said unto Jeremiah: “Jehovah be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not according to every word that Jehovah thy God shall send unto us by thee: We will obey the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee, Whether it be good or evil, that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of Jehovah our God.”
The prophet returned no hasty answer to this solemn appeal. As in his controversy with Hananiah, he refrained from at once announcing his own judgment as the Divine decision, but waited for the express confirmation of the Spirit. For ten days prophet and people were alike kept in suspense. The patience of Johanan and his followers is striking testimony to their sincere reverence for Jeremiah.
On the tenth day the message came, and Jeremiah called the people together to hear Gods answer to their question, and to learn that Divine will to which they had promised unreserved obedience. It ran thus:-
“If you will still abide in this land,
I will build you and not pull you down,
I will plant you and not pluck you up.”
The words of Jeremiahs original commission seem ever present to his mind:-
“For I repent Me of the evil I have done unto you.”
They need not flee from Judah as an accursed land; Jehovah had a new and gracious purpose concerning them, and therefore:-
“Be not afraid of the king of Babylon,
Of whom ye are afraid;
Be not afraid of him-it is the utterance of Jehovah-
For I am with you,
To save you and deliver yon out of his hand.
I will put kindness in his heart toward you,
And he shall deal kindly with you,
And restore you to your lands.”
It was premature to conclude that Ishmaels crime finally disposed of the attempt to shape the remnant into the nucleus of a new Israel. Hitherto Nebuchadnezzar had shown himself willing to discriminate; when he condemned the princes, he spared and honoured Jeremiah, and the Chaldeans might still be trusted to deal fairly and generously with the prophets friends and deliverers. Moreover the heart of Nebuchadnezzar, like that of all earthly potentates, was in the hands of the King of Kings.
But Jeremiah knew too well what mingled hopes and fears drew his hearers towards the fertile valley and rich cities of the Nile. He sets before them the reverse of the picture: they might refuse to obey Gods command to remain in Judah; they might say, “No, we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor hunger for bread, and there will we dwell.” As of old, they craved for the flesh pots of Egypt; and with more excuse than their forefathers. They were worn out with suffering and toil, some of them had wives and children; the childless prophet was inviting them to make sacrifices and incur risks which he could neither share nor understand. Can we wonder if they fell short of his inspired heroism, and hesitated to forego the ease and plenty of Egypt in order to try social experiments in Judah?
“Let what is broken so remain.
The Gods are hard to reconcile:
Tis hard to settle order once again.
Sore task to hearts worn out by many wars.”
But Jeremiah had neither sympathy nor patience with such weakness. Moreover, now as often, valour was the better part of discretion, and the boldest course was the safest. The peace and security of Egypt had been broken in upon again and again by Asiatic invaders; only recently it had been tributary to Nineveh, till the failing strength of Assyria enabled the Pharaohs to recover their independence. Now that Palestine had ceased to be the seat of war the sound of Chaldean trumpets would soon be heard in the valley of the Nile. By going down into Egypt, they were leaving Judah where they might be safe under the broad shield of Babylonian power, for a country that would soon be afflicted by the very evils they sought to escape:-
“If ye finally determine to go to Egypt to sojourn there,
The sword, which ye fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt.
The famine whereof ye are afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt,
And there shall ye die.”
The old familiar curses, so often uttered against Jerusalem and its inhabitants, are pronounced against any of his hearers who should take refuge in Egypt:-
“As Mine anger and fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
So shall My fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter in Egypt.”
They would die “by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence”; they would be “an execration and an astonishment, a curse and a reproach.”
He had set before them two alternative courses, and the Divine judgment upon each: he had known beforehand that, contrary to his own choice and judgment, their hearts were set upon going down into Egypt; hence, as when confronted and contradicted by Hananiah, he had been careful to secure divine confirmation before he gave his decision. Already he could see the faces of his hearers hardening into obstinate resistance or kindling into hot defiance; probably they broke out into interruptions which left no doubt as to their purpose. With his usual promptness, he turned upon them with fierce reproof and denunciation:
“Ye have been traitors to yourselves.
Ye sent me unto Jehovah your God, saying,
Pray for us unto Jehovah our God;
According unto all that Jehovah our God shall say,
Declare unto us, and we will do it.
I have this day declared it unto you,
But ye have in no wise obeyed the voice of Jehovah your God.
Ye shall die by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence,
In the place whither ye desire to go to sojourn.”
His hearers were equally prompt with their rejoinder; Johanan ben Kereah and “all the proud men” answered him:-
“Thou liest! It is not Jehovah our God who hath sent thee to say, Ye shall not go into Egypt to sojourn there; but Baruch ben Neriah setteth thee on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may slay us or carry us away captive to Babylon.”
Jeremiah had experienced many strange vicissitudes, but this was not the least striking. Ten days ago the people and their leaders had approached him in reverent submission, and had solemnly promised to accept and obey his decision as the word of God. Now they called him a liar; they asserted that he did not speak by any Divine inspiration, but was a feeble impostor, an oracular puppet, whose strings were pulled by his own disciple.
Such scenes are, unfortunately, only too common in Church history. Religious professors are still ready to abuse and to impute unworthy motives to prophets whose messages they dislike, in a spirit not less secular than that which is shown when some modern football team tries to mob the referee who has given a decision against its hopes.
Moreover we must not unduly emphasise the solemn engagement given by the Jews to abide Jeremiahs decision. They were probably sincere, but not very much in earnest. The proceedings and the strong formulae used were largely conventional. Ancient kings and generals regularly sought the approval of their prophets or augurs before taking any important step, but they did not always act upon their advice. The final breach between Saul and the prophet Samuel seems to have been due to the fact that the king did not wait for his presence and counsel before engaging the Philistines. (Samuel 13) Before the disastrous expedition to Ramoth Gilead, Jehoshaphat insisted on consulting a prophet of Jehovah, and then acted in the teeth of his inspired warning. {1Ki 22:1-53}
Johanan and his company felt it essential to consult some divine oracle; and Jeremiah was not only the greatest prophet of Jehovah, he was also the only prophet available. They must have known from his consistent denunciation of all alliance with Egypt that his views were likely to be at variance with their own. But they were consulting Jehovah-Jeremiah was only His mouthpiece; hitherto He had set His face against any dealings with Egypt, but circumstances were entirely changed, and Jehovahs purpose might change with them, He might “repent.” They promised to obey, because there was at any rate a chance that Gods commands would coincide with their own intentions. But lets remark that men may be expected to act “not only upon an even chance, but upon much less,” specially applies to such promises as the Jews made to Jeremiah. Certain tacit conditions may always be considered attached to a profession of willingness to be guided by a friends advice. Our newspapers frequently record breaches of engagements that should be as binding as that entered into by Johanan and his friends, and they do so without any special comment. For instance, the verdicts of arbitrators in trade disputes have been too often ignored by the unsuccessful parties; and-to take a very different illustration-the most unlimited professions of faith in the infallibility of the Bible have sometimes gone along with a denial of its plain teaching and a disregard of its imperative commands. While Shylock expected a favorable decision, Portia was “a Daniel come to judgment”: his subsequent opinion of her judicial qualities has not been recorded. Those who have never refused or evaded unwelcome demands made by an authority whom they have promised to obey may cast the first stone at Johanan.
After the scene we have been describing, the refugees set out for Egypt, carrying with them the princesses and Jeremiah and Baruch. They were following in the footsteps of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Jeroboam, and many another Jew who had sought protection under the shadow of Pharaoh. They were the forerunners of that later Israel in Egypt which, through Philo and his disciples, exercised so powerful an influence on the doctrine, criticism, and exegesis of the early Christian Church.
Yet this exodus in the wrong direction was by no means complete. Four years later Nebuzaradan could still find seven hundred and forty-five Jews to carry away to Babylon, {Jer 52:30} Johanans movements had been too hurried to admit of his gathering in the inhabitants of outlying districts.
When Johanans company reached the frontier, they would find the Egyptian officials prepared to receive them. During the last few months there must have been constant arrivals of Jewish refugees, and rumour must have announced the approach of so large a company, consisting of almost all the Jews left in Palestine. The very circumstances that made them dread the vengeance of Nebuchadnezzar would ensure them a hearty welcome in Egypt. Their presence was an unmistakable proof of the entire failure of the attempt to create in Judah a docile and contented dependency and outpost of the Chaldean Empire. They were accordingly settled at Tahpanhes and in the surrounding district.
But no welcome could conciliate Jeremiahs implacable temper, nor could all the splendour of Egypt tame his indomitable spirit. Amongst his fellow countrymen at Bethlehem, he had foretold the coming tribulations of Egypt. He now renewed his predictions within the very precincts of Pharaohs palace, and enforced them by a striking symbol. At Tahpanhes- the modern Tell Defenneh-which was the ancient Egyptian frontier fortress and settlement on the more westerly route from Syria, the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in mortar in the brick pavement, at the entry of Pharaohs palace in Tahpanhes, in the presence of the men of Judah; and say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah Sabaoth, the God of Israel:
“Behold, I will send and take My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon:
I will set his throne upon these stones which I have hid,
And he shall spread his state pavilion over them.”
He would set up his royal tribunal, and decide the fate of the conquered city and its inhabitants.
“He shall come and smite the land of Egypt;
Such as are for death shall be put to death,
Such as are for captivity shall be sent into captivity,
Such as are for the sword shall be slain by the sword.
I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt;
He shall burn their temples, and carry them away captive:
He shall array himself with the land of Egypt
As a shepherd putteth on his garment.”
The whole country would become a mere mantle for his dignity, a comparatively insignificant part of his vast possessions.
“He shall go forth from thence in peace.”
A campaign that promised well at the beginning has often ended in despair, like Sennacheribs attack on Judah, and Pharaoh Nechos expedition to Carchemish. The invading army has been exhausted by its victories, or wasted by disease and compelled to beat an inglorious retreat. No such misfortune should overtake the Chaldean king. He would depart with all his spoil, leaving Egypt behind him subdued into a loyal province of his empire.
Then the prophet adds, apparently as a kind of afterthought:-
“He also shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, in the land of Egypt” (so styled to distinguish this Beth-Shemesh from Beth-Shemesh in Palestine),
“And shall burn with fire the temples of the gods of Egypt.”
The performance of this symbolic act and the delivery of its accompanying message are not recorded, but Jeremiah would not fail to make known the Divine word to his fellow country men, It is difficult to understand how the exiled prophet would be allowed to assemble the Jews in front of the main entrance of the palace, and hide “great stones” in the pavement. Possibly the palace was being repaired, or the stones might be inserted under the front or side of a raised platform, or possibly the symbolic act was only to be described and not performed. Mr. Flinders Petrie recently discovered at Tell Defenneh a large brickwork pavement, with great stones buried underneath, which he supposed might be those mentioned in our narrative. He also found there another possible relic of these Jewish emigres in the shape of the ruins of a large brick building of the twenty-sixth dynasty-to which Pharaoh Hophra belonged-still known as the “Palace of the Jews Daughter.” It is a natural and attractive conjecture that this was the residence assigned to the Jewish princesses whom Johanan carried with him into Egypt.
But while the ruined palace may testify to Pharaohs generosity to the Royal House that had suffered through its alliance with him, the “great stones” remind us that, after a brief interval of sympathy and cooperation, Jeremiah again found himself in bitter antagonism to his fellow countrymen. In our next chapter we shall describe one final scene of mutual recrimination.