Friday, February 7 – Jeremiah 42, 43
Study Questions:
1. What request did the leaders of the remnant make to Jeremiah, and what did they promise to do with the prophet’s response? (Jeremiah 42:1-3)
2. How did the leaders react to God’s response through Jeremiah? (Jeremiah 43:1-7)
3. How did God reiterate His message of punishment to the rebels for not obeying His word? (Jeremiah 43:8-13)
Commentary and Reflection:
After most of the kingdom of Judah was taken captive to Babylon in 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar left behind a remnant in Judah, composed mainly of the poor and farmers. A group of rebels against Nebuchadnezzar, who had appointed Gedaliah as governor of Judah, assassinated him and planned to flee to Egypt out of fear of Nebuchadnezzar. This is the context of the events narrated in these chapters. Generally, remnants in the Old Testament were composed of people faithful to the Lord. Here, however, we see a remnant that deviated from the norm.
As I study these chapters of Jeremiah, I am amazed at the people’s stubbornness. The sin of rebellion seems to damage brain cells and dull the mind, causing it to sink deeper into rebellion and wickedness. The hypocrisy of the leaders and the people was disguised under a facade of piety and a desire to follow God’s will. Even Jeremiah may have been impressed by their seemingly sincere request:
“Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but a few of many, as you can see), that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.” (Jeremiah 42:2-3)
In response to Jeremiah’s willingness to consult the Lord, they replied without hesitation:
“The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you.” (Jeremiah 42:5-6, NKJV)
With this statement, they pronounced their own judgment. To invoke God as a witness and then blatantly disobey Him is the greatest insult a mortal can direct at God. Their false promise lasted only ten days. As the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary notes:
“This time lapse should have been an evidence to the people that Jeremiah was not giving his own answer but one that came through him from God after much prayer and meditation (see on Jer. 24:4; cf. Eze. 3:15, 16).” (SDA Bible Commentary, Jeremiah 42:7)
The Lord told the people that if they obeyed His voice and remained in Judah, He would “build them and not pull them down.” (Jeremiah 42:10, NKJV). This reaffirmed God’s purpose for them. As Jeremiah demonstrates, and as the apostle Paul urges us, we must “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), meditating and waiting for God’s response to our prayers.
The Lord’s statement to the remnant—“for I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you” (Jeremiah 42:10, NKJV)—might seem contradictory. However, in context, it can be paraphrased as: “If you stay in Judah, things will go well, but if you choose to go to Egypt, disregarding My word and My plans, My purposes for you will change.” Numbers 23:19 makes it clear: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
Johanan and the people sadly believed Egypt was a more promising land than famine-stricken Judah, which had been devastated by the Babylonian invasion. Egypt, known as the granary of the Near East, offered abundant harvests that seemed an attractive contrast to Judah’s scarcity.
We must learn not to repeat the error of the Jews, who, like Balaam (Numbers 22:20), hoped the Lord would endorse their own desires. We should exercise caution when making major life decisions.
In Jeremiah 43, we see the leaders’ pride and stubbornness reach their peak as Johanan and the warriors openly reject God’s words through Jeremiah. They accuse Jeremiah of lying, claiming God had not given him that message. Deaf to God’s voice, they defy Him, taking the people—Jeremiah and Baruch included—into Egypt.
How tragic is the story of the few Jews who remained in Judah and ignored God’s word through Jeremiah! May we not approach God with prayers and petitions as they did, imposing our agendas on Him. Let us humbly pray, submitting to our Heavenly Father’s will.
Blessings to all,
Professor Javier Diaz