1Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant—because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— 3 that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.”…
7 At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he summoned Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, 9 and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: 10 If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. 11 Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. 12 I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. 13 But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God 14 and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ 15 then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, 16 then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. 17 All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.
REFLECTION:
Johanan and others decided the answer in their hearts before asking God. They promised Jeremiah verbally that they were willing to listen to what God said to them, good or bad, but they only wanted to listen to what they wanted, and their falsehood finally became a curse on themselves. Jeremiah described in detail the retribution they would receive if they did not listen to God, but they still did not believe it. The final outcome, as Jeremiah had forewarned, was that they all died in Egypt and no one remained. There are two mistakes made by Johanan and others: One is pride and rebellion, disobeying God’s will; the other is falsely asking God’s will and deceiving God. We should be vigilant and not make the same mistakes. Asking for God’s guidance without having the heart to obey it is really wrong. In addition, do not pray to God for things that go against God’s will and divine nature. Instead of making fake prayers, it is better not to pray. We should understand that God cannot be deceived. If you deceive God, you will be severely punished.
PRAYER:
Ask God to examine your heart and let you see how many false elements in your prayers; each of us who is in sin has some falsehood, confess your falsehood to God and repent of your falsehood; dedicate to God that you are willing to pursue faith more sincerely, more obedience to God’s will, and willing to accomplish everything according to God’s will instead of your own will.
16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from Gibeon. 17 And they went and stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
REFLECTION:
The remnants of Judah lost the Law and faith in God in the desolate cities. Johanan and others fled to Egypt because they were afraid of the Chaldeans. They traveled south from Gibeon, stopped at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, and pretended to go to Jeremiah to ask for God’s will, but as Jeremiah said later, they didn’t really ask him for God’s will, but they had their own opinions in their hearts, and they only wanted to hear what they agreed with. Today, our fear will also cause us to lose confidence, so that we can make our own decisions and no longer want to follow God’s guidance. We should ask ourselves what we are afraid of. As Paul asked, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Romans 8:35, ESV). May we imitate Paul, without fear in our hearts, and in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
PRAYER:
Come to God humbly and tell God the fear in your heart; ask God to make you attracted by His love and willing to make sacrifices because you love God, because there is no fear in love; God has given you the courage not to fear of anything in the future, more than conquering through the Lord who loved us.
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2 The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, “The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. 3 The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. 4 Now, behold, I release you today from the chains on your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. 5 If you remain, then return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. 6 Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land.
REFLECTION:
Although Nebuzaradan, the captain of Babylon’s guard, did not know God, he admitted that Babylon’s victory was given by God. Some people acknowledge the existence of God and know that He performs miracles, but they are unwilling to personally accept Him, know Him, and experience God’s salvation, because doing so will have to pay a great price, giving up the way of life they have been accustomed to and the values that gain them great benefits before. Jeremiah can choose where he reside at will. In Babylon, he can enjoy a comfortable life and have a certain amount of power; in Judah, he will continue to suffer. He may be loved by the Babylonians in Babylon, but he will be spurned by his exiled compatriots; in Judah it means living a life of poverty and loneliness, but it can show that he is not a perfunctory traitor. In the end Jeremiah chose to return to Judah and live in Mizpah. Mizpah is located a few kilometers north of Jerusalem. This place was not severely damaged during the war. So after the fall of Jerusalem, many remnants of Judah sought refuge here. Jeremiah chose to continue to serve these survivors, but also to serve God and experience God’s deeper edification. This past event warns us that knowing God is not only having knowledge about God and acknowledging His power, but also confessing sins and repenting, changing the old self-centered lifestyles and values, and throwing into God’s embrace without hesitation. Establish an intimate and deep relationship with God, and be constantly edified by God throughout our life.
PRAYER:
Ask God to enlighten you so that you can understand at what stage your knowledge of God stays? Is it just cognition in the mind, or you have established an intimate relationship with God and follow His guidance in everything? Pray that God will enable you to see where you are still imperceptibly influenced by the world’s values, and give you the strength to overcome your old self in those areas and renew your life.
