They remnant of Judah say the right thing initially, but renege when it comes to commitment. Jeremiah must deal with the fallout of those who are left in the land and the unwise choices they have made. This is the issue when your ‘yes’ is ‘no’.
Jeremiah 42: Warning Against Going to Egypt
1 Then 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."
4 Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your request, and whatever the LORD answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you."
5 Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us.
6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God."
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.
18 "For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more.
19 The LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day
20 that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, 'Pray for us to the LORD our God, and whatever the LORD our God says declare to us and we will do it.'
21 And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything that he sent me to tell you.
22 Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live."
Jeremiah 43: Jeremiah Taken to Egypt
1 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them,
2 Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there,'
3 but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon."
4 So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah.
5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven---
6 the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah.
7 And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they arrived at Tahpanhes.
8 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes:
9 "Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah,
10 and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them.
11 He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword.
12 I shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace.
13 He shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.'"
Things to think about…
1. Johanan the son of Kareah started out well. Remember he was the one that spoke of the plot to Gedaliah that Ishmael was going to murder him. This ended up being true. As we saw in Jeremiah 40, Johanan then rescued the people from Ishmael and brought them back to Bethlehem in Judah. In Jer 41:1-3 that they now want counsel from the Lord to know what to do. No doubt the Babylonians will hear that Gedaliah has been murdered and that will cause Babylon to be angry and they may take it out on these innocent people that the king of Babylon graciously allowed to stay in the land. It is always difficult when we are placed in difficult situations where we have to rest in the Lord. But at the end of the day it is a choice of resignation of the will to our heavenly Father. Jesus asks that the difficult cup He was about to drink at Gethsemane be removed from Him, but He submitted to the Father’s will. As we follow Jesus, we must do the same.
2. Jeremiah hears their petition. Rather than answer from his own resources which he could have done because at this point he had heard the Lord for 40 years, he asks that he seek the Lord and when the Lord answers he will let them know the Lords counsel, Jer 41:4. He exhorts them to carry out whatever the Lord decides, vs 4. The leaders assure Jeremiah that they will do all the word of the Lord, vs 5. Promises are easier said than done as we well know.
3. Jeremiah does not return with an answer immediately. He waits until he hears from the Lord. Often we want to jump right in and even justify hearing the Lord by justifying how we feel. This is wrong in many ways. Jeremiah responds after 10 days when he knows for certain that he has heard from the Lord, Jer 41:7 and he summons the people, vs 8. There are no surprises, that the Lord tells Jeremiah that the remnant must stay in Judah. If they do the Lord says “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. 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. I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land”, Jer 41:10-12. The answer is stay and submit to the king of Babylon. They could explain the situation and even say they were tempted to run but stayed out of obedience to what the Lord had said. Jeremiah tells them the consequences of fleeing to Egypt which they were encouraged not to do many times in the past. They were captive there for over 400 years and Egypt represented earthly strength and self will rather than a reliance upon the Lord. We of course unwisely take the same course of action.
4. Jeremiah explains the sad reality of not obeying the Lord in Jer 41:13-20. He tells them to remain. But more than this, no doubt over the past 10 days he has heard the murmurings of the people. Jeremiah knows their hearts. They have no intention of remaining in Judah. Going to Egypt would be seen as rebelling against both the king of Babylon and the King of heaven. What a tragedy when we do the same. We know the right way and choose the wrong. There are always consequences. As our Lord says, we reap what we sow, 2Cor 9:6, Gal 6:7. He tells them plainly from vs 20 “you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, 'Pray for us to the LORD our God, and whatever the LORD our God says declare to us and we will do it.' And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything that he sent me to tell you. Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.". He knows their minds and hearts are fixed on going to Egypt regardless. Is this you? If so, repent and walk in the way of obedience where you know the Lord has told you previously the way in which you should go. Only a fool would continue on without regard to the consequences.
5. Then we finally see it, their true heart in Jer 43:2. They tell Jeremiah that he hasn’t heard from the Lord, that he is in fact lying. What an insult. Was Jeremiah lying for the last 40 years when he said the king of Babylon would come and judge the rebellion of Judah? No, so why now? I must confess this is the ultimate slap in the face for the servant of the Lord. Many have given up opportunities in the world where they could have made far more money than the calling of a minister. I have sadly been on the other end of such bitter remarks. While I knew I was speaking the Lord’s truth, it still hurt hearing their words and seeing them leave the church and in some cases their faith. Johanan started out well it would seem, he had some discernment when telling Gedaliah of the plot against his life. But look here how the Holy Spirit describes him and those with him in Jer 43:2. They are described as insolent men. Men who are outwardly zealous and do things in their own strength under the guise of religious zeal. Jehu was such a man, 2Kings 9-10, although he at least seems to have had more outward obedience than Johanan and the other leaders.
6. The tragedy of the rebellion unfolds. Jeremiah is also forcefully taken with the other captives, Jer 43:5-7. It is here that Jeremiah gets another word from the Lord. One that confirms what will take place regardless of their flight to Egypt. The Babylonian King will find them their and exalt his throne above the Egyptian Pharoah, vss 8-13. He will not only destroy the rule of Egypt and all its outward symbols of wealth and idolatry. As we often here “You can run, but you can’t hide”. We see a more detailed prophesy of their actions in Jer 44.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sunday’s sermon “The best is yet to come” – reading Jeremiah 30:18-Jer 31-14
1. We have all known the pain of loss. Israel would lose everything, but her sorrow would be turned to joy. Has the Lord restored something to you after a season of loss?
2. The nation of Israel is a modern day miracle. Jeremiah says “I will again rebuild you”, Jer 31:4ff. What do you know of the history and conflict over Israel, the two state solution and what is happening in Israel today.
3. We know the Messiah is the One who fully restores the fortunes to us and to Israel. They will one day recognise their Saviour. Discuss your understanding of this and what you understand about the Millennial kingdom.
4. Perfect peace and restoration will come from the heavenly Jerusalem. This is where we live with our Lord forever. There will be a new heavens and a new earth. Do you ever think about this.
Prayer Points
1. Melinda Fourie bad ear infection.
2. Ministries as they have started back.
3. That we see Christ even as Covid goes through the community.
4. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Kayla Newberry - National U18 national Heptathlon Champion.
2. People returning to church as Covid is passing through the church and community.
3. Faithful; message on Sunday – thanks Doug
4. Worship and technical team. Thanks Suzie, Gina, Zac, Bec and Tim.
Announcements
1. Cell groups back. A new cell group has started at the church for residents around Karalee. Wed 7pm at church.
2. Kidz@Church every Sunday
3. Members Meeting after the service 27th Feb
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for February...
Q. 16. Who should partake of the Lord's Supper? A. Only those who repent of their sins, believe in Christ for salvation and live according to his word.
