Jeremiah 41:11
The passage that we have been looking
at recently is somewhat historical in nature, giving us some of the details of
what took place after the Babylonians conquered
The Bible says in Jeremiah 41:12-18, “Then they
took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and
found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.[13] Now it came to
pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of
Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were
glad.[14] So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from
Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.[15]
But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went
to the Ammonites.[16] Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the
captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom
he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he
had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women,
and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:[17]
And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by
Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,[18] Because of the Chaldeans: for
they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.”
I think that the lesson to learn from this passage can be seen from the fear
that motivated Johanan. He was afraid of the Babylonians and he was afraid
because of Ishmael having killed Gedaliah. But once we know God’s will, we
should not fear man. It is always best to go God’s way. Johanan chose to go
back to
The Bible says in Jeremiah 42:1-3, “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.” Notice verse two which speaks of a remnant. In the
context it is talking about the Jewish people who remained: that is, those who
did not get killed or taken captive in the judgment from God. Spiritually
speaking, the remnant is all about those who are saved through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Most people never get saved. Only a few get saved. The heart
of people is so hard that few find the motivation to repent of their sins and
turn to Jesus. This is the reality of the universal nature of sin and unbelief.
This is the sad spiritual state of the world today. Jesus said in Matthew
7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate:
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat:[14] Because strait is the gate, and
narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Jesus also said in Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Actually Johanan’s request in Jeremiah
42:3 was the right reuest to make to the Lord. Johanan said, “That the
LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may
do.” Every person needs God’s leadership. We are like sheep,
and we will go astray unless we have the right leadership. Who better to lead
us than the all-knowing and all-powerful God our Savior Jesus Christ? One of
the key requirements to being led by God is to desire to be led by Him.
Remember that we read in Jeremiah 31:9 that the Lord said, “With supplications will I lead them.” A very important question for everyone is: what does the
Lord want me to do? We say that someone has a “calling.” In other words they did
not choose their profession. They were led of God and called of Jesus to do
what they did. That is critically important in order to live life the way that
it was meant to be lived. Each person was put on earth for a reason. You will
only find that reason through following Jesus Christ. A good example of this is
found in the apostles. Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you
fishers of men.” If you follow Jesus, you will become something that you never
imagined that you would be: and it will be exactly what you should be.
The Bible says in Jeremiah 42:4, “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.” Jeremiah did two things for these people: he
prayed for them according to their requests, and he told them the truth. It is
important that we pray for one another. Jesus gave a special promise for answer
to prayer when we pray for one another and when we pray about the same things.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:19, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall
agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven.” When Christians gather together in
what Jesus called a “church,” one of the most important activities they are
involved in is prayer. They need to be praying about the same things.
Therefore, it is also important to get prayer requests so that the Christians
all know what to pray about. Of course, each Christian has his or her own
personal prayers that involve burdens from the secret places of their hearts;
but we also need to have prayers that are the joint requests that we have
shared with one another.
Jeremiah prayed for others, and he
also told them exactly what God’s Word said. People need to hear God’s Word,
not your words. God’s Word is the spiritual food. The way to council someone in
Christian counseling is to show them what God’s Word says about a matter. The
lesson is this: if you are a preacher, or a teacher, or a Christian who talks
to people about the things of the Lord, make sure you use the Word of God.
Beware of your own wisdom and illustrations. Beware also of trying to be
politically correct. The truth is the truth, and must not be altered because of
what people want to hear.
The initial response that the people
gave to Jeremiah was a very good response. The Bible says in Jeremiah 42:5-6, “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.” First of all they had the right attitude to
the Word of God. They said that they would do “even
according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.” One of the great purposes of the Word of God is to change
our behavior. When you read the Word of God, you are not doing it for an
intellectual exercise. You are doing it to change your behavior, so you must
ask yourself when reading or hearing the Word of God, “What action should I
take to apply this to my life?” If you do not ask yourself that question and
follow up on it, it may be that you are reading the Word of God in vain.
The people also said to Jeremiah in
Jeremiah 42:6, “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the
voice of the LORD our God.” In other words they were prepared to do whatever
the Word said no matter if it was what they were wanting or not. Anyone who
comes honestly to God must put aside his or her expectations and be ready for a
whole new life and a whole new way. You are not going to hear what you want to
hear. You are going to hear God’s Word, and God’s Word can be very sharp and
very piercing. The truth can hurt. John said in Revelation 10:9-10, “And I went
unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto
me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it
shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.[10] And I took the little book out
of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and
as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.”
Notice the last thing that the people
said to Jeremiah at the end of Jeremiah 42:6, “that it may be well with us,
when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.” It always will be well with us when
we obey the voice of the Lord our God. It is the carnal human nature of man
that thinks that we will lose or we will suffer if we obey the Word of God, but
the opposite is true. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might
have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
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Copyright; 2013 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved