Call to Commitment

 

A pretended search for God’s will

 1.      Now all the captains of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, came near 

 2.      and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "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), 

 3.      that the LORD your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do." 

 4.      Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard. Indeed, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your words, and it shall be, that whatever the LORD answers you, I will declare it to you. I will keep nothing back from you." 

 5.      So they said to Jeremiah, "Let 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. 

 6.      Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God." 

 7.      And it happened after ten days that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. 

 8.      Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, 

 9.      and said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: 

This is the third chapter that has to do with the captains of Judah´s army. Ishmael is not among them now, but is with the Ammonites. The protagonist, whom we have studied, is Johanan and we have watched his character develop. In the beginning, he acted as a good patriot and uncovered Ishmael´s evil plot. He was rejected by the Governor Gedaliah, who died, because he refused to believe and react according to the word of Johanan. We have mentioned previously that rejection of his counsel and the vindication, when it proved valid, had a negative effect on the captain. The rejection produced bitterness and the vindication unveiled pride, and now we will see how these characteristics influence him.

 After the governor died, Jeremiah´s word was highly valued in Judah, which, of course, is now living under the Babylonian conquest. Jeremiah was respected by the emperor and other Babylonian officials. In the last chapter, we observed that Johanan feared repercussions from Nebuchadnezzar, because of the assassination of the governor that he had appointed (41:18). Would he blame all the captains for the deed of Ishmael? 

 When a person seeks a word from the Lord, he must be willing that the Lord will answer according to His will. He should not anticipate an answer, that is acceptable to his own will, but we will see that Johanan goes to Jeremiah, exactly with that purpose in mind. His motivation to manipulate the prophet is, in fact, an attempt to manipulate God. Every Christian needs to see that his “search” is not from the heart and can never prove effective, nevertheless it commonly takes place to this day. Sometimes people go from one counselor to another, until they find one, who agrees with them.

 The captains join hands, accompanied by the common people (1), and go to Jeremiah to ask direction from the Lord (2). How should this small remnant conduct themselves, now that there is no governor? They seem to be so sincere in seeking the ways of God and are willing to act as He commands (3). That is what their words indicate, but beneath their lips and in the depths of the heart, the Lord will uncover a deeper sentiment.

 Jeremiah responded positively and promised to go to God with their request. He assured them that he would return with an answer and inform them totally of His response (4). On the spot, they promised their obedience to the Lord, seeming to recognize that it would be for their own wellbeing. Listen to the strong determination that they voice, to do what the Lord will direct them to do, whether His answer suits them or not: “Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God.” They call the Lord to witness their declaration… they are putting themselves under oath (5-6).

 Jeremiah went to prayer for ten days (7) and let us learn in this act, the essence of the prophetic ministry, as well as the nature of prayer. Should every minister of the word approach the Lord for His people with the seriousness and urgency of the prophet? He lives under a strict conviction that he cannot deliver his own word to his people. By any means, he must hear from God or his ministry is invalid. How then does he hear? He goes to Him in prayer and we will notice the two-way communication in prayer. He expresses to the Lord, the request of His people, then he expects an answer from heaven.

 We should notice also, that he has not set a time period, during which he will pray. He did not predetermine, “I am going to pray for ten days.” He was in prayer for a purpose, not a period. A prophet must hear from God, no matter for how long he must be in prayer. His ministry must have the Lord’s seal upon it and, therefore, to speak with authority, he must be sure that God has spoken. Jeremiah is certain that the Lord has answered his prayer.

 He can now speak to the captains and the remnant in the land. Jeremiah calls Johanan, principally, then all the captains and finally the populace to him (8) and delivers the word of the Lord. They have nothing, with which to fault him, because he has fulfilled exactly what they asked him to do (9). God has the utmost concern for their welfare, but they must follow Him in obedience. Nothing in life can go well without the basic element of obedience.

 

The Lord answers according to His will

 10.  ‘If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you.

11.  Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the LORD, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand. 

12.  And I will show you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.’ 

13.  “But if you say, ‘We will not dwell in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the LORD your God, 

14.  saying, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell’— 

15.  Then hear now the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you wholly set your faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell there, 

16.  then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die. 

17.    So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there. They shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. And none of them shall remain or escape 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 fury have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will My fury be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.’ 

 The response to their petition is wholesome and positive. His purpose is that they remain in Judah. They will be under Babylon, but that will serve towards their well being. God know that this situation is necessary at this time, in order to carry out His will. He wants the Jew in their homeland to ensure His purpose for the future, even though they must be under a foreign power. I have previously mentioned that they remained under foreign dominance through the time of Christ.

 We will see that this is a requirement that the captains are having trouble accepting. They have a strong sense of independence and cannot understand how God’s people can live under the control of an empire. When Christ came, they were looking for Him to free them from Roman dominance. However, we have biblical proof that God, in His ways, allows for his people to be subordinate to a more powerful nation. He had already arranged it under Gedaliah.

  I have referred to the Old Testament symbol of Egypt, as a type of living in sin, generally speaking, but it was not always the case. There was a time, when He willed that His people would go there. Remember when God informed Abraham of his descendants’ future in Egypt. A dark prophecy came to Abraham concerning Egyptian bondage: “Horror and great darkness fell upon him” (Ge.15:12). God sent Joseph as a forerunner into the powerful nation, then assured Jacob of His will, as he went down to be with Joseph: “Do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you… I will also surely bring you up again” (Ge.46:3,4).

 The King of Kings rules over this powerful, cruel emperor and His people need not fear him. The Lord will humble him and soften his heart. “If God be for us, who can stand against us” (Ro.8:31). “I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand” (11). He is with them to manifest to them His salvation… to save and deliver and, in addition, He wants to show mercy! For them, it will become reality in the Promised Land (12). Remember, these are the weak and the few that remain in the land, to whom God will show His might.

 However, God knows already, the thoughts of their minds. He knew them, when they guaranteed Jeremiah of their compliance, whether it was pleasing or displeasing. The Lord gives them warning, knowing the way that they would choose (13). He knows that their mind is set on going to Egypt, looking for peace, freedom from war and hunger. They have already arrived at their conclusion, exalting their opinion, over the omniscience of the Lord. This is the astounding arrogance of man! (14).

 He knows better and warns them against their own limited and corrupted thinking (15). Exactly what they fear from Babylon, will overtake them in Egypt: “The sword which you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt” (16). Famine also will pursue them in Egypt and so will the greatest fear of Judah and all mankind…. Death will claim them. Here are the common calamities, of which Jeremiah warned, before the Babylon invasion. The same calamities will follow the disobedient down to Egypt… sword, famine and pestilence (17). There will be no escape and no exception.

 In this book, we have heard the Lord address Himself as “the Lord of hosts” and as the God of Israel. He is the God of infinite military might and He is the God, Who formed their nation and Who uniquely reigns over them to the end of their history. Nevertheless, He has already revealed His anger, during the Babylonian siege and invasion into their land. These who continue in disobedience will experience the same anger in Egypt. Rather than honor being heaped upon them, as it should be upon the people, whose God is Jehovah, they will be infamous for their disobedience. Nations around about will use their example to form a proverbial byword, because their downfall will profoundly amaze them. When they vilify their enemies, they will curse them by the example of these despised and wayward Jews. They will never return to the Promised Land (18).

 

Jeremiah adds an amen

 19.  "The LORD has said concerning you, O remnant of Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt!' Know certainly that I have admonished you this day. 

 20.  For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, 'Pray for us to the LORD our God, and according to all that the LORD your God says, so 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, or anything which He has sent you by me. 

 22.  Now therefore, know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell." 

 In verse 19, Jeremiah pronounces a word of confirmation against them, because by nature, God not only declares, but then, He confirms His word. Whether it be judgment or blessing, the same principle applies: For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (2 Co.1:20). I offer the quote from Paul to the Corinthians out of the English Standard Version, because it so clearly shows that the believer utters the “amen” to God’s declaration. In the case that we have at hand, Jeremiah, in particular, is the believer, who utters the “amen”. This is spiritual principle in any case, that believing human beings, give their amen, a powerful confirmation, to the word of absolute authority from the Lord.   The “amen” is a simple and direct repetition of God’s command: “Do not go to Egypt!” The prophet then stamps the commandment with the date, in which he pronounced it.

 Jeremiah, with limited knowledge, because he is human like everyone else, took their request seriously. Now he sees, by the word that he received directly from the Lord, that their request was hypocritical. Although God admonished them according to His desire, that they should obey, He knew what was in their heart from the beginning. They were not sincere, when they promised, “According to all that the Lord your God says, so declare to us and we will do it” (20).

 In response to their petition, through the prophet, God gave them the opportunity to obey His commands for their own good. Because He is omniscient, He knows their response beforehand. The fact that God commands people to do what they should do, when He knows that they will not obey, proves to be a dilemma to some “theologians”. They propose that God commands and then “chooses not to know what their reaction will be”. I cannot agree with the premise that God chooses not to know anything. To me, it seems more consistent in all of Scripture, from the Garden of Eden to the book of Revelation, that God gives His sovereign word for the good of mankind, but already knows by His sovereign omniscience, how man will respond.

 “He has told you, o man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you…” (Mic.6:8) yet few have obeyed and much of His word has gone unheeded. These verses are prime examples of the principle that we are contemplating and in verse 21: “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.”

 Knowing this, prophecy declares that the Jews will defy God and go down to Egypt against His command. Here are a people with a very low concept of God, who react according to their concept. Right from the beginning, they feared the power of Nebuchadnezzar more than the omnipotence of the Lord. They have little concept of His omniscience; therefore, they defy His knowledge of what is best for them. They have a concept that He can be fooled, therefore they say things that they have no intention to fulfill. They have little concept of His sovereignty; therefore, they feel that their will can triumph over His. They have little concept of His absolute truth, and therefore challenge His word. Christians today must determine above all else, to see the Lord in His majesty as His Bible declares. It will decide the quality of their Christianity.

 Jeremiah, with a high concept of the Lord, sees Him as He is, therefore knows for a certainty that judgment will be served upon this people, because they have decided already, where they will spend their future. It turns out to be a very short future (22). My friend, is your future in God’s hand or have you already decided how and where you will live it? Take this biblical story as wise instruction for your future!