Call to Commitment

 

Ancient cistern at ruins of Mizpah

Chapter 41

 

Ishmael’s nonsensical massacres            

  1.      Now it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah. 

 2.  Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

 3.      Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war. 

 4.      And it happened, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when as yet no one knew it, 

 5.      that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD. 

 6.      Now Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!" 

 7.      So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah killed them and cast them into the midst of a pit, he and the men who were with him. 

 8.      But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, "Do not kill us, for we have treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field." So he desisted and did not kill them among their brethren. 

 9.      Now the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was the same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 

 10.  Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

The story of Israel´s army captains continues in this chapter in the seventh month of the 11^th year of King Zedekiah. They began to maneuver after Nebuchadnezzar penetrated Jerusalem on the ninth day of the fourth month. This chapter begins over two months after the city was conquered and burnt. At the end of the last chapter, we had just learned, through one of the captains, Johanan, that another captain, Ishmael, is plotting against the new governor, Gedaliah. Gedaliah refused to believe Johanan and was in denial of the evil intended by Ishmael. It is the only fault that we have learned about the governor, but this chapter will expose the seriousness of refusing to face an unpleasant reality. May the people of God take warning, because this trait in Gedaliah led to his death. We do ourselves and the church no favor, by ignoring or tolerating the potential of evil in the human heart.  

Jeremiah taught us that the heart is perverse and deceptive (17:9), something the Lord showed to him and also something that He taught him, providentially, as he observed the fate of his friend, the governor. See how Ishmael took advantage of the naivety in this good man and subtly carried out his conspiracy. He was emboldened, because he possessed royal blood and was held by his conceit, because of his past position in Judah. He comes to Mizpah with ten men to dine with Gedaliah (1).

The governor learned too late that you cannot surmise that everyone has good intentions and will act for the good of his country and people. Unfortunately, many are possessed by an egotistical yearning for power. Please understand that some people with this attitude are inside the church in our day. The apostle John knew of one: “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us” (3 Jn.9). In his second epistle, he warned of dangers that come to believers and the action that must be taken concerning them: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house or greet him” (2 Jn.10). John was not only a great advocate of brotherly love, but a lover of divine truth: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 Jn. 4). Paul wrote that love “rejoices in the truth” (1 Co.13:6).

Possible site of Mizpah, 7 m. from Jerusalem

                                Chapter 40

 

Jeremiah and Nebuzaradan

   1.      The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah who were carried away captive to Babylon.

  2.      And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him: "The LORD your God has      pronounced this doom on this place. 

 3.      Now the LORD has brought it, and has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned against the LORD, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you. 

 4.      And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there." 

 5.      Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, "Go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go." So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go.

 The wise man wrote: “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Pr.21:1). In the fearful crisis in Jerusalem, when the hand of mighty Nebuchadnezzar, backed by the armies of Babylon, takes control of the city, Jeremiah need not fear. He is the servant of the King of Kings and He has already prepared Babylon’s emperor to care for His servant, the prophet.

 It seems that Jeremiah is mistakenly put in chains among the Jews, who left the city of Jerusalem, as captives (1). He marches with them, about 5 miles, to Ramah. It lay in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin and was the headquarters for the prophet, Samuel, in its distant past. In the last chapter, Nebuchadnezzar had given word to his general, Nebuzaradan, to care favorably for Jeremiah, yet he falls into this uncomfortable position. We must reflect on this situation and try to discern what God is doing in allowing this disappointment. 

Babylonian cuneiform of Jerusalem conquest

                                  Chapter 39

         The Chaldean Conquest of Jerusalem

1.      In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it. 

     2.      In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was penetrated. 

  3.      Then all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal- Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer, Rabmag, with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. 

 4.      So it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king's garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the plain. 

 5.      But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him. 

 6.      Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah. 

 7.      Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. 

 8.      And the Chaldeans burned the king's house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 

 9.      Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who defected to him, with the rest of the people who remained. 

 10.  But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the poor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. 

As we begin the 39^th chapter of Jeremiah, we should be able to identify certain important dates in the book and have an idea of the timetable. We have already read of the 9^th year of Zedekiah and we understand that it is the time that Nebuchadnezzar began his ultimate siege against Jerusalem. Within two years, the Babylonian siege was successful and the army penetrated the city. That is the account given in verses one and two.

 We learned in chapter 32, that it was during the tenth year of Zedekiah that the Lord prompted Jeremiah to buy a field in his native city.  The following year, succumbing to the siege, the citizenry of Jerusalem was taken captive and sent to Babylon. Jeremiah’s purchase gave hope to the people that, after 70 years in Babylon, they would one day return to their native land and reclaim their lost properties. 

 

Jeremiah left to the fate of evil princes

       1.      Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 

          2.      "Thus says the LORD: 'He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.' 

 3.      Thus says the LORD: 'This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.' " 

 4.      Therefore the princes said to the king, "Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm." 

 5.      Then Zedekiah the king said, "Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you." 

 6.      So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king's son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire. 

 Both Jehucal and Pashhur rejected the word of the Lord, which Jeremiah delivered. Jehucal was sent by Zedekiah in chapter 37:3 and Pashhur in 21:1 to counsel with the prophet. Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, is not the Gedaliah, son of Shaphan, who is Jeremiah’s friend, and later appointed by the emperor to be governor of the land. This Gedaliah may be the son of the Pashhur of 21:1, as well as in this verse. We have no certainty, as to who is Shephatiah (1).

Jeremiah was commissioned by the Lord to give an option to the people, openly and publicly, for their benefit… the one benefit that they can expect in this crisis. They can continue to live, and that is all. Otherwise, the three means of death… by sword, by famine, and by pestilence… mentioned several times by Jeremiah, will surely be their end.

 God knows that there is no deliverance from the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. It is not a time to rise up to battle the enemy army, because God Himself will fight against them in wrath. Resistance is futile and, in fact, deadly, so the kindest advice to give the people is that they should surrender willingly. We read the same advice that we have in verse 2, also in chapter 21:8-9.  

 

                                   Chapter 37

 

Zedekiah hopes for Jeremiah’s support

      1.      Now King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 

      2.      But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the LORD which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. 

      3.      And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Pray now to the LORD our God for us." 

 4.      Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 

 5.      Then Pharaoh's army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem. 

 6.      Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 

 7.      "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold, Pharaoh's army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land. 

 8.      And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire." ' 

 9.      Thus says the LORD: 'Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely depart from us," for they will not depart. 

 10.  For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.' " 

 We have sometimes referred to the son of Jehoiakim as Jehoiachin, whereas Jeremiah usually gives his other name, Jeconiah, and shortens it to Coniah. He follows the word of the Lord, Who in chapter 22:24, dropped the prefix “Je” from his name, by way of reproach, for the Je signified Jah or Jehovah. The entire name meant the Lord will establish, but Jeremiah saw nothing of God´s establishment in the life or reign of Jeconiah. He and the Lord, both, called him Coniah.  

 In 2 Chronicles 36:9, it states that Jehoiachin or Jeconiah became king at eight years of age, while 2 Kings 24:8 said that he was 18. Some think that the writer of the Chronicles made a mistake, concerning his age. Others think that his father took him as a boy at eight years of age to join in the kingdom, in order to prepare him for his future reign. I would prefer to believe that opinion, as the reason for the discrepancy in these two accounts, rather than easily conclude that there is a mistake in the writing.  What we know for sure, is that he reigned by himself for only three months. By the time that he was 18, he had ample time to develop evil tendencies in his life. By that age, he had wives (2 K.24:15) and the chronicles of the kings show that he had offspring (1 Chr.3:16).

 I am trying to avoid, as much as possible, the chronology of this book, because it is extremely complicated. I am trying to concentrate on the content of the messages and prophecies. However, at times, it becomes necessary to refer to the different kings, during which reign Jeremiah prophesied. After the interjection of chapters 35 and 36 from the account of the earlier reign of Jehoiakim, chapter 37 continues from chapter 34 in the time of the reign of Zedekiah. Nebuchadnezzar took Jeconiah away to Babylon after three months and ten days, replaced him with his uncle, Mattaniah, and changed his name to Zedekiah (1). At 21 years of age, he is the third son of Josiah to reign in Judah and is of the royal line of David. He rebelled against the Babylonian emperor and, in so doing, broke his oath that he made before the true God (2 Ch.36:13), when he swore loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar.