Getting No Where Fast
In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.
Jeremiah 41:1-2
Just two months after the Temple fell, Gedaliah is struck down by Ishmael. Things for the remnant have gone from bad to worse. (Alternatively, maybe it was five years later, coinciding with the deportation mentioned in Jeremiah 52:30)
Ishmael takes the people of Mizpah captive and attempts to take them across the Jordan to Ammon, but Johanan rescues them and Ishmael flees. I can’t help but wonder where Jeremiah was in all of this. He isn’t mentioned until the beginning of the next chapter where he’s consulted on what to do next. Perhaps he was among those from Mizpah who were captured.
Zechariah 8:19 lists four fasts, one of them for Gedaliah’s assassination:
- The fourth month: The Fast of Tammuz, when the breach was made in the city wall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:2, 52:5-7)
- The fifth month: Tisha b’Av, commemorating the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:8-9, Jeremiah 52:12-13)
- The seventh month; Fast of Gedaliah, commemorating his murder (2 Kings 25:25, Jeremiah 41:1-2)
- The tenth month: Tenth of Tevet, when Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 52:4, Ezekiel 24:1-2)
Why create all these fast days? The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple was traumatic to the nation. Therefore, these days of mourning were established. Gedaliah, however, seems a little out of place there. Why fast because of his death of all people? The rabbis explained, “the death of the righteous is given equal weight as the burning of the house of our God” (b. Rosh Hashanah 18b).
However, despite all the tragedies, Zechariah has an uplifting promise, saying these fasts “will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace” (Zechariah 8:19b). Despite all the terrible things that happened (and continue to happen), God will take them away. He will fix what is broken. He will comfort those in mourning.
To Ponder…
- Do you take time to mourn for the tragedies in this world?
- Do you believe God will make things right? How do your actions demonstrate that belief?