Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.”
Jeremiah 42:5-6
The people come to Jeremiah with a question to bring before the Lord: should we flee to Egypt or stay in Israel? It’s a reasonable question. The Babylonian-installed governor has been assassinated, and they are fearing possible repercussions.
It takes ten long days of waiting before the Lord answers: “stay in this land” (Jeremiah 42:10). He will bless them if they stay. He then warns them against going to Egypt. All they fear will overtake them if they flee there. Why does God wait so long to answer? Couldn’t he have answered sooner? The same could be asked for us: why can’t we get quicker, clearer answers when we probe for guidance?
However, Jeremiah realizes that they’re not going to listen. Verses 19-22 are his commentary on the Lord’s warnings. The beginning of verse 20 is interesting in the literal Hebrew: “you have caused them to err for your lives/souls” (NIV: “you made a fatal mistake”). Verse 22 once again repeats three punishments he’s been warning the people about throughout the book: “sword, famine, and plague”. I imagine Jeremiah pleading with them to listen to him for once. Unfortunately, as we’ll see in the next chapter, they will not.
To Ponder…
- Have you ever asking for guidance to have your view confirmed rather than actually wanting guidance?
- Are you willing to follow the Lord’s leading even if you don’t like the answer? (“Whether it is good or bad” – Jeremiah 42:6)