Jeremiah 40:13-16

1. The plot revealed (Jeremiah 40:13-16)

TRANSLATION

(13) Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the officers of the army which was in the field came unto Gedaliah at Mizpah. (14) And they said unto him, Are you at all aware that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay you? But Gedaliah did not believe them. (15) so Jonathan the son of Kareah privately said to Gedaliah in Mizpah, let me go I beg you that I may smite Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and no man will know of it. Why should he smite you and cause all of the Jews who have gathered unto You to be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish? (16) But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Do not do this thing, for you are speaking a falsehood concerning Ishmael.

COMMENTS

Somehow word of the treacherous plot reached the ears of Johanan. Perhaps Ishmael had even tried to enlist Johanan in the conspiracy. At once he warned the governor (Jeremiah 40:13-14). Gedaliah, being the righteous and godly man that he was, could not bring himself to believe that the report was true. Whether Gedaliah is here being naive and foolish or courageous is difficult to tell. Some have suggested that he brushed aside this threat to his life in order to inspire confidence on the part of the various leaders who had come to him at Mizpah. Perhaps he thought the report was only symptomatic of the divisions within the remnant and that it would be best to disregard such malicious slander. But Johanan knew that the death of Gedaliah would mean disaster for the tiny remnant. He was convinced that the reports concerning Ishmael were true. Privately he pressed the matter with the governor, offering to immediately slay Ishmael if Gedaliah so desired. He underscored the point that if Gedaliah were slain the Jewish remnant in Palestine would be scattered and destroyed (Jeremiah 40:15). If Gedaliah had merely been putting up a brave front before there is no reason for him to do so now. He ordered that no action be taken against Ishmael and he accuses Johanan of making false accusations against a fellow officer (Jeremiah 40:16). While of course Gedaliah was right in refusing to allow the assassination of Ishmael, it does seem that he should have taken more active steps to protect his own person. His lack of cautiousness led to his own assassination.