Jeremiah 42:7-22

3. The response of the Lord (Jeremiah 42:7-22)

TRANSLATION

(7) And it came to pass at the end of ten days that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah. (8) And he called Johanan the son of Kareah, the officers of the forces which were with him, and all the people small and great, (9) and said unto them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom You sent me to present your petition before Him: (10) If you will continue to dwell in this land then I will build you UP; and not tear you down; I will plant you and not pluck you UP; for I am grieved concerning the calamity which I brought upon you. (11) Do not fear the king of Babylon whom you fear. Do not fear him (oracle of the LORD), for I am with you to deliver You and to save you from his hand. (12) I will extend mercies to you so he will show mercy to you and cause You to return unto your land. (13) But if you say, We will not dwell in this land, thereby disobeying the LORD your God, (14) and say, No! Surely we will go to the land of Egypt where we will see no more war nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor hunger for bread; and there we will dwell: (15) Now therefore hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you firmly set your faces to go to Egypt and you go to sojourn there, (16) then the sword which you fear shall catch up with you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine which you dread shall hang on to you in Egypt, and there you shall die! (17) And all the men who have set their faces to go to Egypt to sojourn there will die by the sword, famine and pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the calamity which I will bring against them. (18) For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: As My wrath and My anger was poured out against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, thus shall My wrath be poured out against you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an imprecation, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you will never again see this place. (19) The LORD has spoken concerning the remnant of Judah, Do not go to Egypt. Be certain of this: I have testified against you this day. (20) You made a fatal mistake when you sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray on our behalf unto the LORD our God and whatever the LORD our God shall say, tell us that and we shall do it. (21) Now I have told you this day, but you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God in regard to anything for which He sent me unto you. (22) And now be certain of this: By the sword, famine, and pestilence you shall die in the place where you wish to go to sojourn!

COMMENTS

Jeremiah waited ten days before the Lord clearly made known His will to the mind of the prophet. It seems as though God was preparing the heart of His messenger both to receive and to communicate His word to the people. No doubt the people were perturbed by the delay. They knew what the divine directive had to be, so why delay. Each day they manifested their impatience and disgust. Still Jeremiah refused to speak until he was certain that the message was from God. After ten days of prayerful wrestling with God, the answer came. Jeremiah immediately called for the entire encampment to hear God's word. The response of the Lord contains two parts: the way of peace (Jeremiah 42:10-12), and the way to punishment (Jeremiah 42:13-18). To this is added a word of exhortation by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 42:19-22).

a) The way of Peace (Jeremiah 42:10-12). The word of the Lord came as a complete shock to the assembled remnant.

It was God's will that they remain in Judah! If they chose to remain in the land, God would build them up i.e., cause them to prosper. God was not angry with them. Quite the contrary. The Lord declares: I repent Me of the evil that I have done unto you (Jeremiah 42:10). This is not a confession of mistake or of remorse for the disasters which He has brought upon them. Rather it means that His attitude and conduct toward His people now has changed. He is not hostile toward them any longer. Hu man reason would indicate that they flee to Egypt and place themselves under the protection of Pharaoh. To re main in the land would be an act of faith.

After the general promises of peace and prosperity, the Lord addressed Himself to the specific fears of the community. Their anxiety concerning the reaction of Nebuchadnezzar to the death of his governor were groundless. God was with them and would deliver them out of the hand of the Chaldean king (Jeremiah 42:11) and the king whom they feared would actually show mercy to them (Jeremiah 42:12).[354] How often in the life of a Christian the worst fears prove to be ungrounded.

[354] With the change of only one vowel in the Hebrew the phrase cause you to return can be read cause you to dwell. This reading is preferable in view of the circumstances here.

b) The way of punishment (Jeremiah 42:13-18). The people as free moral agents had a choice to make. If they chose to remain in the land they would enjoy peace and prosperity. But if they chose flight to Egypt they would experience the punishment of God. The choice was up to them. God lets man choose his destiny.

Anticipating the reaction to the people to the commandment of God to remain in the land Jeremiah undercuts the major argument of the Egypt-bound remnant. In Egypt the people imagined that they would enjoy peace and plenty. They would escape, so they thought, the ravishes of war (Jeremiah 42:14). Not so, said Jeremiah. The sword will follow you to Egypt and there you will experience all the horrors of war (Jeremiah 42:16). There you will die of the sword, famine, and pestilence (Jeremiah 42:17). Just as in the past the nation had experienced the judgments of God, so would the wrath of God be poured out upon the remnant if they disobeyed this command of God. They would become an object of execration and horror; they would be accursed and derided. They would never again see their homeland (Jeremiah 42:15).

c) The prophetic exhortation (Jeremiah 42:19-22). As Jeremiah delivered the word of the Lord he could see in his audience the hardened look of rejection. Earnestly he exhorts his hearers to follow the divine directive and remain in the land. This is not my personal opinion; the Lord has spoken concerning you O remnant. You surely know that I have admonished or testified against you this day (Jeremiah 42:19). Your guilt is all the more serious[355] in that you sent me unto the Lord to inquire concerning His will and you pledged yourselves to submit to that will (Jeremiah 42:20-21). This disobedience had sealed their own death warrant. Unbelief does not alter the word of God. Be absolutely sure of this one thing, says the prophet: If you persist in your manifest intentions to go to Egypt you shall die of the sword, famine, and the pestilence (Jeremiah 42:22).

[355] You dissembled in your hearts (KJV) i.e., you have deceived yourselves. On this translation Jeremiah is charging them with self-deception. Another translation of the phrase is possible: you have erred at the risk of your lives. On this translation Jeremiah is saying that these people have put their life in jeopardy by swearing to obey God and then rejecting His commandment.