Jeremiah 42 - Trustworthy
God's people must never trust their own understanding over God's commands
This is what the LORD says: You have burned the scroll, asking, “Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without people or animals?” 30 Therefore, this is what the LORD says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night. 31 I will punish him, his descendants, and his officers for their iniquity.
Gedaliah is already mentioned in 39:14 as the one to whom Jeremiah is released from custody. He was from an influential family and one friendly to Jeremiah. His grandfather, Shaphan, had been a member of Josiah’s cabinet, and his father, also related to Josiah’s administration, had been of crucial support to Jeremiah after a disastrous temple sermon (26:24; cf. 2 Kings 22).
40:7–16. Remnants of Judeans begin to gather around Gedaliah at Mizpah, about five miles north of Jerusalem. Included in the group are Ishmael son of Nethaniah and Johanan son of Kareah, two people whose actions will affect decisively the fortunes of both the little province and the prophet Jeremiah. Johanan is a member of the Judean army but also seemingly well-connected to the remaining officials in Judah. Ishmael is related to the royal family of Judah (41:1). Johanan discovers (we know not how) that Baalis, king of the Ammonites (40:14), has concocted a plot with Ishmael to assassinate Gedaliah. Indeed, Johanan apprises Gedaliah of his knowledge, but Gedaliah does not believe the report.
Verses 10–11 remind us of the continuing impact of the Babylonian siege. When the Babylonian army first marched into the area, a number of Judeans had fled their homes to take up residence in surrounding territories. Now that the Babylonians have completed their siege and the main elements of the army returned to Babylon, many of these Judeans now return to see what remains of their former property. Upon doing so, they also find that additional property needs tending. Gedaliah’s comment to them—“Live in the towns you have taken over”—indicates that the control of land has now passed to them and to others who remain.
All in all, it is a precarious time for those who remain in the land. They can be called the “remnant of Judah” (40:15), and the tasks of bringing corporate life back to a more even keel are daunting. Gedaliah may well have been able to represent the interests of the remnant to the Babylonian provincial administration. Unfortunately, this will never be known because of his tragic and untimely demise.
they all returned from all the places where they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and harvested a great amount of wine and summer fruit.
41:1–3. Chapter 41 narrates quickly Ishmael’s treacherous murder of Gedaliah. Treachery is the correct description of murder during a mealtime, since the “eating together” of Ishmael and Gedaliah presupposes social bonding and hospitality. The massacre is both a strike against the Babylonians and an attempt by Ishmael to usurp power. In addition to Gedaliah (the appointed governor) Ishmael murders “all the Jews” with Gedaliah and the Babylonian soldiers present. By “all the Jews” is probably meant the Judean men who work with Gedaliah in administrative affairs. Verses 10 and 16 report the survival of some persons from the town of Mizpah.
41:4–18. The day after the murder at Mizpah, a group of pilgrims from Shiloh, Shechem, and Samaria come south on the hill-country road to Jerusalem. They have cut their beards and torn their clothes as signs of ritual humiliation, and they intend to worship at the site of the temple in Jerusalem (41:4–8). Here is unintended commentary on the importance of the temple for people who lived outside the territory of Judah. The pilgrims from the north want to present grain offerings and incense at the temple in Jerusalem; does this mean that part of the temple cult continues even after the destruction of the temple itself? Perhaps an altar has been erected and repositioned in the courtyard, or perhaps the ceremony envisioned by the pilgrims is for prayer and lamentation, and their gifts symbolic gesture. The text does not say, and interpreters should be wary of speculation.
In yet another treacherous act, Ishmael gains their confidence and brings them to Mizpah, only to murder most of them and then to cast their bodies into the large cistern built by a former king. A few are spared, who offer him provisions they have hidden in a field. Ishmael then gathers the townspeople and sets out to cross over the Jordan River to the Ammonites. Among his captives are daughters of the king. Most likely these are daughters of Zedekiah from marriages with women of prominent local families. Johanan and his soldiers attempt to intercept Ishmael. The two groups met near Gibeon, with the result that most of the captives taken by Ishmael are recovered by Johanan and his officers, but Ishmael and eight of his men escape.
The question faced by Johanan and his band is, “What now?” Their fear of Babylonian reprisal and the treachery of men like Ishmael lead them toward a decision to flee the region. Their choice of venue is Egypt, where already a sizable group of Judeans live.