Wisdom Wednesday Which Way to Go?
Submitted by: Debbie’s Dad
[They] said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do.” (Jeremiah 42:2–3 NASB 95).
In this intriguing chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, we see the commanders of a military force, the leaders, and the band of people with them asking Jeremiah to ask God “Which way to go”.
The complex context of this passage is critical to understanding why they passionately petitioned Jeremiah, God’s recognized prophet.
- Jerusalem has been conquered by the army of Babylon, led by Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian army started the siege while Zedekiah was the King of Judah and after almost 2 years, the army breached the walls and burned the city with fire. Zedekiah tried a daring escape, but he was captured, and his sons were killed in front of him. He was blinded and carried back to Babylon (a trophy of conquest). (Jer. 39:1-10)
- Jeremiah was captured and spared- and allowed to remain in Judea rather than being exiled to Babylon. (Jer. 39:11-18 and 40:1-6). It is interesting to note here that the military captain, Nebuzaradan, chided Jeremiah, telling him that the conquest of Jerusalem had occurred because the people sinned against God–just as Jeremiah has been telling them. Rather than acknowledging Jeremiah’s divine warnings, this was likely his way of telling Jeremiah that he knew all about what was going on inside Jerusalem during the long siege–showing that he had good inside intelligence sources.
- Many of the Jews outside of the city, including some fighting forces that remained “in the field” away from the carnage in Jerusalem, moved to Mizpah–a city about 4-6 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Babylon appointed a man named Gedaliah to lead the poor people who congregated here – the undesired that we not selected to be exiled. Jeremiah moved here. (Jeremiah 40:7-16).
- A former chief officer of King Zedekiah, named Ishmael, came to Mitzpah with a force of men and killed Gedaliah. He took the prized people captive and headed to the region east of the Jordan River, called Ammon. On the way, another group of Jewish fighting men, led by Johanan, came and rescued the people from Ishmael (who escaped to Ammon). Johanan gathered the group, and they headed south to Bethlehem. (Jeremiah 41).
After this sequence of post-war Jewish infighting, Johana reasoned that when Babylon learned of the killing of Gedaliah, they would send forces to kill the uprisings. So, he reasoned, he should move to the safety of Egypt–Babylon’s adversary. He was trapped between a presumed pursuit from the Babylonian army because of the insurrection, or a potential death or slavery in Egypt.
Johanan’s question was a serious one–it’s a life-or-death question. (Yet the context of Jeremiah’s account implies he already had his mind made up to go to Egypt. Johanan was already heading south!) Jeremiah prayed and waited 10 days for an answer from the Lord. The Lord told Johanan to stay in Judah, trust the Lord, and remain safe rather than proceed to Egypt and “die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence” (Jeremiah 42).
But they did not listen! After accusing Jeremiah of lying, Johanan led the people, including Jeremiah, to Egypt, where they endured the calamities that Jeremiah predicted. (Jeremiah 43-44)
In this complex account of Israel’s history, we see a simple lesson:
- It is wise to seek Godly counsel about “which way to go?”, but,
- It is foolish to reject God’s counsel when it is clear.
Johanan is a sad example of the foolish rejection of God’s clear counsel to trust Him for protection from danger.
Let us be wise by seeking Godly counsel about “which way to go” and then trusting Him when we are impressed with His clear answer.