Did You Really Mean It?

“And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) That the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.”  Jeremiah 42:2-3

Johanan, one of the Jewish military officers, and his men rescued a group of Judeans who had survived the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and who had been kidnapped by Ishmael, a Jewish man who was working for the Ammonites.  Johanan desired to take these people to Egypt because Ishmael had murdered Gedaliah who had been put in charge of these people by Nebuchadnezzar, and they feared retribution by the Babylonians.  This was a reason to fear if they were not depending on the LORD, but it was not in their best interest to go into a land of their enemy.

Prior to Jerusalem’s destruction, the people mocked and persecuted Jeremiah, but, after his warnings had all come to pass, they wanted his help.  They asked him to pray to his LORD for Him to tell them which way to go.  In how they phrased their request was an indication that they were not exactly in the right attitude:  they called God “thy LORD” as if He was no longer their LORD.  They played on Jeremiah’s sympathy by reminding him that there weren’t many of them left, making them vulnerable and insecure.  Jeremiah agreed to pray to God and make their request known.  If Jeremiah was not the man of integrity that he was, he could have told them that they were on their own.  He was not a vindictive man.  He reminded them that God was also their LORD.  He promised to not withhold anything back that God answered.  The people promised that they would comply with whatever answer the LORD gave, and desired that God would judge them as a witness to their compliance.  However, would they peacefully accept and abide by an answer which was not to their liking?

Jeremiah went to the LORD on behalf of these Judeans, but God’s answer did not come immediately.  Apparently, the people waited patiently, not like their ancestors at Mt. Sinai who became weary of waiting on Moses to return from the meeting with the LORD and made themselves a golden calf to worship, a really bad idea.  In ten days from Jeremiah’s prayer, the LORD gave His answer.  Jeremiah called all the people together and presented God’s decision.  He said to stay in Judah.  They were at this time in Chimham, near Bethlehem, and not far from Jerusalem.  Under Johanan’s leadership, they had been on their way to Egypt, but that was not God’s will for them at all.  God told them that if they would settle down in this part of Judah, they would be blessed and would prosper.  How could they turn that down?  God also told them that He knew that He had been extremely harsh on His people, and He understood their pain.  He assured them that there was no reason for them to fear Nebuchadnezzar because God would protect them.  He would also convince Nebuchadnezzar to allow them back onto their land with no overseer.

The consequences of not obeying God and traveling to Egypt were harsh.  They would end up in a much worse condition than they were in now.  One can’t defy God and not feel His wrath eventually.  Payday someday.  If they decided to disobey God and turn toward Egypt with the plan to go there and settle down, then all that they feared would happen to them at the hands of the Babylonians would actually happen to them in Egypt.  Nebuchadnezzar would pursue them all the way to Egypt, and they would not be able to escape the sword, famine, or disease.  To disobey God would bring a brutal judgment.  It hadn’t been that long since they had witnessed the devastation of Jerusalem.  What were the chances that they would be able to escape Nebuchadnezzar twice?  Not very good.

The message was very clear:  stay in Judah and survive and prosper or go to Egypt and suffer and die.  How could they not make the right choice?  Since God is omniscient, all-knowing, He knew that they would not listen to Him and instead do what they planned all along.  Jeremiah knew this as well.  He had experienced the rebellion and insolence of his fellow Jews in the past and likely could see it in their eyes and on their faces.  When the people asked Jeremiah to speak to the LORD on their behalf and promised to obey, he knew they didn’t mean it.  He accused them of “dissembling” (verse 20) in their hearts, that is, they were concealing under false pretenses their true intentions.  They didn’t really care what God said, they were going to Egypt.   Many times, God called His people stubborn, and they were proving themselves to be so.  They had agreed to abide by whatever God answered, but because they didn’t like His answer, they turned it down.  Therefore, they didn’t really mean it.

This was a long time ago about a people of a different culture in a situation unlike any that we have experienced, so how does it apply to us today?  Simple.  If we say that we believe God, but do not live what we believe, then do we really believe Him?  If we pray and seek His help in a situation, but then go about the solution that we think is best, then did we really want His help if we can’t get it immediately?  If we say that we trust Him, but then fret and worry over a situation about which we have prayed, do we really trust Him?  I could go on, but you get the picture.  It is easy to criticize those folks in scripture, but we have the same problem that they did–pride.  Just think how great it would be to vanquish all pride and never waiver in our submission to Christ.