Section IX In the Wake of Ruin

Jeremiah 40:7—44:30

This section traces the fortunes of Jeremiah and the Jews who remained in Judah, from the departure of the captives for Babylon until Jeremiah gave his final prophecy in the land of Egypt. It should have been said of Jeremiah that he lived his remaining years in peace at Mizpah, and died of a ripe old age. But alas! No such good fortune was to come his way. His life was to be filled with turbulence and sorrow to the end.

In Judah, the period that followed the fall of Jerusalem was filled with turmoil and anarchy. The small guerilla bands of Jews, who had fled to the mountain fastnesses during the Babylonian invasion, now gave vent to their own particular brand of venom. Gedaliah was the only man who could have brought some semblance of order out of the chaos and he was cruelly murdered early in the period. From then on, matters became increasingly worse, until the disillusioned and frustrated remnant of Judah¹ sought refuge in the land of Egypt. This happened over the protests of Jeremiah. Even in Egypt conditions continued to grow worse for the fugitive Jews. Through it all Jeremiah did not once step out of character. He was a prophet to the end.

A. THE GOVERNORSHIP OF GEDALIAH, 40:7—41:3

After the fall of Jerusalem, Palestine became a province of the Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah, member of a prominent Jewish family, as governor of Judah. Gedaliah's father, Ahikam, had been an important figure at the court of Josiah and Jehoiakim, and a good friend of Jeremiah (26:24; II Kings 22:12, 14); his grandfather, Shaphan, appears to have been the secretary of Josiah (II Kings 22:3, 10). Gedaliah seems to have been a devoted follower of the Lord, and to have shared Jeremiah's faith and perspective on the national and international situation. It is possible that he was convinced by Jeremiah that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, and that he went over to the Babylonians with the hope that in the debacle that was to come he might render a service to his people. Whatever the situation, he was a great help in gaining Jeremiah's freedom, and he rendered effective service to the remnant of Judah after the city's fall. It is not certain how long Gedaliah ruled. Some scholars think it was a period of about five years because 52:30 speaks of a final deportation of Jews to Babylon taking place in 582-581 B.C., and that this was punishment for the assassination of Gedaliah.² In 41:1 and II Kings 25:25, Gedaliah appears to have ruled for only a few months.

1. Gedaliah's Attempt at Reorganization (40:7-12)

The appearance of the captains of the forces (7; guerilla chieftains) in Mizpah (8; cf. 40:6, comment) was their recognition of Gedaliah's jurisdiction over Judah under Babylonian authority. There was not, as will be seen, a unanimous acceptance of that jurisdiction. The list of names includes Ishmael, Johanan, Seraiah, and Jezaniah. These men represented widely different sections of Palestine, and constituted a force that Gedaliah would have to reckon with in any attempt to reorganize the broken nation. In this interview Gedaliah sought to quiet their fears and secure their assistance in rebuilding the land. He counselled them, Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you (9). He promised faithfully that he would take their interests to heart and would represent them fairly before the Babylonians. He encouraged them to dwell in your cities (10), and to gather food for the coming winter from the trees and vineyards.

In addition to the guerilla chieftains and their bands, many fugitives who had fled across the Jordan at the approach of the Babylonians sought to return when they heard that Gedaliah was governor of Judah. Many of these had taken refuge in Edom and Moab and among the children of Ammon (11). They now returned to Judah and likewise gathered wine and summer fruits very much (12). All seemed happy to be under the leadership of the new governor.

Jeremiah is not mentioned in these verses, but no doubt he was dwelling quietly among the people at Mizpah, recovering from the effects of his imprisonment.

2. Gedaliah's Life Is Threatened (40:13-16)

Among the guerilla chieftains appearing before Gedaliah at Mizpah was Ishmael son of Nethaniah (14). According to 41:1, Ishmael was of the royal family. He appears here as a vengeful individual who resented Gedaliah serving as governor. It may be that he felt that he himself, being of the royal seed, should have been governor, or he may have felt that Gedaliah was a traitor to Judah in collaborating with the Babylonians. He clearly seems to have been a man of small caliber under the influence of Baalis the king of the Ammonites. Apparently Baalis was using the ill-tempered Ishmael as a tool to gain his own ends. He may have desired to take over either all or part of Judah for himself. At any rate, the two laid plans to murder Gedaliah.

Johanan the son of Kareah (15), another of the chieftains, was aware of the conspiracy of Ishmael and Baalis, and informed Gedaliah of the plot against his life. Gedaliah refused to believe that Ishmael was planning to harm him. Johanan, however, pressed the matter further by going to Gedaliah secretly and asking for permission to slay the wretched Ishmael without anyone knowing about it. He insisted, Wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews … should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish? (15) These words reveal Johanan's assessment of Gedaliah's importance to the Judean community, and what would happen if he were removed. Gedaliah, a man of noble character, refused to permit Johanan to carry out his proposal, and also refused to believe his life was in danger.

3. Gedaliah's Assassination (41:1-3)

Gedaliah apparently felt that his effectiveness as governor of Judah depended upon his being accessible, at all times, to the guerilla chieftains, whose help and influence were so important in unifying the country. But it was while Ishmael and ten of his men (1) were enjoying the kindness of Gedaliah that they suddenly turned on their host and slew him with the sword (2). The seventh month would be our October. Ishmael also killed all the Jews (3) who were with Gedaliah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were present.

The deed was so dastardly that it was almost impossible to believe that it had happened. No one in the Near East would be suspected of murder who had accepted the invitation to eat at another man's table. The “hospitality code” required that “the host was bound to protect his guests, and the guests were honor bound to reciprocate in good faith. Gedaliah was thus unsuspecting and, in effect, defenseless.”³ In postexilic times the Jews observed the third day of the seventh month as a fast-day in remembrance of Gedaliah's death.⁴

B. ISHMAEL'S ATROCITIES, 41:4-18

1. Massacre of Seventy Pilgrims (41:4-9)

The murder of Gedaliah had been so stealthily executed that no one outside of Mizpah knew that a crime had been committed. On the second day (4), Ishmael struck again. This time his victims were eighty pilgrims, bearing offerings (5), who were passing Mizpah on the highway that led to Jerusalem. The shaved beards, torn clothes, and cut bodies were typical signs of mourning. The pilgrims were evidently lamenting over the recent destruction of the Temple. Ishmael … went forth … to meet them (6), simulating their mourning by weeping aloud. In the name of Gedaliah he persuaded them to turn off the highway into Mizpah. Once inside Mizpah, he murdered seventy of them in cold blood. Ten of the men escaped with their lives by offering to show him where stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey (8) were hidden. The bodies (9) of the seventy dead pilgrims were cast into a large cistern that King Asa had dug three hundred years before as a part of a defense system for Mizpah against Baasha king of Israel (I Kings 15:22).

No intelligible motive can be discerned for this crime. On the surface it appears that Ishmael was cunningly insane.

2. The Capture of Mizpah (41:10)

Ishmael further compounded his evil deeds by taking captive … the people at Mizpah (10). They were apparently herded together like cattle, including the king's daughters⁵ (not necessarily the daughters of Zedekiah, but princesses of the royal house), and hurried away toward the land of Ammon. Certainly Ishmael's mentor, the king of the Ammonites, should have been satisfied with the results of this raid. As an effect of this crime, the political and economic life of Judah was to be in a state of disruption for many years to come.

3. Ishmael's Defeat (41:11-18)

When Ishmael's dastardly deeds became known, Johanan the son of Kareah (11) and the other chieftains took their warriors and set out to avenge Gedaliah's death and to recover the people of Mizpah. They found Ishmael by the great waters of Gibeon (12).⁶ When the captives from Mizpah saw the rescue party, they broke rank and joined Johanan and his army (14). However, in the skirmish that took place, Ishmael and eight of his men made their escape to the land of the Ammonites (15).

Even though they had been successful in rescuing the people of Mizpah, Johanan and the chieftains were at a loss to know what to do next. The Babylonians could be expected to avenge the death of Gedaliah, and they would not be careful as to whom they punished. Therefore, fearful of the Chaldeans, the group moved quickly southward. They finally camped at the habitation (inn or sheepfold) of Chimham (17), near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt.

C. THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT, 42:1—43:7

It is while the people are camped near Bethlehem that Jeremiah returns to the narrative. The prophet has not been mentioned since he went to Mizpah to dwell among the people there (40:6). Apparently he and Baruch were living in Mizpah during the incidents related in 40:7—41:18. Also, the two must have been among the captives carried away by Ishmael. Rescued with the other captives by Johanan and his army, they continued with the group on their journey. The only other alternative is that they were away from Mizpah during Ishmael's raid and joined the group later by their own choice.

1. Jeremiah's Counsel Sought (42:1-6)

Both the leaders and the people were uncertain as to what course they should pursue. They would have preferred to remain in Judah, but they greatly feared Babylonian reprisals for the death of Gedaliah, and they were sick of killings and blood-shed (cf. 14). It appeared that the safest thing to do was to flee to Egypt. It was not likely Nebuchadnezzar would pursue them there. To human reason this seemed to be the right course, yet underneath there seems to have been an inner prompting that they should remain in Judah.

The leaders of the group, Johanan, Jezaniah,⁷ and the other chieftains, accompanied by all the people (1), approached Jeremiah and begged him to pray to the Lord (2) for them. They promised him with an exaggerated humility that they would do whatever the Lord said. (Were they remembering how the inhabitants of Jerusalem had rejected God's message through Jeremiah, yet how his predictions had come true?) Jeremiah replied, I have heard you … I will pray unto the Lord … according to your words (4), i.e., on the basis of their promise. Again they pledged to follow the Lord, going so far as to call upon Him to witness (5) their vow: Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord (6).

2. Jeremiah's Response (42:7-22)

Ten days went by before God made His will known. Jeremiah refused to speak until he was certain that the message was from God. It is likely that both leaders and people became impatient before the ten days were up, and were greatly disgusted with the prophet. It is characteristic of unbelief always to be in a hurry.

When the message was clear to the prophet's mind, Jeremiah called for the entire encampment to hear God's word. It is interesting to note that God took just as much pains to make His will clear to this small group as He did with the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. His answer to the inquiry of the company can best be summarized under the following points.

(1) It was God's will that the people remain in Judah, If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down (10). This, of course, would require faith in Him. To remain would be contrary to human reason, for the only sensible thing would be to put themselves under the protection of Pharaoh.

(2) God's attitude toward them was one of goodwill, I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. “To the modern reader this suggests that Yahweh regrets what He has done, and if He were again placed in the same situation would act differently … (but not so) … It is no confession of mistake or remorse for the evil He has inflicted. But now His righteous judgment has been executed, His attitude toward His people is changed, and for the future He is prepared to build up those whom His justice has forced Him to pull down.”⁸ God deals with men on a moral basis, not on a legalistic one; thus He is able to change His attitude when certain conditions are met (cf. comments on 18:7-12). Bright renders this part of the verse aptly, “For I regard the hurt that I have inflicted upon you as sufficient.”⁹

(3) Their fears concerning the king of Babylon were groundless, Be not afraid of the king of Babylon … I am with you to save you … to deliver you (11). Many troubles that seem overwhelming never come.

(4) The thing to avoid was an evil heart of unbelief, But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land … we will go into … Egypt (13-14). Jeremiah anticipates what their reply will be, and undercuts all their objections. He continues, If ye say (13), In Egypt we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread (14), then the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt (16). If ye wholly set your faces (15), i.e., if you are determined. This little group of Jews was confronted with the age-old dilemma of faith versus unbelief. It still faces Jews and Christians every day.

(5) It is the mistake of the centuries to suppose that God has changed His character, or that the moral law has been abrogated. Mine anger … shall … be poured forth upon you, when ye … enter into Egypt (18). “You shall become an object of execration and horror; accursed and derided” (18; Moffatt).

(6) They were in danger of making God a liar. They sent Jeremiah to the Lord, solemnly vowing to do all that the Lord would say. Yet when that word came with great clarity, they refused to accept it as God's word (20-21).

(7) Their choice determined the outcome. If they chose to remain in Judah, there would be help and hope for the future; if they insisted on going to Egypt, they would die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence (22). Jeremiah already knew by some intuition of the mind what their decision would be.

3. Jeremiah Defied by the People (43:1-3)

The people heard the prophet through his address without interruption, but by the time he had finished, “the light had gone out of the meeting.” It was evident that both the leaders and the people were determined not to obey God. It was the leaders who confronted Jeremiah: Then spake … all the proud (insolent) men (2)—and their words seemed to come out through clenched teeth—“You are telling a lie. The Lord … did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt’” (RSV). Their decision was made; unbelief had hardened into apostasy.

Their search for a scapegoat was ludicrous, but nevertheless they try: Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us … to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans (3). When small men make up their minds, all the pearls of wisdom cannot change them. There is no indication that Jeremiah tried.

Baruch was still with Jeremiah. All the trouble that both had endured had not severed their relationship. Apparently Baruch survived the destruction of Jerusalem as well as the nefarious schemes of Ishmael. It may be that this section of the book is graphic and clear because the reader is studying the account of an eyewitness.¹⁰

4. On to Egypt (43:4-7)

Once their minds were made up not to obey the voice of God, Johanan and the people made preparations for moving into Egypt. All the men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters (6) were organized for the trek southward. Jeremiah and Baruch are both listed in the number that went to Egypt. It is inconceivable that Jeremiah went willingly, since it was contrary to his conception of the will of God. No doubt the angry leaders forced him and Baruch to go, in order that they might share the fate of the group, if what Jeremiah had predicted came to pass.

They ended their flight at Tahpanhes (7), a fortress city inside the Egyptian border. This city, now known as Daphne, is located in the northeastern part of the Nile delta, on the highway that leads from Egypt to Palestine (see map 3).

D. JEREMIAH IN EGYPT, 43:8—44:30

Jeremiah's prophetic powers did not desert him in Egypt. In his two final discourses recorded in this section there is the same intensity, the same directness, that had characterized his preaching all through the forty years of his ministry.

1. Nebuchadnezzar's Coming Predicted (43:8-13)

Jeremiah's first recorded discourse in Egypt was delivered shortly after the arrival of the Jews in Tahpanhes (8). Here, as on so many occasions, Jeremiah dramatized his message. He took some large stones (9) and buried them “in mortar in the brickwork” (ASV) in front of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes. This was not his royal palace, for that was in another city, but Pharaoh's official residence when visiting Tahpanhes. Just how and when this was done is not known. Some scholars think it was done at night, but at least the leaders of the Jewish colony were present to get the message. After burying the stones in the brickwork, Jeremiah predicted that Nebuchadnezzar would come to Egypt and set his throne upon these stones (10). For my servant see comment on 25:9. Furthermore, Jeremiah continued, the king of Babylon would smite the land of Egypt (11), and burn (12) the temples, and carry the images of the gods away.¹¹ In that day, pestilence, captivity, and the sword would be visited upon those individuals for whom they were appointed. All this, Nebuchadnezzar would perform with no more trouble than it takes for a shepherd to put on his mantle.

The message for the Jewish colony at Tahpanhes was obvious. (1) The very thing that they feared would overtake them. They had fled to Egypt to escape Nebuchadnezzar's reprisals, but he would come and punish them there. (2) In fleeing to Egypt they had sought the help of man, rather than the help of God. (3) Dependence on any earthly power is utterly in vain. (4) Real security is found alone in obeying and serving God.

A fragmentary inscription recovered from Nebuchadnezzar's archives speaks of his punishing Egypt in the thirty-seventh year of his reign, about 568 B.C.¹² Although he did not conquer the whole land, he overran most of it, and thus prevented Egypt from meddling in the affairs of Asia for many years. Josephus, however, tells of an invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar five years after the fall of Jerusalem in which he killed the king of Egypt, and carried away the Jews of Egypt to Babylonia.¹³ It is possible that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt twice.

2. A Prophet to the End (44:1-30)

This is Jeremiah's final discourse. The last glimpse the reader has of the old prophet, he is proclaiming the word of God. He was a prophet to the end.

a. The Egyptian Jews denounced (44:1-14). Jeremiah's last recorded sermon was directed toward all the Jews in Egypt. The record mentions the various communities (see map 3) where Jews were dwelling—Migdol (site unknown, but apparently in northeastern Egypt, not far from Tahpanhes), Noph (Memphis), and in the country of Pathros (Upper Egypt). It is impossible to ascertain the date when this incident took place, but it was apparently several years later than the previous discourse. The occasion seems to have been a religious festival in which “a great multitude” (15) of Jews had burned incense to the Queen of Heaven (the goddess of the fertility cult known as the “Great Mother”; see comments on 7:16-20). Verse 15 sounds as though the festival took place in “Pathros” (Upper Egypt), but again, certainty is impossible. It appears that Jeremiah's righteous soul was desperately tried by what his eyes beheld of the utter corruption of his people.

As usual, Jeremiah made his first appeal to history. He reminded the Jews of the recent destruction of Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (2). He insisted that the reason these cities stood empty and desolate was that the people served other gods (3), the very thing the Jews were doing in Egypt even then. Rising early (4), i.e., “persistently,” God had sent His prophets, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate. But the people did not give heed, they did not turn (5). This was why their cities were wasted and desolate, as at this day (6).

Jeremiah makes his application, Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls? (7) Have ye forgotten so quickly the sins of your fathers … the kings of Judah, and … their wives … your own wickedness, and … of your wives … in the streets of Jerusalem? (9) The prophet's mention of the wives of the kings and the wives of the men present was like striking the audience with a whiplash. Resentment flared among the women of Judah because they had been aggressors in the worship of the Queen of Heaven.

Ignoring the reaction of the audience, Jeremiah pronounced God's sentence against the Jews in Egypt: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil (11). The remnant of Judah living in Egypt shall die, but their memory will live on in the minds of men as an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach (12). Just as Jerusalem had been punished … by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence (13), so God will punish the Jews who worship other gods in Egypt. No one will escape, and none shall ever return to Judah “except some fugitives” (14, RSV).

b. The reply of the Jews (44:15-19). Jeremiah's words touched a sensitive nerve. The women were aroused, and the men were angered by having to defend their wives as well as themselves. In a defiant manner they replied to the aged prophet, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee (16). With stinging words they defended their idolatrous practices. They admitted that they had made vows to the queen of heaven (17), but so had their fathers, their kings, and their princes before them. Furthermore, in those former days things had gone well with the nation. But since they had left off burning incense (18) to the goddess, they had lacked everything, and one disaster after another had struck them. The women added a word in their own defense by saying: “Yes … and had we not the consent of our husbands when we sacrificed to the Queen of heaven and poured libations in her honour and made cakes in the shape of her?” (19, Moffatt)

The Jews of Egypt were harking back to the reign of Manasseh and the early years of Josiah. Much idolatry had been practiced then and nothing upsetting had occurred. But the reform under Josiah had no sooner commenced than one calamity after another had struck the nation. These difficulties did not end until Jerusalem was destroyed. They claimed that it was only when they had started trying to serve the Lord exclusively, and had neglected the other gods, that distress and trouble came upon them. Jeremiah was reading history one way and they were reading it another.

c. Jeremiah's final word (44:20-30). Jeremiah takes extra pains to include the women (20, 24-25) in his final reply to the people. Although broken in health and in heart, the old prophet's last address is very much like his first. His final trumpet blast gives forth no uncertain sound. He insists that the people have misread the character of God; they have things precisely in reverse. Because God did not punish them immediately in the days of Manasseh for their idolatrous practices, it did not mean that He had not taken note nor remembered (21). It merely meant that in His long-suffering He had borne with them until He could no longer bear … the evil of their doings (22). The truth is as simple as this: Ye have sinned against the Lord … therefore this evil is happened unto you (23).

A touch of irony now creeps into the prophet's voice; since they have made these very important vows, most assuredly they must perform them! Spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand (25); i.e., “You … have pledged your word and have fulfilled it in actual deed” (Smith-Goodspeed; cf. I Kings 8:15, 24). Then the prophet becomes deadly serious. They must also know that in carrying out those vows they are making their choice of gods! And since they have chosen the Queen of Heaven, the living God will see to it that they will perform no more religious observance in His name (26). They are now guilty of total apostasy. Henceforth He will be “wakeful” over them for evil, and not for good, to make an end of them (27). All the Jews who had fled to Egypt will be destroyed. However, a remnant will escape; but all will know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs (28).

So that there can be no mistake, God will further confirm His word in a singular circumstance. The man to whom the remnant of Judah had fled for help—the one whom they sought instead of God—Pharaoh-hophra (30), will fall into the hand of his enemies just as Zedekiah of Jerusalem fell into the hands of the king of Babylon. Hophra was delivered into the hands of the people of Egypt by Amasis and was strangled to death.¹⁴

Some have found a problem with v. 26 because a great Jewish colony was existing in Egypt some two hundred years later. But the passage here was addressed to the remnant of Judah, and has nothing to do with Jews who may have migrated to Egypt years later.¹⁵