Jeremiah 43
COMMENTARY:
: 2 Then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God has not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there (8267 “falsely” [sheqer] means lie, deception, misleading falseness, disappointment, fraud, wrong, or fraudulently.)
DEVOTION: The people sent Jeremiah to ask the LORD want to do. The LORD answered Jeremiah ten days later. Jeremiah told the people what the LORD had said. They were to stay in Jerusalem. If they stayed they would live. If they went to Egypt they would die.
Then we come to this chapter. The people said that Jeremiah wasn’t telling the truth. He was lying to them. They said they would obey what he told them, but when he gave the answer they didn’t want to hear, they didn’t obey the voice of the LORD. They said the message came from Baruch instead of the LORD. The LORD was consistent with HIS message. Stay and live and leave and die.
Instead they took Jeremiah and all the people to Egypt. God spoke again. HE gave Jeremiah an object lesson to give to the people. HE told Jeremiah that Egypt was going to be defeated by HIS servant Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon. The people who disobeyed were going to be judged. They were warned. God always sends warnings before judgment. HE sends weakness, sickness and pre-mature death to those who don’t listen to HIS warning by examining themselves to see if their actions meet the standard the LORD has set for HIS people.
There are people that accuse others of lying when they say things they don’t want to hear. Jeremiah gave the message of the LORD to the people. They called him a liar.
Have we every told truth and people tell us we are not telling the truth? Have we ever thought we were following the LORD and someone comes along and tells us that we are not? We need to be in the Word of God daily to find out what the LORD wants us to do with our lives. We need to be in the Word of God to preach and teach what the LORD wants us to preach and teach. We need to have an open mind to learn from the LORD. We need to follow the directions the LORD gives us in HIS word.
Our directions should come from the LORD. We should obey that voice. Disobedience is still reason for judgment from the LORD. Judgment doesn’t always have to be death. Remember that it can be weakness, sickness and pre-mature death.
CHALLENGE: If you are being obedient to the LORD and others accuse you of not – believe what you hear in your prayer closet.
: 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah. (8085 “obeyed” [shama] means hear, hearken, understand, discern, listen, examine or receive news.)
The consequences of disobedience are real. Here we have a prophet who has been speaking for the LORD for many years and his predictions have come true. He has been a faithful servant of the LORD in spite of mistreatment.
Now he is in a circumstance where he told the truth but the people would rather do what they want rather than follow the LORD. It was going to end in judgment.
They went their own way to Egypt. They were a group of proud people who thought they knew better than God. They were going their own way when they stated they would follow the LORD no matter what HE said.
Who is the liar in this account of the nation of Judah? It was the leader Johanan. The LORD had given him victory over Ishmael and it had gone to his head. If he was having victories the LORD must be with him.
The problem was that the LORD was with Jeremiah who was with them. The LORD was blessing Jeremiah’s faithfulness and they were just receiving the overflow. They didn’t understand these truths.
We sometime think that because we have had some victories we can do anything we want and the LORD will bless us. It is not true. As long as we stay faithful in our listening to HIS voice HE will continue to bless us.
Once we leave the path of hearing the voice of God, we are on our way to failure and judgment. If there are warning signs that the LORD is not with us – listen to them.
The LORD can use the voice of one faithful servant to confront the majority in many cases. It seems that most of the time the majority is using human wisdom instead of Godly wisdom to make their decisions.
Remember that all we have to do is ask for Godly wisdom and the Father will give it to us.
CHALLENGE: Continually ask for Godly wisdom for the decisions you make at home, work and church. Being in the presence of the LORD on a daily basis is the answer.
: 7 So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes. (8085 “obeyed” [shama] means publish, to heed, to listen, hear, or pay close attention to, and usually respond in conformity, or to hear with attention or interest.)
DEVOTION: The LORD wants those who are genuine followers of HIM to listen to HIM with interest. Those who are genuine would be ones who in the Old Testament would hear the voice of the LORD directly at times. It would be loud enough for them to hear and understand what HE was saying to them.
Today the LORD speaks mainly through HIS WORD the Bible. We have the books of the New Testament that were given to the church for them to listen to and obey. The Holy Spirit helps all those who are listening to understand what the LORD expects of them in their daily walk with HIM.
The children of Israel in the Old Testament had the LORD speak to them directly or through one of HIS prophets. If they didn’t listen to the direct voice of the LORD, they would not listen to one of his prophets like Jeremiah. It was sad but true.
We sometimes think that if the LORD would speak to us DIRECTLY, we would listen to HIM without any problem but that is not true even today. We have HIS WORD found in the Bible but some people who claim to be followers of the LORD DON’T even read the Bible on a daily basis. They use excuses like “I don’t understand what HE is saying” but that is only an excuse.
If we read and don’t understand we can go out and buy a good commentary and study it that way and learn. Or they can call their pastor if he is an evangelical and he can tell them what it means. Or you can contact me and I will help you.
There is no excuse today for not knowing and understanding the Word of God. The answers come even from the Holy Spirit at times to those who are genuine seekers.
The children of Israel heard God’s voice and still didn’t obey. It is sad but true. Are we imitating them today as well?
CHALLENGE: Don’t imitate the children of Israel – listen to the LORD and HE will bless you! (Remember you can call me or write me anytime with any question and I will try to answer it in a short time period.)
: 10 And say unto them, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. (5650 “servant” [‘ebed] means bondman, worshipper of God, a title of humility for someone in a position of lower authority or stature, subordinate, or subject.)
DEVOTION: Here we find an unusual statement. We have a heathen king being called a subordinate to the God of Israel. God calls this king of Babylon HIS subject.
He is going to do what the LORD says he is going to do. He is going to come into Egypt and take the land. In fact, he is going to set up his headquarters in the very spot that Jeremiah was told to put some stones on a spot next to the house of Pharaoh the ruler of Egypt.
Some of the remnant of those who were not taken when Nebuchadrezzar took Jerusalem thought they could be safe in the land of Egypt even after Jeremiah warned them that they would not be safe. They didn’t listen to him and because they wouldn’t listen to the prophet another subject of God was going to come to Egypt and take them anyway.
God sometimes uses heathen rulers to get the attention of HIS people. Some of them listen but most of them don’t.
There always seems to be those who claim to follow the LORD who think that they can outthink God. HE planned the universe before HE created it. HE knows the beginning from the end. HE is longsuffering with HIS people but if HE has to use heathens to get the attention of HIS people HE will.
We live in a day when it seems that those who claim Christ are not witnessing the way they should for fear of offending those who don’t know the LORD. This is not according to the commands of the LORD. We are to be a witness to all those who are around us.
We are to be obedient to the commands of the LORD no matter what nation we live in. Some will be killed for their witness but this world is not our home. We are looking forward to the next as we are obedient to HIM.
CHALLENGE: If a man of God who is faithful to the Word of God informs you of the commands of God, we need to be obedient to that command even today!! We are not to be running from God but toward HIM!!!
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