Jeremiah 41:6-7

Chapter 41 (with roots in chapter 40) of Jeremiah, is a really good action story. Gedaliah was appointed governor of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar (or more precisely, Nebuzaradan, his captain of the guard). When the leaders of Judah’s army realised that Gedaliah had been appointed governor, they came back from everywhere they had been dispersed to (40:7). Back where Gedaliah governed they had a good time, gathering grapes and making wine and things. One of the captains of the army told Gedaliah that another leader of the army had only come back to kill him, but Gedaliah didn’t listen to him. When I read it the first time, my first thought was: he is telling a lie. The mood is very happy and it seems like Gedaliah is a good governor whom all the people like, and this little seed of distrust seems like a lie to cause unrest. Johanan (the leader who told Gedaliah about the supposed assassin, Ishmael) even offered to go secretly and kill Ishmael for the king. I’m not sure that this improved his trustworthiness .

However, the next chapter (41) tells the story of how Gedaliah invited Ishmael and ten of his men ‘round for dinner in the second month of his ‘reign’. Ishmael and his men proceeded to kill Gedaliah. They didn’t even stop there. They killed all the Jews and Chaldeans who were with Gedaliah!

So the first lesson is to always check. Something may sound like nonsense but if you don’t check it out, you could be fooling yourself all along. And it could have dire consequences. It takes effort, to check all these things out. Sometimes we have to think about things we rather wouldn’t, and sometimes we have to talk to people that make us feel uncomfortable. But a little effort can go a long way. In this case, it would have saved Gedaliah’s life. I think it was fair enough that he didn’t believe Johanah, but it would definitely have served him well to check out the reality!

Now, some people (80 men says verse 4) who were mourning for Jerusalem (which, remember, had just been taken captive and burnt), were passing through near Mizpah (where Ishmael killed Gedaliah, and was still residing). The story says:

‘Now Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah killed them and cast them into the midst of a pit, he and the men who were with him.’ (Jeremiah 41:6-7)

Talk about a mass murderer! 80 defenceless mourners all killed and thrown into a pit! What tragedy might have been avoided if only Gedaliah had been careful and actively watchful.

We hear stories about people who are ruthlessly disciplined. People in the army, for example. Sometimes we think they might even go overboard: I mean, who cares if your shoes aren’t perfectly clean? How is that going to save your country? But it is all a mindset. It is a mindset of absolute discipline because they must always be thorough and always be careful. If they are not, even the slightest defect in attention could amount in the slaughter of many of their friends. It was this type of discipline that someone in Gedaliah’s position ought to have had.

But think about it. Are we not soldiers of Christ? In Sunday School we sing the song: ‘I’m in the Lord’s Army!’ What does this mean? That we go about ‘killing’ people with the Bible? No, it means that we are to be disciplined and have a strategy. We are in the same position as Gedaliah in that respect. We must pay attention to every detail. Every belief must be scrutinized, every action evaluated. And we must take action against those parts of us that are not up to standard (there are always some of those!)

Let us be mindful of the part of us that is the soldier!