‘So they said to Jeremiah, “Let the LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the LORD your God sends us by you.’ (Jeremiah 42:5)
The leaders of the army of Judah, who had scattered and then returned under the leadership of Gedaliah (who was killed last chapter), were now lost for answers. So they came to Jeremiah for help. Or so it would seem. They asked Jeremiah to ask the LORD what they should do, and they promised to obey, whether it sounded good or bad. They even asked the LORD to be their witness.
However, nothing is ever as it seems, because these leaders already had plans to run off to Egypt with the remnant, to escape more impending disaster and famine. Yet, when Jeremiah asked the LORD what they should do, the answer was very clearly: stay in Judah and I (God) will relent from destruction, if you go to Egypt then all the destruction that you seek to escape will be brought upon you.
It seems that despite all the lofty promises the leader’s made, that they didn’t obey or listen to this prophecy, any more than they did Jeremiah’s prophecies of impending invasion by the Babylonians. Indeed, Jeremiah says:
‘Know certainly that I have admonished you this day. For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God...’ (Jeremiah 42:19b-20a)
It is well to remind ourselves not to make empty promises. They mean nothing and only hurt others. Moreover, we should never promise God anything that we cannot, or will not, do. Let’s examine our motives for searching the Word for answers. Are we just trying to find the answers we want? Or are we faithfully studying the Word to understand what God wants? We can always obey the first, but that doesn’t achieve anything.
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