Jeremiah 41-45

In chapter 41 Jeremiah gives the account of Ishmael murdering Gedaliah and his men who had been appointed governor of the land by the Babylonians. They ended up killing seventy more men who came there to worship the next day. Johanan took the army and went after them because they had also taken hostage the rest of the people at Mizpah and fled. They recovered the people but Ishmael and his band of men escaped to the Ammonites. The people they recovered then fled to Egypt for fear of the Babylonians. All of this took place because Ishmael could not be content with where God had them. It was not a place of power or prominence. They were servants to the Babylonians. Discontentment will take a huge toll on us and we may never be able to enter God's rest. Then we may act before we pray and cause ourselves to be wandering in fear for our actions.

In chapter 42 we see God explain the rewards for staying where He has them and the consequences for wandering from His will. Johanan inquired of Jeremiah and asks him to petition the Lord and ask him to build them up. They also committed to follow the words of the Lord whatever they were. It took ten days for the Lord to reply.

Then in chapter 43 when Jeremiah tells them what the Lord said, they called Him a liar and went to Egypt anyway. If we are not listening to the Lord the only way to justify disobedience is to not believe the truth.

In chapter 44 Johanan takes them back to Egypt against the Lord's will. What will we not do to escape God's judgment? I thought it was interesting that they escaped to the country that God had delivered them out of. That's what happens to our thinking when we serve and worship anything besides God. He will deliver you. Are you willing to hang in there with Him when things look bleak? His plan is always best.