And Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah unto Mizpah,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and said unto him, Dost thou indeed know that Baalis the king of the children of Ammon hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to smite thee to death? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.
Babylon has left Gedaliah as governor over the survivors in Judah. Then a warning comes: Baalis of Ammon has sent a man to kill him, and Gedaliah will not believe it. What do you do with an unwelcome report from a source you do not trust? And what does it cost to get that judgment wrong?
After Jerusalem fell, a small group was left in the land. The picture is not a pretty one.
Jeremiah 40 to 44 shows us the lawlessness and moral disorder among the Jews left behind in the land, or near it, after most of their people had been carried off to Babylon... Now even the small group of poor people left in the land, where Jeremiah stayed, were full of jealousy, full of their own plans, full of treason, full of deceit and violence. God was not really in their thoughts.
Gedaliah's father had already stood by the prophet Jeremiah. Under Gedaliah, scattered people came home.
This Ahikam had saved Jeremiah in the days of Jehoiakim... Jeremiah went there, and so did all those from the surrounding regions who had escaped, along with the poor people who were left. They came to seek the protection of Gedaliah, this noble deputy of the king of Babylon. He calmed their fears, swearing to them that they had nothing to fear in serving the Chaldeans.
His words to the returning captains were generous, and people came back to the land because of him.
Nothing could be more conciliatory than the governor's words nor more sincere than his ways. For he was content to do his duty to the conqueror in the distressful condition of the land, but to serve the people to the utmost of his power. And this had its effect.
Baalis, a foreign king, resents the new order in Judah. Ishmael, a Jew, is willing to serve his plan.
But sin ruins everything, everywhere. Ambition and scheming, treachery and violence, can work in a crushed Judea just as well as in a victorious Babylon — and they hurt more there. Evil men find nothing so unbearable as the good; and the debt they owe to a good man can make their plan even worse. Wickedness does not wait long for its chance, even when it has no excuse to hide its shame. A wicked Jew gives himself to the plans of a pagan neighbour, who resents any order or easing of sorrow in the land.
God did not leave Gedaliah in the dark. The verse says he would not believe them — the warning came from more than one man. That is what makes his refusal a fault and not just bad luck.
So God did not fail to give Gedaliah warning of the danger hanging over him, and the warning came in time and was enough. It was unwise and careless of him to brush it aside. A good man does not love to hear evil. Feeling nothing but kindness toward others, he is slow to believe there is malice in men he has only tried to serve. Still, in this case it was a fault. He held a public and responsible position. His life mattered greatly, both for the help of the poor and as a safeguard against the suspicion or displeasure of the Chaldeans. Witnesses in plenty, more than two or three, told him of the plot between the king of the Ammonites and Ishmael against his life. Gedaliah should have looked into it further and been on his guard.
Gedaliah faced a real problem. The man who brought the warning was himself unreliable, and he offered to get rid of Ishmael. That did not make the report false.
It is not that Johanan was much better than Ishmael. As later events show, he had no real faith in God's word, and he hardened himself in pride and rebellion of heart. It may be that Gedaliah knew there was little to choose between the two men, and so turned down the good warning as well as Johanan's bad offer to get rid of Ishmael... But in that evil day it was not wise or right to brush aside a report, even one from a suspect source. Had Gedaliah waited on God, he would have been slower to accuse the one of lying or to clear the other.
Those left in the land might think their position made them better than the exiles. These chapters take that idea apart.
Chapters 40-41 show up the mistake of thinking that a group left in the land — in the right place — must have something better about them. To be in the right place without being right with the right Person will only leave us open to bad behaviour and to the ungodly hypocrisy we see here. Even with the prophet of God among them, whose word they pretended to value, they acted deceitfully. Calling on the Lord Himself out of a pure heart is our safety.
- Warned. More than two or three witnesses brought Gedaliah the news in time. The danger was never hidden from him.
- Unwilling. A good man hates to hear evil. Kindness made him slow to believe the worst of a man he had only tried to serve. Sincerity is not the same as safety.
- Responsible. His life mattered to the poor and shielded them from the suspicion of the Chaldeans. Carelessness here was a fault, not a private matter.
- Waiting. Had he waited on God, he would have been slower to call one man a liar and slower to clear the other. Neither deserved a quick verdict.
- Rooted. Being in the right place is no substitute for being right with the right Person. Calling on the Lord out of a pure heart is our safety.
And Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will smite Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and no man shall know it why should he take thy life, and all they of Judah who are gathered unto thee be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?
Judah lies in ruins, and Babylon has made Gedaliah governor over the poor who are left in the land. Johanan now takes him aside with a secret offer: let me kill Ishmael first, and no one will ever know. Two hard questions meet in this one verse. Should you trust a warning that comes from a doubtful man? And may one murder be done to stop another?
after_note: none
Johanan argues from the good of everyone gathered around Gedaliah: kill Ishmael, or the last of Judah is scattered. But the man making that argument was no better than the man he wanted dead. Kelly suggests Gedaliah saw little to choose between the two, and so threw out the warning along with the offer:
Johanan was not much better than Ishmael. As later events show, he had no real faith in God's word and hardened himself in pride and rebellion of heart. It is possible that Gedaliah knew there was little to choose between them, and so he rejected the good warning as well as the bad offer to get rid of Ishmael... But in that evil day it was not wise or right to despise a report just because it came from a source he had reason to suspect. And Gedaliah, had he waited on God, would have been less quick either to charge the one with lying or to clear the other.
His answer refuses two things at once — the report, and the hand offered to act on it.
Gedaliah, warned by Johanan, one of the captains, of the treachery being planned, refused to believe it and refused to take part in the murder of Ishmael.
The refusal came out of his own goodness. But goodness did not excuse him, because of the position he held.
God gave warning of the danger hanging over Gedaliah in good time, and the warning was enough. He was careless and unwise to despise it. But a good man does not like to hear evil. He has nothing but kindness in his own heart toward others, so he is slow to believe in the malice of people he had only tried to help. Still, in this case it was not without fault. He was in a public and responsible position. His life mattered much, both for the help of the poor and as a protection against the suspicion or anger of the Babylonians. Plenty of witnesses, more than two or three, told him of the plot against his life between the king of the Ammonites and Ishmael. Gedaliah should have looked into it further and stood on his guard. But he did not believe them, and soon paid the price of his rashness.
Gedaliah answered by charging Johanan with lying. The outcome settled which man had told the truth.
Gedaliah seems to have been a sincere, unsuspecting man... The presence of Ishmael, though, meant Gedaliah's overthrow. Johanan warned him of this, but he treated it as a false suspicion. It was true all the same, and Ishmael killed Gedaliah and those who were with him, and fled with the rest.
There was a step Gedaliah never took. Grant, writing on one of David's psalms, points to prayer as the safeguard he passed by.
Believers are sometimes deceived by the smooth words and speeches of a deceiver, as Gedaliah was when Ishmael came to him... If Gedaliah had prayed as David did in this psalm, he might have been kept from an early death. We may excuse ourselves from responsibility on the ground that someone deceived us. But if a believer is deceived, it is his own fault, for communion with the Lord will preserve from all deception.
The lesson cuts both ways. Gedaliah's fault was not thinking well of people. It was refusing to look into a serious charge backed by many witnesses. The opposite error is just as real.
While we are to be watchful, we are not to be suspicious. Gracious, loving care for one another is the very opposite of a restless, prying, meddlesome spirit. We are not to suspect that evil exists without proper ground.
Kelly closes with a prayer that holds both sides together:
May we learn, though in a different way, one that suits the Christian calling, to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves!
- Warned. God warned Gedaliah in good time, through more than two or three witnesses. The danger was never hidden from him.
- Refused. He turned down both halves of Johanan's offer. He would not believe the report, and he would not share in killing Ishmael.
- Why. A kind man is slow to believe evil of people he has only tried to help. But kindness did not cancel his duty. His public post made his life matter to many others.
- Cost. What he dismissed as a false suspicion proved true. Ishmael killed him and fled with the rest of the people.
- Safeguard. Had he waited on God, he would have been quicker to inquire and slower to judge either man. Communion with the Lord — not suspicion — is what keeps a believer from being deceived.
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing; for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.
The ruined nation had one thing left: a quiet corner of the land, a harvest, and a governor who wanted only their good. Then armed men warned Gedaliah of a plot on his life. In one sentence he dismissed both the warning and the man who brought it.
The situation Gedaliah inherited was not hopeless. People who had escaped captivity were gathering wine and summer fruits under a decent governor. What ruined it was not Babylon but the men in the land.
So there might have been a state of things, far from bright certainly, but by no means without mercy from the Lord for the poor in the land. But sin ruins everything everywhere. Ambition and intrigue, treachery and violence can work in fallen Judea as surely as in victorious Babylon. There they hurt even more. Evil men find nothing so unbearable as the good.
Gedaliah's refusal grew out of his own goodness. He had only ever wished these men well, so he could not picture one of them wanting him dead. Kelly does not treat that as innocence, though. The warning was clear and repeated, and he owed something to the people depending on him.
God did not fail to give timely and sufficient warning of the danger hanging over Gedaliah... But a good man does not like to hear evil; and having no feeling but kindness toward others, he is slow to believe the malice of those he had only sought to serve. Still, in this case he was not without fault. He held a public and responsible position. His life mattered much, both to help the poor and to guard against the suspicion or displeasure of the Babylonians. Plenty of witnesses, more than two or three, told him of the plot between the king of the Ammonites and Ishmael against his life. Gedaliah should have asked further questions and been on his guard.
Johanan made two proposals: believe the report, and let him quietly kill Ishmael. Gedaliah turned down both together. One writer notes that he "refused to believe it and to have part in the murder of Ishmael" — and refusing a secret assassination was right. The mistake was bundling the warning in with it.
It is not that Johanan was much better than Ishmael... And it is possible that Gedaliah knew there was little to choose between them. So he rejected the good warning along with the bad offer — Johanan's offer to get rid of Ishmael in secret, so that no one would know. But in that evil day it was neither wise nor good to dismiss a report just because it came from a questionable source. Had Gedaliah waited on God, he would have been slower to accuse the one of lying and to clear the other. May we learn, in a way suited to the Christian calling, to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves!
Calling the report a lie did not make it one. The killing that followed reached far past Gedaliah himself.
Gedaliah seems to have been a sincere, unsuspecting man... Johanan warned him of this, but he treated it as a false suspicion (vv. 13-16). It was true all the same. Ishmael killed Gedaliah and those with him. He added to his guilt by killing a group of worshippers on their way to the house of the Lord, and then fled with the rest.
Kelly points to what was missing: Gedaliah did not wait on God before deciding. Another writer ties the same lesson to a prayer of David, and will not accept being deceived as an excuse.
Sadly, believers are sometimes deceived by the smooth words and speeches of a deceiver, as Gedaliah was when Ishmael came to him... If Gedaliah had prayed as David did in this psalm, he might have been kept from an untimely end. We may excuse ourselves from responsibility on the grounds that someone deceived us. But if a believer is deceived, it is his own fault. Communion with the Lord will preserve from all deception.
This remnant had what the exiles in Babylon did not — the land, the harvest, and the prophet living among them. It saved no one.
Chapters 40-41 expose the mistaken idea that a remnant in the land — in the right place — must somehow have superior qualifications. To be in the right place without being right with the right Person will only expose us to bad behaviour and to hypocrisy like the kind shown here. The prophet of God was living among them, and they pretended to value his word. Still they acted deceitfully.
- Kindness — Gedaliah could not believe evil of men he had only helped. His goodness became the opening for the plot.
- Kindness untested — plenty of witnesses brought the warning. A man in public office should have asked more questions, not dismissed it.
- Kindness misapplied — he was right to forbid a secret killing. But he threw out the true warning with the wrong remedy.
- Kindness unguarded — had he waited on the Lord, he would have been slower to call one man a liar and clear the other. Communion with God is what keeps us from deception.
- Kindness misplaced — the land, the harvest and the prophet among them guaranteed nothing. Being in the right place is no substitute for being right with the right Person.