And they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah; even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
Jerusalem has fallen. The king of Babylon has made Gedaliah governor over what is left of the nation. Verse 8 lists the army officers who came in from the countryside to Mizpah. One name on that list belongs to the man who would murder the governor.
The chapters that follow the fall of the city are not a story of recovery. They record what happened to the poor who were left behind.
Jeremiah 40 to Jeremiah 44 show us the anarchy and moral disorder among the Jews left behind in the land, or near it. Most of their fellow countrymen had been carried captive to Babylon. Jeremiah becomes their helper and brings them the word of the Lord. But he finds among them the greatest unbelief… Now even the little remnant, the poor 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.
These captains and their men had been scattered across the fields. Their arrival at the governor's town looks like safety in numbers.
But the people of God can never be a place of ease. Least of all can they give security, except where faith looks straight to the Lord.
The name of the town they gathered at means:
Watch-tower
The list names Ishmael the son of Nethaniah first. Here is what he went on to do.
Son of Nethaniah, of the royal line, though which family is not known. His cunning and ferocity show he was unworthy of a throne. He betrayed Gedaliah and killed him. The king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor over the cities of Judah. Ishmael killed all the Jews who were with him at Mizpah too. He followed up this crime with the cruel and treacherous murder of eighty men from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria. They were bringing gifts to the temple, and he spared only ten. He then carried off everyone left in Mizpah and set out to cross over to the Ammonites. But Johanan the son of Kareah, and those with him, rescued the captives. Ishmael escaped and is never heard of again.
A ruined country does not produce humble men.
But sin ruins everything, everywhere. Ambition and scheming, treachery and violence can work in a flattened Judea. They work there as surely as in victorious Babylon — and more painfully. Evil men find nothing so unbearable as the good. Wickedness does not have to wait long for an opportunity, even when it has no excuse to cover its shame. A wicked Jew lends himself to the plans of a pagan neighbour, jealous of any order or easing of sorrow in the land.
The verse records a reunion. It looks like the start of a new community.
Everything, though, was out of order. The return of the scattered captains and their forces counted for nothing, because the Lord was not in their thoughts at all.
One captain in this list appears under a different name in 2 Kings 25:23. The two names belong to the same man.
Son of Hoshaiah, a Maachathite, and a captain among those left in the land by the king of Babylon, 2 Kings 25:23. Called Jezaniah in Jeremiah 40:8 and Jeremiah 42:1.
These men stayed in the land while others went to Babylon. Staying did not make them better.
Chapters 40-41 expose a mistaken idea. A remnant in the land — in the right place — does not therefore have some superior standing. To be in the right place, without being right with the right Person, only exposes us to bad behaviour. It exposes us to the godless hypocrisy shown here. They had God's prophet among them, and they pretended to value his word. Even so, they acted deceitfully. To call on the Lord Himself out of a pure heart is our safety. To that end the Holy Spirit of God is here to lift Him high before the eyes of our faith.
- Place. They gathered at Mizpah, the "watch-tower" — the right spot on the map, with no one watching.
- People. Soldiers came in from the fields. A gathering counts for nothing when the Lord is not in their thoughts.
- Poison. Ishmael's name heads the list; ambition and scheming work in a flattened Judea as surely as in victorious Babylon.
- Pretence. The right place counts for nothing without being right with the right Person.
- Point. Among God's people there is no place of ease — security comes only where faith looks straight to the Lord.
And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
Jerusalem has fallen. Most of the people have been carried off to Babylon. The conqueror has appointed a governor, Gedaliah, who now gathers the scattered army captains at Mizpah and puts them under oath. His words sound like surrender. Yet commentators treat them as the safe path God had left open. Why could life under a foreign king ever be called "well"?
Notice which way the oath runs. The man in power binds himself to the men who came to him:
A strange inversion is seen in the governor swearing to them, not they to 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 difficult condition of the land, but to serve the people as far as he was able.
The verse names one rule two ways: serve the Chaldeans, serve the king of Babylon. The order not to fear that service only makes sense if the rule came from God. On that reading the offer was real, and refusing it cost the people the land:
If at this last hour this remnant had submitted to the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, peace would have reigned in the land. The few who remained would have kept it. But some revolt, and the others fear the consequences of their folly. There is no idea of trusting in Jehovah.
Behind this lies a simple rule:
As has been said: "In a day of ruin faith always recognises the chastening of God and bows to it. Unbelief always resists."
The oath gave the land a moment of real mercy. It did not last:
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 — and they hurt more there.
One man's jealousy brought the whole arrangement down:
Jealousy, however, will spoil everything. A certain man of royal blood named Ishmael evidently thought that he should have been appointed governor. And so he kills Gedaliah along with all the Jews with him and the Chaldean men of war that had been left there by the king of Babylon.
Gedaliah was told what was coming, and he brushed it aside:
God did not fail to give timely and full warning of the danger hanging over Gedaliah. He was unwise and careless to ignore it. But a good man does not like to hear evil. Feeling nothing but kindness toward others, he is slow to believe the malice of those he had only tried to serve.
Those who took the oath stayed in the land, which was the right place to be. That did not make them right people:
Chapters 40-41 expose for us the false idea that a remnant in the land — in the right place — necessarily has some 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 such as we see illustrated here. Even with the prophet of God among them, whose word they pretended to value, they acted deceitfully.
One writer carries Gedaliah's choice over to the church today:
Gedaliah decided to stay in the land and to be subject to the king of Babylon. He took an oath to this effect before these men, and required them to serve Nebuchadnezzar too. This was the wise thing to do, for God had brought them down and rebellion would have been rebellion against God. The same is true in Christendom. Because of the sad failure in testimony, God has allowed confusion (the meaning of Babylon) to take hold of the church in public view. It is only right that we bow to the shame of our confusion.
- The yoke — Gedaliah's oath told the captains to accept Babylon's rule. Commentators read that yoke as God's own chastening. Refusing it would have been rebellion against God, not just against Nebuchadnezzar.
- The promise — "it shall be well with you" was a real offer. Had the people submitted, peace would have reigned and the few left would have kept the land.
- The governor — Gedaliah bound himself by oath to the men who came to him. He did his duty to the conqueror and served his own people as far as he could.
- The failure — being in the right place proved nothing. The prophet lived among them, and they still acted deceitfully. Gedaliah ignored the warning, and jealousy spoiled everything.
- The lesson — where testimony has failed and confusion has taken hold, the path is the same. Bow to the shame instead of resisting the hand that brought it.
And as for me, behold, I dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans, who will come unto us; and ye, gather wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put [them] in your vessels, and dwell in your cities which ye have taken.
Jerusalem has fallen, and the king of Babylon has put Gedaliah in charge of the few people left in Judah. His orders — gather the harvest, store it, stay in your towns — raise a hard question: can a broken people find peace inside the judgment that broke them?
Gedaliah's arrangement splits the work. He will live at Mizpah and face the Chaldeans — the Babylonians now ruling the land — on their behalf. Their part is to gather the harvest, store it, and live in the towns they hold. One writer weighs the governor's character and the pledge he gave.
There is a strange reversal here: the governor swears to them, not they to him. … Nothing could be more reassuring than the governor's words, nor more sincere than his ways. The land was in a distressing condition. He was content to do his duty to the conqueror, but also to serve the people as far as he could.
Jeremiah had urged surrender to Babylon all through his ministry. It cost him his reputation. Verse 10 turns that same counsel into daily routine.
God meant their exile to be for their eventual good. This is a very important point. In a day of ruin faith always recognises the chastening of God and bows to it. Unbelief always resists, and thinks of its resistance as patriotism or perhaps religion. That is why the men of Judah thought Jeremiah was a very false Jew. He always advised them to submit to the king of Babylon. They thought themselves much better Jews, because they were willing to fight against the king of Babylon.
What was at stake shows up later. The people abandoned this settled life and ran to Egypt.
God had placed the Chaldean king over them. If they had stayed quietly in the land under his authority, they would have survived. But they chose human policy, and thought it safer to go down into Egypt, when in fact it proved to be the opposite.
The command was not empty. The verses that follow report that the fruit came in, and in quantity.
For this poor remnant there was a break of several months. They gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance (Jer. 40:12). They even seem to have honoured the worship of the Lord again, at a time when the temple lay completely destroyed and ruined. At least there was a "house of Jehovah" where those who mourned over Israel's condition could go up.
The fruit was not all that came in. People came too.
Despite everything that had happened, this feeble remnant were in their right place in Jehovah's land. Many others were drawn to them. They sought out the remnant, joined them, and received much blessing.
Here the writers differ in emphasis. Where one sees blessing in the remnant's position, another warns that the position on its own guarantees nothing.
Chapters 40-41 expose the mistaken idea that a remnant in the land — in the right place — must therefore have some superior qualification. Suppose we are in the right place but not right with the right Person. That will only expose us to bad behaviour and hypocrisy, as this passage shows. Even with the prophet of God among them, whose word they pretended to value, they acted deceitfully. … Ishmael killed Gedaliah and those who were with him, and fled with the rest. He added to his guilt by killing a company of worshippers on their way to the house of the Lord.
Babylon offered the prophet a comfortable life, and he turned it down. He stayed with the people told to pick fruit in a ruined country.
Jeremiah had no heart for Chaldea, whatever attractions might seem to be there. He preferred to suffer in the land with the lowest of those whom man had left behind. … It was love that made him stay in the scene of their humiliation; it was a pledge of restoration.
That choice is read as a pattern for anyone tempted to leave a small and unimpressive gathering for somewhere more rewarding.
He prefers to stay with the poor of the people of God in their destitution rather than enjoy the favours of the king of Babylon. Perhaps there is not much to attract you in your own meeting — not many spiritual gifts, not an abundance of warm fellowship. But the Lord promises to be in the midst of two or three gathered to His name. If He fulfils that promise by His presence, is that not the place where you should stay and, depending on Him, try to contribute some spiritual blessing?
- Bow. Faith recognises God's chastening and bows to it. Unbelief resists, and calls its resistance loyalty.
- Stay. Those who stayed under the authority God had placed over them would have been safe. Those who made their own plan and fled to Egypt were not.
- Gather. Submission was not idleness. Wine, summer fruits and oil came in richly, and worship revived among a people with no temple left.
- Attract. Scattered Jews heard where the remnant was and came back to join them, and received much blessing.
- Beware. The right place is not enough. Without being right with the right Person, this same remnant turned to treachery and murder.
Likewise all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon and in Edom, and that were in all the lands, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan;
When Jerusalem fell, some Jews escaped over the borders into Moab, Ammon, Edom and other lands. Now they hear that Babylon has left a remnant in Judah, with a governor from their own people over them.
What drew these scattered Jews back was not a royal decree but the character of the man Babylon had put in charge. One writer describes the governor's manner:
Nothing could be more conciliatory than the governor's words, nor more sincere than his ways. He was content to do his duty to the conqueror in the distressing condition of the land, but to serve the people to the utmost of his power. And this had its effect.
The verse names Gedaliah's father and grandfather. That family history mattered:
Nebuchadnezzar establishes Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the people left in the land to be vinedressers and labourers. This Ahikam had saved Jeremiah in the days of Jehoiakim, when, like Urijah the prophet, he had prophesied against Jerusalem (Jer. 26:24). No doubt this action had influenced the king of Babylon, who respected and protected Jeremiah. Gedaliah lived at Mizpah, a strong city that Asa, king of Judah, had built with the stones of Ramah (1 Kings 15:22). Jeremiah went there. So did all those from the surrounding regions who had escaped, along with the poor people left in the land. They came to seek the protection of Gedaliah, this noble lieutenant of the king of Babylon. He reassured the people. He swore to them that they had nothing to fear in accepting their servitude to the Chaldeans.
They were coming back to a wrecked country under a foreign power. One writer measures the mercy still in that scene, and what ruined it:
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 a flattened Judea as surely as in victorious Babylon — and more painfully. Evil men find nothing so unbearable as the good. Their own deep debts to a good man can sometimes make their purpose even worse.
The next verse records what the homecoming produced:
For this poor remnant there was a respite of several months. They gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance (Jer. 40:12). People even seem to have honoured the worship of the Lord again. And that was at a time when the temple lay in complete ruins. At least there was a "house of Jehovah" to which those who mourned over Israel's condition could go up.
It is easy to read this gathering as a hopeful revival. The chapters that follow show otherwise:
Jeremiah 40 to 44 shows the anarchy and moral disorder among the Jews left behind in the land or near it. By then Babylon had carried most of their brothers away captive. Jeremiah becomes their helper, bringing them the word of Jehovah. But he finds among them the greatest unbelief… Even the little remnant — the poor left in the land, among whom Jeremiah remained — were full of jealousy, full of their own plans, full of treason, full of deceit and violence. God was not really in their thoughts.
These men came back to the right country, with the right governor, and with a prophet of God living among them. That was still not enough:
Chapters 40-41 expose a mistaken idea: that a remnant in the land — in the right place — must have some superior qualification. To be in the right place without being right with the right Person only exposes us to bad behaviour and hypocrisy, as we see here. Even with the prophet of God among them, they acted deceitfully — though they pretended to value his word. To call on the Lord Himself out of a pure heart is our safety. For that purpose the Holy Spirit of God is here, to exalt Him before the eyes of our faith.
- News gathers them. Word that Babylon had left a remnant, and set Gedaliah over it, travelled as far as Moab, Ammon and Edom. It brought scattered Jews home.
- Kindness gathers them. Gedaliah served the people sincerely and gently. That, not force, "had its effect."
- Mercy meets them. The scene was far from bright, yet it was "by no means without mercy from the Lord for the poor in the land."
- Harvest crowns it — briefly. A few months of wine and summer fruits in abundance, with worship honoured again. Then jealousy and murder ended it.
- The heart undoes it. They were in the right place, with the prophet among them. But "God was not really in their thoughts." The right place is no safety without the right Person.
and all the Jews returned out of all the places whither they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.
After Jerusalem fell, Babylon's king put Gedaliah in charge at Mizpah, and scattered Jews came home to him from Moab, Ammon and Edom. The ruined land then gave them a rich harvest — so why such plenty for a people who would soon throw it away?
The harvest begins with the man in charge. One writer ties the return of the scattered Jews to the way the new governor spoke and acted.
Nothing could have been more friendly than the governor's words, and nothing more sincere than his ways. He was content to do his duty to the conqueror while the land was in such distress, and at the same time to serve the people with all his power. And this had its effect.
The abundance was not a new era. It came inside a short pause, and something else revived in that pause too.
For this poor remnant there was a break of several months. They gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance (Jer. 40:12). It even seems that they held the worship of the Lord in honour again, at a time when the temple lay in complete ruins. At least there was a "house of the Lord" to go up to, for those who grieved over Israel's condition.
Nothing here is glorious. The temple is in ruins and the survivors live under a foreign king. Yet the full baskets still counted for something, and what wrecked it next was not Babylon.
So things in the land could have settled down. That situation would have been far from bright, of course, but in no way without mercy from the Lord for the poor. But sin ruins everything, everywhere. Ambition and scheming, treachery and violence can work in a crushed Judea just as surely as in a victorious Babylon, and they hurt more there. Evil men find nothing so unbearable as what is good, and when they owe a good man much, that can make their aim even worse. Wickedness does not have to wait long for its opportunity.
The verse shows busy hands. The chapters around it show what these same people carried inside.
The poor were left in the land, and Jeremiah stayed among them. Even this little remnant was full of jealousy, full of their own plans, full of treason, full of deceit and violence. God was not really in their thoughts.
These returning Jews did what looked best. They came back to Judah rather than stay in Moab or Ammon, and they prospered there. It still did not save them.
Chapters 40-41 expose a mistaken idea. Being a remnant in the land — in the right place — does not by itself make anyone better qualified. It is possible to be in the right place and still not be right with the right Person. That only leaves us open to bad behaviour and shameless hypocrisy, as we see here. The prophet of God was among them, and they pretended to value his word. Still they acted deceitfully. To call upon the Lord Himself out of a pure heart is our safety.
The plenty of this verse was the life God was offering them. Within months Gedaliah was murdered, and the survivors ran to Egypt instead of staying under the arrangement God had allowed.
Had they remained quietly in the land subject to the authority of the Chaldean king whom God had placed over them, they would have been preserved. But they, choosing human policy, thought it was safer to go down into Egypt, whereas it proved to be the opposite.
- Gift. A people who had just lost everything gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance. Even a wrecked land was not without mercy from the Lord for the poor.
- Gathering. Gedaliah served both his conqueror and his people. His words and ways drew the scattered Jews home from Moab, Ammon and Edom.
- Grace-period. The plenty lasted a few months. In that break, people even honoured the worship of the Lord again, with the temple in ruins.
- Gap. Full hands, empty hearts. The same gatherers were "full of jealousy, full of their own plans, full of treason," and God was "not really in their thoughts."
- Giveaway. The right place is not the same as being right with the right Person. These same people trusted themselves instead of God, and went down to Egypt.
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.