And Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done;
Jeremiah 41 has just described a massacre: Ishmael killed the governor Gedaliah and eighty men on their way to the temple, then took the rest of Mizpah captive. Verse 11 is the turn — news of it reaches Johanan and his captains, and the chapter moves from crime to rescue.
The phrase "all the evil" gathers a whole trail of bloodshed and betrayal into one summary. Here is the record Johanan was hearing about:
Son of Nethaniah, of royal descent, though we do not know which family. His craft and ferocity show that he was unworthy of a throne. He treacherously killed Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the cities of Judah. He also killed all the Jews who were with him in Mizpah. He followed this crime with the cruel and treacherous murder of eighty men from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They were bringing gifts to the temple. He spared only ten. He then carried off everyone left in Mizpah as captives, and set out to go over to the Ammonites.
The rescue begins just as Ishmael's plan is working. He has the captives, and he is on his way to the Ammonites. The timing is the point:
Yet even when God permits the severest measures of shame and suffering, He disappoints the guilty in the moment of their greatest success.
Ishmael himself got away, which can look like a failure of justice. But there is more than one way to punish a man:
It is true that Ishmael was not killed. Perhaps, for the moment, a more bitter cup for the conspirators was to return empty-handed and cheated of their prey. They had to face the king who had sent him out to destroy his own people and to plunder for the Ammonites.
Johanan carries the rescue in this verse. His record, read to the end, runs both ways:
Son of Kareah and captain among the Jews left in the land after the destruction of Jerusalem. He warned Gedaliah of the plot against his life. When Ishmael killed Gedaliah and carried the people away, Johanan was the means of rescuing them. He would not, however, listen to Jeremiah and stay in the land. Instead he led the remnant into Egypt, where they practised idolatry.
So the man God used here was not himself a man of faith. A few verses later he leads the rescued people toward Egypt. Fear drives him now, not malice:
Sadly, the one who delivered the captives and drove their enemy off was no true friend of Israel. He paid little attention to the word of the Lord… Fear is evidence of unbelief just as surely as bold or treacherous rebellion, even if it is not as blatant. The prophet had warned them to submit to the king of Babylon, not to flee into Egypt… What a blessing for the believer! He has every right to trample on his fears and to trust the word of the Lord without anxiety.
The people were freed. But rescue is not the same as guidance:
This remnant did know a measure of deliverance. But where there is much restlessness, worse calamity will follow than before, unless people take the time to learn the present mind of God and to act on it. These things are recorded for our learning. The active leaders caused all the mischief with this remnant of God's people and it is the same today. How important, then, that we fix our eyes and hearts on the one unfailing Leader — the Lord Himself!
All of this happened to people who were in the land — the right place:
Chapters 40–41 expose the mistaken 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 the kind of hypocrisy we see here.
- Evil peaks. Ishmael's crimes climbed from one murder, to eighty, to mass kidnapping. News of "all the evil" is what sets the rescue in motion.
- God interrupts. God lets shame and suffering run their course. Then He disappoints the guilty at the height of their success.
- Escape isn't acquittal. Ishmael slipped away, but going back empty-handed to the king who sent him may have been the more bitter cup.
- Rescuers need rescuing. Johanan freed the captives, yet he paid little attention to God's word. Fear is unbelief as surely as rebellion is.
- Deliverance needs direction. Being in the right place is not enough without being right with the right Person. Keep your eyes on the one unfailing Leader.
and they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are at Gibeon.
Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah, the governor Babylon appointed, and marched the survivors of Mizpah off as prisoners. Johanan's men catch him at Gibeon — yet a successful rescue does not prove the rescuer is a godly man.
The chase happens in a land where all order has broken down.
In Jeremiah 40 to Jeremiah 44, we have the anarchy and moral disorder that prevailed among the Jews left behind in the land or nearby. Babylon had carried most of their fellow countrymen away captive. Jeremiah becomes their helper, ministering to them the word of Jehovah, but finds among them the greatest unbelief... now 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.
Older translations call the great pool of this verse the "great waters." The place is real, and it can still be traced.
Gibeon is identified with a village of scattered houses on a hill. On one side of the hill is a plentiful spring, and lower down the remains of a large reservoir, which is thought to be the "pool" of Gibeon and its "great waters." 2 Samuel 2:13; Jeremiah 41:12, 16.
Ishmael already had a record of bloodshed behind him.
Son of Nethaniah, of the royal line, but of what family is not known. His craft and ferocity show that he was unworthy of a throne. He treacherously killed Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the cities of Judah. He killed all the Jews who were with him in Mizpah too. He followed up this crime by the cruel and treacherous murder of eighty men from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, who were bringing gifts to the temple. Only ten were spared.
Ishmael had won. The governor was dead and the captives were his. That is the moment the pursuit caught up with him.
Yet even when God permits the severest measures of shame and suffering, He disappoints the guilty in the moment of their greatest success.
Ishmael himself got away. No execution closed the account, but losing his prize may have hurt him more.
It is true that Ishmael was not killed. The king had sent him to destroy his own people and to plunder for the Ammonites. To go back to that king empty-handed, cheated of his prize, may have been for the moment a more bitter cup to the conspirators.
Johanan looks like the hero of the chapter. Earlier he had offered to kill Ishmael for Gedaliah, and Gedaliah turned him down.
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. Perhaps Gedaliah knew there was little to choose between them. So he rejected Johanan's good warning just as much as his bad offer to get rid of Ishmael.
The same writer weighs the rescuer rather than the rescue:
Sadly, the man who delivered the captives and put their enemy to flight was no true friend of Israel. The reason was that he paid little attention to the word of Jehovah.
These survivors were still in the land while the rest sat in exile. That did not make them better people.
Chapters 40-41 expose a mistaken idea. It is not true that a remnant in the land — in the right place — must have 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 ungodly hypocrisy such as we see here. The prophet of God was among them, and they pretended to value his word. Even so, they acted deceitfully.
Deliverance came to them, but it did not settle them.
Where there is much restlessness, some deliverance may still come, as it did for this remnant. But unless we take time to learn and act on the present mind of God, worse trouble will follow than before... The active leaders caused all the mischief with this remnant of God's people and it is the same today. How important, then, that our eyes and hearts should look to the one unfailing Leader — to the Lord Himself!
- The people. Those left in the land lived in anarchy and moral disorder: jealousy, treason, deceit, violence, and God absent from their thoughts.
- The place. The great pool of Gibeon is a real spring and reservoir. There Johanan's men caught up with the prisoners.
- The turn. God disappointed Ishmael at the height of his success. He escaped, but going back empty-handed to the king who sent him may have been the bitterer cup.
- The rescuer. Johanan freed the captives, yet he had no real faith in God's word. So he was no true friend to the people he saved.
- The test. Being in the right place counts for nothing without being right with the right Person. Look instead to the one unfailing Leader — the Lord Himself.
And it came to pass when all the people that were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.
Ishmael had murdered Gedaliah and was driving the survivors east toward the Ammonites as spoil. Verse 13 is where that march breaks: the captives see Johanan's troops and their hearts lift — but who they follow next will matter as much as who took them.
Johanan caught up with Ishmael at Gibeon. Its "great waters" were a real water source, and traces of them remain:
On one side of the hill is a plentiful spring. Lower down are the remains of a large reservoir. Many think this was the "pool" of Gibeon and its "great waters." 2 Samuel 2:13; Jeremiah 41:12, 16.
Ishmael had won every round so far. He had killed the governor, slaughtered pilgrims, and taken the rest as prisoners — and at that exact point the tables turned.
Yet even when God permits the severest measures of shame and suffering, He disappoints the guilty in the moment of their greatest success.
Ishmael himself got away. But escaping with nothing is its own punishment:
It is true that Ishmael was not killed. But going back empty-handed, robbed of the prey, may have been a more bitter cup for the conspirators at that moment. It meant facing the king who had sent him to destroy his own people and to plunder for the Ammonites.
These people had watched Ishmael kill their governor and their neighbours, and they were prisoners on the road to a foreign people. One writer traces how the rescue came about:
Ishmael's presence meant the overthrow of Gedaliah. Johanan warned him of this, but Gedaliah treated it as a false suspicion. It was true all the same. Ishmael killed Gedaliah and those with him, and fled with the rest, after adding to his guilt by killing a company of worshippers on their way to the house of the Lord. Johanan heard what Ishmael had done, chased him, and recovered the glad and grateful remnant.
There is a sting in this rescue:
Sadly, the man who rescued the captives and drove off their enemy was no true friend of Israel. He paid little attention to the word of the Lord.
A short account of his life shows the pattern — brave first, then disobedient:
He warned Gedaliah about the plot against his life. After Ishmael killed Gedaliah and carried the people away, Johanan was the one who rescued them. But he would not listen to Jeremiah and stay in the land. Instead he led the remnant into Egypt, where they worshipped idols.
So the rescued people set out for Egypt. Kelly names what drove them there:
Fear shows unbelief just as certainly as bold or treacherous rebellion does, even if it is less blatant. The prophet had warned them to submit to the king of Babylon, not to flee into Egypt. … How good it is that the believer has the right to trample on his fears, and to trust the word of the Lord without anxiety!
A rescue can leave people restless instead of settled. That is the danger Vine warns about here:
Restless people may still know some deliverance, as this remnant did. But unless they take time to learn God's present mind and act on it, worse trouble will follow than they knew before. … The active leaders caused all the mischief with this remnant of God's people, and it is the same today. So how important it is that our eyes and hearts should turn to the one unfailing Leader — to the Lord Himself!
- Cause. Ishmael won every round until his hour of triumph. Then God disappointed the guilty and left him fleeing empty-handed.
- Gift. The gladness at Gibeon was honest. A real rescue reached a glad and grateful remnant.
- Limit. Their rescuer was no true friend. He paid little attention to the word of the Lord. Brave is not the same as obedient.
- Result. Fear, not faith, chose their next step. Timid unbelief ends where bold rebellion ends.
- Remedy. After a rescue, take time to learn God's mind. Fix your eyes on the one unfailing Leader, not on the man who saved you.
And all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.
Jeremiah 41 has just described a massacre. Ishmael killed Gedaliah, the governor Babylon had appointed, and then marched the survivors of Mizpah off toward the Ammonites. Verse 14 is the moment that march breaks, and it raises a hard question: what is a rescue worth when the rescuer himself is not following God?
Up to this point, Ishmael's scheme has worked. One writer sets the rescue against the plans behind the kidnapping.
It seems that Ishmael is carrying forward the plans made with the king of the Ammonites. He goes on next to carry away those whom he did not kill… Yet even when God permits the severest measures of shame and suffering, He disappoints the guilty at the very moment of their greatest success.
Another writer sums up the rescue, and how the freed people felt about it.
Johanan, hearing what Ishmael had done, pursued him, and recovered the glad and grateful remnant.
Verse 15 records that Ishmael slipped away. The murderer never faces trial. Yet one writer finds a judgement of another kind in that escape.
It is true that Ishmael was not killed. But he had to go back with nothing, cheated of the prey, to the king who had sent him to destroy his own people and to plunder for the Ammonites. For the moment that may have been a more bitter cup to the conspirators.
One reference work notes his family background, and what his behaviour showed about him:
Son of Nethaniah, of the 'royal seed,' though from which family is not known. His cunning and ferocity show that he was unworthy of a throne.
Johanan then led the freed people toward Egypt. That was the one direction the prophet had told them not to go. Escaping Ishmael did not put them in safe hands.
The man who rescued the captives and put their enemy to flight was no true friend of Israel, because he paid little attention to the word of the Lord… Fear is evidence of unbelief just as certainly as bold or treacherous rebellion is, though not as openly. The prophet had warned them to submit to the king of Babylon, not to flee into Egypt… How blessed for the believer that he may trample on his fears, and trust the word of the Lord without anxiety!
The same writer looks at where that fear took them.
If they had stayed quietly in the land, under the authority of the Babylonian king whom God had placed over them, they would have been kept safe. But choosing human policy, they thought it was safer to go down into Egypt, whereas it proved to be the opposite.
Verse 14 brings real relief. Relief on its own changes nothing if no one stops to ask God what to do next.
Where there is much restlessness, some deliverance may still come, as it did for this remnant. Yet unless we take time to learn God's present mind and act on it, worse trouble will follow than before. These things are written for our instruction. The active leaders caused all the mischief with this remnant of God's people, and it is the same today. How important, then, that we turn our eyes and hearts to the one unfailing Leader — to the Lord Himself!
They had stayed in the land itself. One writer warns against reading too much into that.
Chapters 40-41 expose the mistaken idea that a remnant left in the land — in the right place — necessarily has some superior standing. To be in the right place without being right with the right Person will only expose us to bad behaviour and to the godless hypocrisy shown here. Even with God's prophet among them, whose word they pretended to value, they acted deceitfully.
- Turn — The captives turned back and walked free; God disappoints the guilty at the very moment of their greatest success.
- Escape — Ishmael got away, but returned with nothing, which may have been the bitterer cup for those who sent him.
- Rescuer — Johanan freed them, yet ignored the word of the Lord. He was no true friend to the people he had just saved.
- Fear — Their flight to Egypt came from fear, and fear is evidence of unbelief just as surely as open rebellion is.
- Leader — Some deliverance is not enough. Without stopping to learn God's present mind, worse trouble follows. So keep your eyes on the one unfailing Leader.