And all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
The whole surviving community comes to Jeremiah at once, leaders and people together, and asks him to pray for them. Their request sounds humble, but the chapter raises a hard question: can anyone ask God for direction when their mind is already made up?
The chapters around this one show what these survivors were really like.
In Jeremiah 40 to Jeremiah 44 we have the anarchy and moral disorder among the Jews left behind in the land or near it. Most of their brothers had been carried captive to Babylon. Jeremiah becomes their helper, ministering the word of the Lord to them, but finds among them the greatest unbelief. This hardness of heart was deeply sorrowful and heartbreaking to the prophet... even the little remnant were full of jealousy, full of their own plans, full of treason, full of deceit and violence. These were the poor left in the land, among whom Jeremiah remained. God was not really in their thoughts.
At first, their move looks exactly right.
They recognise the ruin of the nation; they own they are but a few. In the middle of the ruin, and in admitted weakness, they meet together to ask the Lord what path He would have them take and how He would have them act. What course could be more fitting than for a little company of God's people, in such circumstances, to turn to the Lord for guidance?
They ask Jeremiah to pray to "the LORD your God." One writer stops at that pronoun.
The people applied to the prophet to ask counsel about going down into Egypt. But they had already made up their minds about their course. They were bent on their own will. Miserable condition! Had they been meek and humble, they would not have needed to ask counsel in the matter. But they said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us" — why not say, the LORD our God?
Commentators agree that the request was not genuine enquiry but a search for endorsement.
Johanan and those with him ask him to pray for them so that "the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do." Now these men had already decided in the depths of their hearts to go down to Egypt. Their whole hope was that Jeremiah would confirm their secret purpose.
The same pattern is set alongside Balaam, who also asked God about a road he had already chosen.
They requested the prophet to pray for them so that they might have divine guidance about their path, when they had already made up their minds to go with their whole company to Egypt (Jer. 42). Let us beware of going to God at any time with our minds already made up. It is a serious affront to the Divine Majesty!
Their destination mattered. Compare them with those taken to Babylon.
There is a particular interest in this short history, for the story of this remnant stands out as a complete contrast to that of the remnant in Babylon. These go down into Egypt, against the word of the Lord, to be consumed by sword and famine and disease. Those at Babylon have peace and prosperity and plenty provisionally promised to them. These carry Jeremiah with them into Egypt though he pronounces their doom. The others have Ezekiel and Daniel with them at Babylon... God at the beginning redeemed the people out of Egypt, but Babylon became the place of their captivity when they had turned away from the Lord. To return to Egypt was therefore fatal, but from Babylon there was deliverance.
The reply did not confirm their plan.
The Lord's way is very plain. Does this little remnant want to be built up and established? Do they want to enjoy the Lord's presence with them, and the Lord's mercies? Then there is one condition they must meet. They must "still abide in this land." However great the failure, however complete the ruin, there would still be blessing for a little remnant — a few of many — as long as they remain on God's ground for God's people. Their king and leaders may have fled. The house of the Lord may be burned to the ground and the walls of Jerusalem broken down. Yet there would still be blessing for those who remained in the land.
- Ruin — The chapter opens on wreckage. Most of the nation was in exile, and the few left behind were full of their own plans, with God not really in their thoughts.
- Request — Their move looks right. A small, weak company gathers, admits it is "a few of many," and asks the Lord which way to go.
- Reservation — One pronoun exposes them. They say "your God" to Jeremiah, never "our God," while already bent on their own will.
- Refusal — They wanted confirmation, not counsel. Going to God with your mind already made up is a serious affront to Him.
- Rest — The answer was to stay put. Egypt was fatal — God had once redeemed them out of it. Blessing remained for the few who stayed on God's ground, however great the ruin.
came near and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication come before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, for all this remnant (for we are left a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us);
Jerusalem has fallen. Babylon has carried off most of the nation. The few left in the land come to Jeremiah with what sounds like the best thing they could ask. The words are almost perfect. So this verse raises a hard question: can a prayer be right in every word and still be dishonest?
One writer counts the losses that left them so few.
Four hundred years had passed since the great division in Israel. Then came the events recorded in this chapter. By this date we find the people of God not only divided but scattered. One hundred and thirty years before, the ten tribes had gone into captivity and became lost among the nations. Repeated captivities had thinned the ranks of Judah, until at last the kingdom, as such, had ceased to exist.
They admit they are only a few, and they ask God which way to walk. Nothing could fit their situation better.
They recognise the ruin of the nation; they own they are only a few. In the middle of the ruin, and in admitted weakness, they meet together. They ask the Lord what path He would have them take and how He would have them act. What course could be more fitting than for a little company of God's people, in such circumstances, to turn to the Lord for guidance?
They send Jeremiah to a God they call his, not theirs. One commentator stops on that word as he quotes them.
But they said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God" — Why not say, the LORD our God? … "Whether it is good or bad," — How could the will of God be anything but good? — "we will obey the voice of the LORD our God."
(Note: the older translation reads "thy God" and "whether it be good, or whether it be evil".)
But the question was never really open. They wanted a signature, not a direction.
Johanan and those with him ask Jeremiah to pray for them, so that "the LORD your God may show us the way we should go." Now these men had already decided, deep in their hearts, to go down to Egypt. Their whole hope was that Jeremiah would confirm their secret purpose.
Another writer turns the same pattern into a warning.
The Jewish captains in the days of Jeremiah were afraid of the Chaldeans (the Babylonians). They asked the prophet to pray for them, so that they might have divine guidance about their path. But they had already made up their minds to go with their whole company to Egypt (Jer. 42). Let us beware of coming to God at any time with our minds already made up. It is a serious insult to the Divine Majesty!
Jeremiah does not fill the silence with advice of his own. He goes to God and waits.
However, Jeremiah turns to the Lord, receiving an answer after ten days. During these days he apparently has no communication with the people. He will not venture an opinion of his own about the way in which they should walk and act. He will wait for clear directions from the Lord (v. 7).
The answer came, and they refused it. Staying under the king of Babylon meant safety. Egypt meant the sword they were fleeing.
Still, this remnant could have submitted to the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar even at this last hour. Then peace would have reigned in the land, and these 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. They consult Jeremiah, but refuse to obey the word of the Lord from his mouth. They take refuge in Egypt to escape Nebuchadnezzar. But the sword falls on them there — the very sword that would have spared them in Judea, if they had stayed under the king.
- Right words. Asking God to show the way is the right prayer for a weak, scattered people who admit they are only a few.
- Wrong pronoun. They send the prophet to "the LORD your God," not our God — the relationship they lean on is his, not theirs.
- Settled will. Commentators agree that Egypt was already chosen. They only hoped the prophet would confirm a secret purpose.
- Honest servant. Jeremiah will not give an opinion of his own. He waits ten days for the Lord's answer.
- Refused answer. Staying in the land meant peace. In Egypt the sword they fled from found them. Guidance asked for and then ignored costs more than guidance never sought.
that Jehovah thy God may shew us the way wherein we should walk, and the thing that we should do.
After Jerusalem falls, a small, frightened group of survivors comes to Jeremiah and asks him to pray for direction. The request sounds right — but can anyone ask God for guidance when the decision is already made?
Everything about this looks right. They are broken, they admit how few they are, and they ask two things: which road to take, and what to do.
They see the ruin of the nation; they admit they are only a few. With ruin all around them, and openly weak, they meet together to ask the Lord which path He would have them take and how He would have them act. What could be more fitting than for a little group of God's people, in such a situation, to turn to the Lord for guidance?
In their request they call God Jeremiah's God, not their own. That small word points to a bigger problem.
The people went to the prophet for advice about going down to Egypt. But they had already made up their minds about their course. They were bent on their own will. Miserable condition! Had they been meek and humble, they would not have needed to ask for advice about it. But they said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Let our supplication be accepted before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God" — Why not say, The Lord our God?
When Jeremiah agrees to pray, they promise to obey whatever comes, good or bad. That eagerness is itself the warning sign.
How painful it is to see that the flesh gives itself away just as much by an excessive show of piety as by open godlessness! The experienced eye does not spot the hollowness in a lack of zeal. It spots it in a readiness to obey God's will — whatever that will may be — that is too abundant, or at least too self-confident. The duty may be plain. But what about the heart? What about the power to keep going and to see it through?
Another writer hears the same tone in people today.
Are there not those who speak like this small group of survivors? "Give us Scripture — give us the word of the Lord — and we will bow to it!" We may well fear that self-will lies behind such fair words.
Jeremiah will not fill the gap with his own judgment.
Jeremiah turns to the Lord, and the answer comes after ten days. During those days he apparently has no contact with the people. He will not venture an opinion of his own about the way in which they should walk and act. He will wait for clear directions from the Lord.
That silence becomes a rule for anyone still waiting on an answer.
When we seek guidance from God about any matter, and He delays to give it, let us remain where we are and do nothing, as the Lord Jesus did in John 11:6.
God does answer their question. The direction is simple, and blessing hangs on one condition.
They must "still remain in this land." However great the failure, however complete the ruin, there would still be blessing for the few who were left — a few out of many — as long as they stayed on God's ground for God's people. Their king and leaders may have fled. The house of the Lord may have been burned to the ground, and the walls of Jerusalem broken down. Even so, there would still be blessing for those who remained in the land.
Their minds were already set on Egypt. Refusing God's answer never ends in escape.
So God always carries out His will in the end. Happy are those who are in its current all the way through! If men resist, they gain nothing but grief and disappointment, and a short-lived success only makes that grief more bitter. Far from holding back the word of the Lord, they carry it out by the very steps meant to serve their own wishes. And the evils they dread most they bring on themselves for certain.
- Asking. Weak, few, and surrounded by ruin, they do the fitting thing: they gather and ask God for the path.
- Wording. They call Him "your God," not ours — the words expose a heart not truly meek before Him.
- Vowing. Over-eager promises to obey God, whatever He says, expose the flesh just as clearly as open godlessness.
- Waiting. Ten days pass; the prophet offers no opinion of his own, and neither should we move before the answer comes.
- Abiding. The answer was to stay on God's ground; refusing it brings on the very evils they were running from.
And Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard; behold, I will pray unto Jehovah your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass [that] whatsoever thing Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it unto you I will keep nothing back from you.
The last Jews left in the land have asked Jeremiah to pray and tell them which way to go. He agrees, and promises to keep back nothing of God's answer — to people who have already decided where they are going.
Jeremiah takes these men at their word, with no sign of suspicion. One writer treats that openness as the mark of faith, not of weakness.
Real faith is unsuspicious, and it can afford to be so. The believer knows in whom he has believed. He can commit himself and others, the present and the future, to God. His grace has looked on us for eternity, and His righteous government notices every word and way and feeling and desire along the road… If strong promises could have assured the prophet, there were enough of them here. But he was not ignorant either of man or of Satan. His trust was in God, whether the Jew was true or false.
Another servant of God could later make the same claim about his own work. Telling people everything takes faith, because fear of them is what trims a message.
Further, he could say that they knew how he kept back nothing that was profitable. This needs faith, and without it faithfulness will fail. The apostle was altogether above the fear of man. He withheld nothing that was for their good. He announced it and taught it publicly and in their houses, testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
One small word in their request is worth noticing. They asked Jeremiah to pray to "the LORD your God" — not to their own God.
But they said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please accept our plea, and pray for us to the LORD your God" — why not say, the LORD our God? — "for all this remnant (only a few of us are left out of many, as you can see); that the LORD your God may show us the way we should walk and the thing we should do." … "Whether it be good, or whether it be evil" — how could the will of God be anything but good?
Promising to report God's answer also meant refusing to supply one of his own.
However, Jeremiah turns to the Lord, receiving an answer after ten days. During these days he apparently has no communication with the people. He will not venture an opinion of his own as to the way in which they should walk and act. He will wait for clear directions from the Lord.
The people's reply to Jeremiah sounds like model submission. Their later conduct exposed it, and the very eagerness of the promise was the clue.
One thing, however, spoilt these fair words. As the later history shows, self-will was at work underneath their good words. They had already decided to take their own course. The self-will of the flesh betrays itself in their over-confident declaration that they were ready to obey the voice of the Lord… Are there not people who say, like this remnant, "Give us Scripture — give us the word of the Lord — and we will bow to it!" We may well fear that self-will lies behind such fair words.
The warning reaches past this one episode to the way we pray for guidance.
They asked the prophet to pray for them, so that they might have divine guidance about their path. Yet they had already made up their minds to go to Egypt with their whole company (Jer. 42). Let us beware of going before God at any time with our minds already made up. It is a serious affront to the Divine Majesty!
- Ask — the remnant asked for the way to walk. Yet they kept saying "your God" to the prophet instead of owning Him as their own. The asking was real; the relationship was not.
- Promise — Jeremiah pledges the whole answer, with nothing held back. He does it without suspicion, because his confidence rests in God, whether the people prove true or false.
- Wait — for ten days he offers no opinion of his own. A messenger with nothing to hide also has nothing to invent.
- Tell — keeping nothing back calls for faith. Fear of man is what makes a servant trim the message.
- Obey — self-will can hide behind the most confident promise to submit to God's word. The test is not what we say before the word comes, but what we do when it cuts across our plans.
And they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not even according to all the word for which Jehovah thy God shall send thee to us.
Frightened survivors of Jerusalem's fall swear an oath before Jeremiah, calling God as their witness that they will obey whatever He says. The rest of the chapter tests that vow: what is a promise worth when the heart has already chosen?
An oath like this is as strong as words get. It makes God the witness against them, and ties their own welfare to obeying Him.
So this remnant makes the most solemn promise. Whatever the Lord's answer may be, they will "obey the voice of the Lord." They are right to see that, if they do, it will be well with them. However dark the day, however great the ruin, it will still be well with those who obey "the voice of the Lord."
The instinct behind it was right.
They recognise the ruin of the nation; they own they are but a few. Amid the ruin, and in admitted weakness, they meet together. They ask the Lord which path He would have them take, and how He would have them act. In such circumstances, what could be more fitting than a little company of God's people turning to the Lord for guidance?
One small word gives them away. They speak of God as Jeremiah's God, not as their own. One commentator breaks off mid-sentence to press the point:
"pray to the LORD your God for us" — Why not say, the LORD our God? — "for all this remnant, because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us, that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do."
They had fixed their course before anyone spoke.
Now these men had already decided in the depths of their hearts to go down to Egypt. Their whole hope was that Jeremiah would confirm their secret purpose.
This is not a harmless mistake.
They asked the prophet to pray for them, so that God would guide their path. Yet they had already made up their minds to take their whole company to Egypt (Jer. 42). Let us beware of going before God at any time with our minds already made up. It is a serious affront to the Divine Majesty!
The loudness of the vow is itself the warning sign.
But how painful it is to find that the flesh gives itself away by an excessive show of piety just as much as by godless talk! The experienced eye does not spot its hollowness in a lack of fervour. It spots it in a readiness to obey God's will, whatever that will may be — a readiness that is too lavish, or at least too self-confident. The duty may be plain; but what of the heart? of the power to go on and to go through? Faith assumes we feel our own weakness just as surely as it counts on God and His grace. Human resolve in the things of God has force only where it is left to its own will.
The same pattern repeats today, in words that sound perfect:
Are there not people who talk like this remnant? "Give us Scripture — give us the word of the Lord — and we will bow to it!" We may well fear that self-will lies behind such fair words.
Jeremiah took them at their word and prayed.
Here the truth of the case comes out. Pride and self-will were at work. Their vows and promises were false. "You have gone astray at the cost of your lives," says Jeremiah, "for you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, 'Pray for us to the LORD our God, and whatever the LORD our God says declare to us and we will do it.'" God's answer would have suited them well enough if it had matched their own will. It ran against their will, so they rejected it altogether.
(The wording Mackintosh himself quotes here is "You were deceitful in your hearts" — which is the point he is making about their false vows.)
- Ask — in a day of ruin and weakness, turning to God for direction is the right instinct. The fault here is never in the asking.
- Own — they call Him "the LORD your God," not ours; the distance in the pronoun exposes distance in the heart.
- Decide — they had already chosen Egypt and only wanted it confirmed. Going to God with your mind made up is an affront to Him.
- Protest — the flesh gives itself away by loud promises, not weak ones. Real faith counts on God's grace because it knows its own weakness.
- Refuse — when the answer crossed their will, they rejected it. A vow that holds only when God agrees was never obedience.
Whether it be good or whether it be evil, we will hearken unto the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us when we hearken unto the voice of Jehovah our God.
Jerusalem has fallen, and the survivors left in Judah are frightened of Babylon and drawn toward Egypt. They ask Jeremiah to pray, and promise in advance to obey whatever answer God gives — but can a promise this complete still be a lie?
Their promise leaves nothing out: they accept God's answer before they have heard it.
This leads the remnant to make the most solemn declaration: whatever the Lord's answer may be, they will "obey the voice of the Lord". They rightly recognise that if they do so, it will be well with them. However dark the day, however great the ruin, it will still be well with those who obey "the voice of the Lord."
The pairing of "good or bad" is itself odd, and one writer stops on it. He also notes what stands behind such wording — a decision already taken.
They had already made up their minds as to their course. They were bent on their own will. Miserable condition! … But they said to Jeremiah, "Pray for us to the Lord your God" — why not say, the Lord our God? … "Whether it is good or bad" — how could the will of God be anything but good?
The strength of their language is not the reassurance it looks like.
But how painful it is to prove that the flesh betrays itself quite as much by its excessive show of piety as by open irreverence! The experienced eye does not detect its hollowness by any lack of fervour. It sees it in a readiness to obey the divine will, whatever it may be — a readiness too lavish, or at least too self-confident. The duty may be plain; but what of the heart? What of the power to go on and to go through? Faith supposes a sense of our own weakness as surely as it counts on God and His grace.
They were promising with their mouths. God was reading their motive. One writer turns that into a question for anyone who wants to know God's will.
If we desire to know the will of God, let us first seriously test ourselves as to why. Do we want to find out whether it is acceptable to us or not? Or do we really desire to practise God's will? Of course God knows our motives. The remnant of Israel came to Jeremiah and asked him to enquire of God. They told him they would obey God's Word without fail once He gave it (Jer. 42:5-6). But God knew they were deceiving themselves in their hearts (v. 20), and that they only intended to obey if it suited their thoughts. If we have no honest intention of doing God's will, or at least of being willing to do it, God will never give us firm conviction about the teaching of His Word.
Ten days passed before God replied. What He asked was not harsh — and the promise of verse 6 collapsed anyway.
The prophet undertook to tell them all that God made known. They, on their part, undertook to obey the voice of the Lord, whether it was good or bad (vv. 4-6). After ten days the Lord told them to stay in the land, and He would bless them richly (vv. 7-12). But if they went down into Egypt, the sword, the famine and the plague would overtake them there (vv. 13-18). The Lord knew their deceitful hearts, and the prophet plainly said to them, "You have deceived yourselves in your hearts when you sent me to the Lord" (vv. 19-22).
Refusing God's answer does not cancel it.
So God in the long run always accomplishes His will. Happy are those who are in its current the whole way through! If men resist, they gain nothing but grief and disappointment, and passing success only makes it more bitter. Far from hindering the word of the Lord, they carry it out by the very measures meant to give effect to their own wishes. The evils they most dread they bring certainly on themselves.
- Promise. They pledged to obey God's answer before they heard it. It is well with those who obey His voice, however dark the day.
- Wording. They called Him Jeremiah's God rather than their own, and allowed that His will might be "bad". The divided heart shows in both.
- Tell. A too-confident readiness to obey "whatever it may be" is a warning sign. Real faith carries a sense of its own weakness.
- Test. God reads motives, not phrasing. Without an honest intention to do His will, His Word never becomes settled certainty in us.
- Outcome. God carries out His will either way. Resisting it only brings down on us the very thing we were running from.