And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had ended speaking unto all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, with which Jehovah their God had sent him to them -- all these words,
In chapter 42 the people asked Jeremiah for God's guidance and promised to obey whatever He said. Chapter 43 opens the moment Jeremiah finishes delivering God's answer — and what follows shows that asking God for direction and wanting it are two different things.
Their promise had sounded good. Now the message has ended, and God's answer cuts across the plan they had already chosen.
Unbelief may go on quietly for a while. It may even make pious professions. But a time of testing always comes. It tests whether we are really seeking God's will or our own. Johanan the son of Kareah had only just opposed Ishmael, the crafty assassin and royal plunderer. Yet he is one of the proud men who insult the prophet and reject the message God sent through him.
They had gone to Jeremiah for guidance while their route was already fixed. Fear of the Chaldeans lay behind it.
The Jewish captains in the days of Jeremiah were afraid of the Chaldeans. They asked the prophet to pray for them, so that they might have God's guidance about their path. But they had already made up their minds to go down to Egypt with their whole company (Jer. 42). Let us beware of ever going before God with our minds already made up. It is a serious insult to the Divine Majesty!
They called the prophet a liar. The problem was not the message but the listeners.
The self-will that was determined to take a certain course deceived them. Nothing warps the understanding and blocks the grasp of truth like self-will. It will not see what it does not want to see. And, as always, pride stood behind that self-will — pride that would not admit they were wrong. So, as we read, "all the proud men" came to Jeremiah saying, "You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there.'"
Unbelief did not stop at doubting the prophet. It went on to invent a motive for him.
His own evil heart of unbelief not only mistrusted the prophet, but let itself run wild in imagining a plot between Baruch and the prophet to hand the rest of them over to the Chaldean conquerors. The unbeliever's readiness to believe anything is well known, and an evil, self-willed action follows quickly.
Everything about their circumstances should have crushed any sense of self-importance. Yet pride is the very thing the text points out in their leaders.
There is something contemptible about these leaders of the survivors. The Holy Spirit draws attention to the "proud men"! After what had happened, pride is the last thing you would expect. They had been so humiliated, and their situation at that moment was enough to humble them. Even so, some among them still prided themselves on being God's people.
They did not leave Jeremiah behind. They forced him and Baruch to go down to Egypt with them.
Stubborn in their purpose to the end, they revolt against God. They take Jeremiah and faithful Baruch with them, because they do not want to leave behind these witnesses to their disobedience and unbelief. They forget only one thing: they are carrying with them the Word that condemns them. To the end Jeremiah keeps faithfully using the gift of prophecy God had entrusted to him. At Tahpanhes, just as at Jerusalem, he is a witness to the true God.
Force wins the day. They drag Jeremiah to the very country God had told them to stay out of — and no guilt touches him for being there.
Those who believe can afford to be calm and submit. If the hand of power forces them to go here or there, the responsibility is no longer theirs. The guilt belongs to those who despise the word of the Lord. Until Jesus returns in glory, the faithful have to swim against the current — above all those entrusted with the testimony. They must suffer where violence overpowers them.
- Finished. When Jeremiah delivers the last of God's words, the pretence ends. A time of testing always comes, and it shows whether we wanted God's will or our own.
- Fixed. They had already decided on Egypt before they asked. Going to God with the mind made up is an insult to Him, not an act of devotion.
- Blind. Self-will warps the understanding. It refuses to see what it does not want to see — so a true message gets called a lie.
- Proud. Hard circumstances do not create humility. These men had lost everything and still thought they were somebody.
- Carried. They took the prophet along to silence him. Instead they carried with them the very Word that condemned them, while the faithful man stayed calm and kept witnessing in Egypt.
-- then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying to Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely Jehovah our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there;
Survivors in Judah had sworn to obey whatever answer God gave, and He sent word through Jeremiah that they should stay in the land (Jeremiah 42). Here they answer Him by calling the prophet a liar — which raises a hard question about what we really want when we ask God for direction.
They had fixed their course before they ever sent for the prophet.
Here, the real state of the case comes clearly out. Pride and self-will were at work. Their vows and promises were false. "You were not honest in your hearts," says Jeremiah, "when you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, Pray for us to the Lord our God; and whatever the Lord our God says, tell us, and we will do it." It would have been fine if God's answer had matched their will. But it ran the other way, so they rejected it altogether.
Kelly notes that such a collapse is not sudden. Trial does not create unbelief. It brings it into the open.
Unbelief may go on quietly for a while, and even put forth pious professions; but a time of trial inevitably comes, and tests whether it is God's will, or our own, that we are really seeking. Johanan, the son of Kareah, is one of the proud men who insult the prophet and reject the message God sent by him. If his spirit had been lowly and broken, he would have trembled and been able to hear the voice of the Lord. But he was not of God, and a will he had never judged blinded his eyes and dulled his ears.
They did not say Jeremiah had misheard. They said he was lying. Rossier sees the same thing wherever God's word crosses what a person has already chosen.
In their pride the leaders do not want to accept humiliation, and they treat the word of God as a lie. Is it not always like this when God brings His word to people who have chosen the world and their own self-will? That word condemns the world and the will of man. In the face of the clearest verdict they say: "You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say" this (Jer. 43:2). So they do not listen to the word of the Lord.
Rather than answer the message, they attacked the man behind it, claiming Jeremiah was passing on his secretary's opinions as God's.
Moreover they tell Jeremiah that he is not governed by the word of the Lord; he is simply repeating man's word. In effect they say: We asked you for the word of the Lord, and you have only told us what Baruch says. If we follow you, it will only bring us all into bondage (Jer. 43:1-3).
Kelly asks what could justify such a doubt.
Perhaps Johanan honestly thought what he said. But if so, how did he come to think it? What had Jeremiah ever done to support, or even excuse, a doubt that his message came from the Lord? His own evil heart of unbelief did more than mistrust the prophet: it ran loose, imagining a plot between Baruch and the prophet to hand the rest of them over to the conquering Babylonians. The unbeliever's readiness to believe anything is well known, and an evil, self-willed act soon follows.
The label is striking given what these men had just lived through — the city destroyed, the people scattered, the governor murdered.
Azariah, Johanan, and all the proud men accuse the prophet of speaking falsely, saying that Baruch was setting him on against them. There is something contemptible about these leaders of the remnant. The Holy Spirit calls attention to the "proud men"! After what had happened, you would hardly expect pride. They had been so humiliated, and their position at that moment should have humbled them deeply! Yet some among them still took pride in being the people of God.
Willis adds what such pride costs.
"All the proud men" of Jeremiah 43:2 are examples of those who had no perception at all, for pride and perception cannot exist together. "He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way." (Ps. 25:9).
They went to Egypt to escape danger and found it there instead.
First, taking a false step to escape trouble is the surest way to fall into the trouble we are trying to escape... Second, the remnant are warned that those who take such a path will fall into reproach, and "see this place no more" (Jer. 42:18)... When God in His government says "no more," there is an end of the matter.
Jeremiah himself was dragged along by force. Kelly draws out what that means for anyone carried where they did not choose to go.
Those who believe can afford to be calm and submit. If the hand of power forces them to go here or there, it is no longer their responsibility, but the guilt of those who despise the word of the Lord.
- Pride first. They are called "the proud men" at the very moment their losses should have humbled them. Pride and perception cannot exist together.
- Then self-will. Their minds were made up before they asked. The vow to obey was only a hope that God would agree with them.
- Then the accusation. The answer crossed their will, so they called it a lie and blamed Baruch for the words.
- Then the flight. Leaving God's word to escape trouble is the surest way to land in the trouble you fear.
- Then "no more." God told them they would see that place no more. When His government says "no more," the matter is closed.
but Baruch the son of Nerijah is setting thee on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.
These men asked Jeremiah for the Lord's answer, and now they reject it and pin the message on a man, Baruch. That raises a sharp question: what happens when someone asks God for direction with his mind already made up?
These leaders had consulted the prophet themselves. Their refusal here is not a sudden change of mind. It exposes what was already there.
Unbelief may go on quietly for a while, and can even make pious professions. But a time of testing always comes, and it shows whether it is God's will or our own that we are really seeking... Johanan, one of those who came to Jeremiah, is among the proud men who insult the prophet and reject the message God sent through him. Had there been a lowly and repentant spirit, he would have trembled, and would have been able to hear the voice of the Lord. But he was not of God, and an unjudged will blinded his eyes and dulled his ears. His own evil, unbelieving heart not only mistrusted the prophet, but let itself run on and imagine a plot between Baruch and the prophet to hand the rest of the people over to the Chaldean conquerors. Unbelievers will believe anything, as is well known, and an evil, self-willed action quickly follows.
One commentator traces the link between what these men wanted and what they could see.
The self-will that was determined to take a certain course deceived them. Nothing will so warp the understanding, and so block the grasp of truth, as self-will. It will not see what it does not want to see. And, as always, behind the self-will there was pride that would not admit they were wrong.
Who was this Baruch?
Son of Neriah, and faithful secretary to Jeremiah. Later he was carried into Egypt with Jeremiah.
They did not deny the word of the Lord. They said Jeremiah was not the one carrying it.
They also tell Jeremiah that the word of the Lord does not govern him. He is only repeating a man's word. In effect they say: We asked you for the word of the Lord. You have told us what Baruch says. If we follow you, it will only bring us all into bondage.
Their charge names what they feared: the Chaldeans — the Babylonians — killing them or carrying them off. One thing could have kept them safe, and it was not flight.
Still, if at this last hour the few who were left had bowed to Nebuchadnezzar's rule, peace would have reigned in the land, and they would have kept it... They consult Jeremiah, but refuse to obey the word of the Lord from his mouth. They take refuge in Egypt to escape Nebuchadnezzar. There they fall under the sword. That sword would have spared them in Judea, if they had stayed there under the king.
Of the two destinations open to them, only one had a road back.
These people go down into Egypt, against the word of the Lord. There sword, famine and disease will destroy them. Those at Babylon have peace and prosperity and plenty promised to them for the time being... God first redeemed the people out of Egypt. Babylon became the place of their captivity after they turned away from the Lord. To return to Egypt was therefore fatal, but from Babylon there was deliverance.
They took Jeremiah and Baruch with them into Egypt.
The proud men had no idea what they were doing. They were carrying along with them the very man whose voice would soon speak in Egypt to pronounce their doom. And it would come by the hand of the conqueror they hoped to shut out behind an unbreakable barrier, raised in the power of the king of the south. What a vain hope, to escape the hand of the God they despised!
The warning here is about how we seek guidance.
Suppose we are humble and do not trust ourselves. Suppose we wait on our God with a simple heart, an upright mind, and honest purpose. Then He will most certainly guide us. But it is no use asking God for counsel about a matter when we have already made up our mind, or our will is at work.
- Word asked for. They came to the prophet for God's direction. Everything turns on what they did with His answer.
- Word rejected. The answer crossed their will. Self-will blinded them, and pride would not admit they were wrong.
- Word downgraded. Blaming Baruch turned God's message into one man's opinion. It is the easy way to disobey without admitting rebellion.
- Word outrun. They fled to Egypt to escape the Chaldeans and fell under the very sword that would have spared them in Judah.
- Word vindicated. They carried the prophet into Egypt with them. There his voice pronounced their doom, and the word they denied caught up with them.
So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, hearkened not unto the voice of Jehovah to abide in the land of Judah;
Jeremiah had just given God's answer to people who promised to obey it: stay in the land. Verse 4 records what they did instead, and "did not obey the voice of the LORD" is the verdict over the whole chapter.
The refusal in this verse did not begin here. The question these men brought to the prophet was never an open one.
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 ever going to God with our minds already made up. It is a serious affront to the Divine Majesty!
They had bound themselves with strong words: whatever God said, they would do it. Verse 4 shows what those words were worth.
Here the real state of the case comes clearly out. Pride and self-will were at work. Their vows and promises were false. Jeremiah says, "You have gone astray at the cost of your lives, 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.'" It would have been fine if God's answer had fallen in with their will. But it ran against them, so they rejected it altogether.
(These words come from Jeremiah 42:20. Mackintosh quotes an older wording there, "You dissembled in your hearts" — that is, they had not been honest.)
To remain in the land meant living under the king who had just crushed them. That was the sticking point.
Will was at work. The difficulty lay there. They trusted themselves. They did not trust God. Egypt was near, Nebuchadnezzar at a distance. The one who had chastised the apostate pride of Judah was offensive to them. They refused to bow to the word, or to trust the Lord's working in their favour.
Egypt was more than a place on the map. Kelly draws the line straight to us:
For Israel it was going down into Egypt. For us it is taking counsel in any difficulty from natural wisdom instead of from God. Israel sought that same human wisdom, and Egypt is its symbol in the ancient world.
The verse names Johanan first. He heads the list of those who disobey, and Scripture gives the group he stands with a striking label.
There is something contemptible about these leaders of the remnant. The Holy Spirit calls attention to the "proud men"! After what had happened, no one would have expected pride. They had been so humiliated, and their position at that moment was enough to humble them deeply! Yet some among them still seemed to take pride in being God's people.
"All the people" went, but not all of them chose it. Force put some of them on that road.
Those who believe can afford to be calm and submit. Suppose the hand of power forces them to go here or there. Then it is no longer their responsibility. The guilt lies with those who despise the word of the Lord. Until Jesus returns in glory, the faithful have to swim against the current. That is true above all of those entrusted with the testimony. Where violence overpowers them, they have to suffer.
Babylon held another group of Jews at the same time. Their story runs the opposite way.
These go down into Egypt, against the word of the Lord, and sword and famine and disease will consume them. God promises those at Babylon peace and prosperity and plenty for the time being. These carry Jeremiah with them into Egypt though he pronounces their doom... God at the beginning redeemed the people out of Egypt. Babylon became the place of their captivity after they turned away from the Lord. To return to Egypt was therefore fatal, but from Babylon there was deliverance.
- Asking — They sought guidance with the decision already taken. Going to God with a made-up mind is a serious affront to Him.
- Promising — Their promise to do whatever God said collapsed the moment His answer crossed their will. A promise only shows its worth when it costs.
- Refusing — Egypt was near and Nebuchadnezzar far away. They trusted themselves, not God. The same instinct in us takes counsel from natural wisdom instead of God.
- Leading — Johanan stands among "the proud men." Humbling circumstances did not make humble hearts. Their pride pulled a whole people down.
- Ending — God promised peace and deliverance to those in Babylon. Those who chose Egypt found sword, famine and disease. Going back to the place God once redeemed them from left no way home.
but Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations whither they had been driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah;
This verse records the moment leaders marched a rescued people out of the only land God had promised to bless. God had told Johanan and the captains to stay there; instead they took the returned exiles the other way, into Egypt.
Their promise to obey had sounded wholehearted. Commentators trace what went wrong to a will that was never surrendered.
One thing spoilt these fair words. The later history shows that underneath their good words self-will was at work. They had already decided to take their own course. ... Are there not those 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.
William Kelly points to what they trusted, and to what looked near.
Will was at work. The difficulty lay there. They trusted themselves. They did not trust God. Egypt was near, Nebuchadnezzar at a distance. The one who had punished the proud rebellion of Judah was offensive to them. They refused to bow to the word, or to trust the Lord to work for them.
The verse describes people who had come back from all the nations where they were driven. Their blessing came with one condition.
The Lord's way is very plain. If this little remnant want to be built up and established, and to enjoy the Lord's presence and His mercies, there is one condition they must meet. They must "remain in this land." However great the failure, however complete the ruin, there would still be blessing for a little remnant — a few out of many. But only so 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.
Notice who acts in this verse. It is not the people deciding; it is Johanan and the captains taking them.
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 should turn our eyes and hearts to the one unfailing Leader — to the Lord Himself! ... May the Lord be exalted before us more and more. So may we hold fast to Him though leaders and others fail, as they have done ever since the days of the apostles.
The same leader who had rescued them now ruined them, which writers note as the bitter irony of the chapter.
What a picture the Holy Spirit paints in chapters 42 and 43! The very leader who had been used to deliver the thankful remnant from Ishmael now leads them into Egypt, after pretending to want to know and obey the word of the Lord about them!
The following verse names the prophet and his companion Baruch among those taken. Commentators draw from this a rule about where guilt lies when force overrules faith.
Those who believe can afford to be calm and submit. Suppose the hand of power forces them to go here or there. Then it is no longer their responsibility. The guilt falls on those who despise the word of the Lord. Until Jesus returns in glory, the faithful have to swim against the current, above all those entrusted with the testimony. They must suffer where violence overpowers them.
Another part of Judah had gone to Babylon instead. The contrast shows why this move was fatal.
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, and sword and famine and plague will consume them. Those at Babylon have peace and prosperity and plenty promised to them for the time being. These carry Jeremiah with them into Egypt, though he pronounces their doom. The others have Ezekiel and Daniel with them in 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 go back to Egypt, then, was fatal, but from Babylon there was deliverance.
- Ground. Blessing hung on one thing — staying where God had placed them, however ruined the scene looked.
- Will. They left that ground through self-will, not ignorance. They had decided before they ever asked, and loud promises of obedience hid it.
- Sight. Egypt was near and Babylon far. They measured safety by distance, not by the word God had just given them.
- Leaders. Leaders can carry a whole company off God's ground. That is why our eyes belong on the one unfailing Leader, the Lord Himself.
- Direction. From Babylon there was deliverance. Egypt was the road with no way back. The direction they chose, not the hardship they bore, decided the outcome.
men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Nerijah;
Jeremiah had just delivered God's answer: stay in the land and live. Verse 6 names who the leaders took instead: the whole surviving community, down to the children. With them went the two men who had told them not to go.
The leaders had God's answer and did the opposite. One writer follows the group to the place where they settled.
Then the leaders did not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in the land. They took the remnant of Judah — all the people, including Jeremiah and Baruch — and led them down to Egypt. In the end they settled in Tahpanhes, which was in the northeastern part, on the road out of Egypt to Palestine.
Jeremiah and Baruch did not choose this journey. Force decided it for them. So who carries the blame?
Those who believe can afford to be calm and submit. If power forces them to go here or there, the responsibility is no longer theirs. The guilt belongs to those who despise the word of the Lord. Until Jesus returns in glory, the faithful have to swim against the current, and to suffer where violence overpowers them. This is true above all of those God has entrusted with the testimony.
The leaders could have left Jeremiah behind. They chose not to — and the reason turns out to be self-defeating.
Stubborn in their plan to the end, they rebel against God. They take Jeremiah and faithful Baruch with them, because they do not want to leave behind these witnesses of their disobedience and unbelief. They forget only one thing: they are carrying with them the Word that condemns them. To the end, Jeremiah faithfully uses the gift of prophecy that God had entrusted to him. At Tahpanhes, just as at Jerusalem, he is a witness of the true God.
Jeremiah had an alternative. Babylon's officials respected him, and he could have had a comfortable life there.
Nebuchadnezzar and his servants stood out in honouring Jeremiah. They were in sharp contrast with the priests, the false prophets, and even kings Jehoiachim and Zedekiah. Still, Jeremiah truly loved God's people, even at their lowest and in their ugly ingratitude to him. He could have gone to Babylon, where comfort and honour were certain. Instead he chose to suffer with the most despised people in the land. They behaved as badly as ever, and against his inspired warnings they carried him down into Egypt, rather than stay under the rule of Babylon.
At this moment two groups of Jewish survivors were alive: this one heading for Egypt, and the earlier captives in Babylon.
This short history is especially interesting. The story of this remnant is a complete contrast to the story of the remnant at Babylon. These people go down into Egypt against the word of the Lord, and sword and famine and disease will destroy them. Those at Babylon have peace and prosperity and plenty promised to them for the present. These people carry Jeremiah with them into Egypt, though he announces their doom. The others have Ezekiel and Daniel with them at Babylon, where Daniel prevails in prayer with God for their deliverance and restoration. God redeemed the people out of Egypt at the beginning, but Babylon became the place of their captivity after they had turned away from the Lord. So going back to Egypt was fatal, but from Babylon there was deliverance.
Egypt was no refuge. The place they stopped at held a brick kiln, and stones marked the spot.
Did not the brick kiln remind them of Israel's former slavery in Egypt? They had reached this spot again while trying to escape the rule of the king of Babylon, the Lord's servant! Had they escaped? Had they found the freedom they expected by disobeying the word of the prophet? God would send His servant Nebuchadnezzar to that very spot where the stones lay, and would set his throne on them!
- Counted. The captains took everyone left in Judah: men, women, children, the royal daughters, and the two faithful men, Jeremiah and Baruch.
- Carried. The leaders dragged the prophet along, so they carried with them the very Word that condemned them. Jeremiah kept testifying at Tahpanhes, just as he had at Jerusalem.
- Chosen. Jeremiah could have had honour in Babylon. He chose to suffer with the people who had rejected him.
- Compelled. When force decides where a believer goes, the guilt belongs to those who despised God's word. The believer can stay calm.
- Contrasted. Babylon held a captive remnant with deliverance ahead. Egypt held a self-willed one with none. The road you choose under fear decides where it ends.
and they came into the land of Egypt for they hearkened not unto the voice of Jehovah. And they came as far as Tahpanhes.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
Jeremiah had warned the surviving Jews not to run to Egypt. They went anyway, and dragged him and Baruch along with them. Now God speaks to His prophet again, in a foreign town at the edge of Egypt. What He says will reach them in the very place they picked as their escape.
The leaders made Jeremiah and Baruch come with them. One writer names the one thing they overlooked.
They are stubborn in their purpose to the end. They revolt against God and take Jeremiah and faithful Baruch with them, because they do not want to leave behind these witnesses to their disobedience and their unbelief. They forget only one thing: they are carrying with them the Word that condemns them. To the end, Jeremiah keeps faithfully using the gift of prophecy that God had entrusted to him. At Tahpanhes, just as at Jerusalem, he is a witness of the true God.
Jeremiah was timid by nature. Being dragged along did not stop him speaking.
But this does not silence the prophet, timid and sensitive as he naturally was… The "proud men" never guessed that the man they were carrying along with them would soon speak in Egypt to announce their doom. And it would come by the hand of the very conqueror they hoped to shut out, using Egypt's king as an unbreakable wall against him. A vain hope, to escape the hand of the God they despised!
One writer points to what has been dug up at Tahpanhes, and to what the older phrase "brick kiln" means.
Then the Lord told Jeremiah to take great stones and bury them at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, so that all the men of Judah could see it. In 1886 Professor Petrie, an expert on ancient Egypt, dug up a brick pavement at Tahpanhes in front of what seems to have been a palace. This was probably the place where Jeremiah hid the stones. The ruin was Kasr el Bint Jehudi, which means "the palace of the daughter of Judah." That was plainly the place given to the daughters of Zedekiah. The word brick-kiln means a pavement of bricks.
God had the stones hidden in full view of the men who had come to Egypt for safety.
At the very spot they had now reached, at Tahpanhes, God tells the prophet to hide some great stones before their eyes, in the brick kiln at the entry of Pharaoh's house. What a powerful sign this was! Did the brick kiln not remind them of Israel's former slavery in Egypt? They had come back to this spot while trying to escape the rule of the king of Babylon — the servant of the Lord! Had they escaped? Had disobeying the prophet's word given them the freedom they expected? To that very spot, where these stones now lay, God would send His servant Nebuchadnezzar and set his throne on them!
God calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant. One writer weighs that title against the one Zedekiah once held.
It was no longer Zedekiah, My servant, but it was Nebuchadnezzar, My servant. The children of Israel and of Judah were about to lose their special place as His nation, too. It was now a question, not of being His servant as a special honour, but merely in providence. Nebuchadnezzar, the idolatrous Gentile, could be His servant in this way as much as any other.
Egypt looked like an exit. It turned out to be the same road, further along.
God's discipline is not always immediate but it is always perfectly designed, proportionate and effective. If we run away from discipline the problem that caused it will catch up with us (and the outcome is likely to be even worse). Had these people remained in Jerusalem and accepted the Babylonian yoke, they could have lived quietly in their own country. But, having fled to Egypt, they were still in Nebuchadnezzar's reach and would die.
One writer traces where that choice always ends.
So it is always. Under God's righteous government our sin soon becomes our own chastening and the world's grief. What our blindness built on as solid rock turns out to be quicksand — the plaything of waves and winds on the day of reckoning, which comes fast.
- The word follows — God speaks again in Tahpanhes. The men who carried Jeremiah off were carrying the word that condemned them.
- The word marks the spot — great stones sunk in the brick pavement at Pharaoh's gate, a sign set where Israel's old slavery began.
- The word names its agent — God calls Nebuchadnezzar, the king they ran from, His servant. That was providence, not honour, and Israel was about to lose its special place.
- The word overtakes — discipline you dodge is only discipline delayed. Egypt lay well inside the reach of the king they feared.
- The word calls home — the way is not ours to choose. Staying where God says is safer than any escape we pick for ourselves.
Take great stones in thy hand, and hide them in the clay in the brick-kiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the Jews,
The people who asked Jeremiah to pray for guidance ignored the answer. Then they dragged him into Egypt with them. At Tahpanhes God speaks to him again — not in a speech, but in an act, with stones, clay and a royal doorway. Why does God ask His prophet to bury stones where no one will see them, and what does the hiding place itself say to the men watching him do it?
God gives this sign to people who already knew the safe path and refused it. One writer traces the whole disaster back to that refusal:
At one point, those who were told to stay in the city decided to escape the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar by fleeing to Egypt. Gedaliah was the governor the Babylonians had set over the few left in Jerusalem, and he had been murdered. At the last minute, it occurred to them that they had not asked the Lord whether this was His way for them. So they quickly asked Jeremiah to consult Him. When the answer came, and was negative, they refused to listen.
They thought distance from Babylon meant safety. The opposite was true:
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 contrary.
Commentators describe the spot differently. One takes the "brick-kiln" as a paved area and points to a dig there:
In 1886 the Egyptologist Professor Petrie dug at Tahpanhes. He found a brick pavement in front of what looks like a palace. This was probably the place where Jeremiah hid the stones. The ruin is called Kasr el Bint Jehudi, which means "the palace of the daughter of Judah." The word brick-kiln means a pavement of bricks.
Another hears in the brick-kiln a reminder of Israel's slavery in Egypt, and sees what God would later set on those stones:
How eloquent was this sign! Did not the brick kiln remind them of Israel's former slavery in Egypt? They had reached this spot again in their effort to escape the dominion of the king of Babylon, the servant of the Lord! Had they escaped? Had they found the liberty they expected by disobeying the word of the prophet in this way? To that very spot where these stones were placed, God would send His servant Nebuchadnezzar and set his throne upon them! Egypt and its wealth and its goods would be handed over to him: and so it happened.
God tells Jeremiah to bury the stones "in the sight of the men of Judah." The stones vanish into the clay. The witnesses do not, and neither does the word tied to them:
Is this not a striking message? The stones would have been well fixed in the mortar as a solemn witness of these words. Some time later Jeremiah's prophecy was fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar came and took Egypt — the same Nebuchadnezzar they had been afraid of in Jerusalem so that they ran away from him.
The proud men carried Jeremiah along with them as baggage. They were carrying their own sentence too:
"All the proud men" never guessed what they were doing. They were carrying with them the one man whose voice would soon speak in Egypt to pronounce their doom. And that doom would come by the hand of the very conqueror they hoped to shut out, using the power of the king of the south as a wall he could not cross. Vain hope to escape the hand of the God they despised!
The principle behind the sign reaches far past Tahpanhes:
So it is always. In righteous government our sin soon becomes our own chastening and the world's sorrow. What our blindness built on as solid rock turns out to be quicksand, tossed by waves and winds in the swift-coming day when God comes to judge.
The stones speak to anyone tempted to run from a hard situation instead of facing it:
God's discipline does not always come at once. But it is always perfectly designed, proportionate and effective. If we run away from discipline the problem that caused it will catch up with us (and the outcome is likely to be even worse).
The positive side is not restlessness but staying put where God has placed us:
This is an important lesson for believers who wander here and there in their restless search for an easy path. They do not abide in Christ where God has set them. We are not left to choose our own way. To do otherwise is to increase the difficulties for ourselves and others. To abide in Him is to assure blessing and increase for ourselves and others also.
- Refusal. They asked for God's answer, disliked it, and went to Egypt anyway. God sends this sign to people already running from a word they knew.
- Place. The stones go into the clay at Pharaoh's doorway. One writer links the spot to an excavated brick pavement by a palace. Another hears in the brick-kiln a reminder of Israel's slavery in Egypt.
- Witness. Hidden in the clay, yet buried "in the sight of the men of Judah," the stones stand as a silent witness to a word that later came true.
- Throne. God would set Nebuchadnezzar's throne on those buried stones. The shelter they ran to became the seat of their judge.
- Lesson. Run from discipline and it follows you; abide where God has set you, and the blessing reaches others as well as yourself.
and say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones which I have hidden, and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.
The people Jeremiah warned have dragged him into Egypt, and at their first stop God gives him one more sign: bury great stones outside Pharaoh's palace. Then he must name the king whose throne will stand on them — and God calls that pagan conqueror His own servant.
Tahpanhes itself carried a message for people who had just run from Babylon to Egypt.
At the very spot they then reached, at Tahpanhes, God tells the prophet to hide some great stones in front of them. They were to go in the brick kiln at the entrance of Pharaoh's house. What a powerful sign this was! Didn't the brick kiln remind them of Israel's former slavery in Egypt? They had reached this spot again in their effort to escape the rule of the king of Babylon, the servant of the Lord! Had they escaped? Had they found the liberty they expected by disobeying the word of the prophet? To that very spot where these stones were placed, God would send His servant Nebuchadnezzar and set his throne on them! He would spread his royal canopy over them! Egypt, with its wealth and its goods, would be given into his hands — and so it happened.
The phrase marks a change in who holds God's commission. God had called Israel's kings His servants; now that honour passes to a foreign conqueror.
That last phrase is a remarkable word. It was no longer Zedekiah, My servant, but Nebuchadnezzar, My servant. The children of Israel and of Judah were about to lose their special place as His nation too. It was now a question, not of being His servant as a special honour, but merely in providence. Nebuchadnezzar was a Gentile who worshipped idols, yet he could be His servant in this way as much as anyone else.
Another writer traces this change to the start of a whole era of world rule by Gentile kings:
God speaks as Creator, and in His sovereignty He appoints Nebuchadnezzar as head over the nations... not for ever, but for a time. God appointed a new form of government, because Jerusalem had failed. The rule of God through the house of David was to pass away. The Lord chooses an imperial head from among the Gentiles. He makes Nebuchadnezzar His servant; with him and his rule begin the times of the Gentiles.
The refugees went to Egypt for safety. The throne on the stones says Nebuchadnezzar would arrive there too.
The prophet announced what would fall on the Jews who tried to escape by going down into Egypt. He showed them that there they would only meet more trouble at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. They could have stayed quietly in the land, under the authority of the Chaldean king whom God had placed over them. Then they would have been safe. But they chose human policy and thought it was safer to go down into Egypt, and it proved to be the opposite.
Another writer turns this into a general rule about God's discipline:
God's discipline does not always come at once. But it is always perfectly designed, fair in measure and effective. If we run away from discipline, the problem that caused it will catch up with us — and the outcome is likely to be even worse.
A dig may have found the very spot, and history records the invasion that followed.
In 1886 the Egyptologist Professor Petrie dug at Tahpanhes. He found a brick pavement in front of what seems to be a palace. It was probably the place where Jeremiah hid the stones... The words "brick kiln" mean a pavement of bricks. Then, after burying the stones, he announced that Nebuchadnezzar would come and set his throne there too. He would conquer Egypt, strike it and burn the idol temples there. Such an invasion took place about 568 BC, when the Egyptian king Amasis was defeated.
One writer reads the whole episode as a rule, not a one-off case:
So it always is. In righteous government our sin soon becomes our own chastening and the world's sorrow. What our blindness built on as rock turns out to be quicksand. Waves and winds toss it about in the day of reckoning, which comes fast.
- Servant — Judah's kings once wore this title. Now it rests on a pagan conqueror. Nebuchadnezzar serves God in providence, not in piety.
- Throne — Jeremiah buried the stones; the throne set on them opens an age when Gentile rulers govern, not David's house — and only for a time.
- Kiln — The brick kiln recalled Israel's old slavery in Egypt. They ran for freedom to the place where they had once been slaves.
- Reach — Fleeing the rod does not shorten it. At home, under Babylon's yoke, they would have been safe. In Egypt they met more of Nebuchadnezzar.
- Rock — What unbelief treats as solid ground proves to be quicksand. The one safe place is the one God appoints, however hard it looks.
And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt such as are for death to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.
In Egypt, Jeremiah buried stones in the ground as a sign. The king of Babylon would set his throne on that spot — and this verse says what his coming would mean for the people who had fled there to be safe.
These people left Judah for one reason: they were afraid of the Babylonians. One writer traces where that fear took them.
They take refuge in Egypt to escape Nebuchadnezzar, but they only fall under the sword that would have spared them in Judea, if they had stayed there and submitted to the king. In Egypt they give themselves up to idolatry, so that the wrath of God might come upon them to the end.
The sword was never their real danger. Disobedience was.
The proud men who took Jeremiah with them to Egypt had no idea who they were carrying.
The "proud men" never expected what they were carrying with them. It was the one man whose voice would soon speak in Egypt to announce their doom. And it would come by the hand of the very conqueror they hoped to shut out, using the power of the king of the south as a wall he could not cross. What a vain hope — to escape the hand of the God they despised!
The one who comes and strikes is not acting on his own. God gives him a title that runs through the whole book.
Nebuchadnezzar, whom the Lord calls "My Servant," is spoken of about forty times. He is raised up to carry out His judgment on Israel, and on other nations too. The Lord says, "I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, My Servant: … and all nations shall serve him." Dominion is given to him by God; it is taken away from Israel.
The verse sorts people into three groups: pestilence, captivity, and the sword. Older translations read "death" where the ESV reads "pestilence." One writer draws out the principle behind that sorting.
So it is always. Under God's righteous government our sin soon becomes our own chastening and the world's grief. What our blindness built on as rock turns out to be quicksand, tossed by waves and winds in the day of visitation that comes so quickly.
This was not a threat that stayed in the air. One writer points to how it turned out in history.
Then, after burying the stones, he announced that Nebuchadnezzar would come and set his throne there too, that he would conquer Egypt, strike it, and burn the idol temples there. Such an invasion took place about 568 B.C., when the Egyptian king Amasis was defeated.
The verse has a practical edge. It shows what happens when people run from correction instead of taking it.
God's discipline is not always immediate, but it is always perfectly designed, proportionate and effective. If we run away from discipline, the problem that caused it will catch up with us (and the outcome is likely to be even worse). Had these people remained in Jerusalem and accepted the Babylonian yoke, they could have lived quietly in their own country. But having fled to Egypt, they were still within Nebuchadnezzar's reach and would die.
- Flight. They crossed a border to escape Nebuchadnezzar. He came to Egypt anyway, so the border bought them nothing.
- Servant. The Lord calls him "My Servant" and gives him dominion. The invading army is God's instrument, not Egypt's bad luck.
- Sorting. Each group gets its portion: pestilence, captivity, the sword. This is God's righteous government, where sin becomes its own chastening.
- Reversal. Egypt looked like rock. It proved to be quicksand, and the king they sheltered under was defeated.
- Return. Run from discipline and the cause of it follows you. Staying and taking it is the safer road.
And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive; and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.
The people Jeremiah warned have dragged him into Egypt, to the border town of Tahpanhes, where they thought Babylon could never reach them. There he announces fire on Egypt's temples — so whose hand lights it, and what becomes of a refuge chosen against God's word?
The wording divides the act in two. God says He will kindle the fire; the king does the burning. Jeremiah's book keeps giving this foreign king a startling title.
Nebuchadnezzar, whom the Lord calls "My Servant," appears about forty times. The Lord raised him up to carry out His judgment on Israel, and on other nations too. The Lord says, "Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant… All the nations shall serve him." God gives him dominion and takes it away from Israel.
The fire falls on temples, and the gods inside go into captivity like prisoners. One writer dates the invasion that carried this out and names the sun temples involved.
Jeremiah announced that Nebuchadnezzar would conquer Egypt, strike it, and burn the idol temples there. Such an invasion took place about 568 B.C., when the Egyptian King Amasis was defeated. The pillars mentioned in verse 13 are obelisks, and Beth-Shemesh means "the house of the Sun" (Heliopolis or On).
The ESV has Nebuchadnezzar cleaning out Egypt like a shepherd cleaning his cloak; older translations have him wearing the land like a garment. Either way the land is his to handle, and he walks away in peace. Jeremiah hid great stones in the brick kiln at the palace gate as a sign.
Did the brick kiln not remind them of Israel's old slavery in Egypt? They had come back to this spot in their effort to escape the rule of the king of Babylon, the Lord's servant! Had they escaped? Had they found the liberty they expected by disobeying the word of the prophet? To that very spot where these stones were placed God would send His servant Nebuchadnezzar and set his throne on them! His royal pavilion would be spread over them! Egypt and its wealth and its goods would be given into his hands: and it was so.
What does Egypt stand for, and why should its wealth fall to this king?
Egypt pictures the world — the place God rescued His people from by His grace, and to seek its help in anything is a serious offence in His sight… The Lord considered that wages were due to Nebuchadnezzar for his service in destroying Tyre. That wealthy trading city did not give its captors rich plunder, because Tyrian ships had carried a great deal of treasure away to the west. The wealth of Egypt was the Lord's payment to the man He used to carry out His righteous judgements. That wealth included the silver and gold Pharaoh Necho had carried there from Jerusalem (Ezek. 29:18).
The men who forced Jeremiah into Egypt expected to find safety there.
Little did "all the proud men" expect what they were carrying along with them. They had brought the one man whose voice would so soon speak out in Egypt to pronounce their doom. And it would come by the hand of the very conqueror they hoped to shut out, using the power of the king of the south as a wall he could not pass. Vain hope to escape the hand of the God they despised!
God corrects His own people on the same principle.
God's discipline does not always come at once. But it is always perfectly designed, rightly measured and effective. If we run away from discipline, the problem that caused it will catch up with us. The outcome is likely to be even worse. Had these people stayed in Jerusalem and accepted the Babylonian yoke, they could have lived quietly in their own country. But having fled to Egypt, they were still within Nebuchadnezzar's reach and would die.
The pull to move somewhere easier did not end with the people in this chapter.
This is an important lesson for believers who go here and there in restless efforts to find an easy path, and who do not remain in Christ where God has set them. We are not left to choose our own way; we are to stay in the path of God's will and not depart from it. There are difficulties, no doubt. There were difficulties with this remnant. We are still to remain in Christ. To do otherwise is to increase the difficulties for ourselves and others.
- God's fire. God Himself lights the blaze in Egypt's temples; the army only carries out what He has decided.
- God's servant. The Lord calls Babylon's king His servant. He raised him up to judge, and gave him the rule Israel had lost.
- God's reach. He handles the land like a shepherd handling his cloak, takes its wealth as wages for destroying Tyre, and walks away untouched.
- No escape. They ran from Nebuchadnezzar and ran straight into his throne. Run from correction and the trouble follows you, worse than before.
- Stay put. At home under the yoke they could have lived in peace. Hold the path God has set; do not hunt for an easier one.
And he shall break the pillars of Beth-shemesh, which is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire.
The people who begged Jeremiah for God's word then refused it and took him down into Egypt with them. At Tahpanhes he buries stones in the pavement, a sign that Babylon's throne will follow them there. His message ends not with armies or palaces but with smashed stone pillars and burning temples. So what was God's real quarrel with Egypt?
The ESV calls the place Heliopolis; older translations keep the Hebrew name, Beth-shemesh. The name itself says what went on there:
An idolatrous temple in Egypt, Jeremiah 43:13. Because its name means "house of the sun," people take it to be the same as On, or Heliopolis, a place linked with sun-worship.
One writer names the pillars and dates the invasion that fulfilled this word:
Then, after burying the stones, he announced that Nebuchadnezzar would come and set his throne there too. He would conquer Egypt, strike it, and burn the idol temples there. Such an invasion took place about 568 BC, when the Egyptian king Amasis was defeated. The pillars mentioned in verse 13 are obelisks, and Beth-Shemesh means "the house of the Sun" (Heliopolis or On).
Why do the temples get the last word in the sentence? Commenting on a similar prophecy against Egypt, one writer traces this back to the night of the passover:
It is with the gods of Egypt, as at first so now at last, that God's main controversy lies. This was before Him when the destroyer went through the land and struck the firstborn on the night of the passover. It is before Him here when He adds that there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt.
God calls the man who does this breaking His own servant. That title had belonged to Zedekiah, Judah's king:
That is a remarkable word. It was no longer Zedekiah, My servant, but Nebuchadnezzar, My servant. The children of Israel and of Judah were about to lose their special place as His nation, too. Being His servant was now a matter of providence, not of special honour. Nebuchadnezzar, a Gentile who worshipped idols, could be His servant in this way as much as anyone else.
The spot chosen for the stones carried a message of its own:
How eloquent this sign was! Did the brick kiln not remind them of Israel's former slavery in Egypt? They had reached this spot again in their effort to escape the rule of the king of Babylon, the servant of the Lord! Had they escaped? Had they found the liberty they expected by disobeying the word of the prophet? God would send His servant Nebuchadnezzar to the very spot where these stones lay, and set his throne on them!
They carried the prophet into Egypt with them, and with him they carried their own sentence:
"All the proud men" never expected that they were carrying along with them the one whose voice would so soon speak in Egypt to pronounce their doom. And that doom would come by the hand of the very conqueror they hoped to shut out, using the power of the king of the south as a barrier no one could pass. What a vain hope, to escape the hand of the God they despised!
One writer applies this to anyone tempted to escape a hard situation by turning to the world:
If people think that by going into the world they will escape trouble, they make a great mistake. We get tired of strife and divisions and weakness, but going into the world does not improve matters.
- Sun. The Heliopolis of this verse is Beth-shemesh, "house of the sun." Also called On, it was Egypt's centre of sun-worship, and its pillars were obelisks.
- Gods. Breaking those pillars shows where God's controversy really lay. It was with the gods of Egypt, from the night of the passover to the last.
- Servant. The hand that breaks them is Nebuchadnezzar's, and God calls him "My servant." The title is not an honour here but providence, once Judah had lost its place.
- Sign. The stones hidden in the brick pavement at Tahpanhes marked the exact spot where Babylon's throne would stand. The invasion came about 568 BC.
- Escape. Those who ran to Egypt to escape Nebuchadnezzar carried both the prophet and their sentence with them. No border keeps out the God whose word they despised.