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.