Jeremiah 44:1-30 – Have it Your Way

Read Jeremiah 44:1-30

stairway in black & white appearing to go into the sky

God loves these people despite the fact they turn on him so blatantly! I feel sorry for Jeremiah being caught up in the flight from Judah to Egypt. I keep hoping that he is one of the ones who’ll get away and be able to return to Judah, escaping the death and suffering his people will encounter because of their choice to continue with the idols.

What were these people thinking? What was it about idol worship that was so attractive? Maybe it was easy and helped them “fit in” with their neighbors. How could they disrespect God on purpose? Can you sense Jeremiah’s own hostility toward his fellow Judeans? This will be Jeremiah’s last address to the rebellious Jews in Egypt.

Jeremiah 43:1-13 – Choosing the Dud!

Read Jeremiah 43:1-13

looking down on feet on the street with arrows going straight or turning left or right

Do you remember the show, “Let’s Make a Deal”? The premise was that there were always a few good deals but many more duds. People had to make choices without having any idea which was which. The people hearing Jeremiah’s words had a choice before them: stay put with God’s blessing or leave for Egypt and face doom. They knew which was the “dud” but chose it anyway.

The people wanted to do their own thing so much they made the bad assumption Jeremiah was lying about what God said. Anybody who knows Jeremiah’s character would also know he would never give false testimony. I’m sure there were plenty of times when Jeremiah would rather have delivered an entirely different message. God knew from the beginning Jeremiah would be a reliable one to speak for him.

Jeremiah 42:1-22 – Ask God First

Read Jeremiah 42:1-22

Ask Knock Matthew 7 words against sun shining through clouds

Is it easier to ask permission or seek forgiveness? I can remember as a youth wanting to do something that instinctively I knew my parents would forbid. So, if I were to go through with it, I’d be asking for forgiveness instead. That is certainly not easy! While I was a rebellious teen, I did try to ask for permission as often as possible!

In our passage today, we see the leaders seeking God’s input to their situation. The people approached Jeremiah and asked him to pray to God. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? But it was almost as if their fingers were crossed behind their backs. They were putting on a good show, weren’t they?

Jeremiah 40:13-41:18 – What a Gift!

Read Jeremiah 40:13-41:18

Why do you think Gedaliah didn’t believe that Ishmael would be plotting against him? Was it that hard to believe that his own people would rise up? Clearly Gedaliah was in denial believing that he was somehow safe because of his association with the Babylonians. Apparently, that same association made him unpopular and perhaps an easy target.

Gedaliah’s own military leader tried to warn him that Ishmael was being used by the king of Ammon to kill Gedaliah. I wrote about this event from the perspective in 2 Kings 25. We now see what happened through Jeremiah’s eyes. If the target was the newly appointed governor, there was collateral damage when Ishmael went on a killing spree.

Jeremiah 40:1-12 – Next Chapter

Read Jeremiah 40:1-12

little girl sitting on big pile of colorful books as she reads one herself

We now have a behind the scenes kind of peek at how Jeremiah’s jail break took place. How surreal that must have been to be Jeremiah and to know that God’s wrath had finally come. After all those years of trying to get the people to listen. Now it’s happening, and Jeremiah is in chains! Would he be forgotten? Would he die?

The wait to be found alive was excruciating. Have you ever felt so tormented? Like being unable to get out of a situation gracefully, being chained to something of little value, or feeling like you’re invisible. Those are the times that lead into a new chapter. Something is going to change. For Jeremiah, it was freedom.