Jeremiah 40:1-16.  Today we start a new section that is about Jerusalem after the fall in 586 BC.  The previous section contained messages involving kings who reigned under the control of Nebuchadnezzar.  The last three chapter involved events during the final siege of Jerusalem. This next section contains chapters 40-45.

In today’s reading we are told that Jeremiah had received a message from God.  Remember that this part of the book was written or put together by someone other that Jeremiah, probably his secretary Baruch; that is why it is written in the “third person”.  Interestingly we don’t hear Jeremiah speak until chapter 42.  First the author sets the stage; gives us the background for the message from God.  In chapter 39 we saw the military leader of Nebuchadnezzar’s forces in Jerusalem release Jeremiah into the hands of a guy named Gedaliah.  It is interesting that Nebuchadnezzar even knew who Jeremiah was.  Jeremiah had sent letters to the exiles already in Babylon and perhaps he had heard about him in that way.  We also know that Nebuchadnezzar took leading members of the people he conquered and had them become advisors to him.  Daniel was an advisor to him and it is very likely that Daniel knew of Jeremiah and his messages.  In verse 1 of today’s reading we see that Jeremiah is in chains in Ramah among the people who were gong to be taken to Babylon.  Jeremiah was in the care of Gedaliah but that does not mean that Gedaliah controlled his every move.  Jeremiah was “among the people’ when we last saw him in Jeremiah 39:14.  He took his role as God’s messenger to the people very seriously.  He probably traveled the five miles from Jerusalem to Ramah to give the exiles one last talk; one last encouragement that this would not be forever; their kids would come back but they should settle down in Babylon when they arrived (Jeremiah 29:4-14).  The guards watching the prisoners might have though he was stirring the people up (maybe they did get stirred up, they had always reacted badly to him) and put him in chains.  However it happened, Jeremiah was in chains at Ramah with the other people of Judah who were waiting to be deported.  Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard (the same guy who released him in Jerusalem from the ‘court of the guardhouse”) found him in Ramah and released him.

In verses 2-5 we have what Nebuzaradan said to Jeremiah when he released him (again) and it is astounding.  In verse 2 he tells Jeremiah that Yahweh is the one who destroyed Jerusalem and Judah, just like he promised.  In verse 3 he even tells why it all happened, the people of Judah had missed Gods mark for them (the literal meaning of ‘sinned”); they had not listened to and obeyed God.  In verse 4 Nebuzaradan then told Jeremiah that he was letting him go and he was free to go wherever he wanted to go.  He could go the Babylon and be personally protected by Nebuzaradan or go anywhere else in the empire he wanted to go (and Mario Lopez though that Subway Black Gift Card (unlimited free sandwiches at Subway) was cool).  In verse 5 Jeremiah seems to be “lingering” with the people at Ramah and Nebuzaradan encourages him to go back to Jerusalem and the care of Gedaliah.  Jeremiah must have decided that that was what he was going to do because he left, but not before Nebuzaradan gave him some food and a gift.  Maybe this story is the “word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD”; maybe it was a personal message to him about what to do; where to go. We also see in verse 5 that Gedaliah was made governor of the “cities of Judah” (this would be a province of Babylon, think county

In verse 6 Jeremaih went and found Gedaliah in a town called Mizpah.  Archeologists aren’t really sure exactly here it was but it was north of Jerusalem near Bethlehem and was the city where the very first king of Israel was crowned (1 Samuel 10:17-27).  With Jerusalem in ruin evidently this was to be the new capital of the province, Gedalaih wqs there with the people who were going to be left behind.

In verses 7-12 we see that some people, including soldiers and military leaders had escaped when Nebuchadnezzar showed up.  Some of them were wandering around in the hills and other had gone to neighboring kingdoms like Moab, Ammon, and Edom.  These are called countries but this whole region was under the control of Nebuchadnezzar to one degree or another.  You might think of them as states.  These people heard that Gedaliah had been made governor by Nebuchadnezzar.  The military men came to him to see if he would be open to their return and protect them.  In verses 9-10 Gedaliah assured them that they didn’t need to be afraid of the Chaldeans (Babylonians) and that he would stay in the new capital and stick up for them if and when representatives of Nebuchadnezzar visited the area.  He told them all they needed to worry about was coming home and picking grapes and other fruit that was getting ripe on the trees in Judah.  Evidently they stayed.  When the rest of the Israelites in the surrounding “countries” heard that Gedaliah had been made governor over the poor people left behind they also returned to Judah to live.  In verse 12 we are told that they  came home and picked grapes and fruit in “abundance”.

Hebrew writers are master storytellers and the author of Jeremiah is showing great skill here, we have a picture of many displaced people coming home to an almost perfect life.  They’ve been on the run but now they have their pick of houses and literally their pick of the grapes and fruit.  He consistently says “summer fruit”; schools out, Nebuchadnezzar is gone, and life is easy.  It’s like a movie where the camera is moving from person to person to person and they are all happy, laughing, joking, kidding around and then the camera zooms out out out and you see a dark alien ship or an asteroid or some other ominous threat, in the distance but coming.  Verses 13-16 are that dark threat.  In verse 13 a military leader named Johanan, with the other leaders, comes to Gedaliah and warns him of a threat.  A neighboring “king” has hired one of them, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, to kill Gedaliah.  We are not told why this king, Baalis, wants Gedaliah dead or why Ishmael is willing to do the deed but the commanders inform Gedaliah, none the less.  In verse 14 Gedaliah basically tells them, “No way, dudes!”  He was probably looking at all the happy full people around him; all the people who had been on the run and now were enjoying peace and plenty, and figured there was no way anyone would want him dead.  But the seed has been planted, who is right, Gedaliah or the commanders?  We will have to wait until tomorrow to find out.  There are some possibilities as to why Baalis and Ishmael would work together against Gedaliah.  In Jeremiah 27:3 Jeremiah warned several kings, who had sent representatives to Jerusalem, not to listen to their “prophets” and advisors and not to resist Nebuchadnezzar, his son, nor his Grand-son.  Ammon is named in that group.  The advisors were probably in Jerusalem to form an alliance against Nebuchadnezzar.  If Baalis was the king of Ammon at that time he may have been quite unhappy with Jeremiah and the Jewish leadership.  Gedaliah, in his mind, would have been a puppet of Nebuchadnezzar and worth killing.  Ishmael we are told was the son of Nethaniah.  In tomorrow’s reading we will find out more about his family and get some clue as to why he might want to help Baalis.

A couple of things stand out to me from this story.  First I’m very impressed at how dedicated to the people Jeremiah was.  He gets released from prison and put in the care of the new governor of the territory.  He had warned and warned and warned the people and their leaders about this invasion for years.  Now it was done and most people would have thought that they were done too.  And think about this, it 586 BC and Jeremiah has been actively delivering messages from God since 627 BC, that’s 40 years, and most of them hard, especially the most recent ones.  He is at least 60 years old.  Nebuzaradan offered him a good life in Babylon, the people left behind were going to have a good life too, but Jeremiah was a prophet, a messenger from God, as long as he lived he seemed to feel that that was his deal.  Out of prison and out to the deportation site to help the deportees cope with what was coming.  And of course more trouble.  Go to Babylon and retire?  “No way, got to stay with the people here to keep their focus on God and His plans!”  Jeremiah had a clear picture of who he was; of who God wanted him to be; and he was going to be that until his last breath.  Amazing dedication; amazing vision.

I’m also impressed at how far his influence had reached; his commitment to God had even infiltrated the highest ranks of Nebuchadnezzar’s army.  Nebuzaradan knew that Yahweh had performed; had given his “boss” the win.  Even Nebuchadnezzar, THE KING OF BABYLON, knew of Jeremiah and his message.  It’s amazing how far faithfulness to God can go.

I think we also need to look at the message.  God was using a foreign power to help the Israelites get back on the right path.  That part involved being an example of all that God is and of mankind’s situation with respect to God  (the broken relationship with God thing, see “The Old Testament Connection”).  We can get on wrong paths too.  We need to be careful not to reject the people around us, even non-beleivers, because they may be what God is using to get us on the right path again.  On Friday nights we are looking at the life of a missionary to the jungles of Columbia, Bruce Olsen; Bruchko.  While other missionaries were pushing tribal people to become Americanized Bruce came to realize that much of their culture was not wrong but was just different.  There is nothing better about shoes and scrambled eggs as opposed to bare feet and monkey meat.  By being isolated with the people he wanted to tell about Jesus, he came to see and learn about them and their culture and then God gave him the insight to see and understand that these people already knew bits and pieces of the real spiritual story.  What Bruce needed to do was fit those pieces together and then add the final piece, Jesus.  Bruce learned and was effective before God because he listened to God and to those tribal people whom God loved and used in his life.  Of course God’s word is always the final say, it’s our ruler to measure all other information with, but God uses other “voices” to talk to us too (Romans 1:16-17, 19-20; 2:14-15).

God help me be a faithful servant of you.  Let me know the things you have for me to do and help me courageously do them.  Help me not look for the easy life but be faithful to whatever life you have for me.  Let my influence be good and reach farther than I could even imagine.  Be honored by all that I am and do.  Thank you for providing for all of us.  Thank you for a way back home and thank you for providing all that we need as we live here and now for you.