So they said to Jeremiah, “Let the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you. Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.” (Jeremiah 42:5-6)

Obeying God Whether We Like It Or Not

The fall of Jerusalem was a devasting blow to the people of God. The final days leading up to the capture of Jerusalem were filled with uncertainty and chaos. Jeremiah had been imprisoned in a dungeon filled with mire before being rescued by Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian. Nebuchadnezzar broke through the walls of Jerusalem as King Zedekiah and the nobles fled. The Babylonians caught the king and nobles of Judah and brought them back to Nebuchadnezzar. The nobles were killed, and the sons of Zedekiah were killed before his ears. They then put out the eyes of Zedekiah and placed him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar set up Gedaliah as governor over the cities of Judah. The governor urged the people to obey the will of the Babylonians so there would be peace in the land. Johanan, the son of Kareah, warned Gedaliah that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, sought to kill him. The governor discounted the story and denied the request to kill Ishmael. In the seventh month, Ishmael came with ten men to dine with Gedaliah and the men of nobility. Suddenly, Ishmael and his men rose and killed the governor and all the Jews with him and the Chaldeans. The next day, eighty men came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria to bring offerings to the Lord. Ishmael brought the men into the city and killed them all. He cast their bodies into a pit and carried away captive all the people in Mizpah and the king’s daughters.

Johanan and all the captains of the forces heard what Ishmael had done, so they went against Ishmael and took all the people back. Afterward, the victors came to Jeremiah to know how the Lord wanted them to go. The prophet agreed to inquire of the Lord, and the saying pleased Johanan and the captains. They promised whatever the word of the Lord told them, they would obey, whether good or bad. Ten days later, Jeremiah called Johanan, the captains, and the people to hear the word of the Lord. God told Jeremiah to tell the people to remain in the land and not go to Egypt. They should not be afraid of the king of Babylon because God was with them. Jeremiah warned the people if they disobeyed the word of the Lord and went to Egypt, the wrath of God would fall upon them.

After Jeremiah finished, Johanan and the leaders accused Jeremiah of speaking falsely. They refused to hear the word of the Lord and took Jeremiah and the people to Egypt, where God had forbidden them to go. They had promised they would do whatever God told them, good or bad, but then turned against the word of the Lord because they wanted to go to Egypt. God commanded the people to remain in Judah, and they refused. They told Jeremiah they would not listen to him any longer, and they would do what they wanted to do. The heart of the people would not listen to the word of the Lord.

At first, they said the Lord was true and faithful, and they would do anything God told them to do, whether it was pleasing or displeasing. They lied. When Jeremiah told them to remain in Judah, they refused to obey the voice of the Lord. Their hearts were not loyal to God, His word, and the prophet Jeremiah. The slightest winds of doubt often sway the fickle will of man. They seemed faithful but, in the end, failed to listen and suffered greatly by the hand of the Lord. Men promise to obey the Lord no matter what, and then when they find out what they must do, they deny him. A rich ruler came to Jesus with aspirations of eternal life but, when told the cost, turned away. How often that happens today! Are you willing to do all the Lord requires of you?