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Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Jeremiah 42

Not every age is equally challenging for the man who would be faithful. A Josiah, for instance, is such an exemplary king of Judah because he reigns after a time of great unfaithfulness. He must turn away from the very poor example of those who have come before him, and he does this. Johanan the son of Kareah seemed to be man of great potential during a frightful time. God had brought judgment upon Zedekiah and all Judah. Gedaliah was put in his position as governor by the Babylonians. It seemed as if all was lost. Johanan had proven himself by trying to warn Gedaliah about the murderous plans of Ishmael. Though rebuffed by the governor, when the day of murder came, Johanan and those with him went out to rescue the people from Ishmael and the Ammonites.

Beyond these good actions, Johanan seems to have had a sincere desire to seek the Lord’s will at a desperate moment. He goes to Jeremiah and asks the prophet to plead for the people before God, seeking His mercy. The danger before them is real. What will the Babylonians do when they learn of the murder of Gedaliah? Is anyone safe in Judah? They need direction from God. Where should they go now? Should they stay in the land, or should they try to find security in the protection of another mighty power, such as the Egyptians?

Jeremiah agrees to pray for them and to seek the will of the Lord. Johanan and the others with him claim that they will do whatever God reveals as the right plan of action. They also claim that they understand the consequences of their supposed commitment to the Lord. Jeremiah is not hasty in returning with a plan. He waits ten days until He has heard from God. The word that He brings is consistent with what God has said in the past. At that present moment the Lord was working through the king of Babylon. It was not a time to look to some other king or power for safety. The Lord clearly instructs His people to stay in the land and He promises them safety. Even if the king of Babylon should come against them, God promises to protect them, provided that they listen to Him and remain in the land, giving up the thought of fleeing to Egypt.

It is important for them to abandon their current fear of the Babylonian king. God will help them and have mercy on them. If instead they flee to Egypt, the Lord promises to give them the sword, famine, and disease. The consequences for disobedience will be severe, for God promises them that there will be no survivor from the trouble that He will bring upon them.

Given the recent events after the earlier warnings from Jeremiah, one might imagine that these words would have been taken as a clear and direct word for the people. They had just seen the long-expected Babylonian assault against Judah, culminating in a siege and destruction of the city. Jeremiah had proven a reliable prophet. A message of safety if they stayed in the land could have been a reassuring word, if they had received it with faith. Yet the prophet seems well aware that despite their professed allegiance to do whatever God instructs, they will not follow the word of the Lord. They have not listened in the past, and they will not listen in the future. They are determined to go with their own wisdom, and to follow their own plan to go to Egypt. Jeremiah assures them that they will die in the place where they are going to live.

It is always a hard thing for sinful men to hear that God’s plans are not their plans. We claim to come to Him with a commitment to follow Him, but when our loyalty is tested, we find it to be quite a struggle. What we desire is a different kind of god, a god who will back us up in our plans. We have already determined that our plans are right. Now we simply ask that the Lord will bless them. If we had the power to bless our own plans, we would not go to the Lord at all. We are painfully aware that we are not gods. We cannot bring about our will. Yet we are not yet willing to follow His will. What we want is this combination: if we supply the direction and the plan, we would like God to bring the success. We want to go to Egypt since that seems safer than dealing with an angry Babylonian king. Now we simply need God to confirm our plan through his prophet and give us success in our own plans. In this way, we are like criminals who pray to God before we set out on a new job to steal someone else’s property. We have already decided that we want to steal the crown jewels, now we pray to God that He will help us have success in our efforts.

The Lord will not bless that kind of rebellion. We need to seek God’s plan with a pure heart. Our Savior led the way for us in this in the garden of Gethsemene. He knew the plan of the covenant of grace, and had told His disciples of the cross that was coming for Him. He also knew of the horror of facing the Lord’s wrath for our sin, and asked if there was any other way. Yet His heart was true to God from beginning to end. “Not my will, but Yours, be done.” This is what Johanan and his men had professed in their dealings with God through Jeremiah. They did not really mean it. Jesus did.

The way we know whether someone means what He says is through testing. The test of the cross came swiftly for Jesus Christ. He meant what He said. He died for our sins. No greater love has any man, than to lay down his life for his friends. It was the will of God. The Father loved us at the cost of His only-begotten Son, who was obedient even unto death on the cross at the most frightful moment of salvation history. There is no better King than Jesus. Let us resolve to follow His will, and to do what He commands.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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