Chronological Bible Study – Aug 21

What I Noticed Today (Jeremiah 41-45)

Jeremiah 41

In verses -1-3, Ishmael came in the seventh month with ten men and assassinated Gedaliah and all the men who were with him, including some Babylonians soldiers.

In verses 4-9, the next day, before anyone had found out about Gedaliah’s assassination, 80 men from the Northern Kingdom (Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria) came in mourning (shaved beards and torn clothes) to worship the Lord at the temple. The temple had been destroyed, but it was still a sacred place to make grain and incense offerings.

Ishmael met them and feigning mourning he invited them to meet Gedaliah. Once inside the city, Ishmael and his men murdered 70 of the men and threw their bodies into a cistern. The cistern that Ishmael used had been built by King Asa nearly 300 years before as a defense against the advances of the King Baasha of Israel (1 Kings 15:16-22).

Ten of the men were able to keep from being killed by saying they had additional stores of food hidden in the fields.

In verses 10-15, Ishmael captured the rest of the king’s family and others (including Jeremiah) living in Mizpah and sent them to the Ammonites (his ally Jeremiah 40:14). When Johanan heard about what Ishmael had done, he assembled his army and went after Ishmael. Johanan rescued the captives near Gibeon. Ishmael escaped with eight of his men and went to Ammon.

In verses 16-18, Johanan led the group away from Jerusalem for fear of retaliation from the Babylonians. They went toward Egypt stopping first at Geruth Kimham (about 13 miles from Gibeon).

Jeremiah 42

In verses 1-3, the people Johanan had rescued asked Jeremiah to pray to the Lord inquiring what they should do and where they should go. Jeremiah agreed to pray but demanded the people do whatever the Lord said and they agreed to obey.

In verses 7-12, Jeremiah prayed to the Lord, and ten days later, the Lord answered. The Lord said if they stayed in the land He would build them up. They did not need to be afraid of the Babylonians, that even Nebuchadnezzar would show them mercy.

In verses 13-18, the Lord said, however, if you do not stay in the land, reject God, and go to Egypt, they would die by the sword, famine, or plague. No one would survive to see the land of Israel again.

In verses 19-22, Jeremiah repeated the Lord’s warning not to go to Egypt. While their future was assured by God, they could be sure that if they went against the Lord’s command and went to Egypt, they would die by the sword, famine, or plague.

Jeremiah 43

In verses 1-3, Azariah (called Jezaniah in Jeremiah 42:1) and Johanan and other arrogant men rejected Jeremiah saying he was lying, that God had not prohibited them from going to Egypt, but that Jeremiah was setting them up to be killed by the Babylonians.

In verses 4-7, the leaders and officers along with the entire remnant that had returned to Judah along with all those entrusted to Gedaliah went to Egypt and settled in Tahpanhes (on the border of northern Egypt). They forced Jeremiah and Baruch, his secretary, to accompany them.

In verses 8-13, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, instructing him to bury some stones beneath the pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace. These stones, he said, marked the spot where Nebuchadnezzar would spread his royal canopy when he came and attacked Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar would burn the Egyptian temples with fire, and the people would either be taken captive or would die by the sword, or pestilence.

Jeremiah 44

In verses 1-10, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time while he was in Egypt. It was directed to the Jews in Lower Egypt (the northern area) and Upper Egypt (the southern area). The Lord reminds them of the great disaster He brought on Judah for provoking Him to anger. Now they had also provoked God to anger by abandoning Judah when He told them to stay there.

In verses 11-14, the Lord continues saying He will bring disaster on the remnant who have fled to Egypt just as He brought disaster on Judah. Only a few fugitives will return to Judah. The rest will not return to Judah but will die by the sword, famine, or pestilence.

In verses 15-19, those who heard Jeremiah’s message responded saying they would not listen to him. They said when they were in Jerusalem making offerings to the queen of heaven they had plenty of food, and since they stopped worshipping the queen of heaven things had gotten worse, so they were resuming their worship and offerings to the queen of heaven. The women acknowledged that their husbands knew what they were doing.

In verses 20-23, Jeremiah reminded the people that the judgment and desolation that came to Jerusalem was because they had been worshipping foreign gods, and the Lord had had enough of it.

In verses 24-28, the people responded that they fully intended to continue to worship and make an offering to the queen of heaven. God told them to go ahead and swore an oath that none of them except a few refugees would return to Judah; they would all die in Egypt by the sword or famine.

In verses 29-30, The Lord said this would be a sign to the people that His word was true. Pharaoh Hophra would be defeated by his enemies just as Zedekiah was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar.

Jeremiah 45

Jeremiah 45 jumps back in time from Jeremiah 44 about 18-years to 605-604 B.C.

In verses 1-3, Jeremiah spoke words of encouragement to Baruch in the fourth year of Jehoiakim after Baruch had recorded the first scroll (Jeremiah 36:1-8). Baruch felt like God had added sorrow to his pain; he was worn out and could find no rest.

In verses 4-5, Jeremiah reported the words of the Lord to Baruch. The Lord intended to fulfill His judgment; He would overthrow what He built, and uproot what He planted. The Lord cautioned Baruch not to seek great things for himself because disaster was coming, but the Lord promised to save Baruch’s life.

Tomorrow: Jeremiah 46-48

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