CHAPTER 40

(588 B.C.)

JEREMIAH LIBERATED

¹The Word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all who were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. (According to this Verse, we learn that war and captivity cannot prevent the Great Shepherd from speaking to His Own.)

²And the Captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD your God has pronounced this evil upon this place. (The statement of the Captain of the guard, concerning The LORD your God has pronounced evil upon this place, shows the clear vision of the heathen prince, in contrast with the blindness of the men of Judah.

The terminology used by this Babylonian proclaims his interest as more than casual. It seems that he had carefully studied the Prophecies of Jeremiah, and he understood perfectly why judgment had come upon Judah and Jerusalem.)

³Now the LORD has brought it, and done according as He has said: because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed His Voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. (Once again, we must derive from the terminology used by this man that he had a far greater knowledge of Jehovah than most; there is even some evidence that he may possibly have accepted Jehovah as his God, thereby denouncing the Babylonian deities.)

⁴And now, behold, I loose you this day from the chains which were upon your hand. If it seem good unto you to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto you: but if it seem ill unto you to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before you: whither it seems good and convenient for you to go, thither go. (Jeremiah, seemingly, is set aside from the other prisoners and is given his choice respecting Babylon or the whole of Judah and Jerusalem.)

⁵Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seems convenient unto you to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. (Now while he was not yet gone back, refers to Jeremiah hesitating in respect to his decision as to what he should do. The reward mentioned here was probably money, but without any specified amount made known. More than likely, the Prophet was financially destitute; therefore, the financial help given, if in fact it was financial help, was, no doubt, greatly needed!)

⁶Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land. (This Passage shows that the Prophet preferred poverty and obscurity with the hostile and degenerate Hebrews to the fame and comfort among the admiring Chaldeans.)

REGATHERING OF THE JEWS

⁷Now when all the Captains of the forces who were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them who were not carried away captive to Babylon (these were probably individuals who had escaped from the city during the siege or during its actual break-up and who were now filtering back in. Some would prove to be of evil heart);

⁸Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of Maachathite, they and their men. (These men had come to meet with Gedaliah, the appointed governor.)

⁹And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. (Gedaliah here professes the validity of the Prophecy of Jeremiah [27:11]. And it shall be well with you, implies that it is the Will of God for them to serve the Chaldeans. If they did such, things would go well; if not, not well at all!)

¹⁰As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans, wh o will come unto us: but you, gather you wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken. (Mizpah is to be the headquarters of the occupation of Judah, because Jerusalem is destroyed. The Chaldeans, which will come unto us, refers to the occupation forces from Babylon that will soon occupy the land.)

¹¹Likewise when all the Jews who were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan;

¹²Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much. (When Jerusalem was threatened by Nebuchadnezzar, it seems that many Jews fled to surrounding countries seeking asylum. Now they begin to filter back into the Land.)

ISHMAELS CONSPIRACY

¹³Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,

¹⁴And said unto him, Do you certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to kill you? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not. (The situation, as evidenced in these Verses, proclaims the spirit of the world, as men jockey for power. Baalis the king of the Ammonites desires to kill Gedaliah, but the reason is not here given. At any rate, he finds a ready accomplice in Ishmael, who may have been angry at Gedaliah because he had sided with Jeremiah. Perhaps Ishmael thought that he should be governor in place of Gedaliah, which was probably the case!)

¹⁵Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray you, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he kill you, that all the Jews which are gathered unto you should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish? (Why Johanan did not suggest incarceration is not known. Irrespective, his fear concerning future difficulties, especially with Ishmael, was well-founded. Satan no doubt engineered this scenario in that Gedaliah was a good man, determined to rule with fairness and justice. As well, he was a friend of Jeremiahs, and would have benefited greatly from the Prophets influence. But sadly, because of perfidy and wickedness, this was not to be.)

¹⁶But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, You shall not do this thing: for you speak falsely of Ishmael. (It seems that Gedaliah did not seek counsel from Jeremiah concerning this thing. Had he done so, the outcome would no doubt have been far different.)