That's what I felt like saying to the Israelites when I was reading through Jeremiah this past week. They repeatedly sought Jeremiah's advice and counsel, and repeatedly ignored it - with devastating consequences.
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| Jeremiah 44:5 |
After the downfall of Jerusalem and inner turmoil, assassinations, and infighting, the remaining people of Judah gathered together and approached Jeremiah and said to him, "Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant - because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us - that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do." Jeremiah agreed to pray to the Lord for His guidance and report back whatever the Lord said. The people then promised to do whatever the Lord commanded, whether it was good or bad, they would obey the voice of the Lord.
At the end of 10 days, Jeremiah relayed the message from the Lord back to the people. God told them to stay in their land and He would protect them and bless them. But, He said, if they leave the land and settle in Egypt, famine, disaster, and destruction would follow them and they would all perish.
“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them."
Jeremiah 42:9-17
The people heard all Jeremiah had to say and when he had stopped speaking, the arrogant leaders exploded with anger. "Liar!! Liar!! God didn't tell you to say, 'don't go to Egypt'. You are just trying to set us up so we can be killed or captured and exiled to Babylon!!"
(Wait, what? You asked Jeremiah to give you advice and promised him you would listen and obey no matter what, and then you call him a liar when he gives you the direct word from the Lord, which just so happens to be something you didn't want to hear? I read this passage in complete astonishment.)
The people ignore Jeremiah's warning and move to Egypt, and Jeremiah 44 tells of God's judgement. Perhaps the saddest passage is Jeremiah 44 when God says, "Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, 'Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!' But they did not listen or incline their ear..."
Of course, we know what happens after that -- Egypt falls to Babylon and the Jewish people living in Egypt were destroyed. In fact, Matthew Henry says this about the Israelites living in Egypt at that time:
The sacred history records not the accomplishment of this prophecy, but its silence is sufficient; we hear no more of these Jews in Egypt, and therefore conclude them, according to this prediction, lost there; for no word of God shall fall to the ground.
What a sad, sad end to a people who would just not listen.
It's easy to judge the Israelites and their poor decision making. I mean, they had the direct word of the Lord and they did the complete opposite time and time again! Oh, but my friend, aren't we so often like the Israelites? We have the entire word of God (the Bible), we have direct access to God's heavenly throne room through our Lord Jesus Christ, and yet we do the complete opposite of what we know we should do time and time and time again! I was so convicted reading this passage. It's not enough to read and know God's word, you have to also listen and obey. This is an area I know I need to work on and, with the Lord's help, will strive to be a better listener to His Word in my life. Will you pray with me to be a better listener this week?
Much love in Christ,
@journalingjoy
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