Warning Against Going to Egypt
Jer 42:1 Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached
Jer 42:2 Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the LORD your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left.
Jer 42:3 Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.”
Jer 42:4 “I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray to the LORD your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the LORD says and will keep nothing back from you.”
Jer 42:5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
Jer 42:6 Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.”
Jer 42:7 Ten days later the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.
Jer 42:8 So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest.
Jer 42:9 He said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says:
Jer 42:10 ‘If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you.
Jer 42:11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands.
Jer 42:12 I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’
Jer 42:13 “However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey the LORD your God,
Jer 42:14 and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,’
Jer 42:15 then hear the word of the LORD, you remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there,
Jer 42:16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.
Jer 42:17 Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’
Jer 42:18 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach; you will never see this place again.’
Jer 42:19 “Remnant of Judah, the LORD has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today
Jer 42:20 that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ‘Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’
Jer 42:21 I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the LORD your God in all he sent me to tell you.
Jer 42:22 So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”
1 Johanan desires Jeremiah to enquire of God, promising obedience to his will. 7 Jeremiah assures him of safety in Judea, 13 and destruction in Egypt. 19 He reproves their hypocrisy, in requiring of the Lord that which they meant not.
Warning Against Going to Egypt
Jer 42:1 Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached
Jer 42:2 Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the LORD your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left.
Pray to the Lord. Inasmuch as Jeremiah had gone to Mizpah (ch. 40:6), he was undoubtedly among those being carried off by Ishmael who were rescued by Johanan at Gibeon (ch. 41:10, 13, 14). Looking to him now as their true prophet, whose patriotism could be trusted, all the people besought him to ask God on their behalf for wisdom and guidance.
Jer 42:5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
Now thoroughly humbled because of the sufferings brought upon them by the Babylonian invasion, the people earnestly declared their complete submission to whatever God might have in mind for them. They pledged their full obedience to “the voice of the Lord” (v. 6). See on v. 20.
Jer 42:7 Ten days later the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.
This time lapse should have been an evidence to the people that Jeremiah was not giving his own answer but one that came through him from God after much prayer and meditation (see on Jer. 24:4; cf. Eze. 3:15, 16).
Jer 42:10 ‘If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you.
A reaffirmation of God’s intention toward His people (see chs. 1:10; 18:7–10; 24:4–6; see on ch. 32:41).
For I have relented. See on Num. 23:19. This does not mean sorrow for what was done in the past, as is true of men for their transgressions, but a change in God’s purpose from judgment to mercy because of the change of men’s attitude and action (see Jer. 18:8; 26:3; see on Joel 2:13).
Jer 42:12 I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’
This may be understood as signifying either that they would be taken to Babylon as others had been and later returned to their homeland; or that they, as the “remnant” of the Jews permitted by the Chaldeans to remain now in the land (2 Kings 25:10–12, 22), would surely return to their own fields and vineyards. It seems evident that Jeremiah intended to convey the latter meaning.
Jer 42:14 and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,’
The land of the Nile seemed to offer a safe and peaceful place in which to dwell. It was the granary of the East, and its abundant harvests would provide a pleasing and much-to-be-desired contrast with the famine conditions the “remnant” (v. 2) had experienced because of the Babylonian invasion.
The very answer of the prophet to the people gave evidence that it was inspired by God. The secret intents, wishes, or hopes of the people to go to Egypt (see vs. 14–20), in spite of their professed willingness to follow the counsel of the Lord, whatever it might be (see on v. 5), were now unveiled by God in this message given through Jeremiah. God in His mercy did not leave the people unwarned as to the consequences of rejecting His message (vs. 16–18).
Jer 42:15 then hear the word of the LORD, you remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there,
Jer 42:16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.
Once again Jeremiah warns against looking to Egypt for help instead of submitting to the Babylonians (see chs. 2:36; 37:7–10).
Jer 42:19 “Remnant of Judah, the LORD has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today
Jer 42:20 For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God, and according to all that the LORD your God says, so declare to us and we will do it.‘
The earnestness of the people’s declared intention to follow the will of God was only a pretence. Like Balaam of old (see on Num. 22:20), the people were hoping that the Lord would endorse a course of action they were desirous of pursuing. We must ever guard against making the same mistake in our great life decisions.