seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Jeremiah 40:1 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. 2 When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “The Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place. 3 And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him. 4 But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.” 5 However, before Jeremiah turned to go,[a] Nebuzaradan added, “Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please.”
Then the commander gave him provisions and a present and let him go. 6 So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land.
7 When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon, 8 they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah[b] the son of the Maakathite, and their men. 9 Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians,[c]” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. 10 I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over.”
11 When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, 12 they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.
13 Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14 and said to him, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.
15 Then Johanan son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?”
16 But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true.”
a. Jeremiah 40:5 Or Jeremiah answered
b. Jeremiah 40:8 Hebrew Jezaniah, a variant of Jaazaniah
c. Jeremiah 40:9 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 10
The first commentary that popped up was from Bible-studys.org.
The pagan captain understood the judgment of God better than the leaders of Judah.
The captain did exactly as Nebuchadnezzar had told him.
The Babylonians gave Jeremiah the choice of going to Babylon or remaining with the poor people in the land of Judah. Life in Babylon would likely have been easier, but Jeremiah chose to serve the struggling remnant that remained in the land. The Babylonians appointed “Gedaliah” from the family of “Shaphan” to serve as the governor of Judah. Gedaliah’s family had protected and supported Jeremiah during his ministry.
Jeremiah chose to go to Gedaliah, the newly appointed governor at Mizpah several miles north of Jerusalem. Gedaliah was soon to be assassinated.
“Gedaliah” gave the same advice to the people as Jeremiah: “dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon”. At this time, submission to Babylon was obedience to the Lord. Even in this time of judgment, God was blessing His people, allowing refugees from various locations to return to the land and to experience a productive harvest (2 Kings 25:23-24).
“Johanan”: This mans’ fair warning to Gedaliah of Ishmael’s death plot went unheeded.
Johanan realizes the seriousness of the threat. He also realizes what a cruel man Ishmael is. He offers to kill Ishmael to keep him from killing Gedaliah. It appears the reason for this assassination is to scatter the Jews again. Gedaliah trusted Ishmael too much.
I think the easy English site has a pretty good commentary for me this morning.Some army officers and their men remained in Judah. Perhaps they were hoping to make sudden attacks on any Babylonians in the country. But they heard that Gedaliah was in authority in the country. So they came to join him at Mizpah. Among them was Ishmael, who came from the king’s family. The name 'Jaazaniah' appears on an object that people found at Mizpah. It has the words on it, 'belongs to Jaazaniah, the servant of the king.’ Perhaps it is the same man as Jaazaniah in verse 8.
Gedaliah told the people to stay. They should live in a normal way. Jeremiah had given the same advice in his letter to the exiles. Gedaliah promised the people that he would speak on their behalf to the Babylonian officials. It was time to harvest the grapes and to make wine. Also the people had to harvest the fruits that came in the summer. And they made oil from fruit called olives. Nebuzaradan had arrived in August. In August and September the people usually harvested grapes, and the fruits called figs and olives. The Babylonians had destroyed many towns before they attacked Jerusalem. So probably the people were living in those towns.
Many Jews had run away to other countries to find safety. They heard that Gedaliah was the ruler. And they came back. They joined the other Jews who had remained in Judah. There was a good harvest that year. They would think that the*LORD was being kind to them. So Gedaliah seemed to have established a good society.
Johanan, son of Kareah, led a group of officers to warn Gedaliah about a plot. The country of Ammon had been part of the group of nations who helped Zedekiah. They stopped him so that he did not obey Babylon. There is evidence in Ezekiel 21:18-32 that the Babylonians had intended to punish Ammon. Perhaps the King Baalis wanted to continue the plot to defeat the Babylonians. Ishmael may have felt jealous that Gedaliah had become the ruler. Ishmael was from a royal family. Perhaps he wanted to cause trouble for the Babylonians.
Johanan suggested to Gedaliah in private that he would kill Ishmael. If Ishmael killed Gedaliah, it would cause a lot of trouble. Johanan was aware of what would happen. The Jews who had joined Gedaliah would scatter again. They would be afraid that the Babylonians would punish them because of the crime. It would be better to kill Ishmael. They must not allow the new nation of Judah to die. But Gedaliah did not believe Johanan. Probably he had known Prince Ishmael when he was an official. Gedaliah was an honest and a generous person. He wanted to establish a safe and peaceful nation again. He could not accept that other people did not want that too.
First of all.... I'm glad they let Jeremiah loose. I always think of the prisoner in the Wizard of Id when I think of Jeremiah held in a dungeon or a courtyard. At least he wasn't in a pit... I tell myself.... but I like reading "go anywhere you like"..... that's good. The prisoner in the Wizard of Id is finally free to move about the country..... yay....Now on to that naive Gedaliah. Politics is not for the "honest and generous". I have come to believe that in order to be a real politician [running a whole country]..... meanness and greediness seem to be a side affect of entering the political arena. Maybe.... just maybe.... Gedaliah thought as long as the Lord was giving them a break.... the people would be happy and safe. Gedaliah knew that Judah was still a Theocracy.... and God was still calling the shots.
Now.... there was Ishmael..... the prince..... who was unseated by the Nebuchadnezzar's siege. He was due to inherit the throne.... until those Babylonians came along and changed things. I bet he was telling people that Gedaliah was in the Babylonian's pocket.
And the last character is Johanan..... I would call him the down to earth type..... with plenty of street smarts. He was reading Ishmael perfectly clearly.... he knew what was up and tried to warn Gedaliah. But Gedaliah just didn't see it.
Jeremiah was free to go anywhere he wanted to go...... and a plot to assassinate the one other guy who really respected God [Gedaliah] seems to have been afoot.....
