seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Jeremiah 41:1 In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, 2 Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. 3 Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian[a] soldiers who were there.
4 The day after Gedaliah’s assassination, before anyone knew about it, 5 eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, bringing grain offerings and incense with them to the house of the Lord. 6 Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he met them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.” 7 When they went into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern. 8 But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, olive oil and honey, hidden in a field.” So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others. 9 Now the cistern where he threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa had made as part of his defense against Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.
10 Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah—the king’s daughters along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.
11 When Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed, 12 they took all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool in Gibeon. 13 When all the people Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad. 14 All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites.
16 Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led away all the people of Mizpah who had survived, whom Johanan had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had assassinated Gedaliah son of Ahikam—the soldiers, women, children and court officials he had recovered from Gibeon. 17 And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt 18 to escape the Babylonians.[b] They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.
a. Jeremiah 41:3 Or Chaldean
b. Jeremiah 41:18 Or Chaldean
Today's story is short and action packed. Prince Ishmael was a tad taken aback with Gedaliah. He was a little miffed when. He was next in line for the throne and that idiot Nebuchadnezzar put that nice man Gedaliah on the throne instead. So Ishmael started to plot against Gedaliah in the last chapter.
Johanan warned Gedaliah in the last chapter and Gedaliah wouldn't listen. So in this chapter, just as Johanan had predicted..... [not prophecied].... Ishmael did in Gedaliah and his guard at a dinner party.... and threw their bodies in a cistern [a pit]. Verse 7 says they filled the cistern with dead bodies. Johanan wasted no time hunting Ismael down once he found out. Johanan took out Ishmael..... and everyone was thrilled.
Now they weren't really sure how the king of the Babylonian empire was going to take the news.... so they all took off for Egypt asking for asylum there.
This is from Bible-studys.org.
The assassination of “Gedaliah” by “Ismael”, a member of the “royal family”, shattered the stability of Judah in the aftermath of exile. This heinous crime was not only rebellion against Babylon, but also direct disobedience to the Word of God from Jeremiah.
In the last lesson Johanan had warned Gedaliah that Ishmael was plotting to kill him. Gedaliah trusted Ishmael, and would not let Johanan kill Ishmael.
Acting more like a foreign invader, Ishmael takes “captives” from his own people and leads them out of the land. Ishmael was forced to flee when a military force led by “Johanan” attempted to put down his insurrection out of fear of Babylonian reprisals for his actions.
The cistern mentioned here had been made in the days of King Asa during the political crisis with Baasha of Israel (1 Kings 15:22). “Mizpah” has been identified with “Tell en-Nasbeh”, where over four dozen such cisterns have been found.
It appears they were afraid that Nebuchadnezzar would hold them responsible for the terrible thing that Ishmael had done. They were afraid of guilt by association.
Hey Bible-track popped up this morning.You'll recall that, after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar (King of Babylon) made a guy named Gedaliah governor of the poor Jews who were not deported at the time of the fall . This is Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, NOT Gedaliah, son of Pashhur; the latter was cruel to Jeremiah. Gedaliah's (son of Ahikam) residence was actually in Mizpah, a few miles northwest of Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 40, a plot was discovered to assassinate Governor Gedaliah, but the new governor ignored it. As it turns out, Ishmael, a descendant of King David, comes to town for an evening of fine dining with the new Babylonian-endorsed governor. The evening takes a turn for the worst when Ishmael does assassinate Gedaliah, along with all of the Jews who were with him (with some help).
After a couple of days passed, he also murders a group of men from towns within the Northern Kingdom's territory headed to the temple site to worship, sparing only those of the group who promised him treasure. The temple had been ransacked by Nebuchadnezzar's army, but these men were taking their non-blood sacrifices to the temple nonetheless. The fact that these pilgrims had cut themselves is somewhat curious. That may have been as a result of a mixture of pagan ritual with Jewish worship; cutting oneself was forbidden by the Law of Moses (Leviticus 19:28, ; Deuteronomy 14:1, ).
A man named Johanan had warned of the assassination plot back in Jeremiah 40 , but he was dismissed by Gedaliah without action. He's the one here in chapter 41 who discovers the slaughter of Gedaliah and the others; he pursues the murdering Ishmael as he heads for refuge in Ammon with hostages from the governors house in tow. Ishmael manages to escape, but Johanan does rescue his captives. Now Johanan is faced with a decision; do we stay in Judah or flee to Egypt? Nebuchadnezzar is going to be really steamed when he finds out his appointed governor, Gedaliah, has been assassinated; there's no telling what terror he may bring on Judah as a result.
It's just an excellent action packed historical chapter......
