Gedaliah & The Fate of those who Flee to Egypt Jeremiah chapters 40-44

Gedaliah the Governor Nebuzaradan releases Jeremiah (40:1-6) Jeremiah was taken with all the captives from Jerusalem to Ramah. Having been instructed by King Nebuchadnezzar (39:11-12), the Babylonian captain Nebuzaradan releases Jeremiah and encourages him to return to Gedaliah. Jeremiah goes to Gedaliah in Mizpah.

Note the Lineage of Gedaliah

Gedaliah the Governor People left in the land, captains of the armies in the fields, and Jews scattered in Moab, Ammon, and Edom gather to Gedaliah at Mizpah (40:7-12) Gedaliah counsels everyone to serve the Babylonians and live off the fruit of the land. Johanan warns Gedaliah that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael to murder Gedaliah, but Gedaliah does not believe him (40:13-16) Johanan offers to kill Ishmael, but Gedaliah refuses to allow it.

Gedaliah the Governor Ishmael’s murderous deeds (41:1-10) Ishmael was of the royal family. He “was the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama - perhaps the secretary of state mentioned Jer. 36:12, or more likely the son of David who bore this name, 2 Sam. 5:6; 1 Chr. 3:8; 1Ch. 14:7; so that Ishmael would belong to a lateral branch of the house of David, be of royal extraction, and one of the royal lords” (Keil & Delitzsch) Ishmael along with ten accomplices slay Gedaliah with the sword, and also kill all the Jews at Mizpah along with the Babylonian soldiers posted there. Ishmael tricks and then slays 70 of 80 men who have come on a pilgrimage from Samaria, Shechem & Shiloh. Why did he spare ten of them? Where did Ishmael go afterward and whom did he take with him?

Johanan pursues Ishmael (41:11-15) Johanan and the Jewish captains pursue Ishmael and find him at the great pool of Gibeon (pictured). The people are rescued but Ishmael escapes.

Gedaliah the Governor (Jeremiah 40-41) Johanan and the captains lead the people to Chimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt (41:16-18) What is their reason for wanting to go to Egypt? Gedaliah the Governor (Jeremiah 40-41)

A Remnant flees to Egypt (Jeremiah 42-45) Johanan and the people request guidance from the Lord (42:1-3) Jeremiah agrees to seek the word of the Lord, and the people agree to do whatever the Lord says (42:4-6) The word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah (42:7-23) If the people would stay in the land, God would bless them and protect them from the Babylonians (42:8-12) If the people go to Egypt, they would die by the sword, famine, and pestilence (42:13-19). They are told, “Do not go to Egypt!” If they persist in the attitudes that led to Jerusalem’s destruction, they would suffer a similar fate in Egypt (42:18) Jeremiah knows that the people were insincere when they agreed to do whatever the Lord said (42:20-23)

A Remnant flees to Egypt (Jeremiah 42-45) The people refuse to obey and accuse Jeremiah of lying and colluding with Baruch and the Babylonians to get them all killed (43:1-3) What kind of men were all the men who spoke to Jeremiah at this time? (43:1) Johanan and the captains of the Jews choose not to obey the Lord; they take all the people to Egypt (43:4-7) In dramatic fashion, Jeremiah prophesies the Nebuchadnezzar would come to Egypt (43:8-13) Nebuchadnezzar would kill or take captive all whom the Lord appointed. He would burn the houses of the gods of Egypt.

This clay Babylonian tablet records that in the “Thirty- seventh year” of his reign (567 BC), “Nebuchadnezzar [came] to Egypt to make war.” British Museum

Jeremiah’s work in Egypt extends beyond Tahpanhes to Migdol, Noph, Pathros, and Beth-Shemesh (43:13—44:1)

A Remnant flees to Egypt (Jeremiah 42-45) Jeremiah’s message to the Jews in Egypt (44:1-14) The Lord tasks Jeremiah with delivering the message that they would suffer the same fate as Jerusalem because of their continuing rebellion and idolatry, and because they had “cut off” Judah from being inhabited. The Jews in Pathros, Egypt respond to Jeremiah (44:15-19) They refuse to listen to Jeremiah’s words. They claim that they had prospered when they burned incense to the queen of heaven, and so they worshiped her again. Jeremiah corrects their revision of history; the truth was that the destruction of Judah was punishment for their idolatry (44:20-23) As the Jews in Egypt have vowed to practice idolatry, the Lord vows to punish and destroy them. In time, all would see whose word was powerful and true (44:24-30)

Jeremiah 44:30 Prophecy against Pharaoh Hophra (Apries) Apries, Hebrew Hophra, (died 567 BC, reigned 589–570 BC) Apries failed to help his ally King Zedekiah of Judah against the invading armies of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, but after the fall of Jerusalem he received many Jewish refugees into Egypt. Later, according to Herodotus…the Egyptian army mutinied and elected their general Amasis as king instead (570 BC). Apries was imprisoned but escaped; he later was murdered, perhaps by Egyptians. (Brittanica.com)

Assurance to Baruch (Jeremiah 45) Years before the events in Egypt, God had promised to spare Baruch’s life wherever he went (45:1-5) Like Jeremiah, Baruch is grieved by the message he help deliver on God’s behalf. The Lord tells him not to seek great things for himself. The Lord assures him that his life will be spared through the tribulations of Judah. The implication to the reader of Jeremiah is that Baruch was blessed to live out a long life and die a natural death, though he had seen much tribulation and bloodshed in his lifetime.