Despite Jeremiah’s many harrowing brushes with death, God kept him alive and ministering in Israel. He survived attempts on his life from his own government during the siege of Jerusalem, and he survived the Babylonians’ destruction of the city. He boldly prophesied to kings and generals even when they threatened him with harm. Sometimes Jeremiah wished he could stop prophesying, but that wasn’t an option.

“But if I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in, indeed, I cannot.” Jeremiah 20:9

Jeremiah went on obeying the will of God even while living among people who defied it.

The Remnant from Judah Seek God

The best thing that ever happened to Jeremiah was going to live under Governor Gedaliah in Mizpah after Jerusalem was destroyed. It enabled him to do the two things God wanted: Stay in Judah and cooperate with Babylonian rule.

Unfortunately, assassins from Ammon  killed Gedaliah and captured Jeremiah and the other Jewish people at Mizpah. On the way to Ammon the Judean officer Johanan and his army ambushed the assassins and took over the captives from MIzpah.

Johanan and his men were in a real dilemma. They were afraid Babylon was going to take revenge for the death of Gedaliah so they didn’t want to stay in Judah. But they were intent on preserving the remnant of the Jewish people under their care so they had to go somewhere.

“Then all the army officers . . . and all the people from the least to the greatest approached 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 that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.’” Jeremiah 42:1-3

Jeremiah agreed to seek the Lord on their behalf and come back with whatever the Lord told him.

“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. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God.’” Jeremiah 42:5-6

God Replies

Ten days later God gave Jeremiah an answer. He told the remnant to stay in Judah where he would defend them.

“‘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. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear . . . for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’” Jeremiah 42:10-12

Here was evidence that God was completely in control of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. When he sent him to destroy Jerusalem, the king did God’s bidding. When God wanted peace in Judah, he influenced Nebuchadnezzar to show compassion toward the Jews and set up a compassionate governor to rule there. Governor Gedaliah was assassinated, but God could still maintain peace in the region for his people if they were willing to stay.

They had already participated in a post-war harvest that was so abundant they were able to put the excess into storage jars for the winter (Jeremiah 40:7-1). They had proof that God could provide for them.

The Judeans Rebel

“When Jeremiah had finished telling the people all the words of the Lord their God – everything the Lord had sent him to tell them – Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, ‘You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.’” Jeremiah 43:1-3

Jeremiah had warned the Judeans not to disobey what God said after they sought his will for them. Once they knew what he wanted, they had to obey him immediately or face the consequences.

“‘Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today 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.’ I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go and settle.’” Jeremiah 42:19-22

Johanan took the Jewish remnant and went to Egypt despite Jeremiah’s warning. They forced Jeremiah and his assistant Baruch to go with them and they went south to Tahpanhes, the closest entry point into Egypt from Canaan.

Return to Idolatry

God was angry when the Judeans disobeyed him and went down to Egypt, but his anger was exacerbated by the way they chose to do it. They had just lived through God’s wrath against Israel’s disobedience, but that didn’t stop them from disobeying again. Once more they were ignoring God’s words through his prophet, and once more, they turned to other gods.

“‘We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord! We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out our drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by the sword and famine.’” Jeremiah 44:15-18

Jeremiah countered by reminding the people that idolatry was their downfall. Their worship of the Queen of Heaven and other gods had caused God to strike them with famine and the sword and those gods couldn’t rescue them from God Almighty. Nevertheless, if they were determined to go on with it, they needed to know the consequences.

The Ruin of the Remnant

“Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows! But hear the word of the Lord, all you Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, ‘As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.’ For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed.’” Jeremiah 44:25-27

The sign that all of this would come to pass was that Babylon was going to defeat Egypt. Jeremiah buried some stones under the pavement in front of Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes as a testament to this prophecy.

There is no biblical account of Babylon defeating Egypt after Jeremiah’s prophecy, and there is only unreliable historical evidence that it happened, so we don’t know the final outcome of this prophecy by Jeremiah. But the Bible tells us that no prophecy of God ever fails.

Ezekiel Hears of Jerusalem’s Fall

Ezekiel was in Babylon waiting to hear the fulfillment of his prophecies about the fall of Jerusalem when a fugitive finally arrived with the news. Almost simultaneously, the Lord spoke to Ezekiel about the spiritual condition of the remnant in Judah.

They were mostly defiant, sinful and arrogant. After Babylon pulled out they planned to take possession of the land and make money with it. They were not humbled before the Lord after his wrath fell on them; they were greedy for profit.

God was amazed that the people didn’t believe his prophets, even after they saw prophecy fulfilled. He said to Ezekiel,

“To them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.

When all this comes true – and it surely will – then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” Ezekiel 33:32-33

So it has always been with prophets; people who refuse to believe their messages find them entertaining, but don’t care what they say.

But the words of God’s prophets always come true. That’s why we read the Bible – and pay attention to what it says.