Canonical Reading Plan for Aug 24, Jer 42-45

Today's readings are Jer 42-45.

Fearing reprisals from Babylon over the assassination of Gedaliah, Johanon and the remnant of Mizpah head for Egypt and safety. Prior to leaving, though, they ask Jeremiah for a word from the Lord, vowing to heed it no matter what he says.

Jeremiah tells them to stay where they are, God will protect them. If they go to Egypt, they will meet with disaster at the hand of the Babylonians. They go anyway, taking Jeremiah with them.

When they get to Egypt, they fall back to worshiping false gods, thinking they had done so in earlier times and it all worked out OK. Jeremiah warns them suffering is on the way due to their idol worship, which was what brought on all the trouble they were currently in. Once again, they reject the word of God.

Jeremiah sends a message to Baruch, who has remained in Judah, cautioning him not to seek high office, trouble is on the way.

To sum up, the remnant in Judah is desperate to regain the prosperity they had before the Babylonian invasion. They seek God's guidance but refuse to obey Him when He tells them to do the thing they fear the most, remain in their situation. They want relief and will gain it at all cost, even forsaking God and returning to their evil ways.

This is what happens when we are so bent on getting out of our situation that we take things into our own hands, believing that some momentary disobedience will be worth it if we can just escape the hardship we're immersed in. It's not going to work for the exiles in Egypt, and it never works for us either. When we resort to such desperate measures, like the remnant, we end up further from God than when we began.