“They also led away all those whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan—the men, the women, the children and the king’s daughters. And they took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah along with them. So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the Lord and went as far as Tahpanhes.” Jeremiah 43:6-7
The day after I wrote the last post about leading our children away from the Lord unintentionally, I read this chapter aloud to my kids in our morning study. The chapters leading up to this moment have been speaking of the king of Babylon entering Judah and either killing or taking captive the Israelites due to their blatant disregard for following God’s commands. They continued to worship false gods, despite the many, MANY warnings the Lord sent through the prophets begging the people to turn away from their sin. The time had come for God’s words to be fulfilled, and for the Israelites to face the punishment God had promised. Following the Babylonian invasion, the Lord left a remnant of His people (another event He had promised to complete) in Judah, whom He commanded to stay and work the land. However, these few who remained in their homeland were afraid that the Babylonians might return to kill or take them captive as well.
“Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, 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.”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, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God.’” Jeremiah 42:1-3, 5-6
Jeremiah sought an answer from the Lord on behalf of the people. Though God had already told the people to remain in the land and not to flee, He graciously responded to Jeremiah with a message for the Israelites, commanding them to stay in their homeland and not to run to Egypt for safety. He told 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. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, 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. However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey the Lord your God,…then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.” Jeremiah 42:10-13, 16
Unfortunately, the Israelites went back on their promise to obey God and chose to trust in their own “wisdom,” running to Egypt for protection. The result was the death of themselves and their little ones. It is hard for me to understand such a blatant disregard for such a direct and unquestionable command from God; yet, how many times have I done this in my life? The Lord calls me to do something that seems to defy all practical reasoning, and I let my fear control my decision-making. In the past I have told people scriptures the Lord was using to direct me in certain decisions, only to have them make comments implying how “irresponsible,” “foolish,” or maybe even just “unnecessary” it would be to follow that path. After all, it would affect my children and that wouldn’t be fair to them. I wish I could say that I always stood strong and feared the Lord over others, yet that wouldn’t be true. I cannot fathom the blessings of which I must have missed. And unfortunately, my family missed out on those blessings, too.
In past years, I have believed that fear was not “all that bad.” In the grand scheme of sins, I’ll take fear, please. But when I dig down to the root of this sin, it is trusting in myself over God- making myself a god rather than serving the One, True God. And its result is death. Yikes! I cannot- I MUST NOT- rest as long fear is a driving force in my life. It must be confessed, wrestled with, and handed over to the Lord. Once again, the cost of letting it grow is much too high. My children’s lives are at stake.
Father, thank You for Your Word that highlights the need to rid myself of any sin that attempts to settle down within me. Please forgive me for ever trusting in my own measures rather than trusting my life and my family to You. Keep me coming back to You each day for help to battle these issues in my life. And Lord, I pray specifically over this sin of fear. Please enable me to only fear You and not the things or people of this world. Make me a courageous follower of You that my children may be able to look to as an example to follow. In Jesus name, amen.
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” Proverbs 29:25