The Fall of Jerusalem: Jeremiah 39-42 (3)

Pray Psalm 59.16, 17.
But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.
To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.

Sing Psalm 59.16, 17.
(Neumark: If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee)
But as for me, Your strength I’m singing;
with joy I sing Your grace, O Lord!
My trials and troubles I am bringing
to know the shelter of Your Word.
O God, my strength, I sing Your praise;
You are my stronghold all my days.

Read and meditate on Jeremiah 40.1-16.

Prepare.
1. What happened to Jeremiah after the people had been taken into captivity?

2. How did the people respond to Gedaliah being appointed governor?

Meditate.
The first part of this chapter (vv. 1-6) offers more detail on what we saw in Jeremiah 39.11-14. Jeremiah seemed a bit stunned to have been let go, as if he were not able to make up his mind about what to do (v. 5). Finally, Nebuzaradan told him to go to Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed governor over the cities of Judah. Jeremiah then went to dwell with him and the rest of the people who had been left in the land (v. 6).

The scattered remnants of the Jewish armies, and other Jews who had fled or been exiled to other lands, when they heard that Gedaliah had been made governor, returned to him at Mizpah (vv. 7, 8, 11, 12). Gedaliah took an oath, calling the people to serve the king of Babylon and to get to work on the harvest (vv. 9, 10). This is what Jeremiah had counseled for many years now, so Gedaliah should be seen as doing the will of God here. Indeed, under his leadership, the people “gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance” (v. 12).

But not everybody saw it that way. Soon, rumors began to circulate that one Ishmael was working in the pay of the Ammonites, and intended to assassinate Gedaliah (vv. 13, 14). Word was brought to Gedaliah, but he dismissed the rumor, even though it was presented to him by many witnesses (vv. 15, 16). Gedaliah should have been more cautious, as we shall see.

It is important that we realize that we have enemies who wish us nothing but ill. We are continuously engaged in a spiritual warfare with powerful forces of deception. We must not brush off such thinking as “merely spiritual.” Instead, we must prepare each day for the battle for our souls. Jesus has given us ample notice and powerful equipment, and we must learn to wield it wisely and well (Eph. 6.10-20).

Reflect.
1. Why do we say that Gedaliah was doing the will of God in serving the Babylonians?

2. What should we do each day to prepare for our spiritual warfare?

3. What can we expect if we fail to take seriously the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged?

[Gedaliah] ought to have been circumspect, not only for his own sake, but because his death brought with it the ruin of the whole people. He ought then to have been more cautious. But we hence learn how difficult it is even for the best of men, endued with peculiar virtues, so to conduct themselves, as not to deviate on either side. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Jeremiah 40.13

Grant me victory in the spiritual warfare today, O Lord, especially as I…

Pray Psalm 59.1-15.
Pray for God’s protection against the enemies of your soul, and that you might fight the good fight in the spiritual warfare ahead of you today.

Sing Psalm 59.1-15.
Psalm 59.1-15 (Neumark: If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee)
Deliver me from all my foes, Lord;
set me on high secure away;
From all who seek to work me woe, Lord,
deliver me from day to day.
For, lo, they seek to take my life;
fierce foes advance to bring me strife!

Not for transgressions they assault me,
nor any sin which I have done.
With nothing they can charge or fault me,
and yet to trouble me they run.
Arouse Yourself, O Lord, awake,
and come with haste my foes to break.

Like dogs at large within a city,
they bark and howl fierce threats at me.
They boast of evil without pity,
but You, O Lord, their treach’ry see.
Because of them I watch for You,
O God my strength, forever true!

My God in steadfast love will meet me,
and let me look triumphantly
On all my foes, who would defeat me
did not He shield and shelter me.
That men may know Your pow’r, O Lord,
subdue and rule them by Your Word.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).