The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 42
Chapter XLII · Vol. III, p. 1283
1 Johanan desireth Jeremiah to inquire of God, promising obedience to his will. 7 Jeremiah assureth him of safety in Judea, 13 but of destruction in Egypt. 19 He reproveth their hypocrisy, in asking counsel of God, which they meant not to follow.
1 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and aJezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, bcame near,
a ver.8; ch.40.8,13; 41.11;43.2,4,5. 2 Ki.25.23.
2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted1 before thee, and cpray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left butd a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us;)
3 That the LORD thy God emay show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing gthat we may do.2
e De.5.28,29. Ezr.8.21. Pr.3.5,6.
2 There is here every appearance of a sincere desire to learn and follow the mind of the Lord (see ver.6); and so, with one condition, it was; but that condition was—that God should direct them to do what they wished to do. They were predetermined to follow their own opinion, and came to Jeremiah merely that they might obtain God's sanction.—Note, It is dangerous, because it is hypocritical, to talk of looking for, and waiting for, 'the leadings of Providence,' when men are predetermined to follow them no farther than they coincide with their own opinions, plans, and interests. God is not mocked.—C.
4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I hwill pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that iwhatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.
h Ex.9.29.
i 1 Ki.22.14. ch.23.28; 38.14; 26.12. Eze.2.7; 3.17. Ac.20.20,27. 1 Sa.3.18.
5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be aj true and faithful witness between us; if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.
6 Whether kit be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; lthat it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.
k De.5.28,29. 1 Ki.22.8,18. Mat.15.8. ver.20.
l De.5.27,32,33; 6.2,3. Is.1.16-19; 3.10. ch.7.23.
7 And it came to pass, after ten3 days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.
3 God does not answer immediately, to show that the revelation is the gift of his Spirit; to draw the minds of Johanan and his friends to meditation upon duty, by the suspense in which they are held as to God's purpose; and perhaps to suggest by the tardiness of the answer the unworthiness of inquirers predetermined upon disobedience, unless God should answer as they desired. See ver.20; ch.41.17.—C.
8 Then called he nJohanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people, from the least even to the greatest,
n ver.1; ch.40.8,13; 41.11,16;43.2,4,5.
9 And said unto them, oThus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;
10 If ye will still abide in this land, then willp I build you, and not pull you down; and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for qI repent4 me of the evil that I have done unto you.
11 Ber not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.
r Is.41.5,10;43.1,2,5. ch.27.12,17. Ro.8.31. Mat.10.28.
12 And I will show mercies unto you, sthat he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own 5land.6
s Pr.21.1. Ps.106.45,46, with ch.40.11. Is.30.15.
5 They were still in Judea, but had fled from their own properties at Mizpah and the neighbourhood.—C.
6 Fear and the horrors of war had driven them away from their homes, their villages, and their fields. They had fled apparently to mountain fastnesses. The promise in this verse therefore is not that they would be restored to their native country, from which they had never departed; but that, if they rested with implicit faith in God's providential care and protection, he would give them peace and perfect security in returning to and occupying their houses and properties. The Hebrew form rendered 'cause you to return,' expresses here permission rather than causation—God would give them power to return if they so willed.—P.
13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, tneither obey the voice of the LORD your God,
t Ex.5.2. ch.44.16.
14 Saying, No; ubut we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:
A.M. cir. 3416. B.C. cir. 588.
u Pr.25.27. De.29.19,20. Is.30.16;31.1.
15 And now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye vwholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
16 Then it shall come to pass, that xthe sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close7 after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
17 So shall it be with all the men8 that set their faces to go into Egypt, to sojourn there; ythey shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.
8 Heb. all the men that shall be, ch.44.12,14,28; 21.7;24.11. Eze.5.3,4.
y ver.22;ch.24.10.
18 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, As mine anger and my fury zhath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and aye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.9
z ch.6.11;7.20; 39.1-9;52.4-27. La.i.-v. Da.9.12. 2 Ki.25.4,9,10. 2 Ch.36.16-19.
a ch.24.9; 44.12; 29.18,22;26.6;18.16. Is.65.15. Zec.8.13.
9 The divine promises to the Jews, here as elsewhere, are conditional. Unbelief was the grand source of all their sins as a nation. They would not trust in God. No amount of persuasion, no amount of past experience alike of judgment and mercy, would induce them to yield to him implicit obedience, and rely on his promises. Hence their decline as a nation, their exile, and their final dispersion among the Gentiles.—P.
19 The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah, bGo ye not into 1Egypt: know certainly cthat I have admonished 2you this day.
b De.17.16. Jos.24.14. Eze.20.8. Is.30.1-6; 31.1-3. Eze.17.15.
1 See De.17.16. God resists the emigration to Egypt, because he would preserve their attachment to their own land and religious institutions—because of the danger from Egyptian idolatry—and because he would teach them to depend for safety upon God rather than man.—C.
c De.4.26. Eze.3.21. Lu.12.47,48. Ac.20.20.
2 Heb. testified against you.
20 For ye ddissembled in your hearts,3 when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, ePray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.
d Eze.14.3-8; 33.31,32. Pr.5.12,13. Mat.22.18. Ga.6.7. ch.17.10.
3 Or, you have used deceit against your souls, Nu.16.38.
e ver.2.
21 And now gI have this day declared it to you; hbut ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you.
g 1 Pe.3.15. Eze.2.7; 3.17. Ac.20.20,26,27. ch.23.28. De.11.26,27.
h ch.7.24,26. De.29.19. Zec.7.11,12.
Notes
Reflections.—Ministers have need to be men of fervent prayer, faithfulness, and intimacy with God. And if people would profit by their ministers' prayers, they should seriously attend to their preaching. We can never be sincere with God if we do not obey his will so far as it is known to us. But what a cloak of religion will hypocrites put on to serve a particular turn! They will avouch God as their God, and make great pretences to unreserved readiness to obey his will in all things. How strange it is that he should return such dissemblers so plain, so gracious, an answer! But his mercy is the foundation of all our hopes and happiness. He can turn the hearts of kings to favour or to hate us as he pleases. And they who carefully obey his will may humbly expect his blessing. But it is madness to dissemble with a God of truth, who searches our hearts; or to quit our station, especially in his holy land, because we find trouble in it. If we think to escape suffering by sinning, we only rush upon the thick bosses of his buckler. If we make him our enemy, we shall find him a consuming fire wherever we go; and that upon which we most set our hearts will prove most fatal to us. If we make ourselves vile by our sins, he will make us viler by his judgments.