Jeremiah 42 - Remnant

The remnant has gotten much smaller and they are afraid. They are afraid that somehow they, too, will be deported to Babylon as captives. Johanan, the army officer, who freed them from Ishmael's captivity, is thinking that if they all flee to Egypt they will be safe.

Jeremiah advises against this. The promise of God is that if they will stay put in the land that He has given them, He will protect them. He will bless them.

There are times when we feel that the remnant is much smaller than it appears on the surface. Do not despair. Stand firm, trusting in the LORD. Trust that the gifts that God has given you are sufficient for your life. Trust that He will save you. Trust that the LORD is with you as you proclaim the Good News of His Kingdom. It is as simple as that.

Trust in the LORD's direction for you. Trust Him and you will truly live life in the land that He has promised and given you.

Thanks be to God! God's peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 41 - Senseless Civil Wars

Senseless killing! This is one of those stories that just baffles me. Ishmael goes to Mizpah, sits down to eat dinner with Gedaliah (the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the people left in the land after the exile) and kills Gedaliah and everyone with Gedaliah. He then takes the rest of the people (those whom Babylon had left in the land) captive and sets out for the Ammonites. Johanan and his men hear of it and go get these people from Ishmael. They are happy to see Johanan. Ishmael escapes. But, now those people who had been Ishmael's captives are afraid of the Babylonians because Ishmael had killed Gedaliah. Nobody wins!

It reminds me of the many civil uprisings that happen around our world, even today. One uprising after another. For what? What was Ishmael doing trying to enslave his own people? Why? Power? Ego? What? Why do rulers insist on enslaving their own people? Subjugating them to laws that are not fairly balanced for all people? I don't get it. I do get people rebelling when they are the subject of cruel and inhumane laws of the land. But, I don't get why others want to subjugate and persecute them in the first place. Lots of uprisings and wars could be done away with or avoided if we could just learn to respect others a little bit. I suppose it comes down to that same old sin wherein we choose other gods before the one true God; and, often that other god we choose is ourselves.

I cannot help but wonder, this morning, who is winning in Egypt? I suspect no one. Everyone is suffering. May God help the Egyptian people to figure out a way to end the persecution and bloodshed of their own people.

God's Peace - Pr. J