Jottings

by J. Miller | Category: Jottings | Sept 1960

In the closing portion of Jeremiah 52 we arc told of three occasions on which captives were carried away from Judah to Babylon. In the first occasion three thousand and twenty-three Jews were carried to Babylon. In the second eight hundred and thirty-two, and in the third seven hundred and forty-five were carried captive, making four thousand and six hundred in all. It is said that

Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vine-dressers and husbandmen" (Jeremiah 52.16). Those were fearful days of sorrow for the Jewish people. One of the sad and cruel things that Nebuchadnezzar did is told us in the following words,

"And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes:

he slew also alt the princes of Judah in Ribtah. And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death" (Jeremiah 52.10, 11).

What a sight for a man to see his own sons being slain and then to have his eyes put out, so that no other sights which he might have seen afterwards might in anywise blur and dim the picture of the slaughter of his sons What a sight to burn into a man's brain for ever afterwards, and besides to realize, perhaps, that his own sinful life had in large measure brought about this tragedy

But what was the cause of all this sorrow and suffering? The answer is given in 2 Chronicles 36. 13-16, where we are told that the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the heathen; and they polluted the house of the LORD which He had hallowed in Jerusalem." And though the LORD sent His messengers, rising up early and sending, because of His great compassions, the people mocked the messengers of God and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people. Habakkuk the prophet saw in holy vision the on-rush of the Chaldeans as they descended upon Judah and Benjamin, the remnant of His people left in the land, and he spoke of them in such words as: "Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour" (Habakkuk 1.8). Alas, for God's poor, foolish, and (having rejected their God) unprotected people under the hordes of the heathen!

It may be, and no doubt it was the case, that they were saying, at least in their hearts, before the Chaldeans came, as they went on in their sin and folly, what the remnant said in the later time of Malachi, Ye say, Wherein have we wearied Him? In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delighteth in them; or where is the God of judgement?" Greater perversion could not be imagined. But it was no new thing in Israel to call evil good, and good evil. See Isaiah 5.20.

Love suffers long and is kind, but even the long-suffering of love comes to an end. It does not say that love suffers for ever. This perchance is what many think of God, who is love. God is a God of judgement as well as love, and love despised will lead on to judgement. Sin against law is great, but sin against love is greater. There is a remedy for the former, but none against the latter, when love is absolutely rejected. Paul, quoting from the LXX of Habakkuk 1. 5, in the synagogue of Antioch of Pisidia, said, "Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish" (Acts 13.41). Solemn in the time of Habakkuk, in the coming of the Chaldeans, but infinitely more solemn in the case of those who reject the gospel.

Not all the people were evil in their ways, though the great majority were. There were amongst the captives who were carried away to Babylon youths such as Daniel and his three companions, four of the finest types of young men that one might wish to see. Daniel, though he was not amongst the captives who returned in the days of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, as described in Ezra, yet when he prayed to God, remembered the dedicatory prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple, that when they were captives in foreign lands they should pray toward the place of the house of God. Thus he prayed with his window open towards Jerusalem, and remembering too the words of Jeremiah's prophecy, He prayed earnestly for the return of his captive brethren (Daniel 9).

In the sad days at the close of the kingdom of the house of David, when Nebuchadnezzar with his Chaldeans came and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and carried away all the precious things together with the best of the people, he appointed Gedaliah to be governor over the cities of Judah. One Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, of the seed royal, assassinated Gedaliah and also all the Jews that were with him, also the Chaldeans that were there. Then he slew eighty men who came in great sadness with oblations and frankincense, to bring them to the house of the LORD, and cast their dead bodies into a pit which Asa the king had made, beside that of Gedaliah. Ishmael carried away captive all the people that were in Mizpah, among whom were the king's daughters, people who had been left with Gedaliah by the Chaldeans. Johanan the son of Kareah with others, when they heard of the evil work of Ishmael, went to fight with Ishmael. When the captives who were in the hands of Ishmael saw Johanan and his helpers they were glad. Johanan brought back all the people that Ishmael had taken, but Ishmael and eight men escaped and went to the children of Ammon. See Jeremiah, chapters 40 and 41.

When Johanan and the rest arrived back, they came to Jeremiah and besought him to pray for them as to what they should do. They assured Jeremiah that they would obey the word of the LORD whatever it was.

"They said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not even according to all the word wherewith the LORD thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee ; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God" (Jeremiah 42.5, 6).

What was the sequel to so stout an asseveration? The word of the LORD was, "0 remnant of Judah, Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have testified unto you this day" (Jeremiah 42.19). How did they receive Jeremiah's words from the LORD? Alas, the word of the LORD was rejected by them. "Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Ye shall not go into Egypt to sojourn there" (Jeremiah 43.2). Note, these are the words of proud men, men who set themselves up as knowing better what to do than the LORD Himself. God can do nothing for or with the proud. He knows them afar off; they are ever remote from Him. Well did Paul say, "Let God be found true, but every man a liar" (Romans 3.4).

They were afraid that Nebuchadnezzar would come again to Judah, and they sought to save themselves from his hand by taking their own way of seeking security by finding it in Egypt. Hut they did not reckon that Nebuchadnezzar would follow them to Egypt and set his throne and spread his pavilion at the entry of Pharaoh's house (Jeremiah 43.8-13). Safety is not to be found in a self-chosen way; it is to be found in the way of God's choice. It is well to follow the leading of a God who knows the end from the beginning. The remnant of Judah took their own way and in so doing were doomed to destruction, and would never see the land of Judah again.

When the remnant of the Jews went to Egypt they took Jeremiah with them, and there he spoke to them of their past idolatries in the land of Judah, and of the consequences which would fall upon them. "The men which knew that their wives burned incense unto other gods, and all the women" ... said to Jeremiah, "We will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals (bread), and were well, and saw no evil. Hut since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine" (Jeremiah 44.15-28). We may think that the judgement which fell on God's people in the coming of Nebuchadnezzar and after was heavy and grievous, hut what could God do with such a people?

J. Miller | Sept 1960
Jottings