Commentary - Jeremiah 42:7-22

Bird's-eye view

Following the assassination of Gedaliah, the governor appointed by Babylon, the small remnant of Judah left in the land is gripped by fear. Led by Johanan, they approach the prophet Jeremiah with a great show of piety, asking him to inquire of the Lord where they should go and what they should do, solemnly promising to obey whatever God says. This passage is God's answer, delivered through Jeremiah after a ten day wait. The word from the Lord is an ultimatum, a clear fork in the road with covenantal consequences starkly laid out. Option one is to trust God, stay in the ravaged land of Judah, and receive His promise of protection, restoration, and blessing. Option two is to follow their fears, flee to Egypt for perceived safety, and in so doing walk directly into the very sword and famine they are trying to escape. The passage is a masterful exposure of religious hypocrisy, demonstrating how people can use the language of submission to God as a cover for their own predetermined, rebellious plans. It is a powerful lesson on the nature of true faith, which trusts God's Word over human calculation, and a terrifying illustration of divine irony, where the path of self-preservation becomes the certain road to ruin.

Outline

Context In Jeremiah

This chapter occurs in the immediate, chaotic aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The city is destroyed, the king is in exile, and the Babylonians have left a small, impoverished remnant in the land under a Jewish governor, Gedaliah. When Gedaliah is murdered by a nationalist fanatic, the remaining leaders, including Johanan, fear a brutal reprisal from Babylon. Their world has been turned upside down, and they are desperate. It is in this climate of fear and uncertainty that they make their solemn oath to Jeremiah to obey God's word (Jer 42:1-6). The passage that follows is the direct answer to their request. It is God's final offer of grace to a remnant on the soil of the promised land. Their decision will determine whether a seed of Israel remains in Judah or if the land will be left completely empty, and it serves as a tragic bookend to Israel's history of rejecting God's prophets in the very land He gave them.

Key Issues

The Prayer You Don't Want Answered

There is a kind of prayer that is a profound insult to God. It is the prayer that asks for guidance on a decision that has already been made in the heart. It is a prayer for confirmation, not direction. This is the situation with Johanan and the remnant of Judah. They come to Jeremiah looking for all the world like a humble, God-fearing people. They use all the right language. "Pray for us to Yahweh your God... we will do it" (Jer 42:20). But their bags were already packed for Egypt. They were looking for a prophetic stamp of approval on their getaway plan. They wanted to be able to say that their flight from the promised land was "God's will."

This is a subtle but deadly form of hypocrisy. It is an attempt to manipulate God, to use Him as a tool to sanctify our own rebellion. We do this when we ask God if we should leave a difficult marriage, all the while having the divorce lawyer on speed dial. We do this when we ask God if we should take a shady business deal, having already calculated the profits. The remnant of Judah did not want the will of God; they wanted the permission of God. And when God's actual will was revealed, it exposed their pious request as a complete fraud. God, in His sovereignty, answered their prayer, not to confirm their plan, but to expose their hearts.

Verse by Verse Commentary

7-9 Now it happened that at the end of ten days the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah. Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the military forces that were with him, and for all the people both small and great, and said to them, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before Him:

The first thing to notice is the ten-day wait. God is not a cosmic bellhop, and His prophets are not errand boys. He operates on His own timetable. This waiting period would have tested the remnant's sincerity, and as their subsequent actions show, it was a test they failed. When the word does come, Jeremiah assembles everyone, "both small and great." This is a public, corporate matter. He then begins by reminding them of the basis for this meeting. "You sent me." He is not offering his own opinion; he is delivering a message as an accredited ambassador, a message from "Yahweh the God of Israel" in direct response to their formal request.

10-12 ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I have relented of the calamity that I have done against you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,’ declares Yahweh, ‘for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. I will also show you compassion, so that he will have compassion on you and return you to your own soil.’

Here is the path of life, the promise for obedience. The language of "build" and "plant" is covenantal, echoing God's foundational promises to His people. He is offering them a fresh start, right there in the promised land. The phrase "I have relented of the calamity" does not mean God was mistaken before. It is an anthropomorphism describing a change in God's administrative dealings based on the new situation. The judgment on Jerusalem was complete; now was a time for mercy. The central command is a direct confrontation of their root sin: fear. "Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon." Why? Because a greater king is with them. "I am with you to save you." God promises not only to protect them from Babylonian retribution but also to sovereignly work in the heart of the pagan authorities to show them compassion. True security is found not in a change of location, but in the presence of God.

13-17 But if you are going to say, “We will not stay in this land,” so as not to listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, saying, “No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the sound of a trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there,” then now, listen to the word of Yahweh, O remnant of Judah. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “If you really set your face to enter Egypt, and you will enter to sojourn there, then the sword, which you are afraid of, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there. So all the men who set their face to go to Egypt to sojourn there will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and they will have no survivors or any who escaped from the calamity that I am going to bring on them.”

Now comes the alternative, the path of death. Their reasoning for going to Egypt is entirely carnal and sensory. They want to escape the sight of war, the sound of trumpets, and the feeling of hunger. They are seeking comfort and ease, not the will of God. And here is the terrible, divine irony. God tells them that the very things they are running from will hunt them down in the place they are running to. The sword you fear will find you in Egypt. The famine you are anxious about will stick to you like a shadow in Egypt. You cannot outrun the sovereign decree of God. By choosing their own path to safety, they are choosing their own destruction. The judgment is absolute: sword, famine, pestilence. And the result is total: "no survivors or any who escaped." Their self-preservation plan is, in fact, a suicide pact.

18 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “As My anger and wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation, and a reproach; and you will see this place no more.”

God gives them a terrifyingly recent object lesson. "Remember what just happened to Jerusalem? Remember the fire, the siege, the slaughter? That was My wrath." He promises that the same covenantal fury will be redirected toward them the moment they cross the border into Egypt. By leaving the promised land, they are leaving the sphere of God's blessing and entering the sphere of His curse. They will not just be cursed; they will become a curse, a byword among the nations for what happens to a people who defy God. And the final nail: "you will see this place no more." Their disobedience will result in permanent exile and death.

19-21 Yahweh has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah, “Do not go into Egypt!” You should clearly know that today I have testified against you. For you have only led yourselves astray; for it is you who sent me to Yahweh your God, saying, “Pray for us to Yahweh our God; and according to all that Yahweh our God says, tell us so, and we will do it.” So I have told you today, but you have not listened to the voice of Yahweh your God, even according to all that He has sent me to tell you.

Jeremiah now drops the prophetic oracle and speaks directly as God's prosecuting attorney. The command is blunt: "Do not go into Egypt!" He declares that he has fulfilled his duty as a covenant witness. He then exposes their profound self-deception. The King James says "ye dissembled in your hearts," which is a fine way of putting it. You played a crooked game with your own souls. He throws their pious words right back in their faces. He quotes their solemn promise to obey, and then flatly states that they have not listened and have no intention of listening. Their request for guidance was a lie from the beginning. They had already set their faces toward Egypt, and now God has exposed the rebellion behind their religious masks.

22 So now, you should clearly know that you will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, in the place where you desire to go to sojourn.

The conclusion is stark and unavoidable. "Clearly know this." There is no ambiguity, no room for misunderstanding. The consequence is directly and irrevocably tied to their desire. The very place you desire to go for safety will be the place of your execution. Their desires, set against the word of God, were leading them to the grave. This is the endpoint of all rebellion. The place we choose for ourselves apart from God, which seems so safe and appealing, becomes the very instrument of our judgment.

Application

The story of this remnant in Judah is our story. Our hearts are just as deceitful, and our fears are just as compelling. We are constantly tempted to seek our security in some "Egypt" of our own making, whether it be a career, a relationship, a political ideology, or a financial portfolio. We look at the circumstances God has placed us in, the "land" He has told us to occupy, and it often seems desolate and dangerous. And so, like Johanan, we craft pious-sounding prayers asking for God's will, all the while having our hearts set on the perceived safety and comfort of Egypt.

This passage calls us to a radical faith that obeys God's clear commands, especially when they run counter to our fears and our common sense. It commands us to stay in the land. This means staying in that difficult marriage, remaining faithful in that thankless job, continuing to serve in that struggling church, because God has said, "I am with you to save you." True security is never found by running from the place of obedience. It is found only in the presence of the God who promises to build and to plant His people, even in the rubble.

Ultimately, this passage shows us our desperate need for a Savior. We are all natural-born citizens of Egypt-bound caravans. We are experts at self-deception and masters of disobedience. We need more than a prophet to tell us the way; we need a King who will grab us by the collar, turn us around, and give us a new heart that desires to stay in the land. Jesus Christ is the one who, faced with the ultimate calamity, did not flee from the will of His Father. He embraced the sword and the curse on our behalf, so that we, the true remnant, could be delivered from the hand of every enemy and be planted forever in the true promised land, which is life in His presence.