As I talked about last week, we are reflecting on a few events from the Jewish Calendar. Rash Hashanah started on the eve of October 2 and ended on the eve of the 4th. The Ten Days of Awe / Repentance begins at Rash Hashanah and the day after is the Gedaliah fast. Then the Ten Days of Awe ends with a fast on Yom Kippur. One writer said, “Jewish tradition holds that the gates of Heaven close as the sun goes down on Yom Kippur, and that our fate is sealed at that awesome moment. That is why we fast on Yom Kippur; for on that day we are concerned solely with the fate of the soul.” Another writer said, “Yom Kippur fast day is the holiest day of the year, when we are closest to God and to the essence of our souls. Yom Kippur means “Day of Atonement,” as the verse states, “For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before God.” We will be talking about Yom Kippur next week.
Today our focus is on the Gedaliah Fast. This commemorates the tragic murder of a good man who was appointed governor by the Babylonians after the destruction of Jerusalem. This fast during the Ten Days of Awe / Repentance should not really be about Gedaliah who really plays a small part in the events that would unfold before and after. Having said that Gedaliah should be a focal point that focuses on the stubborn obstinance of a rebellious people. It is the events leading up to the murder of Gedaliah that we must learn from and the events following his murder. Those events should lead to true repentance but as we have seen for over 2000 years, the Jews refuse to repent and bow before their King and Messiah Jesus. As John said, John 1:9 “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 3:19 “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” The Jews refuse to come into the light, and they remain blind and deaf to the way and truth. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” These yearly rituals will not help them “with the fate of their souls.” As Paul said, 2 Corinthians 3:14 “their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
Although every year the Jews participate in these Holy days, Rash Hashanah and Yom Kippur and this Gedaliah fast, the Jews still do not learn from their past and repent. Sadly, the church has done the same and the yearly rituals, attending church week after week will not help because the church also refuses to turn from their wicked ways. Paul told the church. 1 Corinthians 10:6 “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” The good news is that it is not too late to learn from the past and repent. Jeremiah 3:12 “Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the Lord. 14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” Zechariah 1:3 “Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
The prophets had warned the people repeatedly to obey. Those warnings also apply to the church. For example, Jeremiah 1:1 “The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.” Jeremiah 36:2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. 3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.” 2 Chronicles 34:1 “Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. 3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. 8 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.” The kings that followed all did evil in the eyes of the Lord and refused to listen to Jeremiah and the other prophets. Jeremiah 7:22 “For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’ 27 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.” Jeremiah 25:3 “For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.” 7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.” 8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
The people refused to listen and brought God’s wrath upon themselves even though they were warned again and again. 2 Chronicles 36:15 “The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. 18 He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.” The last king of Judah to fall was Zedekiah. King Zedekiah refused to listen to Jeremiah but did listen to the false prophets. Jeremiah said Jeremiah 37:19 “Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’?” Even though Jeremiah told king Zedekiah that he would be delivered into the hands of the Babylonians, Jeremiah said Jeremiah 38:17 “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. 18 But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from them.’” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.” 20 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: 22 All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you: “‘They misled you and overcame you— those trusted friends of yours. Your feet are sunk in the mud; your friends have deserted you.’ 23 “All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down.”
King Zedekiah was more afraid of the Jews than he was God, so he did not listen to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 37:2 “Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.” Jeremiah 39:1 “In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. 4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. 5 But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. 6 There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. 7 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. 8 The Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people. 10 But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.”
This atrocity took place because God’s people refused to obey His word and the warnings given to them by the prophets. This had already happened to Israel. 2 Kings 17:6 “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God.”
If they were not killed, they were taken captive but as we see in the verse above, the king would leave some of the poor people behind and gave them vineyards and fields but overall only a few would survive. After conquering a land, they would leave behind a governor who would be subservient to the Babylonian king. This governor was Gedaliah. Meanwhile Jeremiah had been taken captive and was headed for Babylon. Even though his life was very difficult, God promised that He would be with him. His life is similar to the apostle Paul. Acts 9:16 “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Acts 26:17 “I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles.” Jeremiah was told, Jeremiah 1:19 “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 40:1 “The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. 2 When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “The Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place. 3 And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him. 4 But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.” 5 However, before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, “Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please. Then the commander gave him provisions and a present and let him go. 6 So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land.” Even this Babylonians commander knew why all this was happening.
The man chosen to be governor was Gedaliah and he was a good man who cared for the people and was subservient to the king of Babylon. After some of the survivors had heard that Gedaliah was appointed governor, many were able to come back and live in the land. Jeremiah 40:9 “Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. 10 I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over. 12 And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.” By all appearances, this would be good for the people who had survived but not everyone wanted to serve the Babylonians. One such person was Ishmael son of Nethaniah, who had royal blood and did not want to serve the Babylonians much like the Jews who did not want to serve the Romans. He desired to rule, but the next king would be Jesus. Gedaliah ended up being too trusting and ignored a very specific warning about his assassination. Jeremiah 40:13 “Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14 and said to him, 14 Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.” Even though Gedaliah was warned, he ignored the warning and there was a massacre. Jeremiah 41:1 “In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, 2 Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. 3 Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian soldiers who were there.” He then killed eighty more who were coming to the house of the Lord. 10 Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah—the king’s daughters along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.” But he was stopped. Jeremiah 41:11 “When Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed, 12 they took all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool in Gibeon. 13 When all the people Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad. 14 All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites.”
Before this all happened, God’s people refused to obey His word. Again and again, the prophets would give them warning, but they did not listen. Gedaliah was right when he said, “Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians, settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.” Jeremiah had told the kings of the land and the king of Judah that He was giving their land into the hand of the Babylonians. Jeremiah 27:2 “This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. 3 Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: 5 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. 6 Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. 7 All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him. 8“If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11 But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the Lord.”’ Jeremiah also told king Zedekiah. Jeremiah 27:12 “I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live. 13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies to you. 15 ‘I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’” But as we read, the king and the people refused to listen.
Now we have a group of people who have survived the onslaught of the Babylonians but now they think they have a problem because Gedaliah was assassinated and are heading for Egypt to save themselves. They were very committed in their desire to go to Egypt thinking that was the only way they would be secure. Jeremiah 41:16 “Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led away all the people of Mizpah who had survived, whom Johanan had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had assassinated Gedaliah son of Ahikam—the soldiers, women, children and court officials he had recovered from Gibeon. 17 And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt 18 to escape the Babylonians. They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.” Everything that Jeremiah had spoken to the people over all of these years had taken place, so it would make sense to stop and talk to Jeremiah so that he would give his blessing on them as they headed to Egypt. They said Jeremiah 42:2 “Please hear our petition and pray to the Lord your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left. 3 Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” This group of people survived the Babylonian attack. They saw the words of Jeremiah fulfilled so they said to Jeremiah, Jeremiah 42:5 “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. 6 Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God.” Basically, what they were saying was they wanted their journey to Egypt to go well. We have all prayed this way and said Lord bless my decisions and plans even though we had not been seeking God wholeheartedly. This is why you don’t pray that way but submit to God’s plan no matter what.
Jeremiah had agreed to go before the Lord and by the answer God gave, He was very aware of their desire to go to Egypt. Jeremiah 42:7 “Ten days later the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. 9 He said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says: 10 ‘If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you. 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. 12 I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’13 “However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey the Lord your God, 14 and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,’ 15 then hear the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, 16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die. 17 Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’ 18 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach; you will never see this place again.’ 19 “Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today 20 that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ 21 I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. 22 So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”
Gedaliah had said the same to the people and all would have gone well, but Ishmael son of Nethaniah who had royal blood had different plans and appears wanted to be in power. Now these people who survived would understand that Gedaliah was right in the way he governed the people and now had to accept the same direction that God gave Jeremiah. Since everything that Jeremiah said was fulfilled, it only made sense to do as he said and forgo their plans to seek security in Egypt. Of course they would obey the word of the Lord because the man they feared had destroyed their land, killed the people, took some captive and destroyed the temple. After Jeremiah told them what God had said they took what Jeremiah said and praised God. Actually, they did not say that and what we are learning from them is the result of their disobedience and stubborn obstinance, not the results of their obedience. It really is hard to comprehend their stubborn obstinance to obeying God’s word. Instead of obeying and even after all that Jeremiah has said came true, Jeremiah 43:2 “they said, to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ 3 But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.” Really? The prophet of God who warned the people about the Babylonian invasion is lying! 7 “So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the Lord and went as far as Tahpanhes.” Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah again. Jeremiah 44:2 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the great disaster I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie deserted and in ruins 3 because of the evil they have done. They aroused my anger by burning incense to and worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever knew. 4 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’ 5 But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods. 6 Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today. 11 “Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster on you and to destroy all Judah. 12 I will take away the remnant of Judah who were determined to go to Egypt to settle there. They will all perish in Egypt; they will fall by the sword or die from famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine. They will become a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach. 13 I will punish those who live in Egypt with the sword, famine and plague, as I punished Jerusalem. 14 None of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they long to return and live; none will return except a few fugitives. “Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows! 26 But hear the word of the Lord, all you Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, “As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.” 27 For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed. 28 Those who escape the sword and return to the land of Judah from Egypt will be very few. Then the whole remnant of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand—mine or theirs.”
They would find out that Jeremiah’s word would stand as it always had. Jeremiah 44:29 “‘This will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that you will know that my threats of harm against you will surely stand.’ 30 This is what the Lord says: ‘I am going to deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who want to kill him, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who wanted to kill him.’” These people represent so many who call themselves Jews or Christians. As we saw with this group, their plan all along was to go to Egypt so they could hide from the Babylonians, and even though God said don’t go, they went anyway. Most go through the motions of going before God, but they really have no intent on waiting for His response. This people even said “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God.” They lied to God as they had no intent on listening. Later in Acts we saw what happened when a man and his wife lied to God. Acts 5:4 “What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.” The same happened to his wife. Yes, that was in the New Testament. Jeremiah said to the people, “Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God.” People are praying for the presence of God in their midst yet refuse to obey. That will bring the wrath of God just as it did in Jeremiah and in Acts. When God turns His face back to the church, you do not want to do as these people did. Ecclesiastes 5:1 “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. 2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3 A dream comes when there are many cares, and many words mark the speech of a fool. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.” Today the Jews and the church do not fear God, nor do they stand in awe of Him even though these are the Ten Days of Awe / Repentance. If people really did fear God and stand in awe of Him, they would humble themselves before Him but instead life goes on the same and the rituals and the meaningless words repeat year after year.
We the church and the Jews have all this before us and are without excuse, yet the Jews refuse to accept Jesus as their Messiah and the church refuses to turn from their wicked ways, serving a different Jesus and following other gospels. Just because someone says they are a Christian, does not mean that they are. Jeremiah 12:2 “You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.” Mark 7:6 “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” Since there is no fear, and since they have not seen something like Acts 5, they refuse to repent. Jeremiah 5:6 “I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. 7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord. 8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? 11 The people of Israel and the people of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord. 12 They have lied about the Lord; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. 13 The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.” Jeremiah 8:10 “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. 11 They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. 12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the Lord.” Isaiah 30:9 “For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. 10 They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” Not much has changed.
Every year like today, the Gedaliah Fast will take place. When you read about it, the emphasis is on the man Gedaliah, but it really should be about the rejection of God’s word that led to the destruction of the temple and then the rebellion of the surviving remnant who rejected God’s word and were destroyed in Egypt. There really is no sense fasting if you are not going to humble yourself before God and obey His word. These words can apply to the Jews and the church. Isaiah 58:1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please.” Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.” This isn’t just talking about money, but the refusal to commit our lives to Jesus. Most today think what they see in the church is floodgates already open, as all they know is the powerless church. Most refuse to believe the church is supposed to have the same power and authority that Jesus gave the first disciples and the power that came at Pentecost. Most do not believe the church is able to do as Jesus did. Instead. they are satisfied with the drought and famine, thinking that is all there is. Most have come to believe that the power of the gospel is not available for today. Amos 8:11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” Those days are already here.
There is good news for those who will repent, both Jew and Gentile and we will talk more about that next week when we talk about Yom Kippur. Isaiah 30:19 “People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!” We have this hope because God made a promise to David that there would always be a remnant of survivors. Isaiah 59:20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord.” Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” The kingdom coming near means that power will return to the church. If you are just going through the motions, you are wasting your time. If you think that participating in a ritual will save you and bring security to your soul like these on the Jewish calendar or those on the Christian calendar, you have been deceived. Year after year Jews think that their names are written in the book and year after year at Easter, the church celebrates Jesus rising from the dead, yet at the same time rejects the very power that raised Him from the dead, all the while saying to God, we will serve you and do as you command.
Yes, Gedaliah was a good man, but the people were stubborn and obstinate and refused to obey. This stubborn obstinance and refusal to obey led to the Babylonians destruction of the Promised Land and the people of God. This rebellion also led to even some of the remnant, those who had survived the Babylonian onslaught, being destroyed. Today the world has been ravaged by the greatest destruction thus far, which is far worse than the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. It is the abomination that causes desolation, and millions will not see eternal life. When the end finally comes, many who thought their souls were secure, will hear, Matthew 25:41 “‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Luke 13:27 “I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!” When talking about the massive destruction causes by the abomination that causes desolation, Jesus said, Matthew 24:22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” Not one single person would have the strength to survive but some will survive only because of God’s grace. Peter gave us this warning. 2 Peter 3:17 “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.” Because the deception by satan and the delusion brought on by God due to rebellion (2 Thessalonians 2), there will only be by the grace of God a few survivors. There will be a remnant who will see eternal life. Matthew 24:13 “the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” So it is crucial to test the spirits and make sure you are following the true gospel. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world”. The Jews to this day have refused to accept Jesus as their Messiah. The church today says they have accepted Jesus but refuse to obey His gospel. Millions are dying without know the truth.
Repentance doesn’t have to be during a specific time on the calendar like the Ten Days of Awe / Repentance or Lent; returning to God’s word and living by faith can be any day. The best day to repent is now. Call out to God and ask for His mercy and wait for His response. When He does respond, do as He says to do. Isaiah 64:1 “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! 4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. 5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. 9 Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people. 10 Your sacred cities have become a wasteland; even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation. 11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in ruins. 12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?” Lamentations 5:19 “You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation. 21 Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old.” If you are already living by faith, stay faithful to God’s word and do not give up. Hebrews 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” 38 And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” 39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” Jeremiah 11:4 “Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today. I answered, “Amen, Lord.”
