GEMS FROM JEREMIAH (48) Hanging on by a thread

 

     Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of most of the inhabitants to Babylon, there is still hope left.  Jeremiah and Baruch survive the disaster, and a small group of “poor folk” are left behind under the care of a certain Gedaliah, whom the Babylonians establish as governor of Judah.  As we will see, there were units of guerilla fighters hiding in the countryside as well as many Judahites who had sought shelter among the neighbouring nations.  The destruction had not been total – the people of God still had a foothold in the promised land.  As long as they could remain in the land, they would be a sign that Yahweh was not finished with them yet, that there was a future in which Yahweh’s plans, through his people and in favour of the world, could yet go forward.  Will the survivors have the courage to stay put?

     Jeremiah’s imprisonment in the court of the guard comes to a bizarre end (cf. Jer. 37.21—39.14).  We can imagine how Jeremiah must have felt as he heard the sounds of the Babylonian forces breaching the walls of Jerusalem and slaughtering many of the inhabitants as they spread out inside the city and set it ablaze – the air must have been full of the roaring of the flames, the screams of the dying and the weeping of those being rounded up for deportation.  While all this chaos engulfs Jerusalem, Jeremiah is “safe” in the court of the guard.  Indeed, he is safe, because Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has made provision for his release (39.11-12).  Jer. 40.1-6 is a fuller account of Jeremiah’s release, of which a very brief mention is made in 39.14.  Nebuchadnezzar knew who Jeremiah was and had given orders to the captain of his guard, Nebuzaradan, to treat him well (39.11-14).  Jeremiah is chained and brought to the town of Ramah, where Nebuzaradan releases him from custody (40.1).  Chapter 40 opens with the typical introductory formula of a prophetic oracle: “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan had let him go…” (40.1).  However, in verse 2, we see that the message actually comes from Nebuzaradan, who tells Jeremiah that his God has brought all this disaster upon his people because they refused to obey him (40.2-5)!  Not only does Nebuchadnezzar protect Jeremiah, but the captain of the royal Babylonian guard seems to share Jeremiah’s theological interpretation of the events that have just transpired!  In words reminiscent of those spoken by Abraham to Lot in Genesis 13.9, Nebuzaradan gives Jeremiah the freedom to choose where he wants to go – either to Babylon, where, Nebuzaradan assures him, he will be well treated, or to remain in the land of Judah (40.4-5).  Should Jeremiah choose to remain “in the land”, Nebuzaradan counsels him to seek out Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom Nebuchadnezzar had established as governor over those who had not been deported to Babylon (40.5).  After receiving rations from Nebuzaradan, Jeremiah takes his advice and joins Gedaliah at Mizpah, and stayed with those who had been left behind, albeit under the watchful eye of a Babylonian garrison (40.6; cf. 39.10; 41.3).

     Governor Gedaliah sets up shop at Mizpah, and those Judahite military units that had been operating outside of Jerusalem – and therefore survived the disaster – gather to him (40.7-8).  Gedaliah gives two instructions to the people:

1-    Don’t be afraid to serve the Babylonians;

2-    Stay in the land as subjects of Babylon, and it will go well with you (40.9).

Gedaliah also exhorts the people to gather in the summer harvest (40.10).  As word spreads that there is a governor in Judah, all the Judahites who had taken refuge in the surrounding nations gather in Mizpah (40.11-12).  Already, we witness here a “return” of those who had been displaced due to the Babylonian invasion; this is a small foretaste of Yahweh’s promises to bring his people back to the land following the exile (cf. Jer. 32-33).  As Jeremiah had told King Zedekiah time and time again, the “way of life” was to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, to surrender and to be a dutiful vassal of the Babylonians (cf. Jer. 21.8-10).  Scandalous as it sounded, submission to Babylon would be submission to Yahweh, since the Babylonians were Yahweh’s instrument of judgment against his people.  Since Zedekiah refused to listen to Jeremiah, most of the people have been removed from the land; however, for those few who remain, the message is the same – serve the Babylonians and that way, you will be permitted to remain in the land.  This is Jeremiah’s primary concern – that the remnant left behind by the Babylonians remain in the land.  Like the field that he had purchased from his cousin during the siege of Jerusalem (cf. Jer. 32), the presence of a small group of survivors on the territory of Judah was a sign of hope, a “guarantee” that those who had been exiled would one day return…  For Jeremiah, it was absolutely essential that those who had not been deported to Babylon should stay put, that they should never consider leaving the land for any reason whatsoever.  Jeremiah himself, when presented with the option to go to Babylon or stay behind, had chosen to stay in Judah (cf. 40.1-6).

     All seems to be going well, but Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders warn Gedaliah that the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to assassinate him (40.13-14).  Johanan even offers to kill Ishmael pre-emptively in order to thwart his plan, but Gedaliah refuses to authorize such an action (40.15-16).  Not for the last time in this chaotic period following the fall of Jerusalem, we see that people do not know who to trust: “You are telling a lie about Ishmael”, Gedaliah says to Johanan (40.16).  However, Johanan is soon proved to have been right, and Ishmael and 10 collaborators assassinate Gedaliah during a meal, along with several Judahites and the Babylonian soldiers stationed at Mizpah (41.1-3).  The following day, 80 pilgrims from the territory of the defunct Northern Kingdom arrive near Mizpah on their way to Jerusalem.  Ishmael slaughters 70 of them and throws their bodies into the cistern of Asa, a former king of Judah (41.4-9).  Ishmael then takes the rest of the inhabitants of Mizpah captive and sets out for Ammon.  This is an attempt on the part of Ishmael to “exile” the survivors of Jerusalem to Ammon.  However, Johanan and the other military leaders get wind of what is happening, and they confront Ishmael and rescue the hostages.  Ishmael escapes to Ammon, and Johanan and the survivors prepare to leave Judah to seek shelter in Egypt (41.10-18).  We are not told where Jeremiah was during all of these events.  Understandably, the survivors want to get as far from the Babylonians as possible, who may decide to retaliate for the murder of the one they appointed governor as well as that of their soldiers.  Most probably, the people must have thought, the Babylonians will take revenge against the first people they can get their hands on and ask questions later…