I Seek His Voice, But Do I Fully Obey It?
Scripture Passage: Jeremiah 43:1-7 (NASB)
1 But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the Lord their God had sent to them, had finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God—that is, all these words— 2 Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’; 3 but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us in order to hand us over to the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon!” 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in the land of Judah. 5 Instead, Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been scattered, in order to reside in the land of Judah— 6 the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah— 7 and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the Lord) and went in as far as Tahpanhes.
SUMMARY
Jeremiah finished giving the people the response he received from the Lord, regarding what the remnants of Judah inquired of God. They were to stay in Babylon where they would experience God’s provision and working on their behalf, instead they rejected this response, calling Jeremiah a liar. They blamed Baruch for wanting them to be killed or exiled. Johanan and the leaders took all the people, men, women, children, etc, into Egypt, where God specifically told them not to go. They went as far into Egypt as the city of Tahpanhes.
REFLECTION
I was incredulous after I read this passage. I couldn’t believe how the remnants outright disobeyed God, when just in the previous chapter they insisted to Jeremiah,
““May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the Lord your God will send you to us. Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well for us when we listen to the voice of the Lord our God.” (Jeremiah 42:5-6)
They sought the Lord’s answer and waited on an answer through Jeremiah for ten days. The answer did not make sense for them by their humanly judgment, and they thought they were avoiding danger by escaping to Egypt. God wanted to show them the miracles of his working in Babylon and God’s mercy in Babylon. They didn’t take this opportunity of blessings that God promised to them, instead they went back to Egypt, the place of spiritual slavery, and the place that God specifically commanded them not to go.
APPLICATION
I am convicted that just like the people of Judah, I seek to hear from the Lord, but I don’t always want to obey. It’s because sometimes I’m scared to do it God’s way, and it’s risky. Other times, it’s because I would rather do what pleases my flesh and gives me enjoyment. Too many times I say to God that “I want to hear from you, Lord”, “Answer me”, but ultimately I want to make my own judgments, even though he gives me the wisdom and conviction in my heart.
When I do this I am quenching the work of the Holy Spirit, and I don’t get to witness the mercies and working of God. It’s heartbreaking that we miss out on these opportunities to see God’s work because we don’t simply obey. We just let our own judgments take over.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father,
I confess that I still want to be the lord over my life, picking and choosing from your commands only the ones I want to follow. I cannot serve two masters-- myself and God, so help me to commit myself to obeying only you as the Lord of my life. Also, please forgive me, and wash me from this particular sin with the blood of Jesus. That’s the only way I can turn away from my sin, is when I am made anew in Jesus. In my human condition, of course I make the same foolish mistakes over and over again, disobey over and over again. But when I die to myself, am washed by Jesus’ cleansing blood, and made anew in Christ, I can truly obey and do God’s will.
Help me, Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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