Jeremiah 43
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CHAPTER 43
Flight to Egypt, Continued (43:1–13)
1–3 All of Jeremiah’s prophecies concerning Jerusalem had come true; yet the leaders of this Jewish remnant in Judah accused Jeremiah of lying! (verse 2). Then, hesitant to challenge Jeremiah directly, they put the blame on his secretary Baruch (verse 3).
Note that the leaders didn’t openly oppose God’s will; they simply redefined it according to their liking. It’s easy for us to do the same thing; we easily deceive ourselves. We say we are doing God’s will, but it’s really our own will we are doing. This is why it is so important to test our understanding of God’s will; we need to listen to the “Jeremiahs” God puts around us. We need to be humble, not arrogant (verse 2). We need to be of one mind with fellow believers; the same Holy Spirit who guides us also guides them, and the Spirit does not guide in contradictory ways.117
4–7 Johanan and the officers disobeyed the Lord’s word given through Jeremiah, and led the people into Egypt. Jeremiah and Baruch were taken with them (verse 5)—surely against their will. They went as far as the city of Tahpanhes in the northeastern part of Egypt (verse 7).
8–13 When the people arrived in Tahpanhes, the Lord instructed Jeremiah to “act out” a prophecy: he was to bury some stones in the courtyard of Pharaoh’s palace (verses 8–9). The stones would mark the site of Nebuchadnezzar’s throne, the symbol of his royal authority. The people fleeing to Egypt thought they were escaping from Nebuchadnezzar, but now God was going to send Nebuchadnezzar to Egypt!118 (verses 10–11).