Blinded by the Light
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Blinded by the Light
Jeremiah 42–45
Main Idea: When God shows us the way, tragically we can choose to be blinded by the light.
- Jeremiah’s Last Words to Judah (42:1–43:7)[8]
- God’s word requested (42:1-6)
- God’s word received (42:7-22)
- First alternative: Stay in the land (42:10-12).
- Second alternative: Go to Egypt (42:13-22).
- Jeremiah’s Last Words in Egypt (43–44)
- God’s word rejected (43:1-7)
- The pharaoh dethroned (43:8-13)
- The warning delivered (44:1-14)
- The people defiant (44:15-19)
- The future determined (44:20-30)
- God’s Words to Baruch (45)
Among the most fascinating of Jesus’s miracles is the sixth sign miracle recorded by John. It is fascinating for the detail in which John tells the story, and even more fascinating in that John details the reactions of all those who were standing around Jesus.
The miracle happens in John 9:1-5 when Jesus’s disciples question him about a man’s blindness:
As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him. We must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Jesus’s response answers the question but points to a deeper reality: a time is coming when darkness will fall. For us darkness means so much less than it did then. With no electric lights, darkness meant the end of productive work. John the writer wants us to see the insight of Jesus. Jesus is using this teachable moment to affirm that (1) a particular sin did not cause this guy’s blindness, but (2) his blindness is for the glory of God, and (3) darkness is coming, but that’s OK because (4) Jesus is the light of the world.
In other words, Jesus is saying, “Really guys, don’t be concerned about the blindness of this man; be more concerned with your own spiritual insight: don’t be blind to the truth that I am the light.”
Jesus healed the blind man. The light of the world caused the blind man to see the light that was always around him. Perhaps no supernatural miracle was so spiritually natural. Perhaps no miracle was as metaphorical as this one. And the disciples were not the only ones who could not see it. When the blind man’s friends saw it, they did not believe him. Almost with a sense of ironic comedy, John records,
His neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit begging?” Some said, “He’s the one.” Others were saying, “No, but he looks like him.”
He kept saying, “I’m the one.”
So they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”
He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So when I went and washed I received my sight.”
“Where is he?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. (John 9:8-12)
The neighbors cannot see it. They are not unlike the disciples. The man who had sight for the least amount of time can see more than those born with sight. That is often true spiritually. The deepest insights often come from the freshest eyes.
The Pharisees cannot see it. When he is brought to them, there is again an almost comical exchange. John records in verses 13-17 that they are fixated on the fact that he was healed on the Sabbath! Really. I am not confident the blind man was particular. It’s hard to pass up a life-changing miracle even if the timing is not right.
So they call his parents. His parents see it but because of the social pressure can’t admit it. They have to hold their hands in front of them and feign blindness so as to avoid persecution (vv. 18-20).
When the Pharisees return to question the formerly blind man, he simply says, “One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!” Again, we have another comical interlude by John:
Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
“I already told you,” he said, “and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?” (vv. 26-27)
They didn’t. They were blind and wanted it that way.
Jesus finds the man.
Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
“Who is he, Sir, that I may believe in him?” he asked.
Jesus answered, “You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” (vv. 35-37)
“You have seen him.” Of course he has. Jesus opened his eyes. The point was not lost on the Pharisees:
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?”
“If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” (vv. 40-41)
The shocking thing about this story is all the blindness. The one man who was healed exposes all those who were blind all along! Sometimes a healing exposes further sickness. Sometimes when the light is adjusted in a room we are able to see just how dark it had been all along. We know that is axiomatic, yet in John’s story this was taking place in the presence of the one who is the light of the world. Truly the disciples, the parents, and the Pharisees were blinded by the light, which is crazy because they were always waiting for a Messiah. Yet, when God sent the Messiah, they were not sure if they really wanted what they had asked for. This is what is going on in Jeremiah 42–44.
Context
A remnant is left in Jerusalem after the exiles have been taken away. The remnant desperately wants to be saved, so they ask Jeremiah to look, to see their condition, and to tell them God’s instruction (Jer 42:2-3). The question is, Do they really want illumination? When God gives them insight in the way they should go, will they be responsive to it?
Jeremiah’s Last Words to Judah
Jeremiah 42:1–43:7
God’s Word Requested (42:1-6)
God told Jeremiah over and over again how to lead the people. They now are in the exact position God wanted them to be in all along: they desperately want to hear from God. However, the problem is that it is too late for them to receive the benefit of receiving from God what he wanted to give them all along: peace during this transition. The transition was coming. God had already set the moving date. God had gladly provided them a way of escape, a way they did not take. So they will submit to God’s plans—we all do eventually—they will just do it without the benefit of God’s blessings.
God’s Word Received (42:7-22)
After the people prayed for ten days, God finally answers their prayer. He presents them two alternatives.
First alternative: stay in the land (vv. 10-12).The first alternative they have is to stay in the land and obey God. They are commanded not to fear the king of Babylon.
Notice the logic of this affirmation. First, don’t fear the king that you fear (v. 10). This is as compelling as it is comical. Stop fearing what you fear. This is a command not to have an emotion. Stop feeling this way. This seems ridiculous to our modern sensibilities in which we are taught that the greatest violence we can do to ourselves is not to emote anything! We should always express every emotion in real time! After all, why even have social media if that were not the case? But God says to stop fearing what you are fearing. If this were not possible, he would not have commanded it.
So, is he telling them to play mental games and just pretend that the threat is not real? Not at all! The command to reign in the emotion of fear is based on solid truth. Here it is:
- Believe God’s word—he will rebuild you (v. 10).
- Believe God’s presence—he is with you (v. 11).
- Believe God’s sovereignty—the king will have compassion (v. 12).
Here, at the beginning of the narrative, is an invitation to respond to the character of God. Of course, the choice to respond to the character of God is also a choice not to react to circumstances around them.
Second alternative: go to Egypt (vv. 13-22). The second alternative is to disobey God, leave, and go to Egypt. This is what the people want. They have a heart that is bent toward disobedience. Tragically, the God who wanted to give them a future and a hope is now prophesying terror for those who disobey (v. 18).
God is saying that wrath and punishment will take place “just as” it took place in Jerusalem. God is helping them with a mental picture. He is asking them to visualize what it had been like in Jerusalem a few days before. That is what waited for them in Egypt. Why would they not see this? Why did they only see what they wanted to see?
Jeremiah’s Last Words in Egypt
Jeremiah 43–44
God’s Word Rejected (43:1-7)
After all the warnings, they act on their disobedience. They make their decision and choose to go to Egypt. Occasionally in the book of Jeremiah, massive movements and decisions are summed up in tight little concise statements.
Verse 7 is an example: “And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord” (ESV).
That’s it. They heard the voice. They did not obey the voice. This is the disobedient relocation. So close to God they could not see him. They were blinded by the light.
The Pharaoh Dethroned (43:8-13)
Egypt is a world superpower. The people want to go there. God is telling them to stay in Judah. They are going to practice the deadly combination of selective hearing with a selective memory. Taken together, a selective memory with selective hearing can weave just about any narrative one wants. And the people reject God’s word that Egypt is a no go.
God warns them that he is not hurting them; he is actually protecting them from coming disaster. The pharaoh will be dethroned, and Egypt will be overrun by the Babylonians. Egypt will be taken out; and, as a dramatic example, even the famous Egyptian landmarks will be broken (v. 13).
The Warning Delivered (44:1-14)
God appeals to the people and asks them to see his patience. Even though the people have rejected him time and time again, he still sent prophets to warn them. Since they still refuse, God warns them that they would not survive in Egypt. God, who had been for them, is now against them. Why do they want to go to Egypt? The reason is that they cannot see what they do not want to see. They see Egypt as a symbol of prosperity and security. They could have in Egypt the best the world has to offer: peace, comfort, security. This logic made perfect sense—it always does—except that it’s false. They just did not want to see the truth.
The People Defiant (44:15-19)
The people respond tragically: “As for the word you spoke to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you!” They are so blinded they believe this calamity has come because they have not been sacrificing to the queen of heaven. In the world of logic this is called a non sequitur. This is Latin for, “It does not follow.” Yes they stopped sacrificing, and yes they have fallen on hard times, but the two facts are not connected. They are only connected because, in the defiance of the people, they want them to be connected. They want anything but the light of the word.
The women then insist that what they did was done with their husbands’ permission. This is a fascinating insertion. According to the Levitical code the husband could veto a vow that was improper (Num 30:3-16). So the women are saying that they worshiped a false god with their husbands’ permission! In other words, they were taking a page out of Adam’s book by blame shifting. However, you cannot do the wrong thing the right way.
The Future Determined (44:20-30)
Jeremiah reaches a different conclusion. He notes that in reality these sacrifices to the queen of heaven were causing all the problems they were experiencing (v. 23).
God promised, through the words of Jeremiah, that those who sought refuge in Egypt were on a fool’s errand. No refuge would be found there. There was no hope in fleeing to Egypt. Why? Because in the same way that Zedekiah was taken out, the Egyptian pharaoh would be removed as well (v. 30). God was not the king of Egypt. That would be beneath him. He was not merely the king; he was the kingmaker. Israel then had a significant tactical advantage because God allowed them to see things no one else could see. They had insight no one else had. The problem is that sometimes God allows us to see, but we just can’t see it. We do not have a vision of what it would be like to walk in the light.
Recently I asked my young children what they would do if they could time travel. This is a remarkable fantasy! Any time. Any place. My eight-year-old replied that she would time travel forward and skip all the homework of third grade. My eleven-year-old replied that she would take money and travel back to the time when ice cream was a nickel (something I assume she heard from her grandmother) and buy tons of ice cream. Think of this! They could meet the great leaders of the world. They could stand on the beaches of Normandy or see Rome in all her glory. They could see the first Olympic games in Greece or walk with the disciples. Instead they go for skipping homework and cheap ice cream. Why can they not see all the possibilities?! I know, I know, I have some parenting to do. But did I mention they are eight and eleven? The great vistas that lay before them are invisible because they want sweets and free time. They are blinded by their own immediate desires.
As a pastor I have seen this numerous times but in far more serious ways. A couple is shown what the ravages of divorce will do to their family, but in that moment they do not want to see it. They just want the immediate false freedom from their marriage. A man is tempted to be unfaithful and ruin the most precious stewardship any man could ever have, but he will trade that beauty for a few moments of pleasure. An opportunity to live and die with integrity cannot be seen because a student just wants a quick grade, so he cheats in school. The truth is that the horizons of our sight are blocked by the urgency of our desires. Sin is so blinding that it is like the low-hanging lights that keep us from seeing the stars.
God’s Word to Baruch
Jeremiah 45
In this short chapter God affirms that disaster is coming upon the land. Yet God has mercy. He will spare the life of Jeremiah’s friend Baruch. He had been taken off to Egypt (43:6), and he shares Jeremiah’s despondency over the whole situation. Evidently this was a young man with promise, yet now he is relocated with nothing to show for it.
Kidner notes, “This little chapter speaks volumes of the ‘quick-eyed love,’ the ‘severe mercy,’ and the ‘never-failing providence’ of God” (Message of Jeremiah, 135). God is protecting Baruch. Baruch is, in this sense, the opposite of the false prophets and of King Zedekiah. He does put his neck under the yoke, and he is spared.
Conclusion
So at the end of the story the people ask for insight, reject the insight, and continue in the way they were going. One would think that after seeing your nation demolished and brought to ruin, your leadership carted off, and your way of life forever altered, you would be more spiritually responsive.
Why did they act this way? Why did they want to stay blind when God was lighting their way? The reason is that they were blinded by physical realties. When life was good in Jerusalem, the spiritual reality of the prophet’s words did not match the physical reality that they were comfortable in their homes. Life was good. This is the same reason Jesus called us to divest ourselves of the world and to live for the world to come: the appearance of prosperity does not match the reality of spiritual desperation. If we cannot see that, then we are spiritually blinded.
We don’t naturally go there. God has to press this on us. This is why, in another shocking passage about blindness, God wrote to the church at Laodicea:
For you say, “I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,” and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent. See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev 3:17-20)
This is why, in a strange way, the persecution is good. The suffering is good. The homelessness is good. When we are without a home in this world, we are miserable, poor, blind, and naked—and we know it. The problem is not when we are these things; the problem is when we do not realize we are these things. Israel is finally in a place of seeking God. Yet the moment is lost because with all the light God gives them, they still reject him. It is odd that we reject healing. We resent sight. We forgo understanding and wisdom.
So there is something worse than blindness; it is spiritual blindness. The reason is that people who are spiritually blind do not know it. They keep moving forward, making a mess out of so much because they are not aware of what they cannot see. The only thing worse than being blind would be being blind and thinking you could see. Being blinded by the light.
Reflect and Discuss
- The metaphor of the yoke is used many times in Jeremiah/Lamentations. What does it symbolize?
- What were Jeremiah’s last words in Egypt?
- What would happen to Pharaoh?
- In what way was the nation blinded by the light?
- Why are the people defiant in chapter 44?
- Why was it foolish to flee to Egypt?
- What does chapter 45 tell us about Baruch?
- In what way is Baruch different from Zedekiah?
- In what ways can persecution and suffering be good?
- Reflect on the different characters in this chapter. Where do you see yourself? Where do you see the people of this generation?