SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/26/2014
10:11 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Ishmael, a
Deceitful Traitor Parts 1-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Jeremiah 40:7-16
Message of the
verses: In yesterday’s SD I
mentioned through a quote from Warren Wiersbe that we would be looking at a
number of men who would be part of a drama which is covered in chapters 40-45
of Jeremiah, and we looked at Jeremiah in that SD. Today we will begin and even perhaps finish
looking at Ishmael who is a traitor and also a murder.
Dr. Wiersbe writes at the beginning of his commentary on
this section: “When the good news got
out that Gedaliah was in charge of affairs in Judah, the people who fled and
hidden because of the siege began to come back to the land (Jer. 40:7,
11-12). Gedaliah was a good man from a
good family, although events proved that he was very naïve about practical
politics.”
The Faithful Governor (Jeremiah 40:7-12): “7 Now all the commanders of the forces that
were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had
appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in
charge of the men, women and children, those of the poorest of the land who had
not been exiled to Babylon. 8 So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and
Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah
the son of the Maacathite, both they and their men. 9 Then Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, saying, "Do
not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon
that it may go well with you. 10
"Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay at Mizpah to stand for
you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, gather in wine and
summer fruit and oil and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your
cities that you have taken over." 11
Likewise, also all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon
and in Edom and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of
Babylon had left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. 12 Then all the Jews returned
from all the places to which they had been driven away and came to the land of
Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great
abundance.”
God blessed those who had stayed in Judah, for they were
very fortunate to still be alive because many kingdoms would have killed all of
those people whom they had captured, but God blessed his people in that there
was appointed a governor who treated them well, but as we will learn and
actually have seen he was naïve.
Jeremiah had told the people who were living in Jerusalem and Judah that
if they would have given up to the Babylonians and served the king of Babylon
that the city and the temple would not have been destroyed, and now that the
people did not listen to Jeremiah the city and the temple were destroyed. Now we see Gedaliah tell them the same thing
and people from other lands who were Jews began to come back to the Land. Jeremiah also told the people who had been
taken to Babylon to do the same thing that is build houses and settle down into
the place where God had sent them and to serve the king.
The Concerned Captain (Jeremiah 40:13-16 ): “13
Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that
were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14
and said to him, "Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah the
son of Ahikam did not
believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to
Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, "Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he take your life, so that all
the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?" 16
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not
do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."”
It seems that I had missed a very important item in this
section of Scripture as I had gone over it before and that is the king of the
sons of Ammon was behind the plot to kill Gedaliah. Ammon had been a long time enemy of Israel so
it is not surprising that Satan would use the to bring disorder to those who
stayed in Judah.
I think it best to quote Dr. Wiersbe to help us
understand what was going on here. “Why
did Ishmael want to kill Gedaliah? The
fact that the king of the Ammonites had hired him (40:14) suggests that he was
making money, but much more was involved.
The ammonites had been a part of the ‘summit conference’ in Jerusalem,
where the nations allied with Judah had planned to break the Babylonian yoke
(27:1-3). As a friend of Zedekiah and
the king of Ammon, Ishmael didn’t want to see the Jewish people submit to
Nebuchadnezzar even after the war had ended.
He was a patriot who used his patriotism to promote his own selfish
purposes.
“Perhaps the key factor had to do with pride and selfish
ambition. Ishmael was a descendant of
David through Elishama (41:1; 2 Samuel 5:16), and he no doubt felt that he
should have been named ruler of the nation because of his royal blood. Who was Gedaliah that he should take the
place of a king? The way the Babylonians
had treated Ishmael’s relative, King Zedekiah, was no encouragement to submit
to their authority.”
Gedaliah should have listened to Johanan about the
threat, for it proved to be true, however he was right in not wanting him to
kill Ishmael. He should have gathered
men who were faithful to him to guard him and certainly not allowed Ishmael to
come near to him as he later did.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: As I look at what
has unfolded in these verses there is one thing that comes out strong in my
mind and that is that even though Ishmael was kin to David that did not give
him the right to do what he did, for what he was doing was surely not in the
will of God for God had told both Jeremiah and even perhaps Gedaliah that He
wanted the people to submit to the king of Babylon. A good ruler always has to realize that he is
second in command, that is that God has appointed him and he should submit to
the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I must always remember that God is in charge
of things that go on, on planet earth, and that means in my life each day.
Memory verses for the
week: Colossians 3:1-2.
1 Therefore if you have been
raised up with Christ Jesus, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, at
the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind
on things above, not on the things that are on earth.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Nineveh” (Jonah 3:4).
Today’s Bible
question: “Who was brought from a far
country by a servant of her future father-in-law?”
Answer in our next SD.
7/26/2014 10:52 AM
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