Reflections on Jeremiah 41

Jeremiah 41 (Contemporary English Version)
1. But in the seventh month, Ishmael came to Mizpah with ten of his soldiers. He had been one of the king's officials and was a member of the royal family. Ishmael and his men were invited to eat with Gedaliah.
   
2. During the meal, Ishmael and his soldiers killed Gedaliah, the man chosen as ruler of Judah by the king of Babylonia.
   
3. Then they killed the Jews who were with Gedaliah, and they also killed the Babylonian soldiers who were there.
   
4. The next day, the murders had still not been discovered,
   
5. when eighty men came down the road toward Mizpah from the towns of Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They were on their way to the temple to offer gifts of grain and incense to the LORD. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves, because they were mourning.
   
6. Ishmael went out the town gate to meet them. He pretended to be weeping, and he asked them to come into Mizpah to meet with Gedaliah, the ruler of Judah.
   
7. But after they were inside the town, Ishmael had his soldiers kill them and throw their bodies into a well.
   
8. He let ten of the men live, because they offered to give him supplies of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey they had hidden in a field.
   
9. The well that he filled with bodies had been dug by King Asa of Judah to store rainwater, because he was afraid that King Baasha of Israel might surround Mizpah and keep the people from getting to their water supply.
   
10. Nebuzaradan, King Nebuchadnezzar's officer in charge of the guard, had left King Zedekiah's daughters and many other people at Mizpah, and he had put Gedaliah in charge of them. But now Ishmael took them all prisoner and led them toward Ammon, on the other side of the Jordan River.
    
11. Johanan and the other army officers heard what Ishmael had done.
    
12. So they and their troops chased Ishmael and caught up with him at the large pit at Gibeon.
    
13. When Ishmael's prisoners saw Johanan and the officers, they were happy
    
14. and turned around and ran toward Johanan.
    
15. But Ishmael and eight of his men escaped and went to Ammon.
    
16. Johanan and the officers had rescued the women, children, and royal officials that Ishmael had taken prisoner after killing Gedaliah. Johanan led the people from Gibeon
    
17. toward Egypt. They wanted to go there, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do when they found out that Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, the ruler appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar. On the way to Egypt, we stopped at the town of Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem.
    
18. (SEE 41:17)
    
    

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    The account in chapter 41 is continued from chapter 40, though it is thought to have occurred perhaps 1-2 years after the events in chapter 40. Ishmael, one of the Judean army officers who had come to Mizpah after the Babylonian army pulled its main forces out of Judah, instigated an uprising. His motives are unclear, though. With a contingent of 10 other men, Ishmael went to the govenor's residence, supposedly on a mission of peace, and while dining with the govenor killed him, all the others at the dinner and the Babylonian soldiers. The next day Ishmael killed 70 men in a group of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to make offerings to the Lord at the ruins of the temple. Then he took captive all those remaining in Mizpah and started out for Ammon, Ishmael's ally.
    
    Among the Judean soldiers and officers that came out of hiding at the same time as Ishmael, following the withdrawal of the Babylonian army, was an officer by the name of Johanan. He was the officer who had warned the govenor of Ishmael's plot to kill him. When Johanan became aware of Ishmael's uprising, he gathered all of the other soldiers and went after Ishmael, overtaking him and all those with him at Gibeah. When Ishmael's captives saw Johanan and his group coming, they rejoiced and went over to Johanan. In the confusion of the skirmish that followed, Ishmael and 9 of his men escaped to Ammon. Fearing reprisal from the Babylonians for the uprising, Johanan led his men and the captives taken from Ishmael and set out for Egypt.
    
    The destruction of Judah at this point is complete and is now ready for God to begin new construction. As this account continues in succeeding chapters, we will see that the hearts of the people remaining in the land are ready to start listening to God. Seeking God's guidance and following it is the only way to assure a good life. We cannot see the future nor do we know what choices are best. Only by seeking God and His counsel can we chart the best course for life.