What message does Jeremiah bring back to the people after ten days?

At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah” (Jeremiah 42:7). This sentence gives the reader some insight into how prophecy worked. No doubt Jeremiah spent much of the ten days in prayer and meditation, but in the end the message that he brings back is not the product of introspection or his own insights into the situation. He waits to hear what the Lord says. He stood in the council of the Lord (see Jeremiah 23:18) as any true prophet must.¹ Before Jeremiah delivers the message, he reminds the remnant that they sent him to present their plea for mercy before the Lord. They gave every indication that they wanted to hear from the Lord, but are they willing to trust and obey him?

The Lord’s message to the people is structured around two if statements and it presents the people with a choice. But the way the choice is presented, and the context of the narrative it is presented in, makes it clear that the Lord already knows that the people have decided what they want to do. The choice the Lord gives is clear. If they remain in Judah then the Lord’s promise to them is, I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up. These are the words that the Lord used when he described what he would do through Jeremiah at his commissioning (Jeremiah 1:10). They are words of blessing and restoration. The Lord says, For I relent of the disaster that I did to you.  The Hebrew word that is translated as relent is naham and it expresses the idea of grief and sorrow. The Lord is not saying that he regrets the judgment he has poured out onto Judah or that he was wrong for doing so. Rather, he is expressing his pity and compassionate sorrow because his people had to endure such suffering.²

The Lord does not delight in judgment, but would rather that his people turn to him in repentance (see Ezekiel 18:23). The Lord is also making it clear that the judgment that has come to Judah has satisfied his demands because of their covenant unfaithfulness. Judgment is over and restoration awaits.³ Nebuchadnezzar was the Lord’s instrument of judgment, but now, says the Lord, Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand. The Lord is reminding them that he is the sovereign Lord who rules over everyone, including Nebuchadnezzar. He will ensure that the king of Babylon does them no further harm and will allow them to stay in the land. The Lord is offering this remnant in Judah the same promises he has made to those who were taken into exile in Babylon. There was no unwillingness on the Lord’s part to allow any individual or group of individuals among his people to enjoy the blessings of the day of restoration.⁴ But even as he makes the promise of blessing and restoration if they remain in Judah, the Lord identifies what is already going on in their hearts and minds. They fear Nebuchadnezzar and that fear means they have already decided to flee to Egypt (Jeremiah 41:17–18). What will soon become clear is that they fear Nebuchadnezzar more than they trust in the Lord.

The Lord makes it clear that if they choose not to remain in the land and to flee to Egypt then they will be disobeying the voice of the Lord your God. Again, the Lord exposes what is already going on in their hearts. They are saying to themselves, No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there. Egypt had not been invaded by Babylon and so they are convinced that they will find peace and safety there.⁵ But the Lord makes it very clear that they will find the opposite in Egypt. The Lord says, If you set your face to enter Egypt, then the war and famine they fear so much will follow them. They will not find life in Egypt, but death. The Lord himself will bring this disaster on them in Egypt and there will be no remnant or survivor when he does. In other words, they will all be excluded from the restoration that the Lord has promised. The word there is used three times in Jeremiah 42:14–16 to describe Egypt, emphasizing the fact that it is a place of alienation from the Lord.⁶ By disobeying the Lord’s words, they will once again bring themselves under his judgment and this time judgment will be final.

It is not difficult to see how significant this message would have been for those who read it later while in Babylonian exile. There is very little hope in the narrative that the remnant in Judah will listen to the Lord. They have already made up their minds to go to Egypt, and the events that follow will show just how foolish they are to disobey the Lord. But for the exiles in Babylon these words from the Lord make it very clear that he is the sovereign Lord. He is greater than any king, greater even than the mighty Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord is not only able to reach all the way into Egypt to bring judgment, but he is able to keep his people safe from Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord who has made his covenant with them can keep them wherever they are, even in exile in Babylon, and restore them to the land. All they need to do is hear his word, repent of their disobedience and trust him.⁷ That is the great, certain and only hope for those in Babylon. What is also clear is that the remnant in Judah rejected this hope and suffered the consequences; they would not be part of the Lord’s restored people.