JEREMIAH
41
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2003 James Melough
41:1. “Now it
came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son
of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with
him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat
bread together in Mizpah.”
41:2. “Then
arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and
smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew
him, whom the king of
Babylon had made governor over the land.”
That banquet proved to be
the last meal that would be eaten by the overcredulous Gedaliah, his refusal
to heed warning, costing him his life; nor can we contemplate this man’s folly
without being reminded of similar folly committed daily by those who ignore
warning relative to dying without having trusted Christ as Savior.
41:3. “Ishmael
also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and
the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.”
Not one was spared, nor will
anyone who hasn’t trusted Christ as Savior, survive the eternal judgment of
God.
41:4. “And it
came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,”
41:5. “That
there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloah, and from Samaria, even
fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having
cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the
house of the Lord.”
“... the house of the Lord”
was the Temple which had been destroyed, but apparently worshipers still
brought their offerings to the site. (Self-cutting, incidentally, was
forbidden by God, see Le 19:27-28).
41:6. “And
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all
along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come
to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam.”
41:7. “And it
was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men
that were with him.”
No reason for this slaughter
is recorded, but it is generally believed that it was simply to plunder their
possessions, it being very likely that such a large company would have much in
the way of supplies and money that would be valuable to Ishmael and his
company.
“... the pit” was a cistern,
about which more information is furnished in verse 9.
41:8. “But ten
were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have
treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So
he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.”
His savage slaughter of so
many other innocent men raises the question of whether he actually did spare
these ten once he had discovered the location of their cache.
41:9. “Now the
pit (cistern) wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he
had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of
Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them
that were slain.”
In the recorded history of
Asa there is no mention of his having dug this cistern, nor is their any
obvious reason for its being mentioned here.
41:10. “Then
Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah,
even the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom
Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and
departed to go over to the Ammonites.”
Having plundered Mizpah,
Ishmael then set out to return to the country of Ammon from which he had come,
see 40:14, taking with him a multitude of captives.
41:11. “But when
Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with
him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,”
41:12. “Then
they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah,
and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.”
Relative to the great waters
at Gibeon, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary states that, “Recent
excavations there have disclosed an involved waterworks system, with a large
storage cistern.”
41:13. “Now it
came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the
son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then
they were glad.”
41:14. “So all
the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and
returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.”
41:15. “But
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to
the Ammonites.”
Undoubtedly Ishmael had
hoped to ingratiate himself further with the Ammonites by sharing with them
the plunder from Judah,
but it seems that he was fortunate to escape with his life and just eight men,
his host of captives having escaped to join their deliverers led by Johanan.
41:16. “Then
took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were
with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the
son of Nethaniah from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the
eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:”
41:17. “And they
departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go
to enter into Egypt,”
Chimham is unknown.
41:18. “Because
of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made
governor in the land.”
It was a bitter-sweet
victory, for even with Ishmael defeated and the prisoners recovered, the
victors were afraid that they themselves would then become the victims of the
Babylonians returning to exact vengeance for the murder of Gedaliah, and who
in their anger would not bother to distinguish between the innocent and the
guilty Judeans. Now they were going to have to leave their own land and seek
asylum in Egypt.
The general anarchy
described in this chapter may very well be symbolically anticipative of events
that will transpire in the now imminent Tribulation.
[Jeremiah
42]