Jeremiah 42 Guidance for God's People in Exile
Jeremiah 42 records a pivotal moment following the destruction of Jerusalem and the assassination of Gedaliah, the Babylonian-appointed governor. A remnant of the Judean people, led by Johanan and other captains, approaches the prophet Jeremiah seeking divine guidance regarding their future [9, 6]. They had gathered at Geruth Chimham, on the way to Egypt, having already rescued captives from Ishmael [7, 6].
The chapter opens with Johanan and "all the captains of the forces, and all the people, from the least even unto the greatest" coming to Jeremiah [9]. They ask him to "pray for us to the Lord your God, even for all this remnant" [Jeremiah 42:2, ESV]. They acknowledge their diminished state, stating, "for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes do see us" [Jeremiah 42:2, ESV]. Their request is specific: "that the Lord your God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do" [Jeremiah 42:3, ESV]. This request, however, is viewed by some commentators as disingenuous, as their hearts were already set on going to Egypt [6, 7]. They desired God's sanction for a path they had already chosen, similar to Balaam seeking permission to curse Israel [6].
Jeremiah responds by promising to pray for them and to relay God's exact message, without withholding any word [Jeremiah 42:4, ESV; 4]. The people, in turn, swear an oath to obey whatever the Lord commands, whether it be "good or bad" [Jeremiah 42:5-6, ESV]. This promise highlights their apparent commitment to divine instruction, though their subsequent actions reveal a different intention [6].
After ten days, the Lord gives Jeremiah an answer [Jeremiah 42:7]. Jeremiah then calls the captains and all the people to hear God's word [1]. The divine message is clear: if they remain in the land of Judah, God will build them up, plant them, and not pull them down or pluck them up, for He relents concerning the disaster He has brought upon them [Jeremiah 42:10, ESV; 6]. God promises to be with them, to deliver them from the hand of the king of Babylon, and to show them mercy so that they may return to their own land [Jeremiah 42:11-12, ESV; 2]. This promise of mercy and return is contingent on their obedience to stay in Judah.
However, God also warns them against going to Egypt. If they refuse to obey and instead say, "No, but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war and hear no sound of the trumpet and have no hunger for bread, and we will dwell there" [Jeremiah 42:14, ESV; 8], then the very evils they seek to escape—war, famine, and pestilence—will overtake them in Egypt, and they will die there [Jeremiah 42:15-17, ESV]. They will become "an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt" [Jeremiah 42:18, ESV].
Jeremiah explicitly tells them that their request for guidance was hypocritical, as they had no intention of complying with God's will if it contradicted their own desires [4, 6]. He warns them that by going to Egypt, they would be sealing their own doom [Jeremiah 42:19-22, ESV]. The prophet emphasizes that they were deceiving themselves when they asked him to pray for them, knowing they would not obey [Jeremiah 42:20, ESV; 1]. The people's desire to sojourn in Egypt was a temporary measure, but they expected to return to their country despite God's prediction to the contrary [2]. This passage underscores the theme of exile, a recurring motif in Jeremiah, where the people are often depicted as being sent away from their land [3, 5, 8].
The chapter concludes with a stark warning that if they persist in their plan to go to Egypt, they will perish there by sword, famine, and pestilence, and none of them will escape the disaster that God will bring upon them [Jeremiah 42:22, ESV]. This narrative highlights the tension between human will and divine command, and the consequences of disobedience, particularly in a time of national crisis and exile.
Sources
- Jeremiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Jeremiah 42 (introduction): INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 42 This chapter contains a request of the Jews to Jeremiah, to pray to the Lord for them to direct them, and the Lord's answer to it. The request is made by the captains and all the people, Jer 42:1; which Jeremiah undertook to present to the Lord, Jer 42:4; they promising to go according to the direction that should be given, Jer 42:5. After ten days an answer is returned, and the prophet calls the captains and people together to hear it, Jer 42:7; the purport of which was, that if they continued in the land of Judah, it woul”
- Jeremiah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Jeremiah 42:22: sojourn--for a time, until they could return to their country. They expected, therefore, to be restored, in spite of God's prediction to the contrary. Next: Jeremiah Chapter 43”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 48:20: Go ye forth, etc. Now the prophet addresses those in exile.”
- Isaiah (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Isaiah 42 (introduction): Johanan and the remnant of the people desire Jeremiah to ask counsel of God what they should do, Jer 42:1-3. The prophet assures them of safety in Judea, but destruction in Egypt, Jer 42:4-18; and reproves their hypocrisy in asking counsel with which they had no intention to comply, Jer 42:19-22.”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Jeremiah 48:32: crossed the sea i.e., they went into exile.”
- Jeremiah (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 42 (introduction): Johanan and the captains being strongly bent upon going into Egypt, either their affections or politics advising them to take that course, they had a great desire that God should direct them to do so too like Balaam, who, when he was determined to go and curse Israel, asked God leave. Here is, I. The fair bargain that was made between Jeremiah and them about consulting God in this matter (Jer 42:1-6). II. The message at large which God sent them, in answer to their enquiry, in which, 1. They are commanded and encouraged to continue in the land of Ju”
- Jeremiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Jeremiah 42:3: That the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk,.... Not the way of their duty as to religious worship, or their moral conversation, which was the way of God's commandments, and had been shown them, and they knew it; but which way they should steer their course for their safety; they had departed from Mizpah of themselves, and had taken up their dwelling at Geruthchimham, in the way to Egypt; whither they had set their faces, and where their hearts were, only they wanted the Lord's sanction for it, pretending they would be directed by him: and the th”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Jeremiah 32:14: So said, etc. Do not say that I am concealing them for nothing since everyone is going into exile.”
- Jeremiah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Jeremiah 42:1: 42:1-3 The party of Judean guerrillas and the people they had rescued (41:16) came to Jeremiah with what sounded like a sincere request for guidance.”