Gedaliah

Jeremiah 40:7 to Jeremiah 42:22.

When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land, and had put him in charge of the men, women, and children who were the poorest in the land, and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jazaniah the son of the Maacathite, and their men.

Gedaliah son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan took an oath to reassure them and their men.

"Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians," he said.

"Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.

I myself will stay in Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us.

But you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit, and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over." When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them.

He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Jeremiah chapter 38 verse 1 to Jeremiah chapter 40 verse 6 Shefatiah son of Matan, Gedaliah son of Pashur, Jehukal son of Shalamiah, and Pashur son of Malkijah, heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, This is what the Lord says, Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.

but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live.

They will escape with their lives, they will live.

Don't harm him, but do for him whatever he asks.

So Nebuchadnezzar, the commander of the guard, Nebuchadnezzar, the chief officer, Nebuchadnezzar, a high official, and all the other officers of the king of Babylon, sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard.

They handed him over to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his home.

So he remained among his own people.

Rashi, based on the Targum, explains the pasuk clause by clause as two separate cries.

The first cry heard on high was the cry of the exiles on their way to Babel, when Nevuzaradan sent for Yirmiyahu to return to Yerushalayim and remain with the remnants of the nation under Gedaliah ben Ahikam, as will be described later in the sefer.

This is the cry described in Sefer Tehillim, when the exiles cried by the rivers of Babel and the Midrash relates that Yirmiyahu scolded them, saying, had they only cried earlier during his warnings while there was still time to repent, this catastrophe might have been averted.

That's the kol berama nishma.

So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan governor.

Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Korea, and Sariah the son of Tanhumath the Netaphathite, and Jazaniah the son of the Maacathite.

And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials, Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishma of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month on the twenty-seventh day of the month, evil Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.

But among all the individuals mentioned, the most well-known was the son of Nethaniah, a member of the royal house of David .

During the period of Babylonian oppression against the Jews, this Ishmael killed Gedaliah, the governor of Judah appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, Abraham's son.

We can highlight several important points.

Ishmael was not the son of God's promise to Abraham, but God still protected him.

Even your God would understand.

But what does Jeremiah decide to do? Verse six, "Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land." He decides to stay.

He s- he remains with his people, the ones that are left anyway.

And I say, uh, wow, Jeremiah, you are a better man than I am.