Warning to Stay in Judah, Jeremiah Chapter 42, Part II

“Ten days later the Lord gave His reply to Jeremiah. So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest. He said to them,’You sent me to the Lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this His reply: ‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to brig upon you. Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the Lord. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’

‘But if you refuse to obey the Lord your God, and if any of you say, ‘We will go to Egypt where we will be free, the call to arms, and hunger,’ then hear the Lord’s message to the remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there, the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there. That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.'” (vv 7-17, NLT)

“Listen, you remnant of Judah. The Lord has told you: ‘Don not go to Egypt! Don’t forget this warning I have given you today. For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the Lord our God for you. You said, ‘Just tell us what the Lord our God says, and we will do it!’ And today I have told you exactly what He said, but you will not obey the Lord your God any better now than you have in the past. So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt where you insist on going.” (vv 19-22, NLT)

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