Jeremiah 42:1 - Meaning and Application

We should wonder how Jeremiah the prophet escaped Ishmael’s sword. He did escape, and this was not the first time the Lord had hidden him. It is also strange that in all these violent changes, no one had consulted him before and asked for his advice. It seems they did not even realize that a prophet was among them. Though this people were like brands pulled out of the fire, they still had not returned to the Lord. They had a stubborn and rebellious heart, and their deepest sin was still their contempt for God, his providence, and his prophets.

At last, though only to suit their own purpose, they came looking for Jeremiah. All the captains, including Johanan, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came to him. They came near, which suggests that they had kept their distance from the prophet until now and had been uneasy around him.

They asked him to pray and ask God what they should do in this hard and dangerous time (Jeremiah 42:2-3). Their words were surprisingly respectful. First, they showed great respect for the prophet. Though he was poor, lowly, and under their control, they came to him humbly, as people asking for help. They even spoke of themselves as unworthy, saying, “Please let our request be accepted before you.” They likely praised him this way in hopes of getting him to say what they wanted.

Second, they showed a high view of his standing before heaven. “Pray for us,” they said, “because we do not know how to pray for ourselves. Pray to the Lord your God, because we are not worthy to call him ours, and we have no right to expect any favor from him.” Third, they spoke as people who knew how badly they needed God’s direction. They called themselves a small remnant, only a few left out of many. Such a small group could be swallowed up easily, though it would be a sad thing if that happened. They said Jeremiah could see their distress and the danger they were in.

Fourth, they wanted God to guide them. They asked the Lord to take this ruin into account and show them the way they should walk, so they could know what to do for their safety. In every hard and uncertain case, our eyes should be turned to God for guidance. They lived when God still gave direction through prophecy, which has now ended. But we can still pray in faith for wisdom in our hearts and for help to see God’s guidance in providence, his wise ordering of events.

Jeremiah faithfully promised to pray for them and to pass on God’s answer exactly as he received it, without adding, changing, or leaving anything out (Jeremiah 42:4). Ministers can learn two things from this. They should sincerely pray for those who ask for prayer: “I will pray for you according to your words.” Even if people have treated them lightly, they must not sin against the Lord by stopping their prayers for them (1 Samuel 12:23). They should also give counsel as closely as they can to God’s mind, not holding back anything helpful just because it may not please people, but declaring the whole counsel of God.

Then the people promised that they would obey God’s will as soon as they knew it (Jeremiah 42:5-6). They even called God to witness their sincerity, though they were not being sincere at the time. They said, in effect, “The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us. You tell us truly what he says, and then we will obey it. Let the Lord, the Judge, judge between us.” Those who want the benefit of good ministers’ prayers must also listen carefully to their teaching and be ruled by it, as far as it agrees with God’s will.

Nothing could have sounded better than this: “Whether it is good or whether it is bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, so that it may go well with us.” First, they now called God “our God,” because Jeremiah had encouraged them to speak that way (Jeremiah 42:4). If he is our God, then we are bound to obey him. Our relationship to God strongly calls for obedience.

Second, they said they would obey because they had sent the prophet to ask God’s will. We do not truly want to know God’s mind unless we are fully resolved to do it once we know it. Third, this was a promise of complete obedience. They would do whatever God commanded, whether it seemed good or bad to them. If God commands something, then it is good, even if it feels hard or unpleasant. They would do it whether it was easy or difficult, pleasing or against their wishes, cheap or costly, popular or unpopular, and whether it helped or hurt their worldly interests, if it was their duty.

They gave a strong and sensible reason for this promise, that it may go well with us. This shows that they knew they could not expect things to go well with them on any other terms.