Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 293
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J eremiah
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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. Yes, you
will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster
I will bring upon you there.’
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just
as my anger and fury have been poured out on the people of Jerusalem,
so they will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will be an
object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. And you will never see
your homeland again.’
“Listen, you remnant of Judah. The Lord has told you: ‘Do 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 your 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.”
When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the Lord their
God to all the people, Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah
and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The Lord our God
hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt! Baruch son of Neriah has convinced
you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Bab
ylonians or be carried off into exile.”
So Johanan and the other military leaders and all the people refused to
obey the Lord’s command to stay in Judah. Johanan and the other leaders
took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries
to which they had fled. In the crowd were men, women, and children,
the king’s daughters, and all those whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the
guard, had left with Gedaliah. The prophet Jeremiah and Baruch were also
included. The people refused to obey the voice of the Lord and went to
Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.
Then at Tahpanhes, the Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,
“While the people of Judah are watching, take some large rocks and bury
them under the pavement stones at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace here
in Tahpanhes. Then say to the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my servant
Nebuc hadnezzar, king of Babylon, here to Egypt. I will set his throne over
