What Can We Learn From GEDALIAH & ISHMAEL in Jeremiah 40-41?
The very purpose of Old Testament accounts is to teach believers in the New Covenant era, as observed in Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:11. So, what can we learn from the story of Gedaliah and Ishmael from Jeremiah 40:7-41:15?
The setting of this passage is just after the Babylonian conquest of Judah and the corresponding fall of Jerusalem. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, appointed Gedaliah as governor over the land in 587 BC and thus he was in charge of the Hebrews who were not taken into exile for 70 years (Jeremiah 40:7). Gedaliah was a Hebrew and his father, Ahikam, was an ally of Jeremiah (26:24) and thus Gedaliah supported the prophet & his G0d-given prophecies (39:14), which encouraged the Jews to concede to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops (as Divine payment for their stubborn sins). This explains why the king appointed Gedaliah as governor.
Ishmael was an officer of King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, the latter of whom was actually appointed by Nebuchadnezzar after besieging Jerusalem in 597 BC (2 Kings 24:17). But Zedekiah rebelled eight years later and so the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, captured the king, blinded him, and hauled him off to Babylon.
Ishmael was one of the leaders of Judah’s surviving military men living in the open country after the fall of Jerusalem and capture of Zedekiah; he was “of royal blood,” the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama (Jeremiah 40:7-8 & 41:1). These facts suggest that he was of Hebrew stock and loyal to Zedekiah, as well as resentful of the Babylonian conquest. Responding with contempt to Gedaliah’s urging to “settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 40:9), Ishmael was desperate as an outcast and open to being enlisted by Baalis, king of the Ammonites (40:14), a county about 60 miles to the east of Jerusalem by road (aka modern-day Jordan). This brings us to this key text:
13Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14and said to him, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.
15Then Johanan son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?”
16But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true.”
Jeremiah 40:13-16
Why didn’t Gedaliah believe Johanan? Why was he so naive? Gedaliah was obviously a decent, trusting person who assumed Ishmael shared his godly perspective and standards of behavior, based on the Law of Moses. Such naivete made him an easy mark for the deceived militarist, who was also a political opportunist:
1In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, 2Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. 3Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian a soldiers who were there.
Jeremiah 41:1-3
Ishmael & his ten men took advantage of Gedaliah’s trusting nature with this surprise attack, which was facilitated by the social nature of the gathering, a banquet, in which the soldiers present would’ve but their weapons aside to indulge in food, drink, fellowship, song and laughter.
The bottom line is that Gedaliah considered Ishmael a fellow Hebrew and so flat out rejected the report of him working for the Ammonite king, as well as his malevolent intentions to murder him. But he was dead wrong.
The lesson? Just because someone calls themself a Christian, it doesn’t mean you should wholly trust them, especially if there’s good reason to doubt the person. In the modern day, it’s unlikely that such an individual would literally murder you, but they can murder your character through slander by the sword of their tongue (Proverbs 12:18, Psalm 57:4 & Proverbs 25:18).
So, don’t foolishly let your guard down in social situations, particularly in cases where the person in question has a history of carnality. As the Lord said:
15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:15-23
Let me close with a minor example of which Carol, my wife, reminded me when I shared this article with her:
Back in 1994, I was in a Christian band and we were scheduled to play at a festival, which took place at a relatively large church facility in early December. The various bands & their crews stored their extra items in a side room, which would be akin to the backstage. That’s where we put our jackets and Carol put her purse. A few hours later we went back to pick up our stuff whereupon Carol discovered that the $20 in her purse was missing (which would be equivalent to $45 today). Although there were several people & crewmembers from other bands in the side room when we left our items there, Carol naively thought to herself, “We’re all brothers & sisters in the Lord” and so had no worries about theft. But she was wrong.
Just because it wouldn’t occur to her, me or you to steal something from someone else at a church facility (or anywhere else, for that matter), it doesn’t mean that there aren’t wolves in sheep’s clothing who would jump at the opportunity due to their love of Mammon.
- Carol lost what would be equivalent to $45.
- Gedaliah lost his life.
The moral is: Don’t be naive in social settings. Remember what the Lord instructed:
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
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