Whose Will?

In Jeremiah 12, the remnant left in Judah fear the Chaldeans will come back and take them, too, so they decide to flee to Egypt. However, they go to Jeremiah first and ask him to pray for them, despite the fact that Judah had turned from God.

Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us. That the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do (v. 2-3).

Jeremiah agrees to pray for them, and then they promise:

The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all the things for which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God… (v. 5-6).

God answered them through Jeremiah:

If ye will still abide in this land, then I will build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the King of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord; be not afraid of him saith the Lord; for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey to voice of the Lord your God Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, not hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread, and there will we dwell. Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt, and ye shall die {v. 10-11, 13-14, & 16).

After asking for God’s direction and receiving a clear answer, what do these people do? They go to Egypt. Before we judge them too harshly, think of the times you knew you should do one thing in order to be obedient, but you did something else based on what you wanted. We all have been there, especially if we’ve been Christians for a long time. Of course, what God told them would happen did. Disobedience always has consequences. Thankfully, we live in a time where we can have grace and forgiveness, but it’s important to learn from our mistakes and know that life is so much better when we obey. Following God’s will shouldn’t be an option for us, but He did give us free will. Therefore, don’t be like his remnant from Judah, refusing to give up the plans that seemed best to them. Choose to always follow God and His will for your life.

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