Major Prophets · Chapter 42 of 52

Jeremiah 42

The frightened remnant asks Jeremiah to pray for God's direction, vowing to obey whatever he says. After ten days God answers: if they stay in the land, he will build them and deliver them from Babylon; if they flee to Egypt, the sword and famine they fear will overtake them there. Jeremiah warns that their hearts have already decided on Egypt, and their disobedience will bring the very doom they flee.

What happens in Jeremiah 42

Johanan, the captains, and all the people, from least to greatest, come to Jeremiah asking him to pray to the LORD for direction, admitting they are few survivors. They vow to obey whatever God says, whether good or bad. Jeremiah agrees and prays. After ten days God's word comes. Jeremiah tells them that if they remain in the land, God will build and plant them, for he relents of the disaster he brought; they need not fear the king of Babylon, for God is with them to save and show mercy.

But if they refuse and go to Egypt to escape war and hunger, the sword and famine they dread will follow them there, and they will die by sword, famine, and pestilence, becoming a curse. Jeremiah charges them that they deceived themselves in sending him, since they had already resolved to disobey, and warns that they will surely die in the place they long to go.

Jeremiah 42 in context

This follows Gedaliah's assassination, with the terrified remnant poised to flee to Egypt for safety around 586 BC. Their request for prayer seems sincere, and their vow to obey is emphatic. Yet Jeremiah discerns that their minds are already made up.

The ten day wait underscores that Jeremiah did not invent the answer; he waited for God's word, which cut directly against the people's predetermined plan to seek refuge in Egypt.

Main themes of Jeremiah 42

Asking without surrenderThe people beg for guidance and swear to obey, yet their hearts are already set on Egypt. Their prayer is a performance seeking divine approval for a decision made. God exposes the self deception of seeking his will while intending our own, warning that such prayer only adds guilt when we refuse the answer.

God with us to saveGod promises that if they stay, he will be with them to save and deliver them from the very king they fear, building and planting them again. The offer is pure mercy: safety not in flight but in trusting his presence. The chapter insists that obedience, not escape, is the path to God's protection.

Running toward the feared doomFleeing to Egypt to escape sword and famine, the people will meet sword and famine there. Disobedience does not evade danger; it delivers us into it. The chapter teaches that seeking security apart from God's word leads us straight into the calamity we hoped to avoid.

This is prophecy, God's word to a people who had wandered, full of warning and astonishing hope. As you read, hear both His grief over sin and His promise to restore.

Jeremiah 42 (KJV)

1Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, 2And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, 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:) 3That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. 4Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. 5Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us. 6Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God. 7And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah. 8Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, 9And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; 10If ye will still abide in this land, then will I 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. 11Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. 12And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. 13But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God, 14Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: 15And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; 16Then 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 there ye shall die. 17So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. 18For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more. 19The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day. 20For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. 21And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. 22Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.

Verses to carry from Jeremiah 42

“That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.”Jeremiah 42:3

“Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.”Jeremiah 42:11

“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 there ye shall die.”Jeremiah 42:16

Thematic connection

How Jeremiah 42 points to Jesus

The heart of this chapter, God's promise be not afraid, for I am with you to save you, points thematically to the deepest promise of the gospel: God present with his people to deliver them. The name Immanuel, God with us, given to Jesus, gathers up this assurance and makes it personal and permanent. Here the remnant is offered salvation through trusting God's presence rather than fleeing to Egypt, and the tragedy is their refusal.

Jesus later grieves the same self deceiving refusal in those who sought him yet would not do his will, and he exposes hearts that honor God with words while their intentions lie elsewhere. Where this remnant asks God's will only to reject it, Christ perfectly prays not my will but yours be done. The connection is thematic, centered on God with us to save.

Questions about Jeremiah 42

If the people vowed to obey, why does Jeremiah say they deceived themselves?

Because their obedience was insincere. Though they emphatically swore to do whatever God said, their hearts were already set on going to Egypt. They wanted divine endorsement, not divine direction. Jeremiah, discerning this, tells them they deceived themselves in even asking. The episode warns against seeking God's guidance as a formality while intending to follow our own plan regardless of the answer we receive.

What was God's actual promise if they stayed in the land?

God promised to build and plant them, not tear them down, and to be with them to save and deliver them from the king of Babylon they feared. He even said he relented of the disaster he had brought. Staying required faith that God's presence, not Egypt's supposed safety, was their protection. The offer was generous mercy, making their refusal all the more tragic and inexcusable.

Reflection

The people prayed sincerely on the surface, but had already decided. It is possible to seek God's will as cover for our own. Before you ask God to bless a plan, ask whether you are truly willing to hear no. Real prayer surrenders the outcome. Where might you be seeking approval rather than direction?

A prayer from Jeremiah 42

Lord, keep me from asking your guidance while clinging to my plan. Give me a heart willing to obey before I hear it. When fear tempts me to flee, remind me you are with me, and teach me to say, not my will but yours.

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