Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"The captains of the armies"
Text: Jeremiah 40:7
THE CONQUEST OF JUDAH
The Babylonians had conquered Judah. The indications of their conquest were obvious. Many of the princes were slain by the Babylonians. Even more were deported to Babylon as prisoners of war. The capital Jerusalem was no more. The Temple was destroyed. But there were still groups who refused to admit the obvious.
“And when all the captains of the armies who were in the fields,
they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon
had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land,
and had committed to him men, women, children,
and the poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon,
then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah,
Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite,
and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.”
Jeremiah 40:7-8
1. “And when all the captains of the armies who were in the fields, they and their men,
heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land,
and had committed to him men, women, children,
and the poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon”
a) The captains of the armies
i) This was a reference to army factions that still held out against the Babylonians.
ii) They were living out in the fields, for the cities had been either captured or destroyed.
b) They had received news of the following:
i) Gedaliah had been made the governor of the land of Judah.
ii) He was in charge of all who had remained behind.
iii) These were mostly womenfolk, children and the poorest of the land.
2. “Then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah,
Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of
Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men”
a) These captains of the armies formed a delegation to see Gedaliah.
b) The captains of the armies were named:
i) Ishmael the son of Nathanaiah
ii) Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah
iii) Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth
iv) The sons of Ephai the Netophathite
v) Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite
c) Little is known about any of them apart from the names being noted.