Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"Ishmael... arose and struck Gedaliah"
Text: Jeremiah 41:2
THE WARNING OF JOHANAN
The warning of Johanan went unheeded. Gedaliah’s inexperience would result in tragedy!
“Now it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah,
the son of Elishama, of the royal family and of the officers of the king,
came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah.
And there they ate bread together in Mizpah.
Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him,
arose and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword,
and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is,
with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.”
Jeremiah 41:1-3
1. “Now it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah,
the son of Elishama, of the royal family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah.”
a) Ishmael had a royal lineage.
b) He also had military experience.
c) He came with ten of his men to meet Gedaliah at Mizpah.
d) They had a meal with the unsuspecting governor.
2. “Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him,
arose and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword,
and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land”
a) Ishmael and his co-conspirators suddenly arose.
b) They attacked Gedaliah, the appointed Babylonian governor.
c) They murdered Gedaliah with the sword.
3. “Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is,
with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war”
a) Ishmael also struck out at the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah.
b) They did not spare the Chaldeans who were feasting with them.
c) All were deceived by Ishmael.
i) Perhaps, they respected his royal lineage.
ii) Perhaps, they trusted Gedaliah the governor more than they did Johanan.
iii) No one could believe that such treachery was possible.
iv) It was too late now. All who were at Mizpah for the feast had perished!