Thursday after Ki Tisa
Thursday after Ki Tisa
Weekday Reading
Jeremiah chapter 41 & 42
Jer 41:1 Now it happened in the seventh month, that Yishma’el the son of Netanyah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal and [one of] the chief officers of the king, and ten men with him, came to Gedalyahu the son of Achikam to Mitzpah; and there they ate bread together in Mitzpah.
Jer 41:2 Then arose Yishma’el the son of Netanyah, and the ten men who were with him, and struck Gedalyahu the son of Achikam the son of Shafan with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Bavel had made governor over the land.
Jer 41:3 Yishma’el also killed all the Judeans who were with him, [to wit], with Gedalyahu, at Mitzpah, and the Kasdim who were found there, the men of war.
This event is commemorated on the 3rd of Tishri, and kicks off the 7 days of Tribulation on Elohim’s calendar between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. This is a foreshadowing of an event that will happen again in the future – a leader of Israel will be killed by the minions of a trusted Muslim leader (possibly Jordanian, since Ammon was in what is now Jordan). This trust causes the leader to fail to heed warnings about his own assassination, and his death gives the False Messiah an opportunity to install new, more cooperative leadership.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 41:4 It happened the second day after he had killed Gedalyahu, and no man knew it,
Jer 41:5 that there came men from Shekhem, from Shiloh, and from Shomron, even eighty men, having their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and having cut themselves, with meal offerings and frankincense in their hand, to bring them to the house of YHWH.
Two days after Tishri 3rd would be Tishri 5th, the day representing the year prior to the midpoint of the Tribulation.
Jer 41:6 Yishma’el the son of Netanyah went forth from Mitzpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it happened, as he met them, he said to them, Come to Gedalyahu the son of Achikam.
Jer 41:7 It was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Yishma’el the son of Netanyah killed them, [and cast them] into the midst of the pit, he, and the men who were with him.
Jer 41:8 But ten men were found among those who said to Yishma’el, Don’t kill us; for we have stores hidden in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he stopped, and didn’t kill them among their brothers.
Jer 41:9 Now the pit in which Yishma’el cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had killed, by the side of Gedalyahu (the same was who which Asa the king had made for fear of Ba`sha king of Yisra’el), Yishma’el the son of Netanyah filled it with those who were killed.
Jer 41:10 Then Yishma’el carried away captive all the residue of the people who were in Mitzpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people who remained in Mitzpah, whom Nevuzar’adan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedalyahu the son of Achikam; Yishma’el the son of Netanyah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the children of `Ammon.
Jer 41:11 But when Yochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, heard of all the evil that Yishma’el the son of Netanyah had done,
Jer 41:12 then they took all the men, and went to fight with Yishma’el the son of Netanyah, and found him by the great waters that are in Giv`on.
Jer 41:13 Now it happened that, when all the people who were with Yishma’el saw Yochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, then they were glad.
Jer 41:14 So all the people who Yishma’el had carried away captive from Mitzpah turned about and came back, and went to Yochanan the son of Kareach.
Jer 41:15 But Yishma’el the son of Netanyah escaped from Yochanan with eight men, and went to the children of `Ammon.
Jer 41:16 Then took Yochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Yishma’el the son of Netanyah, from Mitzpah, after that he had killed Gedalyahu the son of Achikam, [to wit], the men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Giv`on:
Jer 41:17 and they departed, and lived in Gerut-Kimaham, which is by Beit-Lechem, to go to enter into Mitzrayim,
Jer 41:18 because of the Kasdim; for they were afraid of them, because Yishma’el the son of Netanyah had killed Gedalyahu the son of Achikam, whom the king of Bavel made governor over the land.
This faction was still relying on their treaty with Egypt, and were opposed to the faction who had made the deal with Amman (Jordan). As you can see, basically a civil war ensues.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 42:1 Then all the captains of the forces, and Yochanan the son of Kareach, and Yezanyah the son of Hosha`yah, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, came near,
Jer 42:2 and said to Yirmeyahu the prophet, Let, we pray you, our supplication be presented before you, and pray for us to YHWH your Elohim, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes do see us:
Jer 42:3 that YHWH your Elohim may show us the way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do.
Jer 42:4 Then Yirmeyahu the prophet said to them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray to YHWH your Elohim according to your words; and it shall happen that whatever thing YHWH shall answer you, I will declare it to you; I will keep nothing back from you.
Jer 42:5 Then they said to Yirmeyahu, YHWH be a true and faithful witness among us, if we don’t do according to all the word with which YHWH your Elohim shall send you to us.
Jer 42:6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of YHWH our Elohim, to whom we send you; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of YHWH our Elohim.
Jer 42:7 It happened after ten days, that the word of YHWH came to Yirmeyahu.
Ten days after Tishri 5rd brings us to Sukkot (Tishri 15th).
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 42:8 Then called he Yochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,
Jer 42:9 and said to them, Thus says YHWH, the Elohim of Yisra’el, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before him:
Jer 42:10 If you 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 grieve over the distress that I have brought on you.
Jer 42:11 Don’t be afraid of the king of Bavel, of whom you are afraid; don’t be afraid of him, says YHWH: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand.
Jer 42:12 I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you, and cause you to return to your own land.
The theme of Sukkot is, of course, both the fall harvest and the establishment of the Kingdom. Jeremiah tells them to honor the themes of Sukkot, and Elohim will be with them.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 42:13 But if you say, We will not dwell in this land; so that you don’t obey the voice of YHWH your Elohim,
Jer 42:14 saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the shofar, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:
Jer 42:15 now therefore hear you the word of YHWH, O remnant of Yehudah: Thus says YHWH Tzeva’ot, the Elohim of Yisra’el, If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
Jer 42:16 then it shall happen, that the sword, which you fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.
Jer 42:17 So shall it be with all the men who 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 on them.
It may be tempting in the last days for people who fear violence and oppression to leave the State of Israel, relying on treaties with other nations to ensure the peaceful lives and protection for the Israelites who move abroad. But this is a temptation that must be resisted. Such promises will not be honored by the foreign nations who make them – not even America.
Jeremiah, continued:
Jer 42:18 For thus says YHWH Tzeva’ot, the Elohim of Yisra’el: As my anger and my wrath has been poured forth on the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, so shall my wrath be poured forth on you, when you shall enter into Egypt; and you shall be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.
Jer 42:19 YHWH has spoken concerning you, remnant of Yehudah, Don’t you go into Egypt: know certainly that I have testified to you this day.
Jer 42:20 For you have dealt deceitfully against your own souls; for you sent me to YHWH your Elohim, saying, Pray for us to YHWH our Elohim; and according to all that YHWH our Elohim shall say, so declare to us, and we will do it:
Jer 42:21 and I have this day declared it to you; but you have not obeyed the voice of YHWH your Elohim in anything for which he has sent me to you.
Jer 42:22 Now therefore know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place where you desire to go to sojourn there.
We often pray to Elohim, insisting that some demand be answered in the way we want it answered, but Elohim nowhere promises to do this, unless it is already in alignment with His will. In this case, it clearly was not. It is foolhardy in the extreme to knowingly disobey Elohim’s commandments and then to trust that Elohim will be merciful to us just because of some past or future good deeds. It just doesn’t work that way.
Eze 18:21 But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Eze 18:22 None of his transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he has done he shall live. Eze 18:23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says Adonai YHWH; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?
Eze 18:24 But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die. Eze 18:25 Yet you say, The way of Adonai is not equal. Hear now, house of Yisra’el: Is my way not equal? Aren’t your ways unequal? Eze 18:26 When the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and dies therein; in his iniquity that he has done shall he die.
Eze 18:27 Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Eze 18:28 Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Eze 18:29 Yet says the house of Yisra’el, The way of Adonai is not equal. house of Yisra’el, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
Eze 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, house of Yisra’el, everyone according to his ways, says Adonai YHWH. Return you, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Eze 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, in which you have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Yisra’el? Eze 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies, says Adonai YHWH: therefore turn yourselves, and live.
We cannot turn away from Elohim’s Word and Commandments simply because they seem unprofitable in the modern world or because we don’t understand them. Conditional obedience is disobedience. The wages of sin is death – there is only one penalty, death, because there is really only one sin, disobedience. We must turn from sin, that is, do Teshuvah – turn away from transgressing the Torah, and have faith in Yeshua, that the guilty verdict of our past sins is nailed to the stake. But Grace is NOT license for sin. And we cannot “rest on our laurels” when it comes to obedience. Obedience is always something we’re doing here and now, not something we did back then. Living in sin is unacceptable to Elohim, period, and your past cannot save you from your present disobedience. Only true repentance can.
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