Jeremiah · chapter 43 of 52
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Jeremiah 43 narrates how Johanan and the leaders accuse Jeremiah of lying and take the whole remnant, with Jeremiah and Baruch, to Egypt. They arrive at Tahpanhes. God orders Jeremiah to hide stones in the pavement in front of Pharaoh's palace and to announce that Nebuchadnezzar, his servant, will set his throne there, conquer Egypt and destroy its temples.
This chapter shows the outcome of the previous chapter's request: the people asked for prayer, received a clear answer and rejected it. The obedience they had sworn turns into an accusation against the prophet. Even in Jeremiah's forced exile in Egypt, the word of God continues to be spoken.
When Jeremiah finishes speaking all the words the Lord had sent him to say, Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah and all the insolent men tell him he is lying: the Lord has not sent him to say they must not go to Egypt. They claim that Baruch son of Neriah is inciting him against them to hand them over to the Chaldeans, to be killed or carried into exile in Babylon.
Johanan and all the commanders do not obey the voice of the Lord and do not stay in the land of Judah. They take the whole remnant, men, women, children, the king's daughters, and everyone Nebuzaradan had left with Gedaliah, including Jeremiah and Baruch. They enter the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the Lord, and come as far as Tahpanhes.
At Tahpanhes the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah: take large stones and hide them in the brick pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah. He is to tell them that the Lord will send Nebuchadnezzar, his servant, who will set his throne above these stones and spread his canopy over them.
Nebuchadnezzar will come and strike the land of Egypt: those destined for death, to death; those for captivity, to captivity; those for the sword, to the sword. He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt and carry off their gods. He will wrap himself in the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his cloak, and go away in peace. He will break the obelisks of Heliopolis in the land of Egypt and burn the temples of its gods.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The insolent men say Jeremiah is lying, that the Lord did not send him. They accuse of falsehood the very prophet they had sought ten days earlier: when God's word gets in the way, it is easier to discredit the messenger than to change plans.
Johanan and the commanders do not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in Judah. The text says it in a plain sentence: disobedience is not doubt or confusion but a decision not to listen to what is already known.
The Lord calls Nebuchadnezzar his servant and announces that he will set his throne above the hidden stones. The place the people chose as a refuge will be the setting for the authority of the king they feared.
Nebuchadnezzar will burn the temples of the gods of Egypt and carry off their gods. The idols Egypt trusted cannot save it, and the same holds for the people who had placed their security in that country.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Of lying: they say the Lord did not send him to forbid them to go to Egypt. — Jeremiah 43:2
Answer: Baruch son of Neriah, who they say is urging him to hand them over to the Chaldeans. — Jeremiah 43:3
Answer: Jeremiah and Baruch. — Jeremiah 43:6
Answer: Tahpanhes. — Jeremiah 43:7
Answer: Hide them in the brick pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the Jews. — Jeremiah 43:9
Answer: Set his throne above the stones, strike the land and burn the temples of its gods. — Jeremiah 43:10-12
Jeremiah 43 shows how disobedience justifies itself. When God's word is inconvenient we look for someone to blame: the messenger, other leaders, circumstances. In a small group you can talk about times you set aside biblical counsel because it did not fit what you wanted, and how you felt afterward.
It also comforts. Though the people fled the land, God kept speaking through Jeremiah in Egypt. His word is not limited to one place, and his sovereignty reaches even the places where we try to hide our decisions. Thank him that he does not stop speaking to those who wander away.
The people thought they were fleeing danger and arrived at a place where God had already announced judgment. In chapter 44 Jeremiah speaks to them again, now about the idolatry they practice in Egypt.
They are a prophetic sign: on that very spot the king of Babylon would set his throne. It showed that Egypt would be no refuge, because Nebuchadnezzar's power would reach there. Archaeology cannot confirm the details, but the passage presents the sign as given by God.
A Babylonian record mentions a campaign of Nebuchadnezzar against Egypt around 568 BC. Scholars debate how far it went and how it relates to what is said here, so it is best read with caution, without claiming more than we know.