Context No. 2606 of 4322 · Jeremiah

Jeremiah 40:6-10: in context

6Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land. 7Now when all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, even 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 of the poorest of the land, of those who were not carried away captive to Babylon, 8then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men came to Gedaliah to Mizpah. 9Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore to them and to their men, saying, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you. 10As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans who will come to us; but you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.”

After Jerusalem falls, Jeremiah is given a choice: he can go to Babylon and be cared for, or stay in the ruined land. He chooses to stay. He goes to Gedaliah at Mizpah and lives there among the people who were left, the poorest of the land, the ones not important enough to be carried off to Babylon. The prophet plants himself with the remnant in the wreckage rather than take the more comfortable option.

Jeremiah could have left the devastation behind. Instead he stayed low, with the broken and the poor, sharing their diminished life in the ruined land. It is a picture of solidarity chosen over ease. He does not exempt himself from his people's suffering or take the better offer that was his for the taking; he remains where they are. There are moments when God's call is not upward and outward toward comfort, but downward and inward, to stay with the struggling rather than escape to something easier. Jeremiah's whole ministry had been to a people who would not listen, and even now he will not abandon them.

Would I choose to stay low in solidarity with the struggling, or take the more comfortable exit when it is offered to me?

Sources

Jeremiah 40:6: Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land.
Jeremiah 40:7: men, women, children, and of the poorest of the land, of those who were not carried away captive to Babylon.
Philippians 2:4: each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.