Jeremiah 40:11-16: a reflection

11Likewise when all the Jews who were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, 12then all the Jews returned out of all places where they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, to Mizpah, and gathered very much wine and summer fruits. 13Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, 14and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of the children of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam didn’t believe them. 15Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, “Please let me go, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man will know it. Why should he take your life, that all the Jews who are gathered to you should be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?” 16But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely of Ishmael.”

When Gedaliah, newly appointed governor over the remnant left in Judah, is warned of a real plot against his life, he refuses to believe it and will not let anyone act to protect him, dismissing a genuine warning as false. Do you know that Baalis has sent Ishmael to take your life? Johanan warns him. But Gedaliah did not believe them; and when Johanan offered secretly to deal with the threat, Gedaliah said, you speak falsely of Ishmael. Gedaliah, perhaps out of a naive goodwill, dismissed a real and specific warning of danger, and would not take it seriously; and the danger proved real. This is a sobering caution about the danger of naively dismissing genuine warnings. Gedaliah dismissed a real warning as false, to his harm. Naively dismissing genuine warnings can be dangerous. A real warning ignored proved true. Do not naively dismiss genuine warnings of danger.

Notice Gedaliah's error: he dismissed a genuine warning. He was told, specifically and by concerned men, that there was a plot against his life; but he would not believe it, and even when offered protection, he refused, insisting the warning was false. Perhaps his goodwill made him unwilling to think ill of anyone; but his naive dismissal of a real warning left him unprotected, and the danger he refused to credit proved all too real. This is instructive, calling for a wise balance. On one hand, we are not to be paranoid, suspicious of everyone, quick to believe every accusation; that too is a fault. But on the other hand, we are not to naively dismiss genuine warnings of real danger, refusing to take seriously what we are told for our protection. Wisdom lies in weighing warnings honestly, neither paranoid nor naively dismissive, and taking real dangers seriously. Gedaliah erred by naive dismissal; we do well to heed genuine warnings. Weigh warnings honestly; do not naively dismiss real danger. Wisdom is neither paranoid nor naively dismissive of warnings. Take genuine warnings of danger seriously.

That is worth taking to heart, for naively dismissing genuine warnings of danger can be costly, and wisdom lies in taking real warnings seriously, neither paranoid nor naively dismissive. We can dismiss real warnings out of a naive goodwill, unwilling to think ill of anyone or to credit danger; but Gedaliah dismissed a specific, genuine warning of a plot against his life, refused protection, and the danger proved real. Do not naively dismiss genuine warnings; weigh them honestly and take real dangers seriously. Weigh warnings honestly and take genuine warnings of danger seriously, neither paranoid and suspicious of everyone nor naively dismissive, as Gedaliah, warned specifically that Ishmael had been sent to take his life, refused to believe it and would not let anyone act to protect him, insisting the warning was false, so that the danger he dismissed proved real; for we can dismiss real warnings out of a naive goodwill, unwilling to think ill of anyone or to credit danger, and though we are not to be paranoid or quick to believe every accusation, we are also not to naively dismiss genuine warnings of real danger or refuse to take seriously what we are told for our protection, since wisdom lies in weighing warnings honestly and taking real dangers seriously, so that we do well to heed genuine warnings rather than dismissing them as Gedaliah did to his harm.

Lord, when Gedaliah, newly appointed governor over the remnant left in Judah, is warned of a real plot against his life, he refuses to believe it and will not let anyone act to protect him, dismissing a genuine warning as false. Do you know that Baalis has sent Ishmael to take your life? Johanan warns him. But Gedaliah did not believe them; and when Johanan offered secretly to deal with the threat, Gedaliah said, you speak falsely of Ishmael. Gedaliah, perhaps out of a naive goodwill, dismissed a real and specific warning of danger, and would not take it seriously; and the danger proved real. This is a sobering caution about the danger of naively dismissing genuine warnings. Show me Gedaliah's error: he dismissed a genuine warning. He was told, specifically, that there was a plot against his life; but he would not believe it, and even when offered protection, he refused, insisting the warning was false. Perhaps his goodwill made him unwilling to think ill of anyone; but his naive dismissal of a real warning left him unprotected. This is instructive, calling for a wise balance. On one hand, I am not to be paranoid, suspicious of everyone, quick to believe every accusation. But on the other hand, I am not to naively dismiss genuine warnings of real danger. Wisdom lies in weighing warnings honestly, neither paranoid nor naively dismissive, and taking real dangers seriously. Take that to my heart, for naively dismissing genuine warnings can be costly. Help me weigh warnings honestly, Lord, neither paranoid and suspicious of everyone nor naively dismissive, and take genuine warnings of danger seriously, heeding real warnings rather than dismissing them as Gedaliah did to his harm, that I may walk wisely.