Misguided Trust

Jeremiah 40:7-16

It matters not if the leader is a dad and the head of his house, the owner of business, a pastor of a local church, or the governor of a state, he needs to know the people in his circle of influence.  We all have heard the term, it only takes one bad apple to destroy a bushel, and the same is true if one has misguided trust in a family member who is working to steal authority from the dad.  If you have doubt of how this takes place; review King David’s encounter with his son Absalom, in 2 Samuel 15:6-30.  Many who have witnessed religious men, not men of faith, who had the title of deacon but were pious and believed they knew more than God and undercut the pastor and had him removed.  It also happens in business and government and many a man has fallen from putting trust in someone whose goal was to harm them or take power from them.

This is the account of Gedaliah who was placed over the land by the king of Babylon, and as soon as it was known he was the new Governor, these guerrilla bands and their leaders began to show up in Mizpah.  His message to them is found in verses 9-10, “Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you. As for me, I am going to live in Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have captured.”

One would take from verses 9-10 that Gedaliah son of Ahikam had listened to the message of Jeremiah and was putting it into practice.  But there was a bad apple in the bunch, and his name was Ishmael, and like so many he said one thing, but he was part of a plan to kill Gedaliah.  Now it seems Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the field came to Gedaliah and warned him that Ishmael was under orders of the king of the Ammonites to kill him.

Now Johanan had a private meeting with the governor and ask for permission to kill Ishmael, and in the sixteen verses we have his answer; but Gedaliah son of Ahikam responded to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do that! What you’re saying about Ishmael is a lie.”  Gedaliah had misguided faith in a man who he should not have trusted and called a man who was looking out for his best interest a liar.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice