Jeremiah 43 Devotional

The Word Follows to Egypt

“Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones that I have embedded, and he will spread his royal pavilion over them.”Jeremiah 43:10 (BSB)

As soon as Jeremiah finishes speaking, the leaders call him a liar and blame Baruch for turning him against them (43:2-3). They take everyone, Jeremiah and Baruch included, and go down to Egypt, because they would not obey the voice of the LORD (43:5-7). Distance, they assume, will make them safe.

But the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah even in Tahpanhes (43:8). God has him bury large stones at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace. Over those very stones, Nebuchadnezzar will set his throne (43:9-10). The danger they ran from will meet them where they ran to, because God calls the king of Babylon his servant and sends him where he wills (43:10-13). The psalmist asks where he could flee from God's presence and finds that even at the farthest sea, God's hand is there (Psalm 139:7-10). That is a warning to those who run from God, and a comfort to Jeremiah, carried off with them. You cannot outrun God's word, and you cannot be carried beyond his reach.

To think about: Is there somewhere you have been running to get away from what God has said, or somewhere you feel carried beyond his reach?