Assassination of Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:23-26; Jeremiah 40:7-41:18)

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632. Please follow this site here.

Assassination of Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:23-26; Jeremiah 40:7-41:18)

Not all Judean soldiers were exiled to Babylon. Some would have escaped with King Zedekiah while others manned fortresses throughout Judah. These army commanders had formed a resistance movement against the Babylonians and now came to Mizpah to meet the new Babylon-appointed Jewish governor, Gedaliah. With reference to one of the commanders, Jaazaniah or Jezaniah (2 Kings 25:23; Jeremiah 40:8), biblical historian Walter Kaiser makes this observation: "In the ruins of Mizpah, if Tell en Nasbeh is ancient Mizpah, a seal was found with this inscription: 'Belonging to Jaazaniah, servant of the king'" (A History of Israel, 1988, pp. 406).
The Harper Study Bible notes on Jeremiah 40:11-14: "There was rest in Judah under Gedaliah, who was capable and prudent. Jews who had been dispersed all over Palestine returned to Judah and came under the care and control of Gedaliah. Some degree of prosperity came, inasmuch as they gathered a goodly supply of wine and summer fruits. [But] a dark cloud hung over the infant state under Gedaliah. Baalis king of the Ammonites wanted to destroy Gedaliah. He employed Ishmael, a Jew of royal stock, to settle in Gedaliah's territory in order to slay the governor. Johanan, a friend of Gedaliah, tried to warn him about the plot, offering to kill Ishmael. But Gedaliah, a peaceful and honorable man, refused the offer and maintained his friend was speaking lies about Ishmael. Johanan's warning, however, eventually proved to be well-founded."
Author R.K. Harrison offers further explanation: "After the Chaldeans had devastated Judah, Gedaliah, who had befriended Jeremiah (Jer. 39:14), was appointed governor over the 'poor of the land.' Remnants of the old royal house who had managed to escape to Egypt regarded him as a collaborationist, however, and Ishmael, a descendant of the royal Hebrew line, slew Gedaliah at Mizpah while he was endeavoring to resettle the scattered populace" (Old Testament Times, 1970, p. 253).
"The 'ten men' [involved in the plot] (v. 2) should not be thought of as being alone, for they may have brought a retinue of attendants with them" (Expositor's Bible Commentary, note on 41:2-3).
"The year of the assassination of Gedaliah," it should be pointed out, "is not given, only the month—the seventh month of Tishri—September-October. The murder of the governor could have taken place as soon as three months after the fall of Jerusalem [in 586 B.C.] Others associate the third deportation of 582 B.C. [of 745 Judeans (see Jeremiah 52:30)] with this rebellion. Ishmael's act was especially despicable since it took place during a banquet" (Nelson Study Bible, note on 41:1-2).
Moreover, it is a sad reflection on Ishmael (and his collaborators) that in a time of utter devastation of his homeland and people, he would not only assassinate a decent leader but would also try to destroy the tiny remnant of poor people living there. He even kills a group of 80 men on a pilgrimage to the temple from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria. These were probably Jews who, during the Babylonian invasion, had taken refuge in what was now Samaritan territory. It may be that they did not know that the temple was destroyed—although, as they were in mourning, it is also possible that they did know but considered the temple ruins as holy, just as Jews now consider the Western Wall of the temple to be. "These eighty men were mourning for the destroyed temple as well as for the ruined city (cf. 16:6; 47:5; 48:37). They had even gashed themselves—a relapse into heathen custom forbidden in Deuteronomy 14:1" (Expositor's, note on verses 4-5)—demonstrating the corruption of Jewish religious practice at this time.
Ishmael then tries to take a group of captives into Ammon. Notice that among them are the "king's daughters" (verse 10)—showing that all of Zedekiah's children were not killed. He still had at least two surviving daughters (the number is not specified).
With Johanan's forces in pursuit, Ishmael gives up his captives and manages to escape into Ammon. Johanan and those who are left worry that Babylon will come down hard on everyone, even those who weren't involved. "Fearing imminent reprisal from the Babylonians on account of the rebellion, Johanan gathered the inhabitants of Mizpah, including Jeremiah, together with those he had rescued and began a trek toward Egypt, seeking a place of safety. Egypt was the only country in the region that was free from Babylonian control" (Nelson Study Bible, note on Jeremiah 41:16-18).
We see how vulnerable people become when the government that structured their lives is torn from them—first their king and his government, then the governor put over them by Babylon. They are fearful, anxious for security and therefore vulnerable to self-seeking ambitious men who are eager to seize the leadership. It was a true test of whether they would trust God and His true servant or the men who seemed to offer security in a frightful time.
They camp near Bethlehem. We'll see more about what they decide to do in our next reading.

Lamentations and the Month of "Av"

From http://el-paso.ucg.org/  or call 1-888-886-8632. Please follow this site here.

Introduction to Lamentations (Lamentations 1)

The author of Lamentations is not named in the book, but it is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. "In fact, some copies of the ancient Greek Septuagint translation begin the book with these words: 'And it came to pass, after Israel [i.e., the remnant of Israel—Judah] had been carried captive, and Jerusalem became desolate, that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented this lamentation over Jerusalem.' Crediting Lamentations to Jeremiah is based on the following considerations: (1) Jeremiah was known as a composer of laments (see 2 Chr. 35:25). (2) Jeremiah was the prophet who mourned, 'Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!' (see Jer. 9:1). (3) In [Lamentations] 3:1, the author seems to identify himself with Jeremiah when he says, 'I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.' (4) There are many linguistic similarities between Lamentations and Jeremiah" (The Nelson Study Bible, introductory notes on Lamentations.)
"In the Talmud (Baba Bathra 15a), this book is called qinot ('Lamentations')... The name commonly used in Hebrew, however, is ekah ('How'), the first word of the first, second, and fourth laments [that is, chapters 1, 2 and 4]. In the Hebrew canon it stands in the Writings as the third of the Megilloth, or Scrolls, between Ruth and Ecclesiastes" (Expositor's Bible Commentary, introductory notes on Lamentations). We are reading it now to keep it in the context of its writing in the wake of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
"The five chapters of Lamentations are five poems with ch[apter] 3 as the midpoint or climax. Accordingly, the first two chapters build an 'ascent,' or crescendo, to the climax, the grand confession of 3:23, 24: 'Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion.' The last two chapters are a 'descent,' or decrescendo, from the pinnacle of ch[apter] 3... The poetry of the book enhances its purpose and structure. Chapters 1 through 4 are composed as acrostics of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse or group of verses begins with a word whose initial letter carries on the sequence of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. This would be similar to an English poem in which the first line begins with A; the second begins with B, and so on. One purpose of this device was probably to aid in memorization of the passage. The acrostic also suggests that the writer has thought things through and is giving a complete account of the subject" (Nelson Study Bible, introductory notes on Lamentations).
While chapter 1 is a perfect acrostic, chapters 2-4 are slightly imperfect, and oddly enough for the same reason. In each case the 16th and 17th letters of the Hebrew alphabet (ayin and pe) are swapped—for what significance we don't know. The acrostic in chapter 3 comes in groups of three—that is, each of the first three verses begins with the first Hebrew letter aleph, each of the second three with the second letter beth, etc. (see Expositor's, introductory notes on Lamentations). And then there is the mysterious chapter 5, intriguingly not an acrostic even though it still seems to divide up into 22 verses. "That chapter 5 has twenty-two verses has caused some to suggest that the laments were first written in normal verse and then rewritten to include the acrostic. This idea is ingenious but unprovable" (same note).
Other laments are written in various books like the book of Psalms, but this is the only book solely devoted to lamenting. Orthodox Jewish custom requires that this book be read aloud on the fast of Tisha b'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Ab—the traditional day on which the temple of Solomon was destroyed in 586 B.C. and on which the second temple was destroyed by the Roman army in A.D. 70. Jeremiah was present at the destruction of Solomon's temple as Jerusalem was overrun and sacked by the Babylonian armies. He saw the horrifying imagery described in the book. And yet the terrible suffering portrayed seems to reflect even more than what occurred at that time. It evidently anticipates suffering that was, and still is, yet to come—for the judgment described here is what is to befall "all the dwelling places of Jacob...every horn of Israel" (Lamentations 2:2-3), not just Judah. The book, as we will see, calls for the coming of the Day of the Lord and the final judgment on Israel's enemies. Yet there is no question that the ancient anguish and suffering of Judah is also vividly revealed in the pages of this deeply emotional account.
In its introductory notes on the book, The Bible Reader's Companion (Lawrence Richards, 1991) states: "Lamentations does maintain a consistent theological outlook: Judah's [and later all Israel's] loss can be traced to God's sovereignty, His justice, and His commitment to a morality which His people abandoned. Yet Lamentations is primarily a book that plumbs the depths of human sorrow, not from an individual's perspective, but from the perspective of an entire people. Reading the book we experience something of the overwhelming sense of despair that can grip communities and even whole nations. Even the prayers recorded in Lamentations are desperate prayers; cries of anguish rather than affirmations of hope. It is terrible as well as wonderful to be human. It is terrible indeed if we surrender to our human bent to sin. The day must come when we will look back on our lost opportunities, and realize that the misery we endure now is a consequence of our own chronic craving for sin. If nothing else, reading the Book of Lamentations reminds us the pleasures of sin are at best momentary, the painful consequences lasting and deep."