SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 42
Johanan and all the army officers and the people came to Jeremiah and told him to ask the Lord and tell them where they should go and pray to God what they should do. Jeremiah prayed to the Lord and this is what God told him. “If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land. However, If you say, ‘We will not stay in this land’ and so disobey the Lord your God, and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread. If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die. Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them. As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be an object of cursing and horror, of condemnation and reproach; you will never see this place again.”
THOUGHTS:
The people had already made up their minds to go to Egypt. However, they thought it would be good to ask the prophet to pray for them. Their words sounded holy but they were hypocrites. Have you tried to seek God’s will through praise, prayers and promises without fulfilling what God wants you to do? Do you ask for God’s guidance with no intention to follow it? Never ask God for something that you know in your heart you really do not want to follow. It is better not to pray than to pray hypocritically. God cannot be deceived.