Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 42:5

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Jeremiah 42:5. The Lord be a true and faithful Witness — The Lord is such; and as ye have bound yourselves to obey his voice, he will register the covenant, and bless or curse according as ye shall conduct yourselves in this matter.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Jeremiah opposes going to Egypt (42:1-22)

As Jeremiah had been living at Mizpah, he was probably among the people who had been captured by Ishmael and who were now thinking of fleeing to Egypt. These people therefore asked him to seek God’s guidance for them (42:1-3). Jeremiah agreed to their request, and they promised to do whatever God said, whether it pleased them or not (4-6).
After ten days Jeremiah received God’s answer, and quickly passed it on to the people (7-9). God’s directions were clear. The people were to stay in the land and were not to fear Babylon. God would give them protection and provision (10-12).
If the people disobeyed, thinking that by going to Egypt they would escape war and hardship, they would be disappointed. God would punish them by bringing upon them in Egypt the war and hardship they had tried to escape (13-17). As the people in Jerusalem had been punished for disobeying God, so would these people, if they rejected God’s word through Jeremiah (18).
Jeremiah knew that the people had already decided to go to Egypt before they asked him for God’s guidance. He therefore warned them of the terrible consequences of their stubbornness (19-22).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

JEREMIAH TO PROPHESY; PEOPLE PROMISE OBEDIENCE

"Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto Jehovah your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatsoever thing Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not according to all the word wherewith Jehovah thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the word of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee; that it many be well with us, when we obey the voice of Jehovah our God."

This promise seems to be sincere enough, since it even calls upon God Himself to be a witness against them if they should fail to keep their vow.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Between us - Against us, as in Jeremiah 42:19 (margin.)

According to all things - literally, “according to the whole word as to which Yahweh thy God shall send thee to us.”

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

It hence appears that the people understood for what purpose Jeremiah, before he consulted God, assured them of his faithfulness and sincerity; for it was not without reason that they promised to be obedient to God; but as they saw that they were suspected as being not sincere by Jeremiah, and as he had promised to be a true and faithful teacher, they on the other hand declared that they would be sincere disciples, and would receive whatever God might command them. But they soon betrayed their perfidy, for when they heard that what they had resolved to do did not please God, they not only rejected the counsel of God and the Prophet, but treated him insolently, and even loaded the holy man with reproaches, as though he had told them what was false. Their hypocrisy ought at the same time to be a lesson to us, so that when God is pleased through a singular favor to shew us the way of acting rightly by faithful instructors and competent teachers, we may not be like them, but be teachable and ready to obey, and prove this not only by the mouth but also by our deeds.

The Prophet then says, that they spoke thus, Let God be a faithful and true witness between us. Being not content with a simple affirmation, they dared to interpose the name of God; and thus we see how blind is hypocrisy. For if men duly weigh what it is to profane God’s name, surely they would dread and abominate all perjury. As then they rushed on so audaciously to swear, it is evident that they were as it were stupefied; and there is no inebriety which so confuses the minds of men and all their senses as hypocrisy.

They then added, According to whatever word which Jehovah thy God shall send to us, so will we do, that is, whatever Jehovah shall command us by thee; for God is said to send to men, when he sends a messenger in his name to bring his commands. Jeremiah then was, as it were, a middle person to address the people in God’s name, as though he had been sent from heaven. They therefore said, that they would do whatever God commanded. A stronger expression follows, Whether good or evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God They did not here charge God’s word with being wrong, as though it had anything unjust in it; but they used good in the sense of joyful, and evil as meaning what is sad or grievous, as though they had said, that they asked for no other thing but that God should declare what pleased him, and that they were so submissive as to refuse nothing though contrary to the flesh. Had this declaration proceeded from the heart, it would have been a testimony of true piety; for the minds of the godly ought to be so framed as to obey God without making any exception, whether he commands what is contrary to their purpose, or leads them where they do not wish to go; for they who wish to make a compact with God, that he should require nothing but what is agreeable to them, shew that they know not what it is to serve God. Hence the obedience of faith in an especial manner requires this, that man should renounce his own desires, that he should not set up his own counsels and wishes against the word of God, nor object and say, this is hard, that is not quite agreeable. Whether then it be good or evil, that is, though it may be contrary to the feelings of the flesh, we ought still to embrace what God requires and commands: this is the rule of true religion.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 42

So in chapter 42:

Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, they came unto Jeremiah, and said unto him, We beg you, that you will accept our supplication, and pray for us unto the LORD [or unto Jehovah] thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are just a few of the many, as your eyes behold us:) ( Jeremiah 42:1-2 )

In other words, "There's just a few of us left. Now pray to the Lord your God for us."

That the LORD [or Jehovah] thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do ( Jeremiah 42:3 ).

So they're asking now that Jeremiah will seek the Lord for guidance. Now notice that they are saying, "The Lord thy God," or, "Jehovah thy God." And when Jeremiah answers them, he said,

I will pray unto the LORD your God ( Jeremiah 42:4 )

They are saying to Jeremiah, "Pray to Jehovah thy God," not really acknowledging Jehovah as their own God in the request. But Jeremiah turns it around and says, "I will pray unto Jehovah thy God." And then later on he mentions Jehovah our God. So he said, "I will pray unto Jehovah your God."

according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatever Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will not keep anything back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it is good, or whether it is evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God ( Jeremiah 42:4-6 ),

So they acknowledged Jehovah. And of course, this is when you... this is what it's all about, when obedience, when He is Jehovah your God then that it just has the intimation of obedience. That's what worshipping or serving God is all about. That is submission to God as Lord of our lives. And God being a title is the title of that master of your life. What is it that masters your life? That's your God. People say, "Well, I don't believe in God." That's not true. Everybody is mastered by some principle, some idea. And whatever it is that masters your life, that is your God. So when you acknowledge God, you're acknowledging whatever force or guiding or directing principle there is in your life. And you're always obedient to that guiding force or principle of your life.

So inquire. Now here they are. "Look, we promise we will obey. Whatever the Lord tells us. If it's good or if it's bad, we'll obey it. The Lord judge between us. We're going to obey it."

And it came to pass after ten days ( Jeremiah 42:7 ),

Now this is interesting to me because Jeremiah, no doubt, had a pretty good connection. You know, we read all the way through how the word of the Lord was coming to Jeremiah in so many different situations. And here he is coming to the Lord now for a specific purpose--to receive instruction and guidance from God for these people who are asking him to seek the Lord for them. And it's interesting to me that he did not hear for ten days.

How often when we come to God are we looking and expecting for an immediate response. And if God doesn't speak in the first five minutes that I give Him the opportunity, well then I'll try something else, you know. After all, I've waited here for five minutes to give God a chance to talk to me. And yet here is Jeremiah waiting for ten days to hear the word of the Lord. God's timing does not always coincide with mine. I so often look at a situation and I say, "Well, Lord, as I see it You have just about five hours to take care of this situation. And if in the next five hours You don't do something, it's down the tubes. It's too late. So You got five hours to do Your work, Lord." And then I come back, say, "Well, Lord, sixty minutes. It's about all You got. Lord, You've got about five minutes. Oh Lord, You're too late. You had Your chance. Too bad. Now I'm going to have to step in and do something, Lord, because You didn't make it." And there are so many cases where I was so certain that God missed His chance. And yet I found out later that I was just ahead of God's schedule. I was going by my watch and He was going by His eternal clock. And God worked and God did it and I thought it's too late. He can't do it now. There have been times when I was sure, "It's just too late, Lord. Oh God, You could have done it. Why didn't You do it, Lord? Now it's too late."

You know, oftentimes God delays the answers to prayer in order that He might give more. You remember when Hannah had gone with her husband Elkanah in order to offer their sacrifices unto the Lord. And Elkanah looked at her and he says, "How come you're so depressed?" She said, "Oh, your other wife and I have been having a real time." She said, "You give me a son." He said, "Am I God that I can give you a son?" The other wife was having lots of kids. She couldn't have any. That was a disgrace in that culture. And it was obvious that Elkanah loved her more than he did his other wife. I can see that polygamy would have all kinds of problems. Who can handle one? And these wives were at each other. And this other one was really getting to Hannah because she didn't have any children. And so she said, "Give me a son or I perish." He said, "Am I God that I can give you a child?" He said, "But look, you've got me. Aren't I worth many sons to you?" It didn't work. She didn't answer him, but her silence said a lot.

So when they came to the house of the Lord, she was in such bitterness over this whole issue. But she was there on the temple steps or on the steps, the temple wasn't built then, but there on the step of the court of the place of worship, tabernacle, and she was pouring out her soul to God in deep bitterness, and so much so, that she wasn't even uttering the words. Just her mouth was moving but she wasn't uttering the words. And Eli the priest came by and looked at her there in that, you know, just tense and strained condition and he said, "Woman, you better leave the bottle alone. It will take you to the bottom." She said, "I'm not drunk, sir. I'm not a woman of wine." She said, "My soul is bitterly grieved before God." And he said, "Go your way, God grant your request."

Well, what she was praying was, "God, if You'll just give me a son, I'll give him back to You all the days of his life." Well, you see, the condition of Israel was so low that God couldn't find any man to lead the people. God needed a man. God couldn't find a man so he had to find a woman in order to get a man. And he got her attention by closing up her womb and making her childless. And no doubt she had prayed many, many times that God would give her a child, take away the disgrace of her barrenness. But God waited, God delayed the answer. God was intending all the time to answer her prayer. But God needed a man. And so He delayed the answer until her prayer came into harmony with the will of God. "Lord, if You'll just give me a man child, I'll give him back to You." All right! Now you're in harmony with the purpose of God. And she bore a son and she called his name Samuel. And he became one of the greatest leaders of Israel, leading them out of sure tragedy in that particular period of history and became a marvelous prophet and priest of God. God delayed the prayer, answering the prayer in order that He might give more. God oftentimes does that for us.

Jeremiah waited for ten days.

and the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. And so he called Johanan, and all of those captains that were with him, and all of the people together ( Jeremiah 42:7-8 ),

Down near Bethlehem, there on the road towards Egypt.

And he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; If you will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down; and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you ( Jeremiah 42:9-10 ).

And, again, here the idea of repent is a term that we use of God because we describe the actions of God in human terms, but we read that, "God is not a man," Deuteronomy, "that He should repent" ( 1 Samuel 15:29 ). Hath He not spoken? Shall He not perform? But yet God is saying, "I have changed from the evil, or I have completed the evil that I've purposed upon you and I'm not going to bring any further evil," basically, is what God is saying.

Don't be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will show mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land ( Jeremiah 42:11-12 ).

Now don't be afraid of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. You don't need to fear him. You are afraid of him, but you don't need to be afraid of him. For I will have mercy upon you and I will give you mercy in his eyes that he'll return you to the land.

But if you say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God, saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell ( Jeremiah 42:13-14 ):

So this is what was in the back of their minds in going to Egypt. "We'll be able to escape war. We won't hear the sound of trumpet." That is, the trumpets that are calling the troops to battle. "We'll not have hunger, and there will we dwell." So their going to Egypt was a case of convenience. It was a peace-at-any-price kind of a thing. "We'll escape from war, the sounds of the trumpets of war. And there we'll have peace. We'll eat bread and have plenty."

And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If you wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which you feared, will overtake you; and the famine, which you are afraid, will follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you will die. So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when you enter into Egypt: and you shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more. The LORD hath said concerning you, O remnant of Judah; Go not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day. For you have dissembled in your hearts, when you sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and whatever our God says, or declares to us, that we will do ( Jeremiah 42:15-20 ).

You were deceitful. You were not telling the truth when you vowed to obey the voice of the Lord.

And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn ( Jeremiah 42:21-22 ).

Now here is a classic example of proper counseling by a minister or by a pastor. As pastors, we really are not here to give you legal advice. Nor are we here to give you medical advice. Nor are we here to give you psychological counseling. We are here to give spiritual counseling to people and to talk to them concerning their spiritual problems, and that's all that we're qualified to do. And if a person comes for counsel and their problem is legal, then all we can do is send you to an attorney. If it's medical, we can send you to a doctor. If it's a deep psychological problem, then we can send you to a psychologist. We're here to counsel people on the spiritual things and to give to you the Word of the Lord on spiritual issues. Now, we cannot force your action. All we can do is give you the alternatives. "Here's what the Lord says about this. If you stay here, then this is what God is going to do for you and this is what God has promised to do. If you go down there, then this is what is going to happen. And this is what the Lord says will happen if you go down there." That's all we can do is lay out the alternatives from a spiritual standpoint and what the Word of God says about the alternatives. But you have to always make your own choice and own decision of what you are going to do. And really we can't tell you what to do. All we can do is give you the Word of the Lord and lay your alternatives, lay the alternatives before you and then you make your decision on what you want to do. The choice is always yours. All we can do is lay out the choices and the results of the choices. And then you must decide which path you're going to take.

So look how effectively Jeremiah did that. "Now look, if you stay in the land, you don't need to be afraid of Nebuchadnezzar because God will plant you here. And God will be with you and He'll give you mercies and you'll find mercies before Nebuchadnezzar and all. And you're going to prosper; you'll be blessed. If you go down to Egypt, because you think that you can escape war down there, you think that you can have plenty of bread and you think it's going to be well down there, the very things that you're trying to escape are going to follow you down there. The sword will follow you there. The famine will follow you there. War and the famine that you're worried about here, they'll follow you there and you'll die in Egypt. You'll never come back to the land again. You're going to perish in Egypt. It's all over if you go down there. That's it, it's over for you." And so he told them what the Lord had said. And the Lord just gave to them the various choices and the consequence of each choice.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The people promised three times that they would obey the Lord, the faithful and true witness, in all that He told them to do, so that things would go well for them.

Jeremiah obtained and then reported the Lord’s message to the remnant, which was encamped near Bethlehem (Jeremiah 42:7-22).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Then they said to Jeremiah, the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us,.... Which is the form of an oath; a solemn appeal to God, as a witness to what they were about to say, and to the sincerity of their hearts in it; who is true to his word, and faithful to his promises and threatenings; and who bears a true and faithful testimony, and will do what is just and right; and yet these people never intended to perform what they promised; which is a most shocking piece of atheism in a professing people; and who, at this very time, could not but observe the judgments of God upon their nation, city, and temple:

if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us; they promise to do everything the Lord should signify by the prophet as his will; and, if they did not, wish the severest judgments of God might fall upon them.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,   2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:)   3 That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.   4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.   5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.   6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.

      We have reason to wonder how Jeremiah the prophet escaped the sword of Ishmael; it seems he did escape, and it was not the first time that the Lord hid him. It is strange also that in these violent turns he was not consulted before now, and his advice asked and taken. But it should seem as if they knew not that a prophet was among them. Though this people were as brands plucked out of the fire, yet have they not returned to the Lord. This people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; and contempt of God and his providence, God and his prophets, is still the sin that most easily besets them. But now at length, to serve a turn, Jeremiah is sought out, and all the captains, Johanan himself not excepted, with all the people from the least to the greatest, make him a visit; they came near (Jeremiah 42:1; Jeremiah 42:1), which intimates that hitherto they had kept at a distance from the prophet and had been shy of him. Now here,

      I. They desire him by prayer to ask direction from God what they should do in the present critical juncture, Jeremiah 42:2; Jeremiah 42:3. They express themselves wonderfully well. 1. With great respect to the prophet. Though he was poor and low, and under their command, yet they apply to him with humility and submissiveness, as petitioners for his assistance, which yet they intimate their own unworthiness of: Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee. They compliment him thus in hopes to persuade him to say as they would have him say. 2. With a great opinion of his interest in heaven: "Pray for us, who know not how to pray for ourselves. Pray to the Lord thy God, for we are unworthy to call him ours, nor have we reason to expect any favour from him." 3. With a great sense of their need of divine direction. They speak of themselves as objects of compassion: "We are but a remnant, but a few of many; how easily will such a remnant be swallowed up, and yet it is a pity that it should. Thy eyes see what distress we are in, what a plunge we are at; if thou canst do any thing, help us." 4. With desire of divine direction: "Let the Lord thy God take this ruin into his thoughts and under his hand, and show us the way wherein we may walk and may expect to have his presence with us, and the thing that we may do, the course we may take for our own safety." Note, In every difficult doubtful case our eye must be up to God for direction. They then might expect to be directed by a spirit of prophecy, which has now ceased; but we may still in faith pray to be guided by a spirit of wisdom in our hearts and the hints of Providence.

      II. Jeremiah faithfully promises them to pray for direction for them, and, whatever message God should send to them by him, he would deliver it to them just as he received it without adding, altering, or diminishing, Jeremiah 42:4; Jeremiah 42:4. Ministers may hence learn, 1. Conscientiously to pray for those who desire their prayers: I will pray for you according to your words. Though they had slighted him, yet, like Samuel when he was slighted, he will not sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for them, 1 Samuel 12:23. 2. Conscientiously to advise those who desire their advice as near as they can to the mind of God, not keeping back any thing that is profitable for them, whether it be pleasing or no, but to declare to them the whole counsel of God, that they may approve themselves true to their trust.

      III. They fairly promise that they will be governed by the will of God, as soon as they know what it is (Jeremiah 42:5; Jeremiah 42:6), and they had the impudence to appeal to God concerning their sincerity herein, though at the same time they dissembled: "The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us; do thou in the fear of God tell us truly what his mind is and then we will in the fear of God comply with it, and for this the Lord the Judge be Judge between us." Note, Those that expect to have the benefit of good ministers' prayers must conscientiously hearken to their preaching and be governed by it, as far as it agrees with the mind of God. Nothing could be better than this was: Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, that it may be well with us. 1. They now call God their God, for Jeremiah had encouraged them to call him so (Jeremiah 42:4; Jeremiah 42:4): I will pray to the Lord your God. He is ours, and therefore we will obey his voice. Our relation to God strongly obliges us to obedience. 2. They promise to obey his voice because they sent the prophet to him to consult him. Note, We do not truly desire to know the mind of God if we do not fully resolve to comply with it when we do know it. 3. It is an implicit universal obedience that they here promise. They will do what God appoints them to do, whether it be good or whether it be evil: "Though it may seem evil to us, yet we will believe that if God command it it is certainly good, and we must not dispute it, but do it. Whatever God commands, whether it be easy or difficult, agreeable to our inclinations or contrary to them, whether it be cheap or costly, fashionable or unfashionable, whether we get or lose by it in our worldly interests, if it be our duty, we will do it." 4. It is upon a very good consideration that they promise this, a reasonable and powerful one, that it may be well with us, which intimates a conviction that they could not expect it should be well with them upon any other terms.