Jeremiah 40:13–14: “Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and said to him, ‘Do you certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?’ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.”

November 8th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

There is a great deal of political intrigue going on in this chapter. Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem and taken all the people, except for the very poor, back to Babylon. He appointed Gedaliah to act as governor to the small remnant left in Jerusalem. Jews who had fled Judah earlier, now started making their way back, among them was Johanan and Ishmael. Johanan came to Gedaliah to tell him that Ishmael planned to kill him. Johanan was completely convinced that the assassination plot was real, and wanted to head it off by killing the ringleader, Ishmael, before he had a chance to kill the governor. However, Gedaliah refused to believe the plot. He should have listened to this wise counsel and acted on it, as it might have saved his life. God’s word tells us that in a multitude of counselors there is wisdom.

God desires for us to use wisdom when making decisions and to respond quickly when He gives us supernatural information. We have discovered that it is far simpler to obey the voice of God than to shut our ears to what He is saying just because we dislike confrontation. This governor’s unbelief and desire to avoid conflict led to his own death. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Sometimes walking with God demands that we not steer clear of confrontation just because it might be uncomfortable but take it on directly, fighting a good fight. But we must also be careful to avoid being the person who chooses battles badly, like becoming unyielding on petty issues that bring division, when it is both unnecessary and costly to the very cause of Christ. The Old Testament prophet Nathan provides one of the best examples of how to confront someone well. Nathan told a non-threatening story to help King David understand the true nature of his sin. God wants us to be creative, gracious, and loving in our confrontation, but also bold and unafraid.

“LORD, help us to be courageous and wise enough to choose our battles well today.”