Jeremiah 42 (résumé): Jeremiah warns against going to Egypt

Then Johanan and his accompanying army officers asked Jeremiah to pray for God's guidance for them and promised to obey come what may. 10 days later Jeremiah received word from the Lord telling them to stay put and God would bless them, but if they refused to stay and insisted on going to Egypt then all will die by sword, famine and plague. In this case "you will be an object of cursing, horror, condemnation and reproach, and you will never see this place again".

Jeremiah 41 (résumé): Gedaliah assassinated

Jeremiah 41 tells of how Ishmael came with 10 men and murdered Gedaliah and all the Jews with him. However before word had spread about the killings 80 men arrived bringing grain offerings and incense to the temple, so Ishmael slaughtered them all and threw their bodies into a cistern. Then Ishmael took everyone else there captive. When however the word got round about all the killings Ishmael had carried out Johanan and some army officers came after Ishmael, but he and 8 of his men escaped. Then Johanan and all the survivors of Jerusalem fled to Egypt. 

Jeremiah 40 (résumé): Jeremiah freed & Gedaliah made Governor

The commander of the Babylonian army, Nebuzaradan, found "Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives" and released him and told him he was free to chose whether he went to Babylon or stayed in Jerusalem, and Jeremiah chose to stay. Then the king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah as governor of Judah and he encouraged everyone to "settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon". So all the Jews of the diaspora came back to Judah and planted and harvested bumper crops. Rumours however spread about a conspiracy to kill Gedaliah involving the king of the Ammonites, but Gedaliah didn't believe the story, although some Israelites wanted to carry out a preemptive killing of King Baalis's hitman Ishmael. 

Jeremiah 39 (résumé) The fall of Jerusalem

Jeremiah 39 tells of how the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem finally led to the city wall being broken through and all the Babylonian officials took up seats of authority in the city. Thus King Zedekiah and his soldiers fled but they were pursued and captured the king in the plains of Jericho taking him before Nebuchadnezzar. He slaughtered all the King's sons before his eyes as well as all the Israelite nobles. Then he removed King Zedekiah's eyes, put him in Bronze shackles and sent him to Babylon. The Babylonians then broke down the walls of Jerusalem and torched the royal palace and houses, but they left poorer people in the city. Jeremiah was left unharmed amongst his people.

Jeremiah 38 (résumé): Jeremiah thrown into a cistern

Jeremiah 38 tells of how the prophet warned everyone that if they stayed in Jerusalem they would die and told everyone to go over to the Babylonians who will capture the city. The Israelite officials said Jeremiah "should be put to death" for reducing the morale of the Israelite soldiers, and King Zedekiah handed Jeremiah over to them and they put Jeremiah in a muddy cistern. However Ebed-Melech went and appealed to the king against this and the king sent 30 men to hoist Jeremiah out of the cistern. Then King Zedekiah consulted Jeremiah giving him life assurance, so he told the king that the only way for him to survive was for him to surrender to the Babylonians. Then Jeremiah stayed under house arrest in "the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured".

Wake

Liz and I went to the wake of Brother Caetano's brother. Caetano is a member of the Patos church and his brother Neil died of a heart-attack aged just 42. We spoke to the father and sister with the father crying profusely. 

Yesterday I watched England beat Panama 2 x 0 and finish in first place in group L. I didn't think England played very well, but at least they did enough to win. From now on it's the knockout stages for both England and Brazil so we shall see what happens. Brazil will play Japan next Monday and England will play Congo next Wednesday.

Jeremiah 37 (summary): Jeremiah in prison

 Zedekiah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar and he sent word to Jeremiah asking for prayer for God to help them whilst there was a lull in the Babylonian siege thanks to an Egyptian advance. Jeremiah warned Zedekiah that Egypt's help would come to nothing and that the Babylonians would soon be returning with full strength. Then Jeremiah was arrested for allegedly "deserting to the Babylonians!" The officials had Jeremiah beaten and then imprisoned him. Jeremiah was put in a vaulted cell in a dungeon and left there for a long time. Eventually King Zedekiah sought out Jeremiah and asked him if he had any word from the Lord? Jeremiah told him straight that he did and that he would be handed over to the King of Babylon. Jeremiah insisted on his release and he was at least put under house arrest in the courtyard of the guard and grateful to longer be confined to the dungeon.