1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2-3 The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, “The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. 4 Now, behold, I release you today from the chains on your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go.

5-6 If you remain, then return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land. Jeremiah 40:1-6 English Standard Version

At the end of the last chapter we were told that King Nebuchadnezzar instructed Nebuzaradan to deal kindly with Jeremiah. That must have been a great relief to Jeremiah because today's reading implies that he had initially been chained along with the other captives who were to be taken to Babylon. (vs 1) Sometimes God's people go through a measure of trials before He intervenes. When Paul and Silas were thrown into a dark prison in Philippi they did not know that God was going to shake the prison open at midnight and set them free the following day. We mustn’t lose heart in our trials.

What is the noteworthy thing we see in Nebuzaradan's conversation with Jeremiah in vs 2-3?

He could see that what had happened to Jerusalem was due to their ongoing sins against God. The Babylonians must have heard reports of how faithful prophets like Jeremiah had warned God's people of the disaster God was bringing. How terribly sad that they could see God's hand when the people of Jerusalem had been so blind.

Jeremiah was given the choice of going to Babylon and being well looked after, or starting over in the battle scarred region of Judah. We see that Jeremiah opted to stay with the people who were left in the land. It may be that he believed they were more in need of a shepherd at this time. It may also be that he saw them as a remnant which God would use if He was going to build up the nation again.

The kindness shown to Jeremiah went even further in that Nebuzaradan urged him to go to a man named Gedaliah whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed Governor of the cities in that region. He probably thought this would provide safety for Jeremiah as there may have been people angry about what had happened. The next few chapters of Jeremiah show that there were indeed many hostilities among the people. The aftermath of war and being conquered will leave scars.

At this stage though we can take to heart the fact that God does not forsake His faithful servants. Jeremiah had been called to the difficult ministry of proclaiming God's wrath that was coming to the nation. As a result of doing that many had accused him of being a liar and a traitor. He had suffered beatings and imprisonment. At times he had felt himself the most miserable of all people. But he had never flinched from telling even Kings and Princes what God had told him to say.

God doesn't forsake His people. May we not forsake His word in our generation where the drift of society is to despise God's message and accuse God's people of being bigots, racists, and homophobes etc.