7-8 When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah - Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 9-10 Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.”

11-12 Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.

13-16 Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.” Jeremiah 40:7-16 English Standard Version

A sad confession on my part is that, despite many years of reading the Bible (and even three years at a Bible College), this part of Jeremiah was not familiar to me. I think many of us start reading one of the longer Old Testament books but fade out before the end. But we lose out on the whole message of God's word if we do that. We see here how, following Jerusalem's conquest, things were far from over! The Babylonians appointed a man named Gedaliah as governor of the region they had conquered. What was his advice to those who had not been deported? (vs 9-10)

He encouraged them to submit to the Babylonian authority God had placed over them. The apostle Paul said something similar to Christians living under the rule of people who care nothing for Jesus. He said: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” (Romans 13:1-2) Not an easy call, but we need to take it to heart.

Not everyone in Jeremiah's day took it heart. In vs 13-16 we read that a man named Ishmael, in cahoots with the King of the Ammonite people, was plotting to assassinate Gedaliah. And despite Johanan's warning and offer of help, Gedaliah wrote it off as a conspiracy theory.

God willing, we will see what happened in the next chapter. But what struck me from today's section is that spiritual warfare is never over! The people left behind in Judea and Jerusalem may have thought peace would descend after Babylon had won the war. That was far from the reality. So too, Covid may be on the way out, but it doesn't mean Christians should expect care free days. The apostle Peter said “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) We are in an ongoing spiritual war and we need God's wisdom daily to discern between truth and error. Even in things like submission to authority.