1-3 Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant - because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us - that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.”

4 Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.” 5-6 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the Lord your God sends you to us. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

7 At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Then he summoned Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, and said to them, 8-10 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. 11-12 Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land.” Jeremiah 42:1-12 English Standard Version

The story so far. A man named Gedaliah, whom the Babylonians made governor of the conquered region of Judea, was assassinated by someone called Ishmael. Ishmael captured a large number of people left in the land after Jerusalem was destroyed and was taking them to the land of Ammon. They were rescued by Johanan and his forces, but were still afraid that the King of Babylon might think they had killed Gedaliah. They were desperate to know what they should do. What was the good first step they took? (vs 1-3)

They asked Jeremiah to seek God's will for the situation they were in. That was the right thing to do. When Jeremiah said he would indeed do that for them, and would faithfully report back to them whatever God said, what was the even better thing they promised to do? (vs 5-6)

They promised to obey God's word to them whether it was good news or bad news. They acknowledged that the time had come when they needed to obey the voice of the Lord. People nowadays sometimes realize that too when their world has fallen apart. They realize how their disobedience to God's word has landed them in the desperate situation they find themselves in. What was the thrust of the answer that God gave 10 days later? (vs 8-10)

God wanted them to stay in the land of Judea and promised that, if they obeyed, He would build their lives up again. He told them too that they need not be afraid of the King of Babylon because He would keep them safe. (vs 11-12) That message is also true of what the gospel promises to all who truly repent of sin and turn to Jesus Christ as Lord. Those who believe on Christ become God's people and He becomes their God.

The next half of this chapter will show that Jeremiah had some bad news too. Just as there is with the gospel, which tells us that “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36) God willing we will look at the warning God gave through Jeremiah, and how the people finally responded. Would they respond in the right way to God's offer of mercy? Have we?