Ignored Advice

    Have you ever given advice to someone and they ignored it?  What happened?  How did it make you feel?  Why do we even bother to advise loved ones when they won't heed council?  It can be very frustrating.  However, if it is what God directs, then you have to obey.  You do your part and let the other person or people be responsible for doing their part.

    Jeremiah did his part throughout his prophesying years.  He was obedient to God every step of the way, even when he really did not want to act or speak.  He was called the weeping prophet because he watched throughout people ignore his advice and pay the price.  It broke his heart to watch Jerusalem fall.  The Jews were still coming to him to hear from God, but they still ignoring his advice.  I imagine he felt trapped to watch doomsday scenarios over and over again.

    The arrogant men accused Jeremiah of being a liar and setting a trap on behalf of the Babylonians.  That is more than lying.  That is betrayal.  If it were true, then it would have made him a turncoat.  However, Jeremiah's loyalty was always to God and his people.  

    The arrogant said this to make it okay for them to ignore Jeremiah's advice about Egypt.  They packed up their stuff and headed to the country where they hoped to find security and stability.  To prove their point, they forced Jeremiah to go with them.  It was a little extra security: God wouldn't harm them if Jeremiah was with them and the Babylonians didn't care enough about him to follow.  They only made it as far as Tahpanhes in lower Egypt. It is probably Tell el-Dafenneh today.  It is where the Jews had fled 900 years earlier with Moses.

    You can never out smart God.  He went to Jeremiah with a plan to escape.  He would make sure that Jeremiah had freedom before inflicting punishment on all that rejected Jeremiah's advice.  They were destined for death because they ignored God's warning again.  However, he was not going to have Jeremiah hurt because of them.  

Jeremiah 43