This and the following five chapters mainly deal with the life and history of Jeremiah after the fall of Jerusalem.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This and the four following chapters contain a particular account of what passed in the land of Judea from the taking of the city to the retreat of the people into Egypt, and the prophecies of Jeremiah concerning them there.’
Strange as it may seem, it is the commander of the Babylonian army, Nebuzaradan, who recognises the reasons why Jerusalem is in ruins, Jeremiah 40:1. So, what did he actually know?
1. That God had pronounced the sentence on Judah, Jeremiah 40:2.
2. That all of this happened because the people sinned against the Lord and didn’t obey Him, Jeremiah 40:3.
In Jeremiah 40:3, the commander is not accusing Jeremiah personally of sin, but he is accusing the Jews in general. He recognised that Jeremiah was not responsible for the rebellion, and he is therefore freed, Jeremiah 40:4.
Jeremiah has to make a big decision here. He has three options.
1. To go with Nebuzaradan to Babylon, where he will be treated well, Jeremiah 40:4.
2. To go wherever he wanted to in Judah, Jeremiah 40:4.
3. To go and live with Gedaliah, Jeremiah 40:5.
We read, ‘before Jeremiah turned to go,’ the commander said, ‘Go back to Gedaliah,’ Jeremiah 40:5. We don’t see Jeremiah commenting on this, but he obviously wanted to go back to Gedaliah.
In effect, he elected to live in poverty and hardship with the poor people who remained in Judah. Jeremiah decided to go and live with Gedaliah, and he was given food and a reward, Jeremiah 40:5-6.
It would appear that Nebuzaradan had spent a lot of time with the appointed governor, Gedaliah, and it was presumably through Gedaliah that the commander of the army had learned all about Jeremiah’s lifelong campaign to try and persuade God’s people to turn back to God.
Gedaliah’s home was in Mizpah, Jeremiah 40:6. There were several places called Mizpah; this one was the Benjaminite town near Gibeon and Ramah, a few miles northwest of Jerusalem.
Mizpah was probably chosen as the headquarters for Gedaliah because, apparently, it had been spared the devastation of war. Certainly, archaeologists have not found any evidence of its destruction.
When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king had appointed Gedaliah as governor over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon, Jeremiah 40:7. They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, Ishmael, Johanan, and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah, the sons of Ephai and Jaazaniah and their men, Jeremiah 40:8.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Ishmael.
‘This is he who afterwards murdered Gedaliah. He had been employed to do this by Baalis, king of the Ammonites, with whom he appears to have taken refuge during the siege, Jeremiah 40:14.’
God’s people are told to ‘settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon,’ Jeremiah 40:9.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Gedaliah’s message was one of peace and encouragement, Jeremiah 40:10. He was the governor, the representative of the king of Babylon and so he assured them that there would be no problems if they served the king of Babylon, Jeremiah 40:10. This was all that was left for this once proud nation, to settle down and serve their new masters.’
The regulations for the remnant staying in the land were that they were to gather wine, oil, etc., and store them, Jeremiah 40:10. This was obviously to serve the Babylonians and ensure peace and goodwill.
The remnant is to ‘harvest the wine, the summer fruit and oil,’ Jeremiah 40:10. The city had fallen in July, and winter would be here soon. They may have had a food problem, and they probably had to survive for a while on dried fruits and vegetables.
When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah as governor over them, they all came back to the land of Judah,’ Jeremiah 40:12.
Many of the Jews would have fled to places of refuge during the siege, now they were ready to return and so, they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit, Jeremiah 40:12.
Baalis, the king of the Ammonites, wants to take the life of Gedaliah, Jeremiah 40:13-14. This may have been because Gedaliah appeared to be a friend of the Babylonians.
Whatever the reason, his life is in danger, but Gedaliah dismissed the claim as untrue, Jeremiah 40:14. It seems incredible that he should have disbelieved this rumour, which was backed up by ‘all the army officers,’ Jeremiah 40:13.
Gedaliah was a man of integrity and ability, but he seemed to be totally lacking in the skill of evaluating men. Or perhaps he was overconfident; perhaps he felt that he had the backing of the whole force of Babylon and that his message of peace and encouragement would be accepted by all.
‘Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews to be scattered,’ Jeremiah 40:15. When we look at the next chapter, we will see that the sword of Ishmael will end Gedaliah’s life, Jeremiah 41:2, and that the Jews will indeed scatter.
Whilst Gedaliah was alive, there seemed to be hope for the remnant, but now that hope has gone. It appears as if everybody, except Gedaliah, knew about it. Perhaps he thought that Johanan had an old score to settle with this messenger, Ishmael and that he saw this as an opportunity to do so.
But Gedaliah misjudged the situation; he didn’t believe that it was true, Jeremiah 40:16. He didn’t even investigate the accusation, at least, as far as we know, he didn’t.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘He thought it quite possible that the man who was capable of becoming an assassin was capable of telling a lie, and therefore, he would not credit what he said. Had he been a little more distrustful, he would have saved his own life. The next chapter shows that Johanan’s information was too true. So noble Gedaliah lost his life by not believing the evil of others, of which he himself was incapable.’