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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Jeremiah XLI].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XLI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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It is a very tragical story that is related in this chapter, and shows
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that evil pursues sinners. The black cloud that was gathering in the
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foregoing chapter here bursts in a dreadful storm. Those few Jews that
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escaped the captivity were proud to think that they were still in their
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own land, when their brethren had gone they knew not whither, were fond
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of the wine and summer-fruits they had gathered, and were very secure
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under Gedaliah's protectorship, when, on a sudden, even these remains
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prove ruins too.
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I. Gedaliah is barbarously slain by Ishmael,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. All the Jews that were with him were slain likewise
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:3">ver. 3</A>)
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and a pit filled with their dead bodies,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:9">ver. 9</A>.
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III. Some devout men, to the number of fourscore, that were going
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towards Jerusalem, were drawn in by Ishmael, and murdered likewise,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:4-7">ver. 4-7</A>.
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Only ten of them escaped,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:8">ver. 8</A>.
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IV. Those that escaped the sword were taken prisoners by Ishmael, and
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carried off towards the country of the Ammonites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:10">ver. 10</A>.
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V. By the conduct and courage of Johanan, though the death of the slain
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is not revenged, yet the prisoners are recovered, and he now becomes
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their commander-in-chief,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:11-16">ver. 11-16</A>.
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VI. His project is to carry them into the land of Egypt
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(ver. 17, 18</A>),
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which we shall hear more of in the next chapter.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer41_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Murder of Gedaliah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Now it came to pass in the seventh month, <I>that</I> Ishmael the
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son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the
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princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah
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the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread
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together in Mizpah.
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2 Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that
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were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of
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Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon
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had made governor over the land.
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3 Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, <I>even</I>
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with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found
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there, <I>and</I> the men of war.
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4 And it came to pass the second day after he had slain
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Gedaliah, and no man knew <I>it,</I>
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5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from
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Samaria, <I>even</I> fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and
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their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and
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incense in their hand, to bring <I>them</I> to the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to
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meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as
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he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of
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Ahikam.
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7 And it was <I>so,</I> when they came into the midst of the city,
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that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, <I>and cast them</I> into
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the midst of the pit, he, and the men that <I>were</I> with him.
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8 But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael,
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Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of
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barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them
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not among their brethren.
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9 Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of
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the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, <I>was</I> it which
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Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: <I>and</I>
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Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with <I>them that were</I>
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slain.
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10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the
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people that <I>were</I> in Mizpah, <I>even</I> the king's daughters, and
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all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the
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captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam:
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and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and
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departed to go over to the Ammonites.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It is hard to say which is more astonishing, God's permitting or men's
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perpetrating such villanies as here we find committed. Such base,
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barbarous, bloody work is here done by men who by their birth should
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have been men of honour, by their religion just men, and this done upon
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those of their own nature, their own nation, their own religion, and
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now their brethren in affliction, when they were all brought under the
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power of the victorious Chaldeans, and smarting under the judgments of
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God, upon no provocation, nor with any prospect of advantage--all done,
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not only in cold blood, but with art and management. We have scarcely
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such an instance of perfidious cruelty in all the scripture; so that
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with John, when he saw the <I>woman drunk with the blood of the
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saints,</I> we may well <I>wonder with great admiration.</I> But God
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permitted it for the completing of the ruin of an unhumbled people, and
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the filling up of the measure of their judgments, who had filled up the
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measure of their iniquities. Let it inspire us with an indignation at
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the wickedness of men and an awe of God's righteousness.</P>
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<P>
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I. Ishmael and his party treacherously killed Gedaliah himself in the
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first place. Though the king of Babylon had made him a great man, had
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given him a commission to be <I>governor of the land</I> which he had
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conquered, though God had made him a good man and a great blessing to
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his country, and his agency for its welfare was as life from the dead,
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yet neither could secure him. Ishmael was of <I>the seed royal</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>)
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and therefore jealous of Gedaliah's growing greatness, and enraged that
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he should merit and accept a commission under the king of Babylon. He
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had <I>ten men</I> with him that were <I>princes of the king</I> too,
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guided by the same peevish resentments that he was; these had been with
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Gedaliah before, to put themselves under his protection
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+40:8"><I>ch.</I> xl. 8</A>),
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and now came again to make him a visit; <I>and they did eat bread
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together in Mizpah.</I> he entertained them generously, and entertained
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no jealousy of them, notwithstanding the information given him by
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Johanan. They pretended friendship to him, and gave him no warning to
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stand on his guard; he was in sincerity friendly to them, and did all
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he could to oblige them. But those that did <I>eat bread</I> with him
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<I>lifted up the heel</I> against him. They did not pick a quarrel with
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him, but watched an opportunity, when they had him alone, and
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assassinated him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. They likewise put all to the sword that they found in arms there,
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both Jews and Chaldeans, all that were employed under Gedaliah or were
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in any capacity to revenge his death,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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As if enough of the blood of Israelites had not been shed by the
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Chaldeans, their own princes here mingle it with the blood of the
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Chaldeans. The vine-dressers and the husbandmen were busy in the
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fields, and knew nothing of this bloody massacre; so artfully was it
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carried on and concealed.</P>
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<P>
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III. Some good honest men, that were going all in tears to lament the
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desolations of Jerusalem, were drawn in by Ishmael, and murdered with
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the rest. Observe,
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1. Whence they came
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)--
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<I>from Shechem, Samaria,</I> and <I>Shiloh,</I> places that had been
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famous, but wee now reduced; they belonged to the ten tribes, but there
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were some in those countries that retained an affection for the worship
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of the God of Israel.
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2. Whither they were going--<I>to the house of the Lord,</I> the temple
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at Jerusalem, which, no doubt, they had heard of the destruction of,
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and were going to pay their respects to its ashes, to see its ruins,
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that their eye might affect their heart with sorrow for them. They
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<I>favour the dust thereof,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+102:14">Ps. cii. 14</A>.
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They took <I>offerings and incense in their hand,</I> that if they
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should find any altar there, though it were but an altar of earth, and
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any priest ready to officiate, they might not be without something to
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offer; if not, yet they showed their good-will, as Abraham, when he
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came to <I>the place of the altar,</I> though the altar was gone. The
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people of God used to go rejoicing to the <I>house of the Lord,</I> but
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these went in the habit of mourners, with <I>their clothes rent</I> and
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<I>their heads shaven;</I> for the providence of God loudly called to
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weeping and mourning, because it was not with the faithful worshippers
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of God as in months past.
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3. How they were decoyed into a fatal snare by Ishmael's malice.
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Hearing of their approach, he resolved to be the death of them too, so
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bloodthirsty was he. He seemed as if he hated every one that had the
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name of an Israelite or the face of an honest man. These pilgrims
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towards Jerusalem he had a spite to, for the sake of their errand.
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Ishmael went out to meet them with crocodiles' tears, pretending to
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bewail the desolations of Jerusalem as much as they; and, to try how
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they stood affected to Gedaliah and his government, he courted them
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into the town and found them to have a respect for him, which confirmed
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him in his resolution to murder them. <I>He said, Come to Gedaliah,</I>
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pretending he would have them come and live with him, when really he
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intended that they should come and die with him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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They had heard such a character of Gedaliah that they were willing
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enough to be acquainted with him; but Ishmael, when he had them <I>in
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the midst of the</I> town, fell upon them and <I>slew them</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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and no doubt took the offerings they had and converted them to his own
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use; for he that would not stick at such a murder would not stick at
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sacrilege. Notice is taken of his disposing of the dead bodies of these
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and the rest that he had slain; he tumbled them all into a great
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<I>pit</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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the same pit that Asa king of Judah had digged long before, either in
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the city or adjoining to it, when he built or fortified Mizpah
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+15:22">1 Kings xv. 22</A>),
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to be a frontier-garrison against <I>Baasha king of Israel</I> and
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<I>for fear of</I> him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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Note, Those that dig pits with a good intention know not what bad use
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they may be put to, one time or other. He slew so many that he could
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not afford them each a grave, or would not do them so much honour, but
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threw them all promiscuously into one pit. Among these last that were
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doomed to the slaughter there were ten that obtained a pardon, by
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working, not on the compassion, but the covetousness, of those that had
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them at their mercy,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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They <I>said to Ishmael,</I> when he was about to suck their blood,
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like an insatiable horseleech, after that of the companions, <I>Slay us
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not, for we have treasurers in the field,</I> country treasures, large
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stocks upon the ground, abundance of such commodities as the country
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affords, <I>wheat and barley, and oil and honey,</I> intimating that
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they would discover it to him and put him in possession of it all, if
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he would spare them. <I>Skin for skin, and all that a man has, will he
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give for his life.</I> This bait prevailed. Ishmael saved them, not for
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the love of mercy, but for the love of money. Here were riches kept for
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the owners thereof, not <I>to their hurt</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+5:13">Eccl. v. 13</A>)
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and to cause them to <I>lose their lives</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:39">Job xxxi. 39</A>),
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but to their good and the preserving of their lives. Solomon observes
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that sometimes <I>the ransom of a man's life is his riches.</I> But
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those who think thus to bribe death, when it comes with commission, and
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plead with it, saying, <I>Slay us not, for we have treasures in the
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field,</I> will find death inexorable and themselves wretchedly
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deceived.</P>
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<P>
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IV. He carried off the people prisoners. <I>The king's daughters</I>
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(whom the Chaldeans cared not for troubling themselves with when they
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had the king's sons) and the poor of the land, the vine-dressers and
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husband-men, that were committed to Gedaliah's charge, were all led
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away prisoners towards the country of <I>the Ammonites</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
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Ishmael probably intending to make a present of them, as the trophies
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of his barbarous victory, to the king of that country, that set him on.
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This melancholy story is a warning to us never to be secure in this
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world. Worse may be yet to come when we think the worst is over; and
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that end of one trouble, which we fancy to be the end of all trouble,
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may prove to be the beginning of another, of a greater. These prisoners
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thought, <I>Surely the bitterness of death,</I> and of captivity, <I>is
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past;</I> and yet some died by the sword and others went into
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captivity. When we think ourselves safe, and begin to be easy,
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destruction may come that way that we little expect it. There is many
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a ship wrecked in the harbour. We can never be sure of peace on this
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side heaven.</P>
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<A NAME="Jer41_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer41_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Johanan Pursues Ishmael; Ishmael's Retreat.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of
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the forces that <I>were</I> with him, heard of all the evil that
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Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
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12 Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael
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the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that
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<I>are</I> in Gibeon.
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13 Now it came to pass, <I>that</I> when all the people which <I>were</I>
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with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains
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of the forces that <I>were</I> with him, then they were glad.
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14 So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from
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Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of
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Kareah.
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15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with
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eight men, and went to the Ammonites.
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16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of
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the forces that <I>were</I> with him, all the remnant of the people
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whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from
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Mizpah, after <I>that</I> he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam,
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<I>even</I> mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and
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the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:
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17 And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham,
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which is by Beth-lehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
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18 Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them,
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because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son
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of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It would have been well if Johanan, when he gave information to
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Gedaliah of Ishmael's treasonable design, though he could not obtain
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leave to kill Ishmael and to prevent it that way, yet had staid with
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Gedaliah; for he, and his captains, and their forces, might have been a
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life-guard to Gedaliah and a terror to Ishmael, and so have prevented
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the mischief without the effusion of blood: but, it seems they were out
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upon some expedition, perhaps no good one, and so were out of the way
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when they should have been upon the best service. Those that affect to
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ramble are many times out of their place when they are most needed.
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However, at length they <I>hear of all the evil that Ishmael had
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done</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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and are resolved to try an after-game, which we have an account of in
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these verses.
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1. We heartily wish Johanan could have taken revenge upon the
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murderers, but he prevailed only to rescue the captives. Those that had
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shed so much blood, it was a pity but their blood should have been
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shed; and it is strange that vengeance suffered them to live; yet it
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did. Johanan gathered what forces he could <I>and went to fight with
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Ishmael</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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upon notice of the murders he had committed (for though he concealed it
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for a time,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>,
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yet murder will out) and which way he was gone; he pursued him, and
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overtook him by the great <I>pool of Gibeon,</I> which we read of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+2:13">2 Sam. ii. 13</A>.
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And, upon his appearing with such a force, Ishmael's heart failed him,
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his guilty conscience flew in his face, and he durst not stand his
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ground against an enemy that was something like a match for him. The
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|
most cruel are often the most cowardly. The poor captives <I>were glad
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|
when they saw Johanan</I> and <I>the captains that were with him,</I>
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looking upon them as their deliverers
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
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and they immediately found a way to wheel about and come over to them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
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Ishmael not offering to detain them when he saw Johanan. Note, Those
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that would be helped must help themselves. These captives staid not
|
|
till their conquerors were beaten, but took the first opportunity to
|
|
make their escape, as soon as they saw their friends appear and their
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|
enemies thereby disheartened. Ishmael quitted his pray to save his
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life, and <I>escaped with eight men,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
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It seems, two of his ten men, that were his banditti or assassins
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(spoken of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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either deserted him or were killed in the engagement; but he made the
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best of his way to the Ammonites, as a perfect renegado, that had quite
|
|
abandoned all relation to the commonwealth of Israel, though he was of
|
|
the seed royal, and we hear no more of him.
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2. We heartily wish that Johanan, when he had rescued the captives,
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|
would have sat down quietly with them, and governed them peaceably, as
|
|
Gedaliah did; but, instead of that, he is for leading them into the
|
|
land of Egypt, as Ishmael would have led them into the land of the
|
|
Ammonites; so that though he got the command over them in a better way
|
|
than Ishmael did, and honestly enough, yet he did not use it much
|
|
better. Gedaliah, who was of a meek and quiet spirit, was a great
|
|
blessing to them; but Johanan, who was of a fierce and restless spirit,
|
|
was set over them for their hurt, and to complete their ruin, even
|
|
after they were, as they thought, redeemed. Thus did God still walk
|
|
contrary to them.
|
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(1.) The resolution of Johanan and the captains was very rash; nothing
|
|
would serve them but they would <I>go to enter into Egypt</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
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|
and, in order to that, they encamped for a time <I>in the habitation of
|
|
Chimham, by Bethlehem,</I> David's city. Probably it was some land
|
|
which David gave to Chimham, the son of Barzillai, which, though it
|
|
returned to David's family at the year of the Jubilee, yet still bore
|
|
the name of <I>Chimham.</I> Here Johanan made his headquarters,
|
|
steering his course towards Egypt, either from a personal affection to
|
|
that country or an ancient national confidence in the Egyptians for
|
|
help in distress. Some of the <I>mighty men of war,</I> it seems had
|
|
escaped; those he took with him, <I>and the women and children, whom he
|
|
had recovered from Ishmael,</I> who were thus emptied from vessel to
|
|
vessel, because they were yet unchanged.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The reason for this resolution was very frivolous. They pretended
|
|
that <I>they were afraid of the Chaldeans,</I> that they would come and
|
|
do I know not what with them, <I>because Ishmael had</I> killed
|
|
<I>Gedaliah,</I>
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
I cannot think they really had any apprehensions of danger upon this
|
|
account; for, though it is true that the Chaldeans had cause enough to
|
|
resent the murder of their viceroy, yet they were not so unreasonable,
|
|
or unjust, as to revenge it upon those who appeared so vigorously
|
|
against the murderers. But they only make use of this as a sham to
|
|
cover that corrupt inclination of their unbelieving ancestors, which
|
|
was so strong in them, <I>to return into Egypt.</I> Those will justly
|
|
lose their comfort in real fears that excuse themselves in sin with
|
|
pretended fears.</P>
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