Why Are You Asking?

A Pointless Invasion?

In 567 BC, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt. There was no easily understandable reason for this attack on the area around the Nile. Babylon had already crushed the Pharaoh's military might almost forty years earlier, so they weren’t a threat to the empire. Babylonian forces didn’t occupy Egypt after their invasion, so it wasn’t a land grab or expansion of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule. For all intents and purposes, the invasion didn’t seem to accomplish much and the Babylonian soldiers left Egypt shortly thereafter.

So why did Nebuchadnezzar, a great military leader, waste his time on this? The answer is found in Jeremiah 43:9-11.
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes (a large city near the northern border of Egypt), saying, “Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes; and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them. When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword.”

Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king of a godless empire, was merely an instrument in the hands of his Creator. God had a mission for him in Egypt, and it wasn’t just to punish the Egyptians. To better understand why this happened, let’s back up twenty years to 587 BC.

A Desperate Situation

This was the year that Jerusalem fell. Because of the wickedness of God's people, they were handed over to the Babylonians and crushed. Led by the commander Nebuzaradan, Babylonian soldiers broke through the wall, slaughtered thousands of Israelites, destroyed the Temple, and set the city on fire. Most of the Jews who weren’t killed were taken away as prisoners of war to Babylon. And those few who were allowed to remain were put under the authority of a man named Gedaliah.

Gedaliah was a jewish leader who was now a puppet governor of Nebuchadnezzar. He began the work of gathering the scattered survivors together and reassuring them that the worst was behind them. Like any man in that position, he was in a delicate place. He was a jewish man working under the authority of the Babylonian king. Needless to say, he had enemies among his own people. But he managed to keep things calm enough in Jerusalem to allow the Babylonian army to go back home, leaving only a few soldiers behind to help Gedaliah keep order.

This short time of peace lasted for three months. Afterward, some of Gedaliah’s enemies murdered him, killed all of the Babylonian soldiers that were protecting him, and then ran away and were never seen again.

The small band of survivors who were left were now in real danger. It was only by Nebuchadnezzar’s goodwill, that they were left alive after Jerusalem was destroyed. He was even allowing them to live in their own land. But when news of this insurrection and murder reached the king, what would he do to these people? Would he be able to see the distinction between the group of men who committed this crime and the rest of the Israelite survivors? Or would it be more likely that He would just order his army to return and wipe everyone else out?

A Deceitful Request

Terrified, the Jews went to the prophet Jeremiah for advice. In Jeremiah 42:2-3 we read their request. “Please, let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but a few of many, as you can see), that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.” They went on to say in verse 6, “Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

It looks like a heartfelt request, right? It looks as if they were honestly asking God for direction and guidance.

But they weren’t

These people had already made up their minds about what they were going to do. They had already decided to leave Jerusalem and run to Egypt for safety. When they asked Jeremiah to pray for God’s guidance, what they were really saying was “We want God’s blessing on what we’ve already decided to do.” They pretended like they were open to anything that God would tell them to do...but that was because they were convinced that God would agree with them! They were sure that going to Egypt was the only way to survive, and they were sure that God was going to say the same thing.

But He didn’t.

God reassured the Israelites of their safety if they stayed in Jerusalem. He told them that Nebuchadnezzar wouldn’t retaliate for Gedaliah’s murder. He urged them to stay in Jerusalem and they would be protected.

As Jeremiah was delivering God’s message of peace and safety in Jerusalem, he must’ve noticed the faces of the people listening and realized that they didn’t like what they were hearing. After his “sermon”, Jeremiah said this to the people, “For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and according to all that the Lord your God says, so declare to us and we will do it.’ And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, or anything which He has sent you by me. Now therefore, know certainly that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell.”

For the next five chapters, God declared His judgement on Egypt, its cities and its people. This disaster would come for two reasons:
One - because God's people trusted in their plans more than they trusted God.
Two - because they acted like they wanted to know God’s will, and then refused to obey it.

How many of God’s people do the same thing today? They’ll pray and seek God for His will in a situation - but in their heart they’ve already come up with a plan and fully intend on following it. It’s a sad thing to say; but many times when Christians ask God for guidance, they’re really asking God for His blessing on their plans. No matter what God would say to them, they’re still going to do things their way.

We need to learn our lesson from this ragtag bunch of survivors. God’s blessing comes when His will is followed! Imagine the despair these Israelites had in Egypt twenty years later. They survived the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, only to face the same horrors all over again in Egypt! All because they didn’t listen to God’s advice when He gave it.

So let me ask you: Do you really want to know God’s will - or are you just pretending? Here’s how you’ll know: will you be willing to obey Him, no matter what He says?