Johanan the son of Kareah

People carried away into captivity

By the time we leave the immediate descendants of David - moving into II Kings, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel – the untold half of Solomon’s wealth ceased to be, an inheritance and kingdom divided into Judah and Israel. Beset by Chaldeans, subject to destruction by Nebuchadnezzar.

When we read Daniel, we shouldn’t forget there were people who were not taken to Babylon. They remained in Jerusalem, under the care of a governor, Gedaliah, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar. You can read of him in Jeremiah 41, but I’d suggest reading YouVersion’s Chronological Bible readings to see how the books in the first paragraph mesh together in history. They will introduce you to the main characters in Jeremiah 42, where the leaders of Jerusalem come to Jeremiah, make a request, and a promise:

Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. (Jeremiah 42:1-3 KJV)

We’ve done that, too, haven’t we? Gone to pastor or friend, maybe more than one person with us, asking for advice and their help. When we were told there was help, there would be an answer, did we make a promise, as these people did:

Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God. (Jeremiah 42:5-6 KJV)

Good or bad, we were ready to hear the answer and follow through with actions. We knew that Jesus ended His prayers with “thy will be done,” and we were prepared to hear, whether it be good or evil – we promised to obey. Then, when the word came – we didn’t. They didn’t either. What God answered comes down to “Trust me, do as I say and you will be fine. Deny me, do as you wish, and you will die in a foreign land.” Go to Jeremiah 42 and read it all. Did I misstate at all?

So, Jeremiah gave them God’s answer, and in spite of their promise, it was rejected:

Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there: (Jeremiah 43:2 KJV)

I won’t ask if we’ve ever read God’s word, learned what He requires of us, and rejected it. The rejections that concern me the most are those who either 1) do not believe God exists; 2) do not believe John 3:16; and 3) do not think John 3:18 applies to them at any time in their lives.

There are people who do not believe Jesus included them in parables. They do not see themselves in Matthew 25:31–46, especially verse 46. They don’t see themselves as tares in Matthew 13:24-30, either. There’s another group that believes both of these parables mean good works will save you, whether you believe in God or Jesus (forgetting John 3:16 altogether) and ignore Paul’s explanation in Ephesians 2:8 – which must be considered with James 2:17-20.

I know that’s a lot of clicking on links, but it is necessary to get the full story as to why Johanan ended up dying in Egypt instead of living protected as promised by God in Jeremiah 42:11. They were not able to keep their promise because they did not have faith that God was able to keep His.

Ask yourself, “Do I believe in God? Do I believe He is able to keep His promises? What has He promised me? What have I promised Him? Am I keeping my promise to God?” We are the only ones who know the answers. No one else can answer for us. Are you able to share your answers with other people you love?