The Flight to Egypt

43:1 Jeremiah finished telling all the people all these things the Lord their God had sent him to tell them. 43:2 Then Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and other arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie! The Lord our God did not send you to tell us, ‘You must not go to Egypt and settle there.’ 43:3 But Baruch son of Neriah is stirring you up against us. He wants to hand us over to the Babylonians so that they will kill us or carry us off into exile in Babylon.” 43:4 So Johanan son of Kareah, all the army officers, and all the rest of the people did not obey the Lord’s command to stay in the land. 43:5 Instead Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led off all the Judean remnant who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered. 43:6 They also led off all the men, women, children, and royal princesses that Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, had left with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. This included the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch son of Neriah. 43:7 They went on to Egypt because they refused to obey the Lord, and came to Tahpanhes. 43:8 At Tahpanhes the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 43:9 “Take some large stones and bury them in the mortar of the clay pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh’s residence here in Tahpanhes. Do it while the people of Judah present there are watching. 43:10 Then tell them, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will bring my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones which I have buried. He will pitch his royal tent over them. 43:11 He will come and attack Egypt. Those who are destined to die of disease will die of disease. Those who are destined to be carried off into exile will be carried off into exile. Those who are destined to die in war will die in war. 43:12 He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their gods or carry them off as captives. He will pick Egypt clean like a shepherd picks the lice from his clothing. He will leave there unharmed. 43:13 He will demolish the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”’”

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Jeremiah finishes giving the Lord’s warning, but the leaders reject it and accuse him of lying. They take the remnant to Egypt in disobedience. There the Lord gives a sign and says Babylon will still come, and Egypt’s idols and temples will fall.

Jeremiah had already spoken everything the Lord told him to say. But the leaders refused to listen. They said Jeremiah was lying and blamed Baruch for turning him against them.

The passage makes the real issue clear: they did not obey the Lord’s command to stay in the land. Instead, Johanan, the army officers, and the people took the whole remnant to Egypt. They also took Jeremiah and Baruch with them. They went because they did not trust the Lord’s word.

When they reached Tahpanhes, the Lord spoke again. Jeremiah was told to hide large stones in the pavement at Pharaoh’s residence as a public sign. The meaning was plain. Babylon’s king, Nebuchadnezzar, would come to Egypt. The Lord would place him there just as surely as the stones were buried there.

The Lord also said that judgment in Egypt would be complete. Some would die by disease, some by war, and some by exile. Egypt’s temples would be burned, and its gods would not save it. This shows that no place is safe from the Lord’s rule when people choose disobedience. The remnant looked for refuge in Egypt, but they could not escape the Lord’s judgment or his sovereign power.

• Jeremiah spoke only what the Lord had sent him to say.
• Rejecting God’s word is not a small matter; it is disobedience.
• The remnant went to Egypt because they refused to obey the Lord.
• Fear led them to seek safety in a place God had not given them.
• The Lord rules over nations, kings, and history.
• Nebuchadnezzar is called the Lord’s servant because he serves God’s judgment.
• Egypt’s gods and temples cannot protect anyone from the Lord.

• Warning: Do not reject God’s word when it confronts your fears.
• Warning: False refuge can become a place of judgment.
• Warning: Idols and human power cannot save.
• Command: Obey the Lord, not your own fears.
• Command: Trust God’s word even when it is hard.

This passage shows that the Lord still rules after Jerusalem’s fall. Judah’s leaders think Egypt will be safe, but God shows that his judgment reaches there too. The chapter also keeps the prophetic line alive: Jeremiah remains the true messenger, rejected by his own people but vindicated by what God says will happen.

Believers should not reshape God’s word to fit what they want to do. A person can ask for guidance and still refuse it when it is not the answer they hoped for. This passage warns against making decisions from fear instead of faith. It also reminds us that no political plan, place, or power can replace obedience to the Lord.

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