Book of Jeremiah – Jer 41:1-18  They Departed to go Into Egypt

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Jer 41:1-18  They Departed to go Into Egypt

[Study Aired June 5, 2022]

Jer 41:1  Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.
Jer 41:2  Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Jer 41:3  Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.
Jer 41:4  And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,
Jer 41:5  That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.
Jer 41:6  And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
Jer 41:7  And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
Jer 41:8  But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.
Jer 41:9  Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.
Jer 41:10  Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
Jer 41:11  But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
Jer 41:12  Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.
Jer 41:13  Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.
Jer 41:14  So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.
Jer 41:15  But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.
Jer 41:16  Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:
Jer 41:17  And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
Jer 41:18  Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

Our study this week will graphically demonstrate that we first refuse to obey the Lord, and we first refuse to do the things He says to do. Instead of humbly obeying every word He speaks, we serve Him in the way we want to serve Him. When we do that, if we are the Lord’s elect, He causes everything we do to work against us, and He begins to bring us to our wits’ end (Psa 107:27). If we are not His elect, then He ‘answers us according to the idols of our hearts’, and we are deceived into believing He is blessing us (Eze 14:1-9).

Beginning with the story of Cain and Abel, the Lord demonstrates for us that “[our] sins will [always] find [us] out”:

Num 32:23  But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

In this chapter Jeremiah, who typifies each of us, is dealing with those in Judah who refused the Lord’s commandment to ‘come under the yoke of the princes of Babylon’. This chapter is the fulfilling of this earlier prophecy of Jeremiah:

Jer 24:1  The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
Jer 24:2  One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
Jer 24:3  Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
Jer 24:4  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 24:5  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
Jer 24:6  For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
Jer 24:7  And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
Jer 24:8  And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
Jer 24:9  And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
Jer 24:10  And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

“Them that are carried away captive” signify those of us to whom the Lord gives eyes to see and ears to hear that He made us to err so He could judge us for our self-righteous ways and our rebellion against Him. Those who were carried away captive are called “good figs” to whom:

Jer 24:7   …I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

They are even likened to the firstfruits of the fig tree:

Jer 24:2  One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

This chapter of Jeremiah is all about these “evil figs” of Jeremiah 24:

Jer 24:8 …the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

If we are never given to see that we have been deceived by the Lord in that we have been carried away captive of Babylon, then the Lord will make us think of ourselves as “perfect and upright… fearing God and eschewing evil” as Job was made think of himself:

Job 1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

This is the reality of what Job was:

Job 40:3  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Job had indeed “spoken… twice” in his own defense before God with these self-righteous, iniquitous words as He reproved and condemned God for what the Lord had done to him:

Job 27:5  God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 27:6  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Job 27:7  Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

Job was forced to acknowledge it was God Himself who was Job’s enemy while Job was making these self-righteous pronouncements:

Job 40:1  Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2  Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3  Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Now the Lord reveals to Job his most insidious sin. That sin is his own self-righteousness, which caused Job to condemn God to make himself righteous. The lesson for all of us is that being self-righteous is as natural for every one of us as breathing:

Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Here is just how righteous Job thought of himself before the Lord uncovered to him his self-righteousness:

Job 29:1  Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
Job 29:2  Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; [as a typical “carnal… babe in Christ”, 1Co 3:1-4)
Job 29:3  When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;
Job 29:4  As I was in the days of my youth [“Carnal babe in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4)), when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnaleven as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Job 29:5  When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;
Job 29:6  When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; [before my judgment began and the Lord began to chasten me:

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Every good parent provides all the needs of their “carnal babes” who are still on milk. However, every good parent also “chastens and scourges every child [they] receive” when they become old enough to benefit from that chastening:

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Job is enduring the chastening, but as of chapter 29, he is not yet receiving its instructions. At this point he is wallowing in his self-righteous pride and crediting himself with all the good works the Lord gave him to perform, all of which he claims as his own:

Job 29:7  When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!
Job 29:8  The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.
Job 29:9  The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
Job 29:10  The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
Job 29:11  When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:
Job 29:12  Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
Job 29:13  The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
Job 29:14  I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
Job 29:15  I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
Job 29:16  was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
Job 29:17  And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
Job 29:18  Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.
Job 29:19  My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch.
Job 29:20  My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.
Job 29:21  Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.
Job 29:22  After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.
Job 29:23  And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
Job 29:24  If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down.
Job 29:25  I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.

Job 29 is a perfect description of the minds of all these Jews who would not go forth to the princes of Babylon. It was especially true of their leader Johanan the son of Kereah after he had warned Gedaliah against trusting the man who eventually slew him. Johanan’s rescue of those who were captured by Ishmael made him feel even more self-righteous and even less in need of the word of the Lord from Jeremiah.

Here is that story. It is repetition of the story of our own self-righteous old man who is carried away to Babylon because he also refused to submit to the princes of Babylon, because he was set up for failure by the Lord Himself:

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Both the good figs and the evil figs refused to submit to the princes of Babylon, and both are judged for that rebellion. The good figs are judged first and are brought back to their land first.

Jer 41:1  Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.

Here we have “ten men”, ten being the number which signifies the zenith of our flesh, and we have Ishmael besides these ten men. This gives us eleven men altogether, and eleven signifies the ruin and disintegration of our flesh when it is brought to its zenith:

Here is a link to the study on the number ten.
Link to the number eleven.

This is a story about the ruin of the flesh and the ruin of the kingdom of the beast:

Jer 41:2  Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Jer 41:3  Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.

The one thing Ishmael had in common with ‘the residue of Jerusalem which remained in the land’ (Jer 24:8) was that they had no intention of being obedient to the words of the Lord from the mouth of Jeremiah telling them to submit to the princes of the Chaldeans. In other words, both are “evil figs”, and both are in total rebellion against the Lord.

Our last study ended with this warning to Gedaliah from Johanan:

Jer 40:13  Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,
Jer 40:14  And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.
Jer 40:15  Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?
Jer 40:16  But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

This entire event is a commentary on how the Lord deals with us when we refuse to do the things Christ tells us to do. The Jews who would not go out to the princes of Babylon are self-willed, self-righteous types of us. Gedaliah typifies our self-righteous old man who is approved and placed over us by the Lord’s “friend”, Nebuchadnezzar. Ishmael is “of the seed royal” and signifies our envious first born beast who sees himself more deserving of leading the Lord’s people. Johanan and all the people with him signify our iniquity and our self-righteous old man who will not go forth to the princes of Babylon, and who now feel superior to all others because the Lord gave him the honor of destroying Ishmael’s plans to take the Lord’s people by force and make them his servants and slaves.

This account of our rebellious, self-righteous experience of evil continues to unfold:

Jer 41:4  And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,
Jer 41:5  That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

These 80 men are just another iteration of our self-righteous beast which ‘comes up out of the earth’. Being eighty (10 x 8) he signifies “the eighth [who] is of the seven and goes into perdition”:

Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

Link to the study on the number eight.

These 80 men signifies our rebellious, self-righteous old man who is very conscientious to serve the Lord in his own way. There is no temple at which to do sacrifice, so these men are either unaware that the temple has been destroyed or else they are coming to Mizpah thinking that the priests will be there with Gedaliah to perform their services without a temple. Regardless of what else they are thinking, the fact that they “had cut themselves” demonstrates their self-righteous rebellion against this commandment of the Lord:

Deu 14:1  You are the children of the LORD your God. So when someone dies, don’t mourn by cutting yourselves or shaving bald spots on your head.
Deu 14:2  You are people who are holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the people who live on earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his own special possession.

This entire story of the rebellious remnant of Judah, is one demonstration after the other that “the wages of sin is death”:

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jer 41:6  And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
Jer 41:7  And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
Jer 41:8  But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.

Here we have another “ten men” which tells those with ears to hear that, regardless of their ‘shaven beards, torn clothing, cutting themselves and carrying offerings and incense’, these men signify our self-righteous old  man who would not submit to the princes of Babylon.

Jer 41:5  That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

Ishmael’s willingness to spare those who had “treasures in the field” signifies his self-serving nature which shows a respect of persons depending on what they can do for him. Being “of the seed royal” he demonstrates that He is at this time nothing more than the envious, self-serving son of the prince of the power of the air:

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Jer 41:9  Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.

This reference to the fear which King Asa had for Baasha, the king of the northern kingdom of Israel, hearkens back to an earlier time of conflict between two of the Lord’s own rebellious wives, Aholah, representing the northern kingdom of Israel with its capitol of Samaria, and Aholibah, representing Jerusalem and Judah (Eze 23:4). This story of the death of Gedaliah at the hands of “Ishmael… of the seed royal” is simply a continuation of the Lord’s message to us concerning how our stubborn, self-righteous old man will never know the peace of Christ.

1Ki 15:16  And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
1Ki 15:17  And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
1Ki 15:18  Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
1Ki 15:19  There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
1Ki 15:20  So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
1Ki 15:21  And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.
1Ki 15:22  Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah [Where King Asa had dug this pit for fear of King Baasha of Israel].

Here in Jeremiah 41 this chastening of the Lord’s rebellious people by His own rebellious people continues:

Jer 41:10  Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

According to the previous chapter, Jeremiah was among those whom Ishmael carried away from Mizpah “to go over to the Ammonites:

Jer 40:6  Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.

Ishmael, “of the seed royal”, thinks that his royal flesh entitles him to everything his flesh wants, and his flesh wants to enslave everything and everyone to himself because he, not Gedaliah, and certainly not any of the captains of the people, is of the fleshly “seed royal”.

Jer 41:11  But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
Jer 41:12  Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.

These “waters of Gibeon” are once again a place where God’s own people were at war with one another shortly after King Saul’s death, while King David was consolidating the kingdom:

2Sa 2:12  And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
2Sa 2:13  And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.
2Sa 2:14  And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
2Sa 2:15  Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
2Sa 2:16  And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
2Sa 2:17  And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

Even as a remnant we continue in our self-destructive ways of self-righteous rebellion against the commandments of the Lord, and we remain under the Lord’s wrath:

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Jer 41:13  Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.
Jer 41:14  So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.
Jer 41:15  But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.

The escape of Ishmael signifies that our old man remains with us as we continue to present his flesh as a living sacrifice daily to the Lord (Rom 12:1), to die daily (1Co 15:31) and be crucified daily with Christ (Gal 2:20).

Jer 41:16  Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:
Jer 41:17  And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
Jer 41:18  Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

Johanan has already decided “to go to enter into Egypt”, but, as we will see in our next study, he and all those with him want to appear to seek the Lord in their spiritually weak state. The story of the rebellion of the people and the ten spies should have taught Israel that they were never even think about returning to Egypt, and they were never to depend on Egypt for anything as their experience should have taught them:

Num 13:25  And they [the twelve spies] returned from searching of the land after forty days.
Num 13:26  And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
Num 13:27  And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Num 13:28  Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
Num 13:29  The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
Num 13:30  And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. [Php 4:13 “I can do all thing through Christ…”]
Num 13:31  But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
Num 13:32  And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
Num 13:33  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

An evil report of the land was nothing less than a condemnation by the Lord Himself, who had brought them to this point, to give them the land, signifying giving us our salvation. Caleb stilled the people and assured them that with the God who slew the firstborn of Egypt and dried up the Red Sea and destroyed the army of Pharaoh on their side “we are well able to overcome it”. The ten spies are ‘ten’ because the number ‘ten’ signifies our fearful unbelieving flesh. These men are saying once again that the Lord had brought them thus far just to kill them in the wilderness, and they wanted to make them a captain of their own choosing and return to Egypt:

Num 14:1  And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
Num 14:2  And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
Num 14:3  And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
Num 14:4  And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

This is not a fifty-fifty split in the congregation, rather “all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron”, and wanted to replace them with a captain of their choosing. Two chapters later will reveal that their choice of a captain would be someone ‘of the seed royal’ in a sense, inasmuch as Korah was a Levite and was a first cousin to Moses and Aaron. Every time we rebel against the Lord and refuse those whom He places as our leaders, we become our own worst enemy.

To shorten this story a bit, just before “all the congregation” stoned Caleb and Joshua “the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation, and the Lord threatened to destroy them all. Moses intercedes and the Lord tells him to tell the people that because they did not believe that He would give them the land, that therefore that generation would all die while wandering for forty years in the wilderness:

Num 14:26  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 14:27  How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
Num 14:28  Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
Num 14:29  Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
Num 14:30  Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

‘Joshua’ means ‘Savior’, and Caleb means ‘a dog’:

The only people to enter the promised land of the generation that came up out of Egypt were a savior and a dog, Christ and His Christ.

Num 14:31  But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
Num 14:32  But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
Num 14:33  And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
Num 14:34  After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
Num 14:35  I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
Num 14:36  And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,
Num 14:37  Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD.
Num 14:38  But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.

Upon seeing the Lord’s glory in the tabernacle and hearing the Lord’s verdict of wandering forty years in the wilderness, the people repent and decide to go in and take the land even after being told they would never enter into the promised land. As we will see in our next study, it never pays to ignore the Lord’s commandments, but our self-righteous, rebellious old man is simply not given to be able to be obedient. We ask for the Lord’s direction, but we are not capable of following His instructions.

This is the state of the old man in every one of us. We are one and all made subject to the law of sin which is by the design of the “one law giver”, in our members:

Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

The Lord wants us to know who placed “the law of sin… in… [our] members”:

Isa 33:22  For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

Jas 4:12  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

We are saved by our hope in Christ (Rom 8:23), and it is a very certain hope:

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

What comforting words for all who are given faith in the hope we have in being the workmanship of Christ (Eph 2:10), and not depending upon ourselves for anything.

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