His Love Never Fails

“Now it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah. Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.” Jeremiah 41:1-3

In Jeremiah 40:13-16, Governor Gedaliah had been warned of Ishmael’s plot to assassinate him by Johanan and the captains of Judea’s forces. Gedaliah rejected their report as disinformation. Afterwards, Johanan came to Gedaliah privately and offered to hunt Ishmael down and kill him. Gedaliah rejected Johanan’s offer of help and invited the assassin to a meal with him.

Proverbs 22:3 says, “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.” Prudence urged Gedaliah to take a preventative action to avoid casualties.

General George A. Custer lacked prudence when he ignored good counsel from his Native American scouts and subordinate officers before the Battle of the Little Bighorn. His band of 220 soldiers were surrounded and killed in less than an hour that day.

The staff of the RMS Titanic lacked prudence. A wireless operator did not pass iceberg warnings from other ships in the area onto the captain. The ship was traveling too fast to slow down quickly. The lookouts lacked binoculars. The ship lacked sufficient lifeboats for the passengers. The Titanic sunk within three hours after it hit an iceberg. 1,534 people died that night.

Lack of prudence contributed to the destruction of the twin towers. In January 2001, the Hart-Rudman Commission warned that Americans would likely die “on American soil, possibly in large numbers” from a terrorist attack. Prudence recommended the creation of a National Homeland Security Agency. Prudence was unheeded. In July 2001, FBI agent Kenneth Williams expressed concern over a significant number of Middle Eastern men attending U.S. flight schools. No significant action was taken. The 9/11 Commission found that the intelligence community struggled with insufficient information sharing due to an “outmoded structure” and bureaucratic rivalries. Intelligence was not effectively pooled, analyzed, or managed across agencies like the FBI and CIA. A total of 2,976 died due to the terrorist attacks. [1]

Johanan prudently recommended a plan to preserve Gedaliah’s life. Gedaliah rejected the notion that Ishmael would kill him. He invited Ishmael to eat bread with him. Ishmael assassinated him, massacred many people in Mizpah, and kidnapped the survivors.

“And it happened on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when as yet no one knew it, that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, 80 men with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. Now Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, ‘Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!’ So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah killed them and cast them into the midst of a pit, he and the men who were with him. But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, ‘Do not kill us, for we have treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field.’ So, he desisted and did not kill them among their brethren.” Jeremiah 41:4-8

The carnage did not end at the governor’s banquet hall. Ishmael posed as a mourner to the gain the trust of 80 men who were grieving the loss of God’s house in Jerusalem. Ishmael asked them to come to Gedaliah. After they followed him toward Gedaliah, he turned and killed 70 of them. He threw their bodies into a pit. He spared 10 men because they promised him food.

The governor should have given Johanan the order to eliminate Ishmael, now it was too late. His collusion with a criminal ended badly. Gedaliah fed Ishmael. Ishmael killed him.

“Now the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was the same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.” Jeremiah 41:9

In 1 Kings 15:22 and 2 Chronicles 16:6, King Baasha tried to fortify Ramah as an outpost of his kingdom. King Asa stopped him. Then, Asa used the materials that Baasha left behind to fortify Mizpah. The “pit” was likely a trench with a drawbridge over it, or a reservoir for water. [2]

“Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who 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.” Jeremiah 41:10

Perhaps, Ishmael planned to sell King Zedekiah’s daughters and his other prisoners from Mizpah as slaves to the Ammonites.

“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, they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah; and they found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon. So it was, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, that they were glad. Then all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.” Jeremiah 41:11-15

Ishmael escaped from Johanan, but his prisoners were recovered. Those captives might have complained in the past about minor inconveniences, but now, they were happy to be alive.

“Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah after he had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—the mighty men of war, the women, the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to Egypt, because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land.” Jeremiah 41:16-18

The distance from Mizpah to Gibeon is more than a mile. The distance from Gibeon to Chimham is about 9 miles. So, the survivors of Mizpah have walked about 10 miles. Governor Gedaliah had advised them to settle down and enjoy the fruit of the land. Now, they were homeless. Chimham was lodging place for traveling caravans. It was close to Bethlehem.

Among the remnant survivors of Judea were eunuchs. “The kings of Judah had adopted the bad practice of having harems and eunuchs from the surrounding heathen kingdoms.” [3]

The survivors were afraid because Ishmael had killed Chaldean soldiers. Ishmael was from the royal line of David so they assumed that the Chaldeans would punish them for being from the same race as Ishmael. Johanan’s plan to protect them from the Chaldeans was to flee to Egypt.

Can you imagine how traumatized these kidnapped Jews were? Jerusalem was decimated. Then, they were transferred to Mizpah. Things got better. Then, there was a horrific massacre. Then, they were kidnapped by a mass murderer, perhaps to be sold as slaves. Then, they were rescued, but now, perhaps they will be hunted and captured by the Chaldeans.

For sure the remnant of God’s people in Mizpah were in a vulnerable place before Governor Gedaliah rejected Johanan’s report about Ishmael. But Gedaliah’s decision to invite Ishmael to eat with him was incomprehensible. The negative impact of his bad decision continued to grow.

Have you ever made an ill-advised decision?

How many bad decisions by leaders have cost their followers dearly? Those under their care should have been seen and heard by them. Leaders who love listen.

Here’s a poem I wrote entitled, “His Love Never fails.”

Once with a foreign mission to perform
A family at home experienced no norm
The missionary felt himself brave
The family felt second-rate
Mother wanted her young nurtured
Father wanted the world nurtured
Children wanted attention
Father served the mission
Danger magnified his importance
Danger minimized their importance
What if he died – what would they do?
Our Heavenly Father knew...
His love never fails.

Many years later
That same father
No longer a crusader
No longer a leader
No longer visional
Felt criminal
Prayed for his descendants
By God’s grace repentant
Filled with God’s love for his family
Gloried in God’s love triumphantly

After their losses were revealed
He prayed for them to be healed
God much grace to him did give
With much love they did forgive
That which was missing was gained
By dependance on God sustained
What if he lived – what would they do?
Our Heavenly Father knew...
His love never fails.

The world has numerous people who want to impress others but few who want to love others. Leaders who love, protect and enjoy being with those under their care are rare.

Love never fails, but people do. Romans 3:23 says that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:10 says that there is none righteous no not one. This is why we need God to guide us and to provide for us His love.

Romans 5:6-8 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” After God forgives us, He fills us with His Spirit of love. Romans 5:4 says, “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

What is love?

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)


[1] Google
[2] Benson Commentary
[3] Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary