Judah's Remnant - The Book of Jeremiah

In this Bible Story, the remnant of Judah struggles to regain stability. Some leaders desired to serve Babylon and make peace. Others desire to rebel. As a result, brother turns against brother. The remnant of Judah is torn, and many of them flee to Egypt despite Jeremiah’s warnings. This story is inspired by 2 Kings 25:22-30 & Jeremiah 40–44, 52:31-34. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Jeremiah 44:28 from the King James Version.

Episode 160: Judah had been captured, Jerusalem ruined, and Gedaliah son of Ahikam had been appointed as governor over the land. Gedaliah wanted peace for the people and constantly negotiated for their welfare peacefully submitting to Babylon. However, as he was traveling among the towns of Judah, he was murdered by one of his friends, Ishmael. This led to more and more chaos as Johanan killed Ishmael in revenge and the remnant of Judah was faced with a choice, flee to Egypt or stay and submit to Babylon.

Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.

Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.

Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.

Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.

Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray yet a small number that escaped the
sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into
the land of Judah. And all the remnant of Judah
that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn
there shall know whose words shall stand mine or theirs
Jeremiah forty four twenty eight. Dear God, as you continue

(00:25):
to elevate me to places of influence and leadership, I
ask that you give me a heart and ears to
hear and heed when a man or woman of God
has been sent into my life to protect me from
the attack of the enemy. Unlike those in today's reading,

(00:46):
I confess that my desire is to be in the
complete and unwavering plan of the Lord. I confess that
when I am given a word of warning or correction,
I will not allow pride and ego to respond in me.
I will not run in the direction of what you

(01:07):
freed me from in previous years. Instead, I will plant
my feet firmly on the words of your prophets and
watch my life flourish and grow. Because I've learned to
move and act at the sound of your voice. I
decree and declare that I am no longer a slave

(01:30):
to my past, but a servant to my future. In
Jesus name, Amen, thank you for making prayer a priority
in your day. To learn more about the Bible, stay
tuned for today's story, brought to you by Bible in

(01:52):
a Year dot com.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Judah's Remnant. In our last story, Jeremiah witnessed the downfall
of Judah. King Neberconezzer used the Kaldean army to lay
waste to all of Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands of people
were taken captive, and the remaining rulers of Judah were
beheaded and trampled. Jeremiah, however, was spared from the Babylonians.

(02:25):
He was given a choice to go to Babylon and
live comfortably or remain with his people. Now we see
the remaining Judeans trying to rebuild their city. However, even
in the tragedy of loss and tyranny, there still remains
greedy people.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Hungry for power.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
Inspired by the Book of Jeremiah.

Speaker 3 (02:47):
Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year. In our last episode, we heard
of the demise of Zedekiah, who resisted God's will and
the Babylonian army to the bitter end, we saw the
contrast between his attitude and arrogance and that of the
great prophet Jeremiah, who obeyed God's will and even sacrificed

(03:09):
his own comforts for the safety and the sake of others.
Today we'll hear how the remnant of Judah, who remained
after the Babylonian conquest, will attempt to rebuild a broken city.
God will bless the efforts of those who sought to
live peacefully with their oppressors. But yet we'll see how
the desire for power and control still overshadows the attempts

(03:31):
to put the city back together again. Let's listen now
to God's word.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Judah had been captured. King Nebuconezzer demolished Jerusalem's defenses and
reduced the Holy Temple into a pile of rubble. The
wealthiest and most educated of Judah were carted off to Babylon.
There they were forced to contribute to the Babylonian economy.
Jeremiah remained in Judah at Mitzpah, along with the poorest

(03:59):
of the country who were left to remain there. They
were governed by a man by the name of Ghedealaiah.
He swore to the remnants, saying, we must not be
afraid to serve the Chaldeans and Babylonians. I will represent
us to them and plead for their favor. Day and night.
Geedaliah led the remaining Hebrews as they worked the fields,

(04:21):
rebuilt homes, and stored up food for themselves. Each few
weeks a tribute would be required of them, and Getaliya
would deal with their oppressors peacefully. Gedalia desired for the
remaining survivors of the Babylonian conquest to survive. Not only
did they survive, but the Lord blessed their hand and
their crops grew in great abundance. However, there were some

(04:44):
who were determined to fight against the Chaldeans. Ishmael, a
man of royal blood, hated that Gheddealiyah would submit to
Babylon with such ease, so he conspired against him to
assassinate him. Gedaliah slept in his home soundly after d
a hard day at work. A shadow moved across the
room towards his bed. As the shadow grew larger over

(05:06):
his bed, Gheeddilia drew his sword and caught the figure
off guard. It was not Ishmael but his friend Johanan.
Ghetelia put down his sword and took a deep breath.
Both men were silent for a moment. Let me defend you,
Johannin whispered to his friend. If you die, all the
Judeans will be scattered. Let me go and assassinate him

(05:28):
before he does so to you. Gheedeliah was old friends
with Ishmael. He could not believe he would do such
a thing. No, he replied, we cannot be killing one another.
Too many have been lost. Weeks later, Ghetelia traveled to
each village to check up on the people. As he
was walking, Ishmael and a group of his men ambushed him.

(05:50):
There was no time to react. Gheeddelia was struck down
with one swipe of Ishmael's blade. Over the next week,
Ishmael began a tirade of killing lauded priests and servants
that were loyal to Gedeliah. All those he did not
kill he took captive, and Ishmael assumed governance of the
Judean remnant. However, Johanin would not allow his friend's death

(06:12):
to go unpunished. He rallied the leaders of the remaining
forces and marched against Ishmael. There at the pool of Gibeon,
Johanin led a rescue mission to save Ishmael's captives. Johanin
fought with the rage of a man who had just
lost his front. He wept as he swung his sword. Eventually,
he backed Ishmael into a corner and the captives were released. However,

(06:35):
Ishmael and eight of his men escaped to the Ammonites.
Johanan knew that punishment awaited the remnant since Gedeliah had
been killed, so he gathered the remaining women and children
and fled to Egypt to seek refuge. As Johanan and
his people were making plans to leave, Jeremiah stopped them.
He stood before the people and begged them not to go.

(06:58):
He knew that only slavery awaited them in Egypt. The
Lord has blessed our work here thus far. Our crops
are steady, and our relationship with Babylon is mending. Do
not leave, Jeremiah implored. But the people were still unsteady.
They began to clamor and grumble. Jeremiah lifted his voice

(07:19):
for all to hear and said, if you leave, famine
and sword will follow you. The Lord desires for this
remnant to build Jerusalem back to its former glory. Fear not,
for there are great things ahead. As Jeremiah was speaking,
Johanan's fist blew through his jaw. He fell to the floor, disoriented.

(07:40):
He looked to see Johanan's angry and worried face. You
are a liar, Johanan's spat. You are a tool of
the Chaldeans and Babylonians. Nothing more so. Johanan bound Jeremiah
up and took him and the rest of the people
out of Judah towards Egypt. Little did they know that
the Lord had said it motion plans for Nebakonezzer to

(08:02):
overtake Egypt as well. There would be no escaping God's will.

Speaker 3 (08:10):
In today's reading, Judah has been decimated by Babylonian forces.
Most of the Judeans who were left alive were taken
to Babylon as captives. The wealthiests were to integrate into
Babylonian society and contribute to the nation's economy. But there
was a remnant. The poorest population of Judah left in

(08:30):
their land to rebuild, and Jeremiah, the great Prophet of God,
remained as well. The Babylonians allowed a Judean to rule
the people and ensure that they served Babylon and paid
tribute when it was required. This duty was given to
a man named Ghedalayah. He was wise and wanted to
see Judah rebuild and experience relative peace despite their terrible condition,

(08:55):
so he resolved to deal peaceably with the Babylonians and
the Chaldeans make the best of a bad situation. Jeremiah
was there to support him. God blessed the efforts of
those who remained, and the land prospered. It was a
glimmer of hope for Judah, a sign that God was
still with them. But there were those who opposed Gheedaliah

(09:16):
and hated the foreign invaders. They didn't want to keep
the peace, but continued to war against Nevicanezer, just as
foolishly as Zadekiah had done. One such person was Ishmael,
and he planned to kill Gedaliah and seize power. One night,
Getteliah was surprised in his room by a man he
thought was there to kill him, but he was ready

(09:38):
with his sword. As it turned out, however, it was
a friend by the name of Johannan. Johannan cared a
great deal for Geedaliah and did not want to see
him fall to Ishmael, so he suggested they strike first,
killing Ishmael before he could get to Geedaliah. Here we
have two men, Getliah and Johannan, who both want the

(09:58):
same thing but different approaches. Johannan is quick to turn
the violence to defeat opposition from within, but Gheddealiyah wisely
knows that if they begin war with each other, killing
those who oppose them, Judah would be far worse off,
so he lets Ishmael live. It was an honorable choice,

(10:19):
but it didn't work out, as one day Ghetiliah was
ambushed and killed by Ishmael. Now Judah was under the
leadership of a very cruel man who quickly went about
killing those who opposed him, including priests and servants who
had shown loyalty to Ghetealaiah. Johannan will not stand for this,
and once more he responds in anger with more violence.

(10:42):
He attacks Ishmael's men and nearly defeated him, but Ismael
escaped at the last moment, knowing there would be retribution
for his attempt. Johannan gathers women, children and all those
not following Ishmael, making plans to flee to Egypt. It's
an understandable impulse, but Johannan wants to know it is
the right one, so he inquired of Jeremiah. The prophet

(11:05):
goes to the Lord for guidance, and we hear God's
response in Jeremiah forty two, verses eleven and twelve. Do
not fear the King of Bablin, of whom you are afraid.
Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am
with you to save you and deliver you from his hand.
I will grant you mercy that he may have mercy
on you, and let you remain in your own land.

(11:29):
So what was the answer. Don't go to Egypt, God says,
trust me. Your life will go from bad to worse
if you run away. Johannan had a choice, just like
so many to whom Jeremiah had spoken before, Trust God
and do his will, or take matters into your own hand.
Johannan chose the latter, and once more Jeremiah suffers beatings

(11:53):
and imprisonment from those who refuse to listen to God's word.
The people fled to Egypt, not knowing that soon that
land too would fall to Babylon. If only if only
they had obeyed God and trusted him, life would have
been so much different. It is so important that we
learn from mistakes, including the mistakes of others, and we

(12:16):
always must remember and reflect daily on the fact that
God could be trusted, that His word is sovereign and
secure and supernatural, and that our future is secure because
we live with the promises of God, and it is
always right to run to the will of God and
never away from the will of God. Dear God, we

(12:36):
always thank you for the scripture which teaches us how
to live our lives. We know that even when things
seem lost, you are faithful, and you preserve a remnant
of people for your glory. Help us always to listen
to your counsel, wise counsel that comes from You, to
seek peace rather than war, and that we would trust

(12:57):
you for your provision for our every need. In Christ's name, Amen,
thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
We are so glad that you have joined us. I'm
Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the
Prey dot com app and join millions of people who
are listening daily to the Bible in a year. I

(13:18):
want to encourage you to make prayer and Bible study
a priority in your life, that you would seek first
the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. If you enjoy
this broadcast, let me encourage you to share it with others,
people that you love, people that you know, people in
your church, because we believe the Word of God makes
an eternal difference in people's lives. If you want more

(13:41):
resources as to how you can live the Christian life,
be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. That's Jack
Graham dot org. God bless you.