… to escape the Babylonians. They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. – Jeremiah 41:18

Today's Scripture Reading (July 23, 2023): Jeremiah 41

A friend of mine was with a non-profit in New Orleans during the days after Hurricane Katrina hit the city. And during his visit, there were neighborhoods that he was strictly told not to visit under any circumstances, not because of damage from the storm but because of an unstable authority structure in those areas. But one night, he found himself, accidentally, in one of those forbidden areas, the victim of a wrong turn. He quickly turned around to find his way out of the area but found himself with a police cruiser, with lights flashing on his tail. He phoned the police officer who had told him to avoid the area and told him what was happening. He received an interesting reply from his police contact. "Do not stop. Keep driving. I am on the way, and I will meet you."

It must have been a weird feeling for a law-abiding citizen to be driving with a police car with lights flashing, requesting him to pull over, and yet my friend had been instructed to ignore the request by the police. He just kept driving and kept talking to his police contact. A few minutes later, his contact approached him with his lights flashing. But by this time, the single police car behind him had multiplied. When my friend pulled over, multiple police officers drew guns and pointed them at the non-profit van.

The question was automatic. "Why didn't you stop?" The inference was plain. We see it in almost every police drama; if you were innocent, why did you run? Maybe, to their surprise, the answer didn't come from my friend; it came from the police cruiser that had pulled up in front of the van. "He didn't stop because I told him not to." The response was disbelief and surprise. My friend's contact added, "You would have given the same response if he was your responsibility. And with a laugh, all the tension disappeared, and my friend was safely guided back into the safe areas of the city.

As I think of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem, my mind compares it to the aftermath of a city after a destructive hurricane. Nothing is as it seems; everything has changed. It seems that the plan had been to try to rebuild the area under the leadership of Gedaliah. But after Ishmael assassinated Gedaliah, those plans seemed to go off the track. The military, officials, and people weren't sure that it would matter to Babylon who killed the leader they had chosen. And so, the safest way to respond to the death of Gedaliah was to get out of the country. As a result, Egypt really was the only alternative, and it was time for the remnant that was left behind in Jerusalem to go there.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 42