No We Will Not Stay

You must not say, ‘No, we will not stay. Instead we will go and live in the land of Egypt where we will not face war, or hear the enemy’s trumpet calls, or starve for lack of food.’

Jeremiah 42:14

John Mark Comer reminds us that the Bible does not tell an ideal story of humans. It tells the real story. Humans as they are, broken, sinful, wanting to escape the consequences of their actions. How refreshing. Real people with real problems, real humanity in need of a real Savior.

The Israelites were living under siege. The king of Babylon was bearing down and capture was imminent. Day and night, the sounds of war struck terror in their hearts, punctuated by the alarming sound of the enemy’s trumpet blast calling the troops to battle. No wonder they wanted to flee, even if it meant going back to their former land of slavery.

They had made up their minds. No, we will not stay here in this land of war!

Egypt, the land of slavery where their ancestors had longed to escape, didn’t sound so bad anymore.

War and the sound of the enemy’s trumpet calls can do that to a person. Make him desperate. Distort reality. Make bad seem good and good seem bad. Compel people to redact history.

Many followers of Jesus today are living in war zones. They have been called to work in exile, among the sounds of war and trumpet calls. The fear of death strikes an impulse to flee; the promise of eternal life inspires faith to remain.

This is the counterintuitive, upside-down work of God.

Sometimes He calls us to remain in exile, a remnant of faith in a land where smoke rises from destroyed hopes and dreams.

In the rubble, He promises His presence, His mercy, and the power to remain.

Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to 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.

vv. 11-12

It takes faith to remain. It requires trust. Will we trust the Lord’s deliverance? It’s hard to trust when all we hold dear is threatened. Hard, but possible. We can choose.

God’s people in Babylon made a choice. They were insolent, the scripture says. They called Jeremiah a liar (43:2). In the end, they rebelled and fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them.

I wonder what would have happened if instead of “No, we will not stay!” the remnant of Judah had responded, “Help us have faith, Lord our God! Help us remain!” #faith Click To Tweet

When their ancestors fled Egypt, they cried out for help to the Lord. He put darkness between them and their enemies, and then swept them up in the sea. The Israelites saw this with their own eyes.

How tragic that God’s faithfulness can be forgotten from generation to generation.

Are you living among the sounds of war and trumpet calls? He has promised His presence and the power to remain. Ask for His help today. 

With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. Psalm 18:29

Lord, save me and deliver me from the hands of my enemies. Grant me mercy and give me the power to remain. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Image by Pascal from Pixabay