Jeremiah 40:7

 Jeremiah 40:7 says, Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon;  Gedaliah was a Judean, and he had been made a governor.  Matthew Henry points out that Ahikam, the father of  Gedaliah, had defended Jeremiah in the past.  Verse eight adds, Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.  Many of the people of Judah came to Gedaliah when they heard that he had been made governor.  He was one of their own, God's chosen people.  We should pray that we have Christian people in positions of power today,  and if we do, we should rally around them.  Verse nine states, And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.  Gedaliah told them to dwelt in the land and serve the king of Babylon and if they did it would go well with them.  Though they had been defeated, all was not lost.  Verse ten adds, As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken.  Gedaliah said he was going to live in Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans, but that the others should go to their cities to live.  We as followers of Christ cannot all live in the same place, but must live wherever we are, obeying the government as much as possible, until and unless it interferes with our relationship with God.  Verse eleven declares, Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan;  Verse twelve adds, Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.  When other Jews heard that the king of Babylon had left aa remnant of Judah and placed Gedaliah over them, they came there as well and lived successfully.  Verse thirteen says, Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,  All the forces of Judah left in the field came to Gedaliah.  Verse fourteen states, 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.  They told Gedaliah that Ishmael had been sent by the king of the Ammonites to kill him.  The king of Babylon may have placed Gedaliah in power,  but evidently not all other kings agreed with his decision.  Even if we as Christians are at peace with some of those in power in the world today, it does not mean that we will be at peace with all of them.  Verse fifteen adds, 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?  Johanan came to Gedaliah in secret and asked Gedaliah to let him go and slay Ishmael so that the Jews who were gathered would not be scattered again.   This may have seemed like a good solution, but we must be careful that we don't start following our own plans instead of God's plan, even if the plan seems sensible.  Verse sixteen declares, 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.  Gedaliah told  Johanan to not do this, because what he said about Ishmael was not true.  If we are going to take some action for God today, we must make sure that it is based on truth and is inaccordance with God's will.