Jeremiah 42:13

 Jeremiah 42:13 says, But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,  This is the warning of what would happen if the people of Judah refused to obey God.  God wants to bless us if we obey Him, but we wait to face His judgment if we don't.  Verse fourteen states, Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:  God warned them against going into Egypt thinking that they would find safety and security there.  We will never find security outside of God's will.  Verse fifteen declares, And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;  God addresses the remnant of Judah, those who were supposed to be His people.  Verse sixteen adds, Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.  God said if they chose to go to Egypt that the things they feared would follow them there and they would die there.  If people today fail to put their faith in God and listen to His call to salvation, there will be no safety and security in this world and they will die separated from Him.  Verse seventeen continues, So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.  God said that no one who went to Egypt would escape this fate, and no one who rejects Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord will escape everlasting punishment today.  Verse eighteen declares, For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.  God said that just as He had judged Jerusalem and it had been destroyed because of the disbelief of those there, so would His judgment come on those who continued to disobey Him and look for deliverance by their own design, and this is still true today.  Verse nineteen adds, The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.  God specifically told this remnant to not go to Egypt.  God's word for people today is just as precise.  People can look to God for saovation or they can ignore His call and face the consequences.  Verse twenty continues, For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.  Jeremiah reminded them that they had come to him asking that he go to God for them and seek God's word for them, and that they said that they would obey His word.  When we seek God's will and He makes it known to us, then we better be willing to follow His word.  Verse twenty-one states, And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. Jeremiah said that after he did as they asked that they still refused to listen.  It is ultimately up to each individual whether they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord or not.  All we can do is share the gospel with them.  Verse twenty-two concludes, Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.  Jeremiah said that they would surely die by the sword, famine, and pestilence if they went to Egypt.  If we today do not accept God's gift of salvation we will likewise go away to everlasting punishment.