Johanan and Azariah approached Jeremiah the prophet and asked him to pray to the Lord for them…. they mentioned ‘pray to the Lord your God for us…’ a clear sign that they weren’t owning their relationship with Jehovah. The prophet warned he would keep nothing back and they insisted ‘ May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to everything that the Lord your God sends us through you.’
Ten days later he shared God’s word and it was not what they wanted to hear. They had plans to escape to Egypt in hopes of avoiding Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and the Lord spoke through Jeremiah that the people must remain in their land, trusting in God for their safety and ‘…if you are determined to enter Egypt and go to settle there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there…’
They immediately proclaimed Jeremiah a trader and packed up and left…
The point was made in our study that they obviously came for blessing on their plan. There was no real heart of submission to God’s plan in the situation. They want a tag along God and not a God who actually answers and leads.
TTFN
