Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Three days ago, on day 230, we first read about a potential plot to kill Judah's new governor Gedaliah.

Some of his military leaders told him that one of his

trusted insiders, a member of the royal family named Ishmael, was going to assassinate him.

But Gettaalaya didn't believe the report. Then on day 231, we found out the report was true, and

today we read the full account of how it all went down. Not only did Ishmael and his crew kill

Governor Gettahalaya,

but they also killed a lot of other people in the process, including Judeans and Babylonian

soldiers. The next day, 80 unsuspecting men come to bring grain offerings, and Ishmael fakes grief

and invites them in. Then he starts round two of his mass murdering. He decides to spare ten of the men who bribe him

with promises of food and provisions. Then Ishmael takes all the bodies and disposes of them in a cistern.

His next move is to take everyone else captive, then force them all to move east with him across the Jordan

River. But on their way there, they run into Johanan. He's the guy who

originally gave Governor Getta Laya the heads up about Ishmael's plan. Johanan and his crew

fight against Ishmael and his crew and defeat them. The captives get set free, but Ishmael escapes.

At this point, these people are living in a land that has erupted in chaos, and they're terrified. Put yourself in their shoes. Your country has just been dismantled. Your new enemy-appointed leader has been assassinated. You've just been kidnapped, and you have no idea what your enemies will do next. The people of Judah are ready to pack up and head to Egypt in hopes of finding some protection there, because anywhere

has to be better than Judah. They decide they should seek counsel from Jeremiah on what to do.

They tell him to ask God, and they promise to do whatever God says, regardless of what it is.

So Jeremiah spends 10 days in prayer, seeking God's will. Then he comes back and tells them,

stay put, don't go to Egypt. The reason you want to go to Egypt is because you're afraid of what will happen here,

but if you let fear drive, it will lead you to the very thing you're afraid of. On the other

hand, if you trust God and stay here, and you yield the decision to him, then he will protect you and provide for you here.

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