Jeremiah 43:1-7 - You are lying!

43:1-3

Remember that the people had sought out Jeremiah, and had then vowed to follow whatever the Lord told them. Jeremiah knew that this was a load of baloney, and so it proved to be. So Azariah and Johanan called Jeremiah a liar. On what basis? On the basis that they did not like what he told them. The heart of man is indeed deceptive above all things. They then claimed that Jeremiah was part of a plot instigated by Baruch to get them all killed by the Babylonians. People’s words can be utterly deceptive. Words and actions need to go together. 

43:4-7

So Johanan and his army officers put their rebellion into practice, leading away the remnant of Judah. They took others with them as well, whether or not they wanted to leave Judah. This included those left by Nebuzaradan, Jeremiah and Baruch. “So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the Lord”. The corruption of the human heart is a very sad thing to behold. We should note that back in the day of Joseph and Jacob God told them to go to Egypt. The key issue is whether or not we follow the word of the Lord, not whether or not we go to Egypt.