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. – Jeremiah 42:19, KJV

In Jeremiah 42, a remnant in Judah, left in the land after Nebuchadnezzar took most of Judah captive to Babylon, inquired of God through Jeremiah the prophet as to how and where they should live their lives from now on. On the surface they seemed humble and pliable, even stating to Jeremiah that they would obey the Lord’s will, no matter what it was.

Jeremiah prayed to God, and God let him in on a little secret. “Those folks in Judah,” God said, “claim they will do whatever I tell them to do. But, in their hearts, they’ve already purposed to flee to Egypt. They already have their own plan; they just want me to bless their plan. I’m not going to do that. You tell them, Jeremiah, to stay put in Judah, and I’ll bring peace to them. But if they go to Egypt as they’ve purposed in their hearts, I’ll pour out my anger upon them, and the death they seek to flee by going to Egypt shall follow them there.”

How did the remnant react? They called Jeremiah a liar and went to Egypt anyway (Jeremiah 43). Later, as God promised, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt, and the proud, disobedient remnant perished.

All too often we are just like the remnant. We seize control of our lives, and we make decisions without bothering to consult God before we do. Then, as an afterthought, we approach His throne and say as piously as possible, “Lord, this is what I’ve decided to do. Now please go ahead and give me your blessing so that I can move forward with a clear conscience.”

How foolish we are when we do this, and how repulsive to God such an attitude is! God doesn’t play by our rules. He expects us to play by His. And if we would just learn that His ways are better than our ways, we would save ourselves so much grief! Not only would we avoid the punishment our insolence deserves; we’d also enjoy the blessings we pass up by failing to follow God’s lead. As God says in Jeremiah 5:25, “Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.” By following their own way, the Judean remnant forfeited the very peace they would have enjoyed had they simply obeyed God.

Oh, that we would abandon our own paths, avoid the punishment our own ways inevitably bring, and enjoy the blessings that come from simple obedience to God!