Verse 9
ISRAEL COMMANDED TO STAY IN PALESTINE
"And (Jeremiah) said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him: If ye will abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid,; be not afraid of him, saith Jehovah: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land."
From here through Jeremiah 42:22 Jeremiah revealed the prophetic word from God as doing the following things: (1) It promised them security and salvation if they would obey. (2) It warned them against disobedience. (3) It emphatically commanded them not to go down into Egypt. (4) It warned them against self-deception of a heart which asks for guidance when it has already made its decision.
The remnant who were determined to go into Egypt were afraid of the king of Babylon, who was indeed a terrible and powerful enemy; but God Himself promised to save the people from him, if they would only obey their God. "In the year 582 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar did again return to Jerusalem and take more captives (See Jeremiah 52:30),"[7] that event being associated (by some scholars) with the actual date of Gedaliah's assassination. But God, if the people had obeyed his word, would easily have saved everyone of them exactly as he had promised. Many of God's blessings and promises were cancelled because of the disobedience of his children.
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