The land was in sad shape when the appointed leader couldn’t keep peace and the intended victims of a murderer could bribe the killer using some basic food stores as incentive. The group of people in this story were the very poorest of the land who had escaped deportation three times because they were too unimportant for Nebuchadnezzar to bother with, too weak to present a threat of rebellion against him. When the Babylonian official gave Jeremiah his choice as to whether he would go to Babylon with the last wave of exiles or remain in the land, Jeremiah opted to remain.
Since the people knew God’s will about where they should live in light of the lawless and leaderless condition in Judah, they were accountable for their choice to leave rather than stay. Remaining would have been an act of faith; leaving for Egypt, that crutch in difficult times since Abraham’s day, represents walking by sight. When the land of Judah was destroyed, reduced to rubble and left to be overtaken by thorns, thistles and wild animals, going to Egypt made sense in man’s eyes. Egypt’s Nile River and the flood control measures the Egyptians had built ensured a reliable food supply. Egypt’s culture had endured so long that its stability was unquestionable. Pharaoh offered substantial protection against the Babylonians.
What looked wise in man’s eyes was not wise at all in light of God’s revealed will for this remnant of Judah. As unimaginable as it was to everyone of that day, God had the power to pull their crutch out from under them. If He said He would protect them, He would. Their choice, a choice to give themselves over to open worship of the gods of Egypt that apparently had been powerful enough to keep them secure and prosperous for thousands of years, was veiled in a reasonable quest for security that any human being could understand. Whatever it was, their choice to leave Judah to seek refuge in Egypt was sin.
Contrast Habakkuk’s lovely and bracing prayer expressing his choice to trust in God regardless of the circumstances, with the choice of these people to pursue security and comfort above God’s will for them. Whom are you most like? Is there a need in your life for a change in choice?