Jer 41:9 | KingComments | STEP | After two days, no one knows about the murder of Gedaliah ( ). But there is no rest for Ishmael. Men come from Shechem with the intention of offering grain offerings and incense in the house of the LORD ( ). These offerings are sacrifices without blood because there is no possibility of slaughtering animals (cf. ). The company consists of eighty men. They wear signs of mourning including the heathen sign of carving in the body. Ishmael leaves Mizpah to meet them and hypocritically joins them by weeping with them ( ). He invites them to go with him to Gedaliah. When they arrive in the city, Ishmael casts off his mask and slaughters them ( ). The bodies he casts in the cistern. However, ten of the eighty men escape death by telling Ishmael that they have hidden supplies of wheat, barley, oil and honey in the field ( ). The cistern into which the bodies of all the slain men are thrown, including those of Gedaliah and his men, has a history ( ). It is the cistern that King Asa made as a shelter. He did this for fear of Baasha, the king of Israel, threatening him ( ; ). This cistern is filled by Ishmael with the fallen. Then he carries off the remnant as captives and seeks refuge with the Ammonites ( ). He thought he could be king of Israel, but sees that he has ventured into an adventure, the consequences of which he has not foreseen. This is how many criminals act who expect a lot from their crime to improve their lives, while it only brings misery.

‏ Jeremiah 41:9

The Massacre of the Pilgrims

After two days, no one knows about the murder of Gedaliah (Jer 41:4). But there is no rest for Ishmael. Men come from Shechem with the intention of offering grain offerings and incense in the house of the LORD (Jer 41:5). These offerings are sacrifices without blood because there is no possibility of slaughtering animals (cf. Deu 12:13-14 ; 17-18).

The company consists of eighty men. They wear signs of mourning including the heathen sign of carving in the body. Ishmael leaves Mizpah to meet them and hypocritically joins them by weeping with them (Jer 41:6). He invites them to go with him to Gedaliah. When they arrive in the city, Ishmael casts off his mask and slaughters them (Jer 41:7). The bodies he casts in the cistern. However, ten of the eighty men escape death by telling Ishmael that they have hidden supplies of wheat, barley, oil and honey in the field (Jer 41:8).

The cistern into which the bodies of all the slain men are thrown, including those of Gedaliah and his men, has a history (Jer 41:9). It is the cistern that King Asa made as a shelter. He did this for fear of Baasha, the king of Israel, threatening him (1Kgs 15:22; 2Chr 16:6). This cistern is filled by Ishmael with the fallen.

Then he carries off the remnant as captives and seeks refuge with the Ammonites (Jer 41:10). He thought he could be king of Israel, but sees that he has ventured into an adventure, the consequences of which he has not foreseen. This is how many criminals act who expect a lot from their crime to improve their lives, while it only brings misery.