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Jeremiah 43: Down to Egypt in Defiance

Accusing Jeremiah of lying, the leaders drag the remnant—and the prophet—into Egypt, where God promises that Babylon's king will follow and strike even there.

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Jeremiah 43 (WEB)

1 When Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of Yahweh their God, with which Yahweh their God had sent him to them, even all these words,

2 then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying to Jeremiah, You speak falsely: Yahweh our God has not sent you to say, You shall not go into Egypt to live there;

3 but Baruch the son of Neriah sets you on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captive to Babylon.

4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, didn’t obey the voice of Yahweh, to dwell in the land of Judah.

5 But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, who were returned from all the nations where they had been driven, to live in the land of Judah;

6 the men, and the women, and the children, and the king’s daughters, and every person who Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah;

7 and they came into the land of Egypt; for they didn’t obey the voice of Yahweh: and they came to Tahpanhes.

8 Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

9 Take great stones in your hand, and hide them in mortar in the brick work, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

10 and tell them, Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne on these stones that I have hidden; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

11 He shall come, and shall strike the land of Egypt; such as are for death shall be put to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as are for the sword to the sword.

12 I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment; and he shall go out from there in peace.

13 He shall also break the pillars of Beth Shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire.

Summary

As soon as Jeremiah finishes delivering God's clear answer, the proud men led by Azariah and Johanan call him a liar, claiming the LORD never said they must stay, and accusing Baruch of turning the prophet against them. In open defiance of the word they had vowed to obey, the captains take the whole remnant—men, women, children, the king's daughters, and even Jeremiah and Baruch—down into Egypt, settling at Tahpanhes. There the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah with a striking sign: he is to take large stones and bury them in the mortar at the entrance of Pharaoh's house in the sight of the men of Judah. Then he announces that God will send for Nebuchadnezzar, his servant, who will set his throne on those very stones and spread his royal pavilion over them. The king of Babylon will strike Egypt, dealing out death, captivity, and the sword, burning the temples of Egypt's gods and carrying them away. The refuge the remnant chose against God's word would become the very place of the judgment they fled.

Main Characters

  • Jeremiah — The prophet, taken to Egypt against his counsel, who there enacts a sign foretelling Babylon's conquest of the land the remnant trusted.
  • Johanan and Azariah — The proud leaders who brand God's word a lie, blame Baruch, and force the remnant into Egypt in defiance of the LORD.
  • Baruch the son of Neriah — Jeremiah's scribe, wrongly accused of inciting the prophet against the people, carried into Egypt with him.
  • Nebuchadnezzar — The king of Babylon, called God's servant, whom the LORD will bring even into Egypt to execute judgment there.

Key Verse

Jeremiah 43:7 (WEB)

and they came into the land of Egypt; for they didn’t obey the voice of Yahweh: and they came to Tahpanhes.

Lessons Learned

  • Disobedience often arms itself with accusations against those who tell us the truth.
  • We can break a vow to God by reinterpreting his clear word to suit our wishes.
  • There is no refuge from God's judgment in the place we choose against his will.
  • God remains sovereign over every nation; even Egypt's gods and Pharaoh's throne are not beyond his reach.
  • Pride calls God's truth a lie. The proud men tell Jeremiah, “You speak falsely” (Jeremiah 43:2, WEB). When we will not obey, we often discredit the messenger rather than repent.
  • Disobedience is its own description. “They came into the land of Egypt; for they didn’t obey the voice of Yahweh” (Jeremiah 43:7, WEB). Scripture names the flight plainly for what it is.
  • God's signs confirm his word. Jeremiah hides stones where Nebuchadnezzar will set his throne (Jeremiah 43:9-10, WEB), a visible pledge that the word would surely come to pass.
  • No nation lies outside God's rule. God will “kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt” (Jeremiah 43:12, WEB). The idols people flee to cannot shelter them from the living God.
  1. How do the leaders justify disobeying the word they had just sworn to follow?
  2. Why is it significant that they accuse Baruch of manipulating Jeremiah?
  3. What does the sign of the buried stones at Tahpanhes communicate to the watching exiles?
  4. Why does God repeatedly call Nebuchadnezzar “my servant” (43:10), and what does that teach about his sovereignty?
  5. Where are you tempted to dismiss a clear word from God as untrue because you would rather not obey it?
  1. They flatly contradict the message, insisting “Yahweh our God has not sent you to say, You shall not go into Egypt” (43:2). Having vowed to obey, they now rewrite the answer to match their desire, showing that the problem was never clarity but their hearts.
  2. By blaming Baruch (43:3), they shift responsibility from God's word to human scheming, making it easier to ignore. Scapegoating the messenger is a common way to avoid the discomfort of obedience—and it leaves the conscience momentarily soothed but unrepentant.
  3. The buried stones mark the exact spot where Babylon's throne will stand (43:9-10). For people fleeing Babylon, the sign declares that their chosen refuge would become the place of judgment—God's word would pursue them even to Egypt.
  4. Calling a pagan emperor “my servant” shows that God rules even hostile nations to accomplish his purposes. Nebuchadnezzar is an instrument in God's hand; there is no power, throne, or idol that escapes his sovereign direction.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to consider a command of God they have quietly labeled mistaken or impractical. As leader, encourage humility before God's word and gently remind the group that obedience, not reinterpretation, is the path of life.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.