Jeremiah 40:13-41:3

Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of the children of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?”

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam didn’t believe them.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, “Please let me go, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man will know it. Why should he take your life, that all the Jews who are gathered to you should be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?”

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely of Ishmael.”

Now in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal offspring and one of the chief officers of the king, and ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they ate bread together in Mizpah. Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah arose, and the ten men who were with him, and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans men of war who were found there.

One of the most critical errors a leader can make is to trust the wrong people. This was so serious for Gedaliah that it cost him his life and the lives of the Jews who were with him. Johanan clearly tried to warn Gedaliah, but instead of trusting him, Gedaliah accused Johanan of lying and chose to protect Ishmael. Ishmael pretended to like Gedaliah and then rose up and assasinated him and those with him.

I have discovered that intuition is a very bad guide. God can show us things in spiritual ways, but we still need to test those things because they are not propositional truth, like the things that are clearly written in the Bible. Gedaliah appeared to have trusted his intuition so much that he accused an innocent man of lying. That’s the danger. Gedaliah may have thought he was fighting for peace as he opposed Johanan, but he was actually sinning, and was about to lose his life. It would have been wise for Gedaliah to do some investigation before rejecting what Johanan said. When a person simply accepts his own assumptions without question, that person is acting like a fool. I think that it is what is meant by Solomon when he wrote this:

Proverbs 26:12

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Johanan must have been pretty upset when he was rejected. Not only would Gedaliah be killed, the remnant of the Jews was in serious danger. Sometimes, as Christians, we find ourselves in Johanan’s position. We are accused of being evil as we merely attempt to do what is good. It’s good for us to remember that God is still in charge and is using our circumstances for His glory. It would appear that God’s punishment of Israel was not yet complete. Even some of those who were in this remnant were not allowed to live but this is still not the end of the story.