Year 6, Day 94: Jeremiah 41

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

Ishmael is clearly a man who has an appetite for world goods.  He is driven by materialism.  After all, we see him in this story as a mercenary, doing the bidding of the king of Ammon.

For a price, Ishmael betrays Gedaliah.  For a price, Ishmael destroys the Babylonian vassal-king who was finally listening to the will of God for the people.  For a price, Ishmael counters the very hand and will of God.

But Ishmael doesn’t just work as a mercenary.  Mourners come from the northern kingdom to mourn with Gedaliah at Judah’s fate.  Ishmael sees their supplies and slaughters them.  Furthermore, ten of them reveal that there is a cache of supplies that Ishmael can have if he agrees to free them.  We see Ishmael’s appetite once more as he agrees to let them live in exchange for materialistic gain.

But we still haven’t seen the appetite of Ishmael come to it full force.  Ishmael takes what remains of Gedaliah’s court and begins to march them back to Ammon.  Ishmael thinks that he can use them as prisoners of war and sell them to the king of Ammon.  He is still looking for profit and willing to use his fellow human beings to make a profit.

While it is meaningful to look at Ishmael’s appetite for materialistic gain, it is especially enlightening to look at the consequences.  Many people end up dad because of Ishmael’s appetite.  If that isn’t bad enough, it is doubtful that Nebuchadnezzar is going to respond very happily when he finds out that his vassal-king, who was promoting peaceful servanthood to Babylon, was assassinated along with the royal guard that he left to make sure Gedaliah stayed in line.  There can be little doubt that Ishmael’s appetite will bring about a harsher relationship with Babylon.  The peaceful vassal life is quickly to be traded in, all because of the appetite of Ishmael.

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