Jeremiah 42:2b-3 And pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.
Willing to Hear “No” and Say “Yes”
Have you ever had someone ask your advice when they didn’t really want it? Few things are more insulting than to have someone ask your advice when they aren’t going to act on it. They don’t really care what you have to say. The only thing that might be worse is when your child or someone for whom you’re responsible asks for permission when really all they want is a rubber stamp on what they already intend to do regardless of the answer you give.
That was the attitude of the remnant that came to Jeremiah and said, “Hey, ask God what He wants us to do and where He wants us to go.” Now, those are worthy questions. If they’re an honest reflection of a sincere heart, they are requests that God will always answer. However, when my mind is set on doing one thing, and by asking I’m just humoring God, it becomes a sham. It’s worse than not asking at all. God is not so moved by my asking as He is by my willingness to act on what He says.
Jeremiah replies to the remnant in verse 20, “For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.” He goes on to essentially say, “Look, you’ve already decided in your hearts you want to go to Egypt.”
Israel had a go-to source in times of famine, war, and distress—Egypt. They automatically (and ironically) went back to their former slave masters to the exclusion of the God who loved them and made them. So basically Jeremiah said, “You’re asking a question for which there is no answer because no matter what God says, you’re going to do your own thing.”
Here’s the point: God is good. God knows you. God made you. God will always give you as much direction as you need when you are willing to act upon it. To know the way to walk and the thing to do, you need to be willing to hear ‘No’ and be willing to say ‘Yes’ to God. Don’t ask God if you’re unwilling to obey God. God will never withhold from you anything you need to know in the time that you need to know it when you’re willing to act upon it.