What is the meaning of Jeremiah 42:21? For I have told you today • Jeremiah has just delivered God’s answer to the remnant that begged him for guidance (Jeremiah 42:1-6). • “Today” stresses immediacy; the people could not plead ignorance. Compare Deuteronomy 30:15-16—“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,” an urgent call for a present-tense response. • God often marks a decisive moment by saying “today,” pressing for a verdict (Joshua 24:15; Hebrews 3:15). but you have not obeyed • Their hearts were already set on fleeing to Egypt (Jeremiah 41:17 – 42:19). The refusal was willful, not accidental. • The contrast between hearing and obeying runs through Scripture: “I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen” (Jeremiah 7:13); “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). • Disobedience is measured not by emotion or intention but by action; they would prove unbelief by boarding the road to Egypt. the voice of the LORD your God • “Voice” highlights personal relationship—He speaks; His people answer. Exodus 15:26 ties blessing to “diligently listening to the voice of the LORD your God.” • By saying “your God,” Jeremiah reminds them of covenant identity. Their rebellion is not merely breaking advice but betraying a Redeemer (Jeremiah 31:32). • Jesus echoes the same principle: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). in all He has sent me • Jeremiah claims no private agenda; every word came from God’s commission (Jeremiah 1:7 - 9). Rejecting the message equals rejecting the Sender. • God repeatedly “sent” prophets, rising early in His compassion (2 Chronicles 36:15-16). Ignoring them led Judah to the exile they were now living through. • Complete obedience is the standard: partial acceptance is still disobedience (1 Samuel 15:22-23). to tell you • Prophets are mouthpieces, not editors. Jeremiah delivered “all the words of the LORD—not keeping back a word” (Jeremiah 26:2; cf. Acts 20:27). • God’s instructions were clear: remain in the land, trust His protection, and He would plant and build them (Jeremiah 42:10-12). • The clarity of revelation removes every excuse; refusal springs from unbelief, not confusion (John 12:48). summary Jeremiah 42:21 exposes a hard truth: God spoke plainly and promptly, yet His people chose their own path. The verse underscores immediate responsibility (“today”), deliberate rebellion (“you have not obeyed”), relational breach (“the voice of the LORD your God”), prophetic authority (“in all He has sent me”), and the completeness of the message (“to tell you”). Obedience to every revealed word remains the dividing line between covenant faithfulness and ruin. |
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