Jeremiah 41 … Consider Him Who Always Knows

Originally posted: 6/11/2021

Now it happened on the next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it, (41:4).

Today was tough; and to say I was disappointed and discouraged is putting it lightly. How can we see Him, how can we consider Him when there is not one mention of God in this entire chapter? Instead, we were assaulted with a treacherous betrayal that both connived and carried out a murder plotted against the one who had been assigned to take care of God’s prophet. And not only is Gedaliah killed, but the Jewish and Chaldean men of war who were with him were also struck down.

Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war, (41:3).

And as if that weren’t hard enough to read about, what makes matters worse is the double-dealing, stab-in-the-back trickery employed, as Ishmael and his cohort came in the seventh month; the month that included one of the major feasts of worship annually celebrated in Jerusalem.

In the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they were eating bread together there in Mizpah, (41:1).

“As the seventh month included the Feast of Tabernacles, it is not unlikely that they came as if to share in its festivities,” Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers.

It seems likely that Ishmael and his followers came under the pretense of breaking bread together in worship, and their clandestine plan carried out undercover, was kept hidden from everyone.

Now it happened on the next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it, (41:4).

And as I continued to search for Him in this chapter of the book of Jeremiah, this thought came, “no one knew about it…” except of course, God.

And it is terribly reminiscent of another feast celebrated, another gathering under false pretenses by one who would betray the One given to save His people.

Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. ² During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him… When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me,” (John 13:1-2, 21).

As the Father Always Knows, the Son Always Knows as well.

So while today’s chapter may seem as though He was somehow silent, or worse, somehow absent, today must also be a day for us to consider what His Word reveals about this erroneous conclusion. His silence does not prove His absence; for He Is Omnipresent and therefore, nothing can be hidden or kept from Him Who Always Knows.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence? (Psalm 139:7).

Consider Him Who Always Knows

Fifteen passages are listed below (believe me, there are more). As we consider each one that reveals supernatural certainties of Him Who Always Knows, let us begin our response now as we ask the Lord to show us areas where we may be struggling with this Truth in our own lives.

• He Always Knows everything under the heavens.
  • “For He looks to the ends of the earth
    And sees everything under the heavens,” (Job 28:24).
• He Always Knows the hearts and works of every man.
  • The Lord looks from heaven;
    He sees all the sons of men;
    ¹⁴ From His dwelling place He looks out
    On all the inhabitants of the earth,
    ¹⁵ He who fashions the hearts of them all,
    He who understands all their works, (Psalm 33:13-15).
• He Always Knows every tear we shed.
  • You have taken account of my wanderings;
    Put my tears in Your bottle.
    Are they not in Your book? (Psalm 56:8).
• He Always Knows of our iniquities and sins.
  • You have placed our iniquities before You,
    Our secret sins in the light of Your presence, (Psalm 90:8).
• He Always Knows everything about us, every action, thought, and word.
  • O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
    ² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    You understand my thought from afar.
    ³ You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
    And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
    ⁴ Even before there is a word on my tongue,
    Behold, O Lord, You know it all, (Psalm 139:1-4).
• He Always Knows the evil and good in every place.
  • The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
    Watching the evil and the good, (Proverbs 15:3).
• He Always Knows every secret and hidden agenda.
  • Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord,
    And whose deeds are done in a dark place,
    And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?” (Isaiah 29:15).
• He Always Knows every human ever born.
  • “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    And before you were born I consecrated you,” (Jeremiah 1:5).
• He Always Knows every hiding place.
  • “Can a man hide himself in hiding places
    So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
    “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord, (Jeremiah 23:24).
• He Always Knows our future.
  • “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope,” (Jeremiah 29:11).
• He Always Knows what or who we truly worship.
  • Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land,’” (Ezekiel 8:12).
• He Always Knows those who fear Him and esteem His Name.
  • Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. ¹⁷ “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him,” (Malachi 3:16-17).
• He Always Knows our needs.
  • “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things,” (Matthew 6:31-32).
• He Always Knows our fears.
  • “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows,” (Matthew 10:29-31).
• He Always Knows every thought and intention of our heart.
  • For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do, (Hebrews 4:12-13).

How do we respond to Him Who Always Knows?

Perhaps you’re like me, and there is more than one area of struggle or doubt: speculations on why evil seems to go unpunished; worry about the future; fear for loved ones; prayers that sound more like questioning if He really cares; wondering if He really saw our tears wouldn’t things be different?

But even in those times when we don’t know what to think or how to pray, He Always Knows, and He is faithful to intercede for us according to the will of God.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; ²⁷ and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, (Romans 8:26-27).

Let us ask Him to grow us in our faith that we would trust that He Always Knows what is best and can work all things out to accomplish His good and perfect purpose in our lives, even when it feels as though He’s silent or absent, because feelings lie!

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, (Romans 8:28).

As we close, let’s consider one more verse to lead us in our response, spoken from the man after God’s own heart to his beloved son, that we would truly take this verse to heart.

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever,” (1 Chronicles 28:9).

Oh, that we would seek to know and serve Him with all our hearts and minds. And that by faith we would rest in the Truth that He Always Knows our own intentions; for when we intend to seek Him, He will let us find Him Who Always Knows.

Let’s Grow Together!