Return to Answer

Judah had clearly gotten themselves into a real mess, and as we read through the Tanakh one of the recurrent issues is that the people have forgotten what YHWH has done for them, and so this is rediscovered repeatedly from generation to generation. Jeremiah himself has been rediscovering much of this during his ministry.

Aside from the reasons outlined above, we must bear in mind that the whole point of the Exile was to teach Judah/Israel to trust in YHWH alone - just as their ancestors learned during the Exodus. In one sense it's a replay of Numbers 14:4 where the people were on the brink of returning to Egypt rather than trust YHWH to enter the land, and YHWH threatened to destroy the entire community with a plague.

"Do not listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this whole city be destroyed?" Jeremiah 27:17 NLT

Judah had clearly gotten themselves into a real mess, and as we read through the Tanakh one of the recurrent issues is that the people have forgotten what YHWH has done for them, and so this is rediscovered repeatedly from generation to generation. Jeremiah himself appears to have rediscovered much of this during his ministry as well.

Aside from the reasons outlined above, we must bear in mind that the whole point of the Exile was to teach Judah/Israel to trust in YHWH alone - just as their ancestors learned during the Exodus. In one sense it's a replay of Numbers 14:4 where the people were on the brink of returning to Egypt rather than trust YHWH to enter the land, and YHWH threatened to destroy the entire community with a plague.

"Do not listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this whole city be destroyed?" Jeremiah 27:17 NLT

Conclusion: Rejecting YHWH's plan

In response to Jeremiah's message, the people confirm their reading of the situation:

Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.” Jeremiah 43:2‭-‬3 NIV

The people are not choosing an alternative path of Exile, but rather opting out of the Exile itself, and rejecting YHWH's word which gave them clear instruction of how to obey him and where he intended to build and strengthen them.

They reject the Exile itself which YHWH repeatedly proclaimed and explained through Jeremiah, rejecting his promises to build them up and not tear them down in the land (Jer 32:10) and dispersing the people YHWH had already regathered to Jerusalem, returning to their familiar cisterns:

"So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers and all the people disobeyed the Lord’s command to stay in the land of Judah. Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered." Jeremiah 43:4-5 NIV

After they depart, the consequences begin to crystalize in Jeremiah 44, where YHWH continues to spell out the consequences of returning to Egypt and explain why it really wasn't a very good idea in the first place, for anybody interested in further reading.

Why is YHWH opposed to Jewish settlement in Egypt?

Aside from the reasons outlined above, we must bear in mind that the whole point of the Exile was to teach Judah/Israel to trust in YHWH alone - just as their ancestors learned during the Exodus. In one sense it's a replay of Numbers 14:4 where the people were on the brink of returning to Egypt rather than trust YHWH to enter the land, and YHWH threatened to destroy the entire community with a plague.

The problem in the first place is that Judah has forsaken YHWH and dug their own 'cisterns' of water (Jer 2:13), alternative sources of hope and strength. So until the people abandon all their cisterns and seek the one and only fount of living water, the job will not be complete.

YHWH sets out his plan clearly in Jeremiah 27 - every Kingdom has been given over to Babylon, and the 'safe path' for all is to listen to the word of YHWH and bow to the yoke of Babylon. Every man, woman and King has been given this command of YHWH, and from there the choice is to obey and drink this cup of wrath, or disobey and be crushed by it.

"Do not listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this whole city be destroyed?" Jeremiah 27:17 NLT

Summary

Judah got themselves into a real mess, and as we read through the Tanakh one of the recurrent issues is that the people have forgotten what YHWH has done for them, and so this is rediscovered repeatedly from generation to generation. Jeremiah himself has been rediscovering much of this during his ministry.

YHWH himself provides the key frame for Jeremiah's ministry, and sets it firmly in the historic context of the Exodus - YHWH rescued the people from Egypt, has been faithful to them, and they should trust in Him alone. Jeremiah has been re-educating the people on this matter repeatedly, and reinforcing the message that they were saved out of Egypt, and YHWH alone is their hope.

So besides the ideological concerns around Judah going to its other lovers for safety, Jeremiah was also uniquely aware of the judgement that would fall on all who went to Egypt for refuge - and so was suitably unimpressed when he was dragged to Egypt with the rest of them!

Why is Jeremiah opposed to Jewish settlement in Egypt?

Judah had clearly gotten themselves into a real mess, and as we read through the Tanakh one of the recurrent issues is that the people have forgotten what YHWH has done for them, and so this is rediscovered repeatedly from generation to generation. Jeremiah himself has been rediscovering much of this during his ministry.

YHWH himself supplies the frame for Jeremiah's ministry, set firmly in the historic context of the Exodus - YHWH rescued the people from Egypt, has been faithful to them, and they should trust in Him alone. Jeremiah has been re-educating the people on this matter repeatedly, and reinforcing the message that they were saved out of Egypt, and YHWH alone is their hope: do not rely on Egypt or Assyria for salvation.

So besides the ideological concerns around Judah going to its other lovers for safety, Jeremiah was also uniquely aware of the judgement that would fall on all who went to Egypt for refuge - and was also suitably unimpressed when he was dragged to Egypt with the rest of them.