A Time of Peace

The date was about 586 BC. God had destroyed Jerusalem, so there was a time of peace that

came for Jeremiah. He had suffered under his own people because he had prophesied many

times that the king of Babylon would succeed. Now the king of Babylon had put a man named

Gedaliah in place as governor for Jerusalem. Jeremiah was released and stayed in Judah with

Gedaliah. Here he was treated differently than by his own people. The enemy, Babylon, treated

him well. He was given the choice to live where he wanted to—a choice that no other Israelite

had a right to make. In this time of about seven months with Gedaliah as governor, Jeremiah

had peace. Then a man named Ishmael, one of the royal family came to Jerusalem and killed

Gedaliah in an attempt to takeover. But Jeremiah loved the LORD and the Word of God.

He was a prophet who handled what God had told him carefully. And sometimes that is not

always easy to maintain.