Should I Stay or Should I Go?
- Johanan and all his people first go to Jeremiah and ask him what to do.
- Jeremiah says he'll pray about it, and the people swear to follow whatever course of action God advises, even if it seems bad.
- After ten days, God speaks to Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah gathers Johanan and all his people and gives them the divine scoop: God says if they remain in their own land, he'll build them up. They shouldn't worry about repercussions from Babylon. God will have mercy.
- But God also says that if they decide to go ahead and move to Egypt, they won't escape war. They'll end up dying from war, disease, and famine in Egypt. No survivors.
- God says that the punishment for going to Egypt will be just as bad as the punishment just inflicted on Jerusalem.
- They'll become a cursed people and will never see their homeland again.
- Jeremiah reminds them that they promised to obey God. But he also says that he doesn't expect them to, since they've never listened to him before. Why start now?
- He repeats that they'll all die from war, disease, and famine when they go to Egypt.