No Small Parts - Ishmael (Son of Nethaniah)
August 9, 2020 Sunday Evening Study

There is a true Cold War-era tale of Oleg Gordievsky, the Russian whose secret work helped hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union.

If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky. The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine. He took his first posting for Russian intelligence in 1968 and eventually became the Soviet Union's top man in London, but from 1973 on he was secretly working for MI6.

For nearly a decade, as the Cold War reached its twilight, Gordievsky helped the West turn the tables on the KGB, exposing Russian spies and helping to foil countless intelligence plots, as the Soviet leadership grew increasingly paranoid at the United States's nuclear first-strike capabilities and brought the world closer to the brink of war. Desperate to keep the circle of trust close, MI6 never revealed Gordievsky's name to its counterparts in the CIA, which in turn grew obsessed with figuring out the identity of Britain's obviously top-level source. Their obsession ultimately doomed Gordievsky: the CIA officer assigned to identify him was none other than Aldrich Ames, the man who would become infamous for secretly spying for the Soviets.

Basically we had a bit of a three way nuclear game between the U.S., England, and the USSR where there came a point where nobody could be trusted. It is said that Gordievski was driven to becoming a traitor by the harsh reality of not only living in Communism, but under the oppression of KGB parents. Many attribute his actions to being willing to do anything to escape the hell in which he lived - even to the detriment of his family and friends.

This isn’t a new concept. There are countless stories both in history and in pop culture of a person turning against his allies in order to make a better life for themselves - either through money, freedom, or protection. In most cases, it doesn’t work out for them in the end, because they live an existence where they cannot be trusted by anyone - friend or foe.

During the time of exile for the Israelites and Judahites there was a remnant of Hebrews living still in the land, but it was largely the poorest and least able to travel long distances to Assyrian controlled lands. Nebuchadnezzar knew that there were still Hebrews in Judah and that they could not be left to their own devices, so he appointed leadership over them, usually from among the Jews themselves with the understanding that ultimate control belonged to him.

We pick up only a few short years after last week’s story of Hananiah ends. Jerusalem has now been destroyed, and much of the remnant has moved into the territory of Benjamin. In the city of Mizpah, Nebuchadnezzar appoints a governor over the people under the watch of some of his own guards, and that governor is named Gedaliah.

Gedaliah was the son of Ahikam - a man who had saved the life of Jeremiah, and was one of the 5 who was sent by King Josiah to consult Huldah as discussed two weeks ago. Upon being appointed as governor, he zealously began to encourage the people to cultivate the fields and vineyards, and thus lay the foundation of security. Many who had fled to neighboring lands during the war of destruction were attracted by the news of the revival of the community. They came to Gedaliah in Mizpah and were warmly welcomed by him.

However, we are here to talk not about Gedaliah, but of a man named Ishmael son of Nethaniah. Read Jeremiah 40:8, then 40:13 - 41:3.

Ishmael was part of Judean royalty - part of a house that had great influence, even within the remnant, as he already had followers. The Bible doesn’t say why he and his men had not been carried off to Babylon like all of the other fighting men.

Ishamel was a soldier, and in 2 Kings 25 is described as a “captain of the forces,” one of many such captains hiding in the outlying areas. Although the forces were likely to have been those dispersed by the Babylonian army after the fall of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:5), it is possible that these ‘captains’ had become local warlords of heads of semi-autonomous militia during the intervening period.

Ishmael is described as approaching Gedaliah with ten men, and striking him down while a feast is in progress (2 Kings 25:25) – a gross offense against prevailing customs of hospitality at the time. Judeans and Chaldeans (Assigned by Nebuchadnezzar) with him (whether the latter are officials or soldiers is unclear – the II Kings and Jeremiah accounts differ on this point) are also slaughtered.

Consider this - we discussed the situations in which people have changed sides amid major conflict - going from their allies to their enemies. However, this is not exactly what Ishmael does here - yes, he acts in betrayal to his people by attacking the leader that was causing the Jewish remnant to begin to rebuild from the ashes of their former kingdom. Yet, he certainly doesn’t side with Nebuchadnezzar either, as he kills the appointed governor and the Babylonians that were assigned to watch him.

His treachery does not even stop there. Read Jeremiah 41:4-10.

Ishmael’s offense is further compounded by his slaughter of another group of men, pilgrims who arrive shortly afterwards from towns in the centre of the former kingdom of Israel, and are apparently in mourning possibly for the destruction of the Temple. All but ten of them are slaughtered and thrown into a cistern, the ten being spared because they have access to otherwise scarce food supplies. After this fresh slaughter, Ishmael and his band make their way towards Ammon, with hostages from Mizpah. But before they get there, they are engaged in battle by Johanan son of Kareah at Gibeon, a place which in the time of Jeremiah already resonated with previous acts of treachery for the Israelites - This is where Hananiah as discussed last week began his false prophesying. Ishmael’s band releases the hostages, but he himself escapes with eight of his men. At this point he disappears from the biblical narrative.

Many commentators are quick to point out that Gealiah’s assassination was only successful because of his leadership style - not listening to advisors who warned him of his danger. And that same man who worried that Gedaliah would be killed by Ishmael went on to kill many with Ishmael and drive his party away and out of the narrative for good.

However, I think it is an interesting character study to consider Ishmael himself. We know that the effect of Gedaliah’s assassination was to reduce the people to a state of fear – probably out of concern at the revenge that Nebuchadnezzar would wreak for the attack, though any such revenge is not clearly described in the biblical accounts. There is a third deportation of Judahites recorded in Jeremiah 52:6-30 that most historians believe should be tied to the assassination.

As a result of the assassination, Gedaliah is revered, even in light of his political shortcomings which led to his death. In Zechariah 7 and 8 there are references to a commemorative fast observed by the Jews - the Fast of Gedaliah. This fast is meant to lament his assassination as the righteous governor of Judah, largely because his death ended any autonomy that even the remnant felt in Judah during the period.

So Ishmael’s actions derailed the Jewish remnant from the first positive track they had been on since Josiah. They were re-forming society and creating the means to provide for themselves and begin a healing process. Yet, Ishmael crushed it. Why would he do this?

Some commentators have suggested that Ishmael acts out of a sense of having been slighted when passed over for the governorship himself, despite being eligible by virtue of his royal familial connections. This is one possible interpretation of the statement that Ishmael slew Gedaliah ‘because Nebuchadnezzar had appointed him governor’ (Jeremiah 41:2). He may also have found Gedaliah’s confident statement that ‘all will be well’ under Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 40:9) tantamount to treason,especially given Babylon’s earlier treatment of the royal household (Jeremiah 39:6) where he murdered the entire household, blinded the king and took him to Babylon, and then burned the royal palace to the ground. Perhaps we should view the assassination as ‘armed revolt against Babylonian authority and the execution of a collaborationist.’

However, in most cases of treason on this level, there is usually something to be gained on the part of the traitor. This is likely true for Ishmael as well. The book of Jeremiah (though not II Kings) makes clear that Ishmael has been sent by king Baalis of the neighbouring kingdom of Ammon to kill Gedaliah. The full name of the Ammonite king Baalis (Ba‘alyiša‘, ‘Baal is salvation’) came from a long line of kings constantly in battle and hostility with both Judah and Israel. Baalis may have seen an opportunity to grab power for himself in the power vacuum resulting from the fall of Jerusalem and the exile. The writer of Jeremiah clearly crafts the account to portray this as a significant motive for Ishmael’s attack, meaning that this would likely win accord and treasure for Ishmael.

In following this king we see Ishmael’s true betrayal - he betrayed God. Besides working to destroy the things that God had established, he sided with a king whose very name made him a disciple of Baal. Ishmael is actually a representation of how the kingdoms of Judah and Israel got to this state - their allegiances left them in a political and spiritual no-man’s land.

If we look at our own lives, where do we find ourselves committing similar acts of treason? While we may not be able to affect a whole kingdom or even a whole community, we can impact our families, friends, church, and even ourselves. There are a lot of ways that we turn against God - sin, disobedience, pride, and even complacency. The difference is that we know that God forgives us - but we need to be ever mindful of what our personal betrayals say to the people we influence, whether it is around the house, in our church, or even social media.

I have been focusing on characters who lived around the time of the fall of Jerusalem and the exile because I believe we are in a similar state today. Eleia and I have been talking a lot about the state of our country, realizing that much of what is happening in big cities and with police defunding and such - our nation may not ever recover from many of these things. Politically, we are in a downward spiral, and in reality, like with Judah, nobody seems to be willing to actually do anything about it except complain. We have these stories of how characters behaved in a time that was just as unprecedented for them as times are now for us.

In this story we saw two influencers - the one established by God, and the one who went against God. We need to strongly consider the type of influencers we will be - each of us - as things continue in the way they are. The only way to have the strength to remain on the side of right is to rely on God. Focus on your relationship with Him and grow in your intimacy and knowledge of the Creator - this is the only way to prevent a hard heart like Ishmael’s.