A Sad Story

Jer 43:5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah--
Jer 43:6 the men, the women, the children, the king's daughters and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah--
Jer 43:7 and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the LORD) and went in as far as Tahpanhes.

This is kind of sad, if you ask me. There was a Remnant, just as God had promised. After the Babylonians left, there was a vacuum in Israel, and these people came Home. Driven out by circumstances, now was their chance. Maybe it was the Babylonians, or the Assyrians, who forced them to leave in the first place. Maybe it was debt, or famine, or family problems of some sort, and they went elsewhere seeking relief from the pressures. But now was their chance. Home, Israel.
But when they show up, the governor is murdered, and things start to go downhill. Jeremiah has prophesied our blessings. Stay here and God will bless us. Living in the shadow of fear, I said. But its still home. But these arrogant men, as Jeremiah labels them, have their own ideas. They don't want to live in the shadow. They want to get away, just as the Remnant had done. Find peace somewhere. So they disobeyed God. His people should be living in His land, but they fled, believing that they know best.
I was going to say it wasn't deliberate disobedience. They thought they were doing best, despite what Jeremiah said. They just didn't believe Jeremiah spoke for God. But afte everything that had happened, how could they not believe in the Divine Authority of his words. God was speaking through him. But they wanted to hear something other than what Jeremiah had to say.
They didn't want to stay here. This land was a mess. Everything taken. Lets go somewhere with better prospects. A land of peace. A place strong enough to defy the Babylonians and ensure peace and prosperity.
Only it didn't work. And everyone who had finally gone home, come back to Israel, these people were forced to leave. To flee to Egypt to suffer even more under the Babylonians. This is what I find sad.