There has been no mention of Yirmiyahu since his meeting with Nevuzar'adan; we do not know how he reacted to the assassination and the events that preceded it. The text, as it were, has made Yirmiyahu disappear. On the other hand, in contrast to the period that preceded the destruction when the people bluntly and repeatedly rejected the words of Yirmiyahu, here they seek the word of God from his mouth. It seems that now they are finally ready to listen to him and receive the word of God from his mouth.
Yirmiyahu urges Yohanan and his men to remain in Eretz Yisrael and warns them against going down to Egypt. This reverses the prophetic message that Yirmiyahu preached during the years that preceded the destruction – that of submission and acceptance and encouraging life in exile. But now the time has come for building and planting in Eretz Yisrael.
The second part of Yirmiyahu's words, which is several times longer, moves on to the negative side – the refusal to remain in the land and its consequences. Yirmiyahu senses the mood of the people and their inclination to go down to Egypt, and he begins to warn them not to go down to Egypt. The warning is repeated and intensified from one stage to the next. There is a fundamental contradiction between the building and reconstruction of Eretz Yisrael and the descent to Egypt.
Not only do they refuse to listen to him, contrary to their own declaration, but they accuse him of speaking falsely to them. Yirmiyahu is accused here with the same old accusation levelled against him by his opponents – that he is a false prophet who seeks the detriment of his people. Yohanan wisely sought the word of God from the mouth of Yirmiyahu, but lacked the strength to listen to it. His timidity, his irresoluteness, and his little faith made him a partner in the self-destruction of the remnant of Yehuda.
