41 In the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal [a]family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they were eating bread together there in Mizpah, 2 Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him arose and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and put to death the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.
4 Now it happened on the [b]next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it, 5 that eighty men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria with their beards shaved off and their clothes torn and [c]their bodies gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the house of the Lord. 6 Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” 7 Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men that were with him slaughtered them and cast them into the cistern. 8 But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death; for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey hidden in the field.” So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.
9 Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had cast all the corpses of the men whom he had struck down [d]because of Gedaliah, it was the one that King Asa had made on account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put under the charge of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; thus Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of Ammon.
Previously, we saw the warning delivered by Johanan and the other commanders about this Ishmael. We find now that Ishmael was of the royal family as well, which may have played into his decision to defect to the Ammonites (v. 10). That is, as a descendant of David, Ishmael may have been angry that he was not put in charge rather than Gedaliah, who had no claim on the throne at all.
Whatever the case, I don’t think that is the only reason Ishmael betrayed Gedaliah, for he follows it up by betraying his own people. He kills a whole bunch of men coming to worship in the temple, and takes the royal family and all who remained over to the sons of Ammon. Why would he not just take the reins after Gedaliah was dead?
The answer is likely money, for the Ammonites would have promised Ishmael some reward, if it wasn’t simply to be in charge of Israel. In fact, it probably wasn’t even in their power to promise anything more, with Babylon having conquered the entire region. A lust for money can drive us to all sorts of evil deeds, or as Paul would later write, “For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.”
Naturally, money itself isn’t evil, just another tool. It can be used for great good, or as the Ammonites discovered, they could use it for great wickedness. It should be no surprise though, in a people that had wholly rejected God’s ways, that it went to this extreme of treachery and murder. For some, that may be a real threat, for others, it might start smaller.
I was pulling weeds earlier, and this reminds me much of those weeds. They start out with small roots and can often be easily removed. But let them grow, and the roots go deeper, and you really have to work to get them out. So we should be wary of even the smallest root. Do not let a craving for money or possessions drive you to forsake the wisdom of God.
Rather, lean on Him always, and trust God, for money, provision, shelter, and everything else. He uses money as well, and when we follow God’s plan, it can be a powerful tool for good. Don’t give in to the allure of money, but crave God instead, and Him only.