Sometimes you don’t need a fine Oriental rug, or even wall-to-wall carpet. Just a few carpet scraps will do. Often called “remnants,” these are the end pieces leftover from a roll of carpeting. They’re too small for a standard carpet installation, but they’re still a decent size, and too useful to toss out as waste. So you save them for future use, or buy them from a store when needed. Like scraps of carpet, God’s people have often been reduced to a remnant. When God sent Joseph to Egypt, it was to preserve a remnant (Gen 45:7). And centuries later, though most of the nation did not survive the Babylonian exile, the prophets had spoken of a remnant that would return (Isa 10:22, Mic 2:12). And Ezra rejoiced that God had indeed left them a remnant (Ez 9:8). The events of Jeremiah 40 provide a lesson in remnant theology. Philip Ryken describes it like this: “God’s people may be besieged. They may be attacked. They may be oppressed. They may be scattered over the face of the earth. But they will never be lost, for God always preserves a remnant for Himself.” The Babylonian commander sounds more like a prophet than a soldier when he speaks at the beginning of the chapter. Even a godless pagan knew enough theology to figure out that God was punishing His people for their sins (v 2-3). The city was burned and its walls broken down. Most of its leading citizens were deported. In all the chaos, it’s easy to see how Jeremiah would get swept up among the exiles. Nebuchadnezzar had given special orders that the prophet was not to be harmed, but sent home to his own people (39:11-14). Instead, he was captured by some overzealous troops who marched him to Ramah, the staging camp on the way to Babylon, five miles north of Jerusalem (v 1). Officials in Ramah recognize Jeremiah, release him from his chains, and offer to take him to Babylon. But the prophet is granted the freedom to make his own decision, and he opts to stay with the remnant in Judah—”the people who were left in the land.” So the captain wishes him well, gives a parting gift, and sends him on his way to Gedaliah (v 4-6). Gedaliah is the newly appointed governor of the region, a man who turns out to be quite a good leader. He creates stability by urging people to submit to Babylonian rule. Confident that God would provide, he encourages the poor to settle down, till the land, and gather the harvest. And many who had fled to other lands return home when they hear of God’s faithful provision for this “remnant” (v 11) that was left in Judah (v 7-12). For further meditation: