“They said to him, ‘Did you know that Baalis, king of Ammon, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to assassinate you?’ But Gedaliah refused to believe them.” (Jeremiah 40:14, NLT)

This story has always troubled me. After the terrible invasion of Judah by the Babylonians, it seemed that there could have been a new start for the nation. Gedaliah was the appointed governor, and he came from a good, God-fearing family. He seemed to have a good heart, and he would have likely submitted to the Babylonians while justly ruling the Jews remaining in the land. Unfortunately, he had a fatal flaw: he was naïve to the wicked motives of others. In other words, he lacked discernment.

Perhaps I am troubled by this story because I tend to be like Gedaliah. If people were dogs, I would probably be a golden retriever—friendly and loyal. I seek to find the best in others because that is what love does. Unfortunately, I have sometimes been deceived by people who have evil, self-serving motives.

Now Gedaliah had an important friend. If people were dogs, then Johanan would have been a Doberman pinscher. He heard that the king of Ammon had sent Ishmael to kill Gedaliah, and he spoke to Gedaliah about the plot. Johanan was even willing to “cancel Ishmael’s birthday” before Ishmael killed Gedaliah. Unfortunately, Gedaliah didn’t believe him. His lack of discernment would not only cost him his own life but would also be disastrous for the people he was leading.

This is a valuable lesson for us. We live in an evil world. Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus told His disciples:

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16, NKJV)

I believe that in these evil days Satan is becoming more deceitful, cunning and dangerous, for he knows his time is short. Discernment is one of the gifts of the Spirit, and how we need it! We are all deceivable, but God will help us to discriminate between sheep and wolves, between those with pure motives and those with evil, self-serving motives. May God grant us all the gift of discernment!