Jeremiah 44
11“Therefore, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I have made up my mind to destroy every one of you! 12I will take this remnant of Judah that insisted on coming here to Egypt, and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. 13I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease. 14Of those who fled to Egypt with dreams of returning home to Judah, only a handful will escape.”
15Then all the women present and all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to idols—a great crowd of all the Judeans living in Pathros, the southern region of Egypt—answered Jeremiah, 16“We will not listen to your messages from the LORD! 17We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and sacrifice to her just as much as we like—just as we and our ancestors did before us, and as our kings and princes have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles! 18But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her, we have been in great trouble and have suffered the effects of war and famine.”
19“And,” the women added, “do you suppose that we were worshiping the Queen of Heaven, pouring out drink offerings to her, and making cakes marked with her image, without our husbands knowing it and helping us? Of course not!”
20Then Jeremiah said to all of them, men and women alike, who had given him that answer, 21“Do you think the LORD did not know that you and your ancestors, your kings and officials, and all the people were burning incense to idols in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 22It was because the LORD could no longer bear all the evil things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing—a desolate ruin without a single inhabitant—as it is today. 23The very reason all these terrible things have happened to you is because you have burned incense to idols and sinned against the LORD, refusing to obey him and follow his instructions, laws, and stipulations.”
24Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, “Listen to this message from the LORD, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt. 25The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives have said that you will never give up your devotion and sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven, and you have proved it by your actions. Then go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!
26“But listen to this message from the LORD, all you Judeans now living in Egypt: I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name will no longer be spoken by any of the Judeans in the land of Egypt. None of you may invoke my name or use this oath: ‘As surely as the Sovereign LORD lives!’ 27For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. You will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.
28“Only a small number will escape death and return to Judah from Egypt. Then all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words are true, mine or theirs! 29And this is the proof I give you, says the LORD, that all I have threatened will happen to you and that I will punish you here: 30I will turn Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I turned King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 44:11-30, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet who lived about 2600 years ago. The book of Jeremiah chronicles the many prophecies he gave to the people of Judah in which the Lord promised to punish the people for their continued unfaithfulness and wickedness. This punishment would come at the hands of the Babylonians who would invade the land, overtake the capital city of Jerusalem and take the majority of its citizens back to Babylon as captives of war.
Throughout the book, many false prophets opposed Jeremiah, claiming that he had not heard from the Lord. These false prophets predicted that Babylon would not invade and if they did, they predicted that God would protect His people and enable them to withstand and resist any invading army.
At this point in the book, all of Jeremiah’s prophecies have come true. The Babylonians have come and laid siege to Jerusalem, overtaking its walled barriers and taking its people back to Babylon as prisoners of war.
However, a remnant of people are left in Judah to tend to the land and continue living under a Babylonian appointed governor.
It’s at this point that those who are left decide that they would be better off fleeing to Egypt and living under the rule of Pharaoh instead of living in their own land under Babylonian occupation.
Jeremiah comes to this group and gives them the Lord’s directive, which is to stay in the land and NOT flee to Egypt. God’s reasons are clear: He is going to punish the Egyptians by the very army that He used to punish the Israelites. If this remnant of Jews decides to flee to Egypt, they will only be putting themselves in the very harm’s way that they are trying to escape.
This chapter outlines the conversation Jeremiah has with key leaders of this remnant group which has made its way to Egypt. Jeremiah explicitly states that the Lord has decided that because this group has insisted on rejecting His direct command to stay in Judah, they will all die from the very things from which they fled, namely war and famine.
What is the response of the people?
You would hope that they would listen to Jeremiah and the word of the Lord. You would think that maybe they would repent and follow, for once, the command of the Lord.
But that’s not what happens. Instead, their response is:
“We will not listen to your messages from the LORD! 17We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and sacrifice to her just as much as we like—just as we and our ancestors did before us, and as our kings and princes have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles! 18But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her, we have been in great trouble and have suffered the effects of war and famine.”
God’s response to this overt rebelliousness and rejection of Him is to allow them to experience the consequences of their choices and actions. By rebelling against the Lord, they were unknowingly putting their lives in danger by subjecting themselves to forces and circumstances that they could not possibly have seen or predicted on their own.
It seems to me that I often act just like this group of Judeans.
God no longer sends physical prophets like Jeremiah to speak to His people and warn them of potential disaster. He doesn’t need prophets to communicate these messages of warning because He has His holy Word that speaks for Him.
God’s word functions as the prophet in our current environment. Everything God wants us to know about righteous and wise living is summed up in His word. And yet, I often fail to consult His word to get input and wise advice concerning the issues I’m facing.
Often times, I don’t just ignore what God’s word says, I KNOW what it says and choose to overtly rebel anyway. I follow the pattern of rebellion these women modeled as I say to the Lord:
I will not listen to your messages, LORD! 17 I will do whatever I want. I will burn incense to whatever God or deity I want and sacrifice to her just as much as I like—just as we and our ancestors did before us, and as our leaders have always done in our towns and communities.
This is what I call the prayer of rebellion, in which I vocalize my rejection of God’s commands and His will for my life and I exert my own stubborn independence to live apart from Him.
Though Jeremiah lived 2600 years ago in a time and era that was much different than today, one thing is still the same – people are still rebelling against God’s word and will and living instead for their own personal desires and preferences.
We may not be taken into captivity by an invading army but by resisting the Lord’s will and disobeying Him, we most certainly will experience negative consequences and even disaster in our lives.
Reflection
These women made a habit of burning incense to a foreign god. They were putting their trust in a foreign deity and false god instead of God Himself. What are some potential idols in your own life that you are tempted to trust in place of God?
What are some times in your life where you have expressed “the prayer of rebellion” towards God. What were the circumstances?
In what ways can you prepare yourself from drifting and serving other gods or idols in your life? What are some practical tips that might keep you from experiencing spiritual drift?
What can you learn from this passage about the importance of being yoked (married) to someone who shares your same spiritual values and commitment to the Lord?
Photo by Jakayla Toney on Unsplash
The Lowedown 