In this chapter, the people, flat-out, refuse to worship the Lord!. Here’s the chapter in its entirety: “This is the message Jeremiah received concerning the Judeans living in northern Egypt in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and throughout southern Egypt as well: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw what I did to Jerusalem and to all the towns of Judah. They now lie in ruins, and no one lives in them. Because of all their wickedness, my anger rose high against them. They burned incense and worshiped other gods – gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors have ever known. (Notice what God is most displeased about. His fierce anger and fury comes from us, simply, putting other gods in front of Him. God is not asking much of us, and we continually drop the ball and worship other gods. We are destroying ourselves…self-inflicted wounds!)
“Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’ But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept right on burning incense to these gods. And so my fury boiled over and fell like fire on the towns of Judah and into the streets of Jerusalem, and now they are a desolate ruin.” (More confirmation that God just wants us to worship Him. That’s it! This is not hard, People!)
“And now the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? For not one of you will survive – not a man, woman, or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in your arms. Why arouse my anger by burning incense to the idols you have made here in Egypt? You will only destroy yourselves and make ourselves an object of cursing and mockery for all the nations of the earth. Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors, the sins of the kings and queens of Judah, and the sins you and your wives committed in Judah and Jerusalem? To this very hour you have shown no remorse or reverence. No one has chosen to follow my law and the decrees I gave to you and your ancestors before you.”
“Therefore, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I have made up my mind to destroy every one of you! I 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. I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease. On those who fled to Egypt with dreams of returning home to Judah, only a handful will escape.”
Then 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, “We will not listen to your messages from the Lord! We 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! But 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.” (Wow! Are these people serious???)
“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!”
Then Jeremiah said to all of them, men and women alike, who had given him that answer, “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? It 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. The 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.” (Wow…self-induced wounds!)
Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, “Listen to this message from the Lord, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt. The 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!
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!’ For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. You will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.
“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! And 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: I 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) (Wow!)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Open our eyes to see the light…to see the truth! Help us not be deceived by the enemy, for the enemy does not want us close to you. Help us seek and worship you, only! Lord, we love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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