The Lord will Punish the Judean Exiles in Egypt for Their Idolatry. Jeremiah 44:1-30

Transcription

1 1 The Lord will Punish the Judean Exiles in Egypt for Their Idolatry Jeremiah 44:1-30

2 2 The Lord will Punish the Judean Exiles in Egypt for Their Idolatry Text: Jeremiah 44:1-30, 1. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt. 2. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted. 3. This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. They made me angry by worshiping and offering sacrifice to other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors previously knew. 4. I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. 5. But the people of Jerusalem and Judah would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods. 6. So my anger and my wrath were poured out and burned like a fire through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they have become the desolate ruins that they are today. 7. So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, asks, Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and

3 3 baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant? 8. That is what will result from your making me angry by what you are doing. You are making me angry by sacrificing to other gods here in the land of Egypt where you live. You will be destroyed for doing that! You will become an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth. 9. Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, by you and your wives? 10. To this day your people have shown no contrition! They have not revered me nor followed the laws and statutes I commanded you and your ancestors. 11. Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, I am determined to bring disaster on you, even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here. 12. I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle or perish from starvation. People of every class will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. 13. I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem. 14. None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives.

4 Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. They answered, 16. We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! 17. Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. 18. But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation. 19. The women added, We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her. 20. Then Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who responded to him in this way. 21. The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. 22. Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is

5 5 today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. 23. You have sacrificed to other gods! You have sinned against the Lord! You have not obeyed the Lord! You have not followed his laws, his statutes, and his decrees! That is why this disaster that is evident to this day has happened to you. 24. Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt. 25. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, You women have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! You said, We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out! 26. But listen to what the Lord has to say, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. The Lord says, I hereby swear by my own great name that none of the people of Judah who are living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name in their oaths! Never again will any of them use it in an oath saying, As surely as the Lord God lives. 27. I will indeed see to it that disaster, not prosperity, happens to them. All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left. 28. Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, mine or theirs.

6 Moreover the Lord says, I will make something happen to prove that I will punish you in this place. I will do it so that you will know that my threats to bring disaster on you will prove true. 30. I, the Lord, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him. (NET) Introduction: I. Hamilton wrote that this chapter consists of a dialogue between Jeremiah and the people of Judah who had migrated to Egypt and can be divided into three sections; viz.,... A. Jeremiah presents the Lord s charges against the Judean immigrants regarding idolatious worship and its consequences (verses 1014),... B. The people s response to the Lord s charges (verses 15-19), and... C. The people s fate described and the promise of an historic event that would be a sign assuring their punishment (verses 15-30). II. Willis wrote that Jeremiah 44 is the final chapter of the narrative that began in Jeremiah 37 which narrative centers on the reasons for the sad condition in which the Jews in Egypt found themselves.

7 7 A. The views of the Jews in Egypt and Jeremiah are diametrically opposed to each other. III. Willis outlines Jeremiah 44 as follows:... A. The Lord speaks an admonition through Jeremiah (44:1-14). B. The Jews, both men and women, bitterly reject Jeremiah s admonition (44:15-19). C. Jeremiah rebukes them for their attitude (44:20-23). D. The Lord closes with a second admonition and a sign (44:24-30). IV. Coffman wrote, Other prophecies of Jeremiah appear in subsequent chapters; but this chapter is generally viewed as containing the final prophecy, chronologically, that came through Jeremiah. A. Right up to the very end, Jeremiah s life apparently continued to be an almost unending series of tragedies, Coffman wrote. B. The date of this prophecy cannot be determined, but Coffman concluded it came a long time after the events reported in the preceding chapter. V. Coffman outlined Jeremiah 44 as follows:...

8 8 A. Disobedience would bring upon the Jewish refugees in Egypt the same fate that befell Jerusalem (verses 1-7),... B. Idolatry would destroy them (verses 8-10),... C. Sword, famine and pestilence are threatened (verses 11-14),... D. The Judean refugees declare they will continue to worship the Queen of Heaven (verses 15-10),... E. Jeremiah refutes their false arguments (verses 20-23), and... F. Jeremiah gave a sign that God would keep his word (verses 24-30). Commentary: Jeremiah 44:1, The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt. (NET) I. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt,... A. God s word concerned all the Judeans living in Egypt, not just those who entered Egypt as refugees with Johanan. (See Hamilton.)

9 9 B. Smith advised that from their initial settlement in Tahpanhes the Jews scattered throughout the land of Egypt. C. Coffman wrote that this assembly and related events took place in Pathos, in the southern end of Egypt, where, apparently, the Jews had gathered from all over Egypt to attend a festival honoring the Queen of Heaven. 1. The women seem to have been taking the leading part in it, Coffman concluded. 2. Jeremiah boldly urged this hostile assembly to repent and turn to God telling them, if they did not turn from their sinful ways, they would suffer the same devastation Jerusalem had suffered. (Coffman) 3. Clarke quoted Dahler as dating this discourse in the seventeenth or eighteenth year after the fall of Jerusalem. II. those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt. A. Migdol was a site in northeastern Egypt (not far from Pelusium-Clarke). After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar, some Israelites fled to Egypt and lived in Migdol. Another Migdol was an encampment of the Israelites while they were leaving Egypt in the Exodus led by Moses. (Exodus 14:2, Tell the Israelites that they must turn and camp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you are to camp by the sea before Baal Zephon opposite it.

10 10 (NET) (Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary) Hamilton wrote the exact location of the Migdol of Jeremiah 4:1 is uncertain. B. Tahpanhes was a city on the eastern frontier of Lower (Northern) Egypt, in the area of the Nile delta. (Jeremiah 2:16, Even the soldiers from Memphis and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, people of Israel.; Ezekiel 30:18, In Tahpanhes the day will be dark when I break the yoke of Egypt there. Her confident pride will cease within her; a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.) (NET) (Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary) Tahpanhes was the place to which the refugee Jews first came. (Clarke) C. Memphis (Noph) was the capital of Lower Egypt, was at the head of the delta, just south of modern Cairo. (Hamilton) Memphis was an ancient royal city situated on the west bank of the Nile River about 13 miles south of Cairo. (Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary) D. Southern (Upper) Egypt (Pathros) extends from Cairo to Aswan. (Hamilton) 1. Isaiah 11:11, At that time the sovereign master will again lift his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the seacoasts. (NET) E. Immigrant Jews settled in all the principal parts of Egypt. (Clarke)

11 11 Jeremiah 44:2, The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted. (NET) I. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says,... A. The all powerful God who had had a special relationship with Israel and who rules over all, heaven and earth, had something to say. B. Can you believe these people refused to listen? They did and they weren t the last to refuse to listen to God. II. You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. A. What happened to the Judeans in their homeland because of their sins would happen to them in Egypt if they continued living sinfully. (See Smith.) B. God had brought disaster on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. III. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted. A. Jerusalem and the towns of Judah now lie in ruins and are deserted. B. Jeremiah had foretold this horrendous destruction which should have caused the Jews in this assembly to give careful

12 12 attention to what he was saying, but it didn t have this result. (See Coffman.) 1. Jeremiah 24:8-10, I, the Lord, also solemnly assert: King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people who remain in Jerusalem or who have gone to live in Egypt are like those bad figs. I consider them to be just like those bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. I will bring such disaster on them that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified. I will make them an object of reproach, a proverbial example of disaster. I will make them an object of ridicule, an example to be used in curses. That is how they will be remembered wherever I banish them. I will bring war, starvation, and disease on them until they are completely destroyed from the land I gave them and their ancestors. (NET) Jeremiah 44:3, This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. They made me angry by worshiping and offering sacrifice to other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors previously knew. (NET) I. This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. A. The troubles suffered by Jerusalem and Judah resulted from the people s wickedness.

13 13 II. They made me angry by worshipping and offering sacrifice to other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors* previously knew. A. *NET Footnote: Hebrew fathers (also in verses 9, 10, 17, 21). B. The sins of the people, especially their idolatry, angered the Lord and caused him to punish Jerusalem with total devastation. 1. Isn t it amazing that God really cares what we humans do?... that our actions cause him happiness or anger him. 2. The wise servant of God asked, What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visiteth him? Jeremiah 44:4, I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. (NET) I. I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. A. Another related evil which led to Jerusalem s destruction was its rejection and persecution of the prophets God sent to declare his word.

14 Their apostacy continued in spite of the urgent and persistent effort of God s prophets to persuade them to cease this abominable thing, Smith wrote. 2. They did not heed these prophetic warnings and suffered the consequences for doing this disgusting and abominable thing which God hated. Jeremiah 44:5, But the people of Jerusalem and Judah would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods. (NET) I. But the people of Jerusalem and Judah would not listen or pay any attention. A. As a result they suffered the consequences. B. The people s rebellion against God and Jeremiah s unwavering proclamation of the Lord s truth (Repent or perish!) are the major themes of this book. 1. Luke 13:5, No, I tell you! But unless you repent you will all perish as well! (NET) II. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods. A. They were obstinate, adamant, stiffnecked, stubborn and persistent in their wicked, idolatrous ways and they paid the sinner s price for their evil doing.

15 15 Jeremiah 44:6, So my anger and my wrath were poured out and burned like a fire through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they have become the desolate ruins that they are today. (NET) I. So my anger and my wrath were poured out and burned like a fire through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. A. The scriptures speak of God s hatred, anger, wrath, grief, compassion, etc., the ascribing of human passions to God which, Clarke advised, is known as anthropopathia. II. That is why they have become the desolate ruins that they are today! A. Those were the reasons Jerusalem and the towns of Judah were left in devastation and are the reasons the rebellious Judeans in Egypt would suffer a comparable fate. Jeremiah 44:7, So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, asks, Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant? (NET) I. So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, asks,... A. The God of Israel who rules over all has something more to say to these wicked Judeans living in Egypt.

16 16 II. Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? A. People do themselves and their loved ones great harm. Why indeed do people do themselves harm? 1. That is not at all smart! 2. They were bringing disaster on themselves. No one else was to blame for their troubles. 3. These people were clearly acting contrary to their own self-interest. B. Hamilton wrote, The Why? questions caused the audience to consider the tragic results of failing to humble themselves, show reverence, and obey the law of the Lord God Almighty. 1. Consequently, the same results will fall on the Jewish migrants in Egypt sword, famine and plague, except for a very fewexceptions. (Hamilton) III. Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant? A. Smith wrote that the conduct of the refugees in Egypt was absolutely incredible to Jeremiah. Why would they want to bring more calamity upon themselves? B. The remnant then in Egypt was in danger of being totally exterminated, Smith wrote.

17 17 C. Your ancestors sinned and were destroyed. You are sinning and will be destroyed as certainly as they were destroyed, Jeremiah declared. 1. These sinful ways would lead to their total destruction so that not even a remnant would survive. Jeremiah 44:8, That is what will result from your making me angry by what you are doing. You are making me angry by sacrificing to other gods here in the land of Egypt where you live. You will be destroyed for doing that! You will become an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth. (NET) I. That is what will result from your making me angry by what you are doing. A. They were wickedly worshiping idols which had led to the destruction of Jerusalem and now placed the refugees in Egypt in great danger of a like fate. (See Smith.) B. The Jews in Egypt were doing what those in Judah and Jerusalem had done and would bring a similar destruction on themselves. C. It is not smart to make God mad at you! III. You are making me angry by sacrificing to other gods here in the land of Egypt where you live. You will be destroyed for doing that!

18 18 A. Jehovah demanded that he be exclusively worshiped as the one and only God. (See Hamilton.) B. Smith noted there was no indication of contrition of their sins on the part of the refugees. III. You will become an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth. A. This cursing, reproach and ridicule would again be a part of the punishment for sin. 1. Jeremiah 24:9, I will bring such disaster on them that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified. I will make them an object of reproach, a proverbial example of disaster. I will make them an object of ridicule, an example to be used in curses. That is how they will be remembered wherever I banish them. (NET) 2. Jeremiah 25:18, I made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. Such is already becoming the case! (NET) 3. Jeremiah 26:6, If you do not obey me, then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh. And I will make this city an example to be used in

19 19 curses by people from all the nations on the earth. (NET) 4. Jeremiah 42:18, For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, If you go to Egypt, I will pour out my wrath on you just as I poured out my anger and wrath on the citizens of Jerusalem. You will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. You will never see this place again. (NET) 5. Jeremiah 49:13, For I solemnly swear, says the Lord, that Bozrah will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever. (NET) B. Coffman wrote, All of the sacred promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were at this point to be severed completely from the Jewish remnant in Egypt, and would rest solely with the captives in Babylon. Jeremiah 44:9, Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, by you and your wives? (NET) I. Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by our ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, by you and your wives?

20 20 A. The evil influence of the wives of the kings of Judah reminds us of Solomon s wives who turned his heart away from God and, thinking also of the Northern Kingdom, who could forget Jezebel? (See Coffman.) B. How could these Jews then living in Egypt have possibly forgotten the sins of their fathers and the calamities that resulted? 1. The Jews living in Egypt should have realized their like sins would produce similar results. Jeremiah 44:10, To this day your people have shown no contrition! They have not revered me nor followed the laws and statutes I commanded you and your ancestors. (NET) I. To this day your people have shown no contrition! A. These wicked people had shown no contrition, no regret, no repentance for their sins! 1. They, as so many today, were proud of their sinful lifestyles. II. They have not revered me nor followed the laws and statutes I commanded you and your ancestors! A. This continues to be true today. From the single individual to the highest levels of government, reverence for God s laws and statutes is totally lacking.

21 21 Jeremiah 44:11, Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, I am determined to bring disaster on you, even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here. (NET) I. Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says,... A. The Lord responds to human conduct, whether righteous or wicked, because he truly cares. B. The Lord rules over all and cares for his total creation. II. I am determined to bring disaster on you, even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here. A. All the Judeans in Egypt would be destroyed because of their continuing in the wicked ways of their fathers. (See Smith.) B. Notice, as The Pulpit Commentary states, that this disaster refers to the Jewish remnant in Egypt, not to the exiles taken captive to Babylon. 1. Jeremiah 44:14, 28, None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives. Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of

22 22 Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, mine or theirs. (NET) Jeremiah 44:12, I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle or perish from starvation. People of every class will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. (NET) I. I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. A. Johanan should about now have realized he should have stayed in Judah as Jeremiah had urged him to do. II. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle or perish from starvation. A. Related passages: Jeremiah 14:12, Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues. (NET)

23 Jeremiah 21:7, 9, Then I, the Lord, promise that I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and any of the people who survive the war, starvation, and disease. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will slaughter them with the sword. He will not show them any mercy, compassion, or pity. Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging it will live. They will escape with their lives. (NET) 3. Jeremiah 24:10, I will bring war, starvation, and disease on them until they are completely destroyed from the land I gave them and their ancestors. (NET) 4. Jeremiah 27:8, 13, But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to him. I, the Lord, affirm that I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it with war, starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it. There is no reason why you and your people should die in war or from starvation or disease! That s what the Lord says will happen to any nation that will not be subject to the king of Babylon. (NET)

24 24 III. People of every class* will die in war or from starvation. A. *NET Footnote: Or All the people without distinction; Hebrew From the least to the greatest. IV. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. A. These wicked and idolatrous people would suffer death and ridicule. 1. I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem. 2. Jeremiah 25:18, I made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. Such is already becoming the case! (NET) 3. Jeremiah 29:18, 22, I will chase after them with war, starvation, and disease. I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to them. I will make them examples of those who are cursed, objects of horror, hissing scorn, and ridicule among all the nations where I exile them. And all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use them as examples when they

25 25 put a curse on anyone. They will say, May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted to death in the fire! (NET) 4. Jeremiah 42:18, For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, If you go to Egypt, I will pour out my wrath on you just as I poured out my anger and wrath on the citizens of Jerusalem. You will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. You will never see this place again. (NET) Jeremiah 44:13, I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem. (NET) I. I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem. A. Willis wrote that these parallel statements placed these fugitives in the mainstream of Israel s apostate sinners. Jeremiah 44:14, None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives. (NET) I. None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah.

26 26 A. All the Judeans who fled from Judea to Egypt would die in Egypt. B. Though they should long to return to Judah, they would die in Egypt. 1. Jeremiah 22:27, You will never come back to this land to which you will long to return! (NET) II. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives. A. A few fugitives would survive and would be able to return to Palestine. Jeremiah 44:15, Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. They answered, (NET) I. Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. A. Verses contain the people s response to God s word spoken by Jeremiah. (See Hamilton.) B. Willis speaks of this conduct as open defiance. They make no denials and offer no apologies for their sinful actions.

27 They publicly flaunted their sinful living. They ostentatiously, impudently, brazenly and contemptously showed total disregard for God and his commands. II. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. A. Jeremiah took the occasion of a large assembly of Judeans to proclaim God s word. 1. The Pulpit Commentary suggests that the occasion of the gathering was a festival in honor of the Queen of Heaven. III. They answered,... A. They were not hesitant nor timid in their response but showed total disdain for all God and Jeremiah had to say. Jeremiah 44:16, We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! (NET) I. We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! A. These refugees made no pretense of being servants of God. 1. They plainly told Jeremiah they were not going to listen to what Jeremiah was telling them.

28 28 Jeremiah 44:17, Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. (NET) I. Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. A. They callously defied God! II. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven* just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. A. NET Footnote: Probably a reference to the goddess of love, fertility and health known as Ishtar in Mesopotamia, Anat in Canaan, and Ashtoreth (Astarte) in Israel (also in verses 18, 19, 25). 1. The Queen of Heaven was identified as the Moon by Clarke. 2. Jeremiah 7:18, Children are gathering firewood, fathers are building fires with it, and women are mixing dough to bake cakes to offer to the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven. They are also pouring out drink offerings to other gods. They seem to do all this just to trouble me. (NET)

29 29 B. Hamilton wrote, This is probably a reference to the time of Manasseh, prior to the Josianic reforms. C. Coffman wrote, There was nothing honorable or innocent in the worship of this ancient sex-goddess, goddess of fertility, by God s people. 1. The Israelites had long worshiped this Queen of Heaven. III. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. A. How could they expect Jeremiah to believe this? 1. Anyone who had been there or had heard reports of those days would be astounded at a statement like this. B. Hamilton wrote that, from the immigrants point of view, they prospered when worshiping idols whereas when they turned to the Lord and forsook idolatry, perhaps referencing the reforms under Josiah, things did not go well with them. (Also see Smith.) C. The Pulpit Commentary states, Jeremiah regarded the misfortunes of his country as proof of the displeasure of Jehovah; these Jews, on the other hand, of his impotence. Jeremiah 44:18, But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we

30 30 have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation. (NET) I. But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. A. The refugees claimed they prospered when worshiping idols and they suffered when worshiping the Lord. 1. Families, husbands and wives were agreed in their worship of idols and rejection of Jehovah. B. Willis noted that these people never really stopped their sinful practices. 1. Jeremiah 3:10, In spite of all this, Israel s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so, says the Lord. (NET) 2. However, this verse appears to reference the period of Josiah s reform when paganism was suppressed and faithful worship of God was restored, Coffman wrote. 3. Attributing their troubles to Josiah s reforms was preposterous! a. Hosea 2:5, For their mother has committed adultery; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, I will seek out my lovers; they are the ones who give me my bread and my water, my

31 31 wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine. (NET) II. Our people have died in wars and of starvation. A. They claimed their troubles resulted from their service to God! 1. That was absolutely not true! B. There are cases in which people suffer for well doing. 1. For example, consider the martyrs such as Stephen, James, Paul, John the Baptist, and, yes, Jesus on the cross. Jeremiah 44:19, The women added, We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her. (NET) I. The women added, We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. A. Willis wrote that both halves of the crowd, men and women, defiantly declared they would continue in their idolatrous practices. II. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her.

32 32 A. The wives and husbands had acted in concert regarding pagan worship. (See Hamilton.) 1. Willis wrote, These and other references to women in these verses might indicate that the women led the way in worshipping the Queen of Heaven. 2. Willis further wrote, That women in particular would be tempted to worship a female diety is not surprising. B. Our husbands supported us in all these things we do in worship of the Queen of Heaven. 1. These women, Clarke noted, vindicated their behavior by saying their husbands approved of everything they were doing. 2. Women were prominent in this idolatrous rebellion against God. (See Clarke.) C. These cakes were made in the form of a crescent representing the moon. The worship of the Queen of Heaven involved all manner of astrological connotations as did the worship of essentially all the mythological gods and goddesses of antiquity, Coffman advised. D. Worship of the Queen of Heaven included the burning of incense, pouring out of libations, making and dedicating cakes all of which, in general, were included in worship of the Lord. (See Clarke.)

33 Exodus 29:23, and one round flat cake of bread, one perforated cake of oiled bread, and one wafer from the basket of bread made without yeast that is before the Lord. (NET) 2. Leviticus 2:4, When you present an offering of grain baked in an oven, it must be made of choice wheat flour baked into unleavened loaves mixed with olive oil or unleavened wafers smeared with olive oil. (NET) 3. Leviticus 23:16, You must count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath and then you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. (NET) 4. Numbers 6:15, and a basket of bread made without yeast, cakes of fine flour mixed with olive oil, wafers made without yeast and smeared with olive oil, and their grain offering and their drink offerings. (NET) Jeremiah 44:20, Then Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who responded to him in this way. (NET) I. Then Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who responded to him in his way. A. The debate continued. Jeremiah answered the Judean refugees.

34 34 Jeremiah 44:21, The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. (NET) I. The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. A. Jeremiah responded with an oracle from God which Hamilton paraphrased as, Do what you have vowed to do and suffer the consequences. B. Disaster fell upon Jerusalem and Judah because of their sinful idolatry and a similar fate would befall the sinful Judean idolators now in Egypt. C. Don t think for a minute that God will overlook your sins, or that idolatry produced blessings or that worship of the Lord caused your troubles! Jeremiah 44:22, Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. (NET) I. Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did.

35 35 A. God had been longsuffering far beyond all expectations, but now the time had come when he could no longer endure their wicked deeds and was totally disgusted by their sinful conduct. 1. God s merciful longsuffering had run out! II. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. A. Clearly Jerusalem had fallen because of the sinfulness of its people, sinfulness comparable to that which the women, with the approval of their husbands, were now guilty. B. They had not prospered because of their sinful idolatry. Rather, idolatry had caused their suffering and would cause it again to these refugees in Egypt. III. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. A. Because of its sinfulness, Jerusalem had become so devastated and despised the very word had become a hiss, a by-word and a proverbial example used in curses. 1. Sin had certainly taken its toll on Judah and Jerusalem. 2. The Judean refugees in Egypt were wilfully blind and deaf to the facts in their situation.

36 36 Jeremiah 44:23, You have sacrificed to other gods! You have sinned against the Lord! You have not obeyed the Lord! You have not followed his laws, his statutes, and his decrees! That is why this disaster that is evident to this day has happened to you. (NET) I. You have sacrificed to other gods! A. The refugees in Egypt had sinned by both omission and commission, by failing to do what they should have done and by doing what they should not have done. 1. They had sacrificed to other gods, sinned against the Lord. 2. They had failed to obey the Lord, had not followed God s laws, statues and decrees. II. You have sinned against the Lord! A. Be sure that every sin is a sin against the Lord. B. Be sure that all sins are serious and can lead to destruction in this life and in the world to come. III. You have not obeyed the Lord! You have not followed his laws, his statutes, and his decrees! A. These refugees had not done what the Lord told them to do.

37 They, as so many today, had not learned respect for authority. IV. That is why this disaster that is evident to this day has happened to you. A. The time comes when God gives up on willful sinners. 1. Romans 1:21-24, For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. (NET) Jeremiah 44:24, Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt. (NET) I. Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. A. Jeremiah spoke to all the assembled people, but especially to the women because they were apparently the outspoken proponents of the Queen of Heaven.

38 38 II. Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt. A. God had something to say to the people of Judah who were in Egypt. 1. They would be well advised to listen and give heed. B. God has something to say to us as well and we would be well advised to listen and give heed. Jeremiah 44:25, The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, You women have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! You said, We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out! (NET) I. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says,... A. The Lord God of Israel rules over all people, nations, nature, animals, insects, planets, stars, reptiles, fish, germs, viruses, politicians, departed spirits, and infinitum. B. God rules over all, over you and me,... II. You women* have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! A. *NET Footnote: Or you and your wives (the referent is uncertain because of the alternation of pronouns).

39 39 B. Coffman explained this to mean, Very well, go ahead with your vows, but be prepared to accept the certain consequences. III. You said, We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. A. These refugees were determined to persist in their evil ways. 1. Jeremiah could not dissuade them. 2. So, he told them... IV. Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out!** A. **NET Footnote: These commands are sarcastic, not to be taken literally. B. Do as you have determined to do, but be prepared for the inevitable consequences. Jeremiah 44:26, But listen to what the Lord has to say, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. The Lord says, I hereby swear by my own great name that none of the people of Judah who are living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name in their oaths! Never again will any of them use it in an oath saying, As surely as the Lord God lives. (NET) I. But listen to what the Lord has to say, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt.

40 40 A. Live sinfully if you will, but listen to what the Lord says will happen to you as a result of your sinfulness. II. The Lord says, I hereby swear by my own great name that none of the people of Judah who are living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name in their oaths! A. Coffman wrote that the worship of Egyptian idols would lead to the eventual total cessation of the worship of God and that the time would come when no Jews would be left alive in Egypt. 1. Therefore, Jews would no longer evoke God s name in oaths in Egypt. III. Never again will any of them use it in an oath saying, As surely as the Lord God lives... A. Only God s people were permitted to swear by the name of the Lord. 1. The fact that these sinful people were never again permitted to swear by the Lord God meant they were no longer regarded as God s people. (See Willis.) a. Deuteronomy 6:13, You must revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name. (NET)

41 41 b. Deuteronomy 10:20, Revere the Lord your God, serve him, be loyal to him and take oaths only in his name. (NET) c. Israelites were to take oaths only in the name of the Lord. Jeremiah 44:27, I will indeed see to it that disaster, not prosperity, happens to them. All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left. (NET) I. I will indeed see to it that disaster, not prosperity happens to them. A. Be advised that Johanan would not escape God s punishment. He had made crucial wrong decisions which led to disaster. 1. Be very careful of your decisions and their consequences. 2. Look at the long term, not just the short term, effects of your actions. II. All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left. A. The sinful people of Judah living in Egypt will die of war, starvation and disease. B. This is what the Lord had to say!... and so it was.

42 42 Jeremiah 44:28, Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, mine or theirs. (NET) I. Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! A. Some few would survive and return to the land of Judah. B. The Pulpit Commentary reads, In the midst of judgment, God remembers mercy, and his ancient covenant. A remnant is saved as the nucleus of a regenerate people! II. Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, mine or theirs! A. We certainly know that God s word proves true... every time. 1. Let God be found true and every man a liar. Jeremiah 44:29, Moreover the Lord says, I will make something happen to prove that I will punish you in this place. I will do it so that you will know that my threats to bring disaster on you will prove true. (NET) I. Moreover the Lord says, I will make something happen to prove that I will punish you in this place.

43 43 A. This something that was to happen was a sign that God s word as spoken by Jeremiah was true and accurate Kings 19:29, This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. (NET) 2. 2 Kings 20:8-9, Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, What is the confirming sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord s temple the day after tomorrow? Isaiah replied, This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead ten steps or to go back ten steps? (NET) II. I will do it so that you will know that my threats to bring disaster on you will prove true. A. God s declarations of punishment for sins are not idle threats. 1. Those who do not repent and obey will experience disaster both in time and eternity. B. This was the sign of which Jeremiah spoke, the coming of the disaster, destruction mentioned in verse 30.

44 44 Jeremiah 44:30, I, the Lord, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him. (NET) I. I, the Lord, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophrah* king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. A. *NET Footnote: Hophra ruled as Pharaoh from B.C. B. These historical events here foretold would be proof that what Jeremiah was telling them otherwise was absolutely true. C. Pharaoh Hophrah would be deposed just as Zedekiah had been deposed. (See Hamilton.) 1. In 506 BCE, Hophra was put to death by his rival and successor, Amasis. (Hamilton) NOTE: Hamilton wrote, These are the last recorded words of Jeremiah. II. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him. A. What happened to Zedekaih would happen to Pharaoh Hophra.