Jeremiah 44 FSI - HEAR, O EARTH

> [!title|noicon] **Jeremiah 44 Notes** > [[Jeremiah 43 FSI|<Prev]]   [\[Bible\]](Bible%20Books%20Navigation.md)   [[Jeremiah 45 FSI|Next>]] [[Jeremiah 44|Verse list view]] > [Jeremiah 44:1](Jeremiah%2044.md#^1), [2](Jeremiah%2044.md#^2) note > > This is a very significant statement, and this is, again, taking place during a time that identifies with the great tribulation. And this is a time in which Christ has absented Himself from the visible churches while the Man of Sin has moved in to take his seat there, so that anyone who is a true believer had to come out ("no man dwells therein"). They had to flee out of Judah and into Babylon. And now they are in Egypt (the world). Now we don't see this in any physical way at this time. But when we look underneath at the true spirituality against the Bible of really wanting to be obedient to everything in the Bible, it is not there. > > So God is really letting them know how they are destroying themselves by going down to Egypt, into the world. He is warning them yet again that they have not listened to Him. It's not that they don't hear Jeremiah, but they aren't listening because they want their way. And when we look at verses 15-19 of this chapter, effectively they are responding that it is what God has done that has caused damage to them. It's because they find their happiness and safety in this world and they don't want for that to be interrupted. So it's a lot nicer to them to ignore or suppress the warnings of judgment. ^jer44-1-2 > [Jeremiah 44:3](Jeremiah%2044.md#^3) note > > To burn incense to other gods represents *prayer* to false gods. In [Psalm 141:2](Psalm%20141.md#^2) we read about how our prayer is like incense. So they are going to *their* gods to provide what they think they need. Of course, only the True God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. But when they go to their other gods it is an abomination. ^jer44-3 > [Jeremiah 44:4](Jeremiah%2044.md#^4), [5](Jeremiah%2044.md#^5), [6](Jeremiah%2044.md#^6) note > > God has been very merciful to warn them again and again, rising early and sending His servants the prophets to them repeatedly (cp [ch 7:13](Jeremiah%207.md#^13), [25](Jeremiah%207.md#^25), [26](Jeremiah%207.md#^26), [11:7](Jeremiah%2011.md#^7), [25:3](Jeremiah%2025.md#^3), [26:5](Jeremiah%2026.md#^5), [29:19](Jeremiah%2029.md#^19)). But they would not *listen* to God. And that is the problem today when people go their own way, they will not *listen* to the Bible, God's Word. Instead, the commit abomination by burning incense, or praying, to their own kind of gods. And thus God's judgment has fallen upon them, leaving them wasted and desolate (without Christ, without the Gospel of salvation), leading to their destruction. This demonstrates the absolute spiritual lock upon the minds of the unsaved in their blindness, but also the mercy of God to continue warning them to listen to His Word. ^jer44-4-6 > [Jeremiah 44:7](Jeremiah%2044.md#^7), [8](Jeremiah%2044.md#^8) note > > In verses 7 and 8, God effectively asks, "Why are you destroying yourself? This is crazy. Why aren't you listening to God?" That's what sin does. Such is the blindness, the rebellion and the stubbornness of the human race. It is so profound that it can't move. Deep down they are saying, "I want my way. I don't care what God is saying, I know better." And we'll see later in this chapter just how much they believe that. When we get to verses 15-19 we'll see that these other gods they are burning incense to relate to the queen of heaven, believing they are doing the right thing. > > Again, the patience of God is truly remarkable. Remember, these people are from Jerusalem. And they've been hearing Jeremiah warn them for many, many years -- maybe as long as 40 years. They had seen the destruction that has come that Jeremiah warned them about. They have seen their city destroyed. They have witnessed people killed on the streets in the war against Babylon, friend after friend, and people starved to death because there was no bread. And it's all because they didn't listen to God as Jeremiah has been warning them. So the path they were on brought them into disaster after disaster. And then they have seen many others obediently leave Judah and go into Babylon according to God's commandment in order to spare their lives by falling out to the king of Babylon. Yet these people still thought they knew better ([Jer 23:2](Jeremiah%2043.md#^2)). Their lifestyle was what they wanted and they didn't want to change from that no matter what. > > So locked in is the human race to sin, which is why we must have the Holy Spirit to open our eyes for us. It's only by the mercy of God -- not one of us would listen to God unless He had come into our lives and opened our spiritual eyes, so we must walk very humbly before God. If it depended upon ourselves then it just would not happen, so we must be clear to understand this. > > So now they are receiving yet one final warning from God that they will soon become a shame, a reproach among all the nations, having been "God's people" that have now fallen into judgment for refusing to follow God. They're going to be destroyed in Egypt; and what kind of message does that give to the world -- other than for them to mock and to spite. And this is exactly what will happen to the churches at the very end, they will be shamed before the world as they are cut off from the LORD as a curse and a reproach. It is parallel to what we read in [Revelation 17:16](Revelation%2017.md#^16) where the horns of the beast hate and destroy the harlot Babylon. The world will witness those who *claimed* to be safe and secure in Christ and have them in derision. ^jer44-7-8 > [Jeremiah 44:9](Jeremiah%2044.md#^9), [10](Jeremiah%2044.md#^10) note > > God is saying to remember all of this, there is a whole track record of their wickedness and rebellion, burning incense unto other gods (the queen of heaven - [v17](Jeremiah%2044.md#^17)). This isn't something that is just fresh -- it has been going on a long time for years. And the same is true today in the churches. You can tell them what happens to those who don't really listen to the Bible, but it doesn't register. They are locked in to their conviction that they are on the right track. ^jer44-9-10 > [Jeremiah 44:11](Jeremiah%2044.md#^11), [12](Jeremiah%2044.md#^12) note > > Here is Jeremiah for the umpteenth time, warning them that if they remain here in Egypt they will be grievously destroyed. They will become a shame (a reproach) and a curse or execration because of their rebellion against God. And they had just left Jerusalem where death is everywhere. So you would think they would be trembling as they think about all of this. But such is the stubbornness and the pride of the human race. They think they are smarter than the LORD. They may not realize that's what they're saying, but that's what it amounts to. And so God is going to destroy them, that is, the remnant of Judah, in Egypt, in the world itself, when the day of the Final Sifting takes place. ^jer44-11-12 > [Jeremiah 44:13](Jeremiah%2044.md#^13), [14](Jeremiah%2044.md#^14) note > > From [verses 11](Jeremiah%2044.md#^11), [12](Jeremiah%2044.md#^12), [13](Jeremiah%2044.md#^13) and [14](Jeremiah%2044.md#^14), God's warning of judgment is as definite as anything can sound. There is no hope, they have crossed the line in their continued rebellion. And God does indeed mean what He says, judgment is coming. And yet, as God is pronouncing His judgments upon them, saying that they will be utterly destroyed and that none will return to the land of Judah, He nevertheless ends the statement with *"but such as shall escape."* And while we might realize that, of course, Jeremiah and Baruch (who are with them) would escape this destruction, it also highlights the final *mercy* of God for a remnant of them. > > Bear in mind, these people had been warned again and again and again, year in and year out. They had been told they had to escape out of the land of Judah into Babylon. Now they are being told not to remain in Egypt. And yet still, God is so very patient. He forgives and warns again and again ([v4](Jeremiah%2044.md#^4); [ch 7:13](Jeremiah%207.md#^13), [25](Jeremiah%207.md#^25), [26](Jeremiah%207.md#^26), [11:7](Jeremiah%2011.md#^7), [25:3](Jeremiah%2025.md#^3), [26:5](Jeremiah%2026.md#^5), [29:19](Jeremiah%2029.md#^19)). Each step of the way as things got worse and worse, God came to them saying, "Turn, turn, why won't you obey Me?" So in the end, a *few* will come out of Egypt to tell the tale. This is another way of saying that in spite of God's wrath, and in spite of their rebellion, there is still a little bit of hope for a tiny remnant of them. And this coincides with the very nature of the Lord Jesus Christ -- He is *merciful*. He is patient, He is long-suffering, and through this God demonstrates what a wonderful God He Is. > > Nevertheless, we must not take God's mercy for granted. Those who continue in rebellion will indeed come under the wrath of God and into final destruction. And that's the position of those to whom He is giving this warning here. God means what He says. ^jer44-13-14 > [Jeremiah 44:15](Jeremiah%2044.md#^15), [16](Jeremiah%2044.md#^16), [17](Jeremiah%2044.md#^17), [18](Jeremiah%2044.md#^18), [19](Jeremiah%2044.md#^19) note > > Now the people who have gone into Egypt have something to say. And you'd think about this time that they would be ready to say, "Yeah, Jeremiah, we have been pretty headstrong. Let's talk about this, is there a possibility that we can all escape?" But, no. They come on very strong indicating just how much wickedness is locked into the minds of the unsaved. This is such a belligerent, stubborn statement they are making here. It almost makes us wonder, is that really the nature of the human race. And the answer is yes, that is the rebellious nature of the human race. > > So they insist on burning incense to the queen of heaven. Earlier in this chapter God says that they have been burning incense to "other gods," so here it is expanded to the queen of heaven. We first read about the queen of heaven in [Jeremiah 7:17](Jeremiah%207.md#^17), [18](Jeremiah%207.md#^18), [19](Jeremiah%207.md#^19). Historically, the queen of heaven relates to the planet Venus, a fertility god, and that's one reason why the women would have had a particular interest in her. But in the spiritual sense it relates to the worship of the institutional, worldly church, in the form of Mystery Babylon (see [Rev 18:7](Revelation%2018.md#^7)) > > And so, this has been an ongoing discussion between Jeremiah and the people of Jerusalem where they insist on having their own god, the queen of heaven. And now, here in Jeremiah 44, they are daring to say that *because* they worship the queen of heaven, *therefore* everything was going so well in Jerusalem earlier on. So they are saying it is *not* because of the LORD, but because of the queen of heaven that they enjoyed success in the past. So you see their intense blindness and stubbornness here when they say unto Jeremiah, *"...we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done."* > > And then in verse 19 they state that their entire families were involved in this worship of the queen of heaven. And that's what we read in [Jeremiah 7:18](Jeremiah%207.md#^18) how they were all involved in this. And all of this shows us the stubbornness and the blindness of sin. > > This is parallel to any discussion we have with those who blindly follow their churches. No matter what we might say or what verses we might present, they don't understand. They don't want to understand. They have something else altogether locked into their minds. And this shows that only as God Himself opens our eyes will we come to Truth. We'll never come to Truth of ourselves. So if we do have the Truth we can only thank the Lord. We cannot take any credit for ourselves at all. We can weep and mourn for those we love who remain in the churches or outside in the world who are insisting on their false gods. Their trust is completely in that. But we must follow the Bible alone. If we follow anything else, any kind of god that is not the true God, anything else that we put our trust in, is the same principle of burning incense to the queen of heaven. ^jer44-15-19 > [Jeremiah 44:20](Jeremiah%2044.md#^20), [21](Jeremiah%2044.md#^21), [22](Jeremiah%2044.md#^22), [23](Jeremiah%2044.md#^23) note > > So Jeremiah replies to their belligerent response, responding that it was *because* of this false worship and their wickedness against the LORD that Judah was destroyed. God is using their own words in which they have condemned themselves through their own admission of their rebellion against God (cp [v25](Jeremiah%2044.md#^25)). Could the case be any stronger against them? > > God is really saying here, "Can't you see what has happened to you and your families? Can't you see all of the desolation of Judah and Jerusalem, and now you're insisting on going down the same path?" They were completely self-destructing as God warned them again and again, and yet they did not turn as they are now heading for a miserable death. And we could say the same to the churches, "Can't you see that you're going away from the Bible? There are so many areas where you're not listening to the Bible?" But they can't see because they are blind as they take this stubborn position. > > Through all of this we see both the stupidity of people and the stubbornness of sin, as well as the great mercy of God. The human race even tries to define their own sin -- as long as you aren't living as a murderer or some other heinous thing and are basically a helpful, supportive person living responsibly then you're a pretty good person. They fail to realize that God's standard of perfect Goodness is entirely different where we must be covered by the blood of Christ. ^jer44-20-23 > [Jeremiah 44:24](Jeremiah%2044.md#^24), [25](Jeremiah%2044.md#^25), [26](Jeremiah%2044.md#^26), [27](Jeremiah%2044.md#^27), [28](Jeremiah%2044.md#^28) note > > If we stopped at verse 27, we could say, "You can only tangle with God but so long. You can only test His patience so long. But there finally comes a time when you've crossed the line." These people have made a clear admission of their sin. There's no doubt at all what God is claiming against them is absolutely true. And there's no sadness about it, there's no weeping or sorrow for their sins. It's all said very arrogantly and very proudly with an ugly attitude against God. It's incredible. The situation for final condemnation could not be set forth in clearer language that what we see here. God has finally had it, there's finally and end to the patience of God. So God is using superlatives to indicate that they *all* are going to be destroyed. > > But then in [verse 28](Jeremiah%2044.md#^28) we find that no, there yet will be a small number of them that will escape. We have a God Who Is *incredibly* patient, forgiving and merciful, way beyond anything we can understand. That's why Christ commands us to forgive seventy times seven, pointing to the very *end* of time. And this gives us enormous hope -- for us and for our loved ones, and for anyone whose eyes have not been opened as yet. For even the most difficult sinner, there is still hope. And through this God directs us to continue praying and pleading for them. So really this is a very encouraging chapter to know that there are those who will still escape, no matter how locked in they may be to their own thinking. ^jer44-24-28 > [Jeremiah 44:29](Jeremiah%2044.md#^29), [30](Jeremiah%2044.md#^30) note > > Sadly, there will be plenty of evidence that God's wrath is upon them as they are being punished in finality, when God brings final judgment upon the world, typified here by Egypt and Pharoah, during the final sifting of the world. ^jer44-29-30 Tags: #Old_Testament #Jeremiah #Gods_judgment_on_His_people #FSI