September 29, 2026, Jeremiah 44:1-30
September 29, 2026, Jeremiah 44:1-30
44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans
who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis,
and in the land of Pathros, 2 “Thus says
the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and
upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and
no one dwells in them, 3 because of the evil that
they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make
offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you,
nor your fathers. 4 Yet I persistently sent to you
all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I
hate!’ 5 But they did not listen or incline
their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. 6 Therefore
my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in
the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at
this day. 7 And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of
Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off
from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah,
leaving you no remnant? 8 Why do you provoke me to
anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the
land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and
become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have
you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of
Judah, the evil of their[a] wives, your own
evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of
Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have
not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked
in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.
11 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will
set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. 12 I
will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the
land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of
Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be
consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and
by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a
taunt. 13 I will punish those who dwell in the land
of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with
pestilence, 14 so that none of the remnant of Judah
who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or
return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For
they shall not return, except some fugitives.”
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had made
offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all
the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered
Jeremiah: 16 “As for the word that you have spoken
to us in the name of the Lord, we
will not listen to you. 17 But we will do
everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of
heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and
our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no
disaster. 18 But since we left off making offerings
to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have
lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by
famine.” 19 And the women said,[b] “When we made
offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her,
was it without our husbands’ approval that we made cakes for her bearing
her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women,
all the people who had given him this answer: 21 “As
for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people
of the land, did not the Lord remember
them? Did it not come into his mind? 22 The Lord could no longer bear your evil
deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land
has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant,
as it is this day. 23 It is because you made
offerings and because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey the voice of the Lord or walk in his law and in his
statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as
at this day.”
24 Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear
the word of the Lord, all
you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. 25 Thus
says the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and
have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows
that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour
out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your
vows! 26 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who dwell in
the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the Lord, that my name shall no more be
invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying,
‘As the Lord God lives.’ 27 Behold,
I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of
Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by
famine, until there is an end of them. 28 And those
who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of
Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land
of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. 29 This
shall be the sign to you, declares the Lord,
that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my
words will surely stand against you for harm: 30 Thus
says the Lord, Behold, I will
give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and
into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah
into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought
his life.”
God continually warns his people that they are turning
away from him in this passage and they do not listen. I always marvel at how
stiff-necked these people appear but am I really any different? How about you?
Debbie Walker
Comments
Post a Comment