Read Jeremiah
43-45 & Hebrews
3
To discover:
As you read consider how
the hardness of heart in the Jews is expressed.
To ponder:
After God warned
the people through Jeremiah not to go to Egypt ,
Johanan and other arrogant men accused him of being enticed by Baruch to lie so
the people would be handed over to the Babylonians and exiled. They therefore
disobeyed God’s command to stay in Judah .
Instead, Johanan and the army officers led away the entire remnant – including
those who had returned from having been previously scattered amongst the
nations, the kings daughters, and Jeremiah and Baruch themselves. This implies they
must have used force. And so we read they entered Egypt
in disobedience to the LORD (43v1-7). In Taphanhes God then told Jeremiah to
bury some large stones in clay, within the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s
palace – and all in view of the Jews. He was then to declare that God said he
would send for his servant Nebuchadnezzar and set his throne over the stones,
attacking Egypt ,
and so fulfilling God’s purposes in which some are destined for death, some for
captivity, and some for the sword. He said Nebuchadnezzar would burn down the
Egyptian temples, demolish their sacred pillars, and take their gods captive,
wrapping Egypt
around himself like a cloak around a shepherd (43v8-13). The point is that the
refugees cannot escape God’s purposes. The Egyptian gods are false and unable
to help them, and Pharoah’s power nothing compared to God’s servant’s. So if
the people are destined for death, captivity or the sword, that’s what they
will suffer. It’s a reminder that there is no escaping God’s judgement on sin.
Chapter 44 records God’s word about
the Jews in Egypt .
He refers them to the disaster he brought in Judea
because of the people’s evil idolatry. He recounts how he repeatedly sent
prophets to tell them not to do this because he hated it. Yet he notes that
they did not listen and this is why he poured out his anger on Judah
and Jerusalem (44v1-6). In the
light of this he asks why they would bring disaster on themselves by cutting
people off from Judah
and so leaving themselves without a remnant in the land. The sense is that by
leading those who returned to Judah
to Egypt , they
are in danger of leaving Judea without any of God’s
people. It’s a challenge to church leaders not to lead their flock astray, to
the detriment of the broader church.
God also asks why the Jews in Egypt
would provoke him to anger, destroying themselves and becoming an object of
cursing before the nations by worshipping false gods they have made for
themselves. He asks if they have forgotten the wickedness their fathers, kings
and queens, and they themselves had committed in Judah and Jerusalem; adding
that they have not humbled themselves, or reverently followed God’s law that
was given to their fathers (44v7-10). The LORD then declares this has made him
determined to bring disaster on them and destroy Judah
– ie. the remnant from Judah who were determined to go to Egypt .
He promises to make them an object of horror, and punish them with sword,
famine and plague as he did Jerusalem ,
so that none who escaped to Egypt
survive to return - except a few (44v11-14). In response, all those who knew
their wives were burning incense to false gods, the women who were present when
Jeremiah spoke, and those from throughout Egypt, all said that they would not
listen to what he had spoken in God’s name (implying it may not have been from
him), but continue offering worship to the “Queen of Heaven.” They even stress
they will do this because it is what their fathers, kings and officials did in Judah
and Jerusalem . And by saying they
then had food and were well off, but have perished since stopping doing this,
they imply that their idolatry was blessed. The women even add that their
husbands knew what they were doing and didn’t stop them – as if this justifies
their actions (44v15-19). This was utterly defiant, showing how spiritually
blind people can be, and how far they can go to excuse themselves. In
particular, there is challenge here to husbands to take responsibility for the
spiritual wellbeing of their wives and families.
In response Jeremiah points out that
it was when God could no longer endure this sort of wickedness that he caused
the desolation of the people’s land, and the disaster they had experienced. He
then tells all the people that God says they have shown by their actions that
they meant it when they said they would carry on with their vows and offerings
to the “Queen of Heaven.” Moreover, they should continue to do so. But they
should also hear God’s own vow by his great name that none from Judah living in
Egypt will ever invoke his name, because he is watching over them not to bring
good, but harm - so that they perish by
the sword and by famine, with only a few managing to return to Judah. By this
means the whole remnant in Egypt
will know God’s word stands. Indeed, he predicts that the Pharaoh would be
handed over to his enemies as Zedekiah was to Nebuchadnezzar, and says this will
be a sign, proving Jeremiah speaks from him and so that the rest of his
prophecy will come to pass (44v20-30). The fulfilment of OT prophecy in general
similarly acts as a sign that what has yet to be fulfilled and that was spoken
by OT prophets will come to pass. Likewise, the “sign of Jonah” in which Jesus
was in the belly of the earth for three days, confirms his wider words – as do his
predictions of his own death and resurrection.
Chapter 45 records a brief word to
Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe. God states that he knows how Baruch despaired at the
sorrow he said the LORD had given him because of the trials and opposition he
faced with Jeremiah. He says that Baruch should not seek great things for
himself (presumably comfort or status) when considering how God is bringing
disaster on the people. Nevertheless, he promises he will always enable Baruch
to escape whatever he faces (45v1-5). In all the talk of judgement, this is a
reassuring note that God knows and watches over those who seek to serve him,
even if their life might be hard because they live in a day when God is acting
against their nation or church.
Praying it
home:
Praise God that he
sees and acknowledges those who seek to serve him. Pray that you would do so no
matter how isolated this might make you.
Thinking
further:
None
today.
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