Jeremiah 44
OGCREVIEW OF CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I. Facts to Master
The choice which the Chaldeans gave to Jeremiah at Riblah (Jeremiah 40:4).
The man the Chaldeans appointed governor (Jeremiah 40:9).
The headquarters of Gedaliah and the new home of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 40:6; Jeremiah 40:10).
Names of the king of Ammon and the Jewish officer who plotted against Gedaliah (Jeremiah 40:14).
The various ones slain by Ishmael (Jeremiah 41:2-5).
Place where Ishmael buried those he had slain (Jeremiah 41:9).
Place to which Ishmael was attempting to flee after the assassination of Gedaliah (Jeremiah 41:10).
The captain who rescued the hostages (Jeremiah 41:11).
Place at which the rescue took place (Jeremiah 41:12).
Fate of Ishmael (Jeremiah 41:15).
The request which the captains made of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 42:1-3).
Amount of time which elapsed before the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 42:7).
Substance of Jeremiah’s advice to the remnant (Jeremiah 42:8-22).
The one the captains blamed for the oracle of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 43:3).
Place in Egypt to which the remnant came (Jeremiah 43:7).
That which Jeremiah was commanded to do in Egypt (Jeremiah 43:9).
Substance of the threat which followed the above act (Jeremiah 43:10-13).
Locations in Egypt where Jews had settled (Jeremiah 44:1).
The accusation Jeremiah made against the remnant in Egypt (Jeremiah 44:7-8).
The threat against the remnant in Egypt (Jeremiah 44:12; Jeremiah 44:14).
The goddess being worshiped by the remnant (Jeremiah 44:17).
The oath which God had taken regarding the remnant in Egypt (Jeremiah 44:26).
The name of the Egyptian pharaoh who would be given into the hands of his enemy as a sign (Jeremiah 44:30).
The person to whom Jeremiah directed a personal word (Jeremiah 45:1).
The time and occasion of the oracle in chapter 45.
II. Questions to Ponder
Why were the Chaldeans so kind to Jeremiah? (Jeremiah 39:11-14; Jeremiah 40:4-5).
What were Jews doing in foreign countries? Why did they come back after the destruction of Jerusalem? (Jeremiah 40:11-12)
Why did Gedaliah refuse the warnings of his faithful officers concerning the plot against his life? (Jeremiah 40:13-16)
Where were the eighty going to worship? Why the signs of mourning? Why no sacrificial animals? (Jeremiah 41:5)
Why did Ishmael slay these pilgrims? (Jeremiah 41:7) Why take the rest of the people in Mizpah captive? (Jeremiah 41:10)
Why does the narrator go into so much detail concerning the administration of assassination of Gedaliah?
Were the captains sincere in asking Jeremiah to seek divine guidance for the remnant? (Jeremiah 42:1-6; Jeremiah 43:2)
What is the meaning of Beth-shemesh? To what Egyptian city is Jeremiah likely referring? (Jeremiah 43:13)
Why so much emphasis on the destruction of Egyptian temples? (Jeremiah 43:12-13)
Summarize the argument for idolatry which the remnant offered in response to Jeremiah’s denunciation. (Jeremiah 44:17-19)
Summarize the rebuttal which Jeremiah gave to the women in Egypt (Jeremiah 44:20-23)
Would all the remnant in Egypt perish in war? (See 43:14; Jeremiah 44:28)
In what way would the death of Pharaoh Hophra be a sign to the Jews? What were the circumstances of his death?
Why did Baruch feel self-pity? (Jeremiah 45:3)
How does God deal with the self-pity of this disciple? (Jeremiah 45:4)
What is the meaning of the words I will give you your life for a prey?
What other great men of God experienced self-pity? How did God deal with them?
Jeremiah 44:1-14
B. A Prophetic Admonition Jeremiah 44:1-19
Nothing is more inspiring than to see an old soldier of God faithful until death on the battlefield for the Lord. Chapter 44 offers the reader the last glimpse of Jeremiah. He is still fighting for the God he serves; he is still appealing to the people he loves. The present paragraph contains his warning to remnant in Egypt (Jeremiah 44:1-14) and the rejection of that warning by the incorrigible people (Jeremiah 44:15-19).
- The warning Presented (Jeremiah 44:1-14)
TRANSLATION
(1) The word which came unto Jeremiah concerning the Jews who were living in the land of Egyptin Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the country of Pathrossaying, (2) Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the calamity which I brought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. Behold, they are a desolation this day and there is no inhabitant in them (3) because of their evil which they committed in order to provoke Mesacrificing to and serving other gods which neither they, nor you, nor your fathers knew. (4) I earnestly and persistently sent unto you all of My servants the prophets, saying, Please do not this abominable thing which I hate. (5) But they did not obey or listen to turn from their evil that they no longer offer sacrifice to other gods. (6) And My wrath and My anger was poured out upon them and it burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation as they are this day. (7) And now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why are you placing your lives in jeopardy by continuing to do this great evil which will only result in man, woman, child and suckling being cut off from the midst of Judah, so as to leave of yourselves no remnant? (8) Why do you provoke Me by the works of your handsoffering sacrifice to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to sojournin order to cut yourselves off that you might be a curse and a reproach among the nations of the earth. (9) Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, and the evil of the kings of Judah, their wives, and your evil and the evil of your wives, which was done in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? (10) To this day they have not humbled themselves nor feared nor walked in My law and My statutes which I have 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 evil even to cut off all of Judah. (12) And I will take the remnant of Judah which have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to sojourn, and they shall all perish. In the land of Egypt they shall fall by the sword or perish in the famine; from the least even to the greatest they shall die by sword and famine; and they shall become a imprecation, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach. (13) And I will bring punishment upon all the inhabitants in the land of Egypt as I brought punishment upon Jerusalem by means of sword, famine, and pestilence. (14) Of the remnant of Judah which came to sojourn in the land of Egypt no one will escape or be left to return to the land of Judah to which they long to return to dwell there. But they shall not return except a few who might escape.
COMMENTS
How grieved Jeremiah must have been to see the remnant in Egypt persisting in idolatry. For an entire lifetime he had tried to guide this people in the paths of covenant faithfulness to the Lord, But Jeremiah had failed to stem the tide of national apostasy. Jerusalem was made to drink of the bitter cup of God’s wrath in 587 B.C. Now the remnant which had survived that disaster by God’s grace have turned from Him to serve gods of their own making. It is with a heavy burden upon his heart that the old prophet tries once again to warn the miserable remains of his people of the error of their ways.
The Jews who had fled to Egypt had settled all over that land. Besides the colony at Tahpanhes, where Jeremiah seems to have resided, Jews had settled at Migdol, Noph, and the country of Pathros (Jeremiah 44:1). Migdol is located near the northeastern boundary of Egypt, about twelve miles south of Pelusium. Noph or Memphis was located about 125 miles south of the Mediterranean Sea. Pathros means land of the south and refers to the region still further south of Memphis called Upper Egypt. From these widely scattered places the Jews had assembled for some kind of religious festival in honor of the heathen deity, the queen of heaven. Probably Tahpanhes was the site of the gathering.[360] This may have been the last opportunity that Jeremiah had to address the entire remnant which had fled to Egypt.
[360] On the basis of Jer 44:15 some suggest that the festival was held in Pathros or Upper Egypt.
The warning of the prophet passes through three distinct phases. First he offers to these Jews an explanation of the past calamity which has befallen the nation (Jeremiah 44:1-6). Then he expostulates with them concerning their present sin (Jeremiah 44:7-10). Finally he declares that judgment will yet befall them even in Egypt (Jeremiah 44:11-14).
a) Explanation of past calamity (Jeremiah 44:1-6). As was his usual custom Jeremiah turned first to history. He reminds his hearers that Jerusalem and the cities of Judah were uninhabited and in ruins (Jeremiah 44:2). The people of God had provoked His wrath by their wickedness. They had committed the sin that God detested above all othersthey had burned incense to strange deities and had rendered homage to gods of their own making (Jeremiah 44:3). Even though they had violated the First Commandment, God had earnestly and persistently sent prophets to plead with His people to turn from their abominable idolatry; but still they persisted in this wickedness (Jeremiah 44:5). Because of this stubborn refusal to turn from the path of idolatry, the anger and fury of God was poured out upon the cities of Judah (Jeremiah 44:6). The rubble and ruins of those once proud cities should serve for all time as a warning of the consequences of sin and apostasydeath, destruction, and desolation.
b) Expostulation concerning present sin (Jeremiah 44:7-10). Turning from the explanation of past calamity the prophet begins to make an application of the lessons of history to the remnant in Egypt. Jeremiah found it hard to understand why the people continued to offer incense to pagan deities in view of the terrible consequences of that action in the past. The bewilderment of the prophet is reflected in the two questions he addresses to the remnant in this paragraph. Why do you continue to commit[361] this great evil against yourselves?[362] (Jeremiah 44:7). Persistence in this violation of the most elemental commandment of the word of God will result in national suicide. If it continues every man, woman, child and infant of Judah will be cut off in the wrath of God (Jeremiah 44:7). The nation will become an object of cursing and a reproach among all the nations of the earth (Jeremiah 44:8). Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers? he asks, and then, using the technique of emphasis by enumeration, he adds and the wickedness of your kings. and their ,wives. and your own wickedness and of your wives? (Jeremiah 44:9). Surely they had not so soon forgotten that the wages of sin is death! But alas it is true. They have not humbled themselves (lit., bruised themselves) i.e. made themselves contrite in repentance. They do not fear God nor walk in his law and statutes (Jeremiah 44:10).
[361] A Hebrew participle implies continuous action. [362] Against your souls (KJV) is but another way of saying in Hebrew against yourselves.
c) Declaration of future judgment (Jeremiah 44:11-14). The maxim They who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it is vividly illustrated in Jeremiah 44:11-14. God declares that He will set His face against His people. All Judah will be cut off (Jeremiah 44:11). Throughout the paragraph the judgment of God upon the remnant in Egypt is represented as absolute. One must wait until the final clause to find any note of hope. An awesome trinity of verbs in verse twelve spells out the disaster: they shall fall, they shall die, they shall be consumed. What irony! They fled to Egypt in order to escape bloodshed, privation, carnage, and exile. But these Jews who had stubbornly set their will against that of their God and had emigrated to Egypt would meet with war and famine, destruction and death in that land. Whatever imagined horrors drove them from their homeland following the death of Gedaliah would overtake them in reality. From the least to the greatest, none would escape the terrible onslaught. Though the remnant in Egypt would die, their memory would live on in the minds of men for use in expressions of astonishment, execration, cursings, and reproach (Jeremiah 44:12). Just as God had punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and pestilence, so God would now pour out His wrath upon those Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt (Jeremiah 44:13). None would escape the judgment in order that they might return to Judah even if they might have a desire so to do.
In this dark picture of judgment there is but one, ever so tiny, ray of hope. Just as a minister who preaches on judgment might delay any mention of saving grace until the conclusion of his message, so Jeremiah waits until the very last clause of his judgment speech to temper the absolute tones of his message. None shall return but such as shall escape, i.e., be delivered by the grace of God. Only a handful of the present remnant will ever see their homeland again. Even the most optimistic Jew among them would not have been able to find much consolation in this exceptive clause. Jeremiah did not intend to offer consolation. It was his purpose here to shock, to jar and hopefully thereby to lead these people to repentance.
Jeremiah 44:15-19
2. The warning rejected (Jeremiah 44:15-19)
TRANSLATION
(15) And all the men who knew that their wives offered incense to other gods, and all the women who were standing around, a great congregation, even all the people who were dwelling in the land of Egypt in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, (16) As regards the word which You have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken to you. (17) On the contrary we will continue to do everything which we have vowed to doto offer incense to the queen of heaven and pour out libations as we have previously done, we, our fathers, our kings, our princes in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem when we had plenty of bread, and were well-off, and had not experienced calamity. (18) But from the time we ceased to offer incense to the queen of heaven, and pour out libations to her, we have lacked all of these things and have perished by sword and famine. (19) Surely we are going to keep on offering incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her. Was it without our men that we made for her cakes that depicted her and poured out libations to her?
COMMENTS
Jeremiah’s ministry ended on the same note with which it began. The people rejected the word of God which he brought to them. God had warned him at the outset, they shall fight against you but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to deliver you (Jeremiah 1:19). From that day forward Jeremiah had forced his people into confrontation with the word of God that is sharper than any two-edged sword. That tender hearted and timid youth had indeed become the iron pillar, fenced city and brazen wall that God had predicted (Jeremiah 1:18). With unflinching courage he stands up in the midst of that pagan festival to manfully preach the word. Resentment in the faces of that apostate audience is quite obvious as Jeremiah strikes at them with the whiplash of divine rebuke. That resentment boils over into violent anger when Jeremiah mentions the guilt of the women of Judah. Men who exhibit amazing restraint when being personally attacked often burst into uncontrollable rage when someone criticizes their wives. They might have ignored the old prophet and dismissed what he said as being the sentiments of a religious fanatic. But he had touched a sensitive nerve and they felt compelled to reply to him.
a) Their resoluteness in idolatry (Jeremiah 44:15-17 a). The defiant reply of the accused people is not clothed in diplomatic camouflage. They mince no words. As for the word that you have spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, they sarcastically say, We will not hearken unto you (Jeremiah 44:16). They do not accuse Jeremiah of speaking falsely in the name of the Lord as they had charged him at Bethlehem (Jeremiah 43:2-3). Now they do not even bother to argue the point. They could not care less what the God of Jeremiah expected or demanded of them. Even if the word of the prophet does come from the Lord, they will not receive it. Rather they declare we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth. They are here expressing their determination to perform the vows that they have made to the queen of heavento offer incense to her and pour out libations to her.[363]
[363] Further evidence of the existence of the Ishtar cult in Egypt is provided by an Aramaic papyrus dating from the fifth century B.C. found at Hermopolis in which the temple of the queen of heaven is explicitly mentioned. Illustrated World of the Bible, op. cit., III, 102.
b) Their rationalization of idolatry (Jeremiah 44:17 b - Jeremiah 44:19). In attempting to rationalize their idolatry the assembly offers three arguments. First they argue that the worship of the queen of heaven is nothing new. Their fathers had worshiped her throughout the land of Judah and even in the streets of Jerusalem. Furthermore the worship of this goddess was prestigious having attracted both kings and princes of the land. Could a religion practiced for so long by so many be wrong?
In the second place, the assembly argues that the worship of the queen of heaven is advantageous to the nation. When we faithfully worshiped this goddess all was well; but from the day we ceased to Worship her we experienced one calamity and disaster after another (Jeremiah 44:18). Rather than thanking the Lord for the blessings He had poured out upon them they attributed their prosperity to their false gods. On the contrary all of the misfortune which had befallen the nation from the death of Josiah to the present time they blamed upon those prophets and leaders who had made a valiant effort to stamp out idolatry in the land. The people were forced to cease the open worship of the queen of heaven during the reformations of king Josiah. But no sooner had the reform under Josiah commenced then one calamity after another struck the nation culminating finally in the destruction of Jerusalem. Thus it was only when they attempted to worship the Lord exclusively and neglected the worship of other deities that trouble started.
Now history can be read in different ways. Jeremiah had one interpretation for the events of the past few years while the people had an altogether different one. They interpreted the decline and fall of their nation as being due to the exclusive worship of the Lord and the neglect of other deities who might have been able to save them. On the other hand the prophet regards the disasters which had befallen his people as due to the gradual degradation of the people through idolatry practiced in the days of Manasseh and Amon and renewed subsequent to the death of Josiah. Apart from the fact that Jeremiah was guided by the Holy Spirit in the interpretation of the significance of past events, any objective analysis of the history of Judah in her last years must vindicate the prophet’s interpretation of those events. Had the nation heeded his advice and followed his direction the course of history would have been altered. Boiled down to its simplest terms, this second argument of the assembly is simply this: We will worship the god who has done the most for us. The queen of heaven has done more for us than the God whom you represent. Therefore we will serve the queen of heaven. Like so many people today those Jews were searching for a religion which would give them the maximum amount of blessing for the minimum amount of service. The third argument is added by the women who were present.[364] Whatever acts of worship were performed by us, say the women, were done with the consent of our husbands. In other words, since we have the approval of our husbands for this worship you have no right, Jeremiah, to interfere with it. Thus the whole community is involved in this final rejection of the Lord as the sole deity of Israel.
[364] Some think that the entire reply recorded here was framed by the women.
Jeremiah 44:20-30
C. A Prophetic Affirmation Jeremiah 44:20-30
TRANSLATION
(20) Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, the women and all the people who had answered him, (21) Did not the LORD remember and bring to mind the incense which you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you, your fathers, your kings, your princes and the people of the land? (22) The LORD was no longer able to bear your evil deeds and the abominations which you committed and so your land became a desolation, an astonishment, and a curse without inhabitant as it is today. (23) Because you offered incense and sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD and did not walk in His law, statutes, and testimonies therefore this present calamity has come upon you. (24) And Jeremiah said unto all the people and all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah which is in the land of Egypt! (25) Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have made pledges with your mouths and carried them out with your hands, saying, We will certainly perform our vows which we have made to offer incense to the queen of heaven and pour libations to her. By all means carry out your vows! By all means perform your vows! (26) Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: I have sworn by My great name, says the LORD, that My name shall never again be pronounced by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt who might be accustomed to saying, As the Lord GOD lives! (27) Behold, I am watching over you for misfortune, and not for wellbeing; and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt shall perish by the sword and famine until they are annihilated. (28) Those who escape the sword to return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah shall be few in number and all the remnant of Judah who have come to the land of Egypt to sojourn shall know whose word shall be fulfilled, theirs or mine. (29) And this shall be the sign to you (oracle of the LORD) that I am about to bring punishment upon you in this place, in order that you might know that My words shall surely be fulfilled against you for misfortune. (30) Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies who seek his life as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, his enemy, who was seeking his life.
COMMENTS
The last recorded words of Jeremiah come in response to the brazen remarks of the remnant in Egypt. Jeremiah does not wilt under pressure nor does he run from controversy. He stands eloquently alone against what must have been a smirking, jeering, shouting crowd. That the women were taking the lead in the whole affair can be seen in the fact that Jeremiah takes careful pains to include them in his closing remarks (Jeremiah 44:20; Jeremiah 44:24-25). Stooped by age and weakened by infirmity, the old warrior can still deliver a powerful oratorical blast. In fact one detects very little difference between this last message of Jeremiah and the first one he delivered some forty years earlier.
The final recorded message of Jeremiah contains a rebuttal to the apostates (Jeremiah 44:20-23); emphasizes punishment for the apostates (Jeremiah 44:24-28); and sets forth a sign for the apostates (Jeremiah 44:29-30).
- Rebuttal to the apostates (Jeremiah 44:20-23)
Implicit in the preceding remarks of the assembly was the contention that the Lord had forgotten them. Because God did not immediately punish them for their idolatry back in the days of Manasseh did not mean that He had failed to take note of their sin. God did remember their iniquity, Jeremiah affirms (Jeremiah 44:21). Because of His longsuffering and patience He delayed the execution of the inevitable sentence until He could bear their sin no longer. Then, and only then, was the wrath of God poured out on Judah and that is why that land is desolation, an astonishment and a curse without inhabitant this very day (Jeremiah 44:22). It is because of your idolatry and flagrant disobedience to the word of God that you are in your present condition (Jeremiah 44:23).
- Punishment of the apostates (Jeremiah 44:24-28)
The Jews in Egypt served their idols with greater loyalty than they had ever shown for the service of the Lord. with bitter sarcasm Jeremiah declares: you have made vows to worship the queen of heaven. Very well, then, fulfill your vows! (Jeremiah 44:25). Then Jeremiah, abandoning his sarcastic tone, becomes deadly serious. But if you perform those vows you have made your choice of deities. You have committed the ultimate rebellion and therefore you will experience the ultimate punishment. Jeremiah holds out two threats. First, God will withdraw His name from the lips of His people (Jeremiah 44:26). At least three different views have been taken as to the meaning of these words. Some think that the Jews will not be able to mention the name of the Lord because no Jews would be left alive in Egypt. Another view is that the Lord no longer regards Himself as their covenant God and therefore they have lost the right of calling upon His name. Still another view is that God punishes their apostasy by allowing them to sink into a state of secularism which does not even think of God. Of these interpretations the second is decidedly the best.
In the second threat God assures the remnant in Egypt that He will watch over them for evil and not for good (Jeremiah 44:27). What a dreadful thought! Just as God watches over His word to fulfill it (Jeremiah 1:12), so now He is watching over His people to see that they are punished for their apostasy. None of their pagan deities or religious rites will be able to divert the disaster which will befall them. All the Jews who live in the land of Egypt will die by the famine and the sword (Jeremiah 44:27).
Just as in Jeremiah 44:14 of this chapter, the assertion that all the Jews in Egypt would perish is here immediately qualified. A tiny remnant shall escape the general slaughter in Egypt and shall return to the land of Judah (Jeremiah 44:28). Even in this judgment-speech grace shines through. But why does Jeremiah in this stern sermon, want to mention the few individuals who will be saved? Surely this must be construed as an oblique appeal directed to each individual present. He is pleading with them to turn to the Lord. He can offer no hope to the Egyptian community of Jews as a whole, but he can hold out some hope to those who might turn in faith to the Lord. That is exactly what he seems to be doing in Jeremiah 44:28.
- A sign for the apostates (Jeremiah 44:29-30)
Lest any of his hearers think that the message he has delivered originated in his own imagination Jeremiah offered the audience a sign which would confirm the prophetic character of his dire threats. God would shortly deliver Pharaoh Hophra into the hands of his political enemies just as he had delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 44:30). The Greek historian Herodotus[365] relates that Hophra was captured by Amasis, the succeeding Pharaoh, who had him strangled to death after ten years of captivity (about 560 B.C.). The captivity of Hophra took place about two or three years before the invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar to which reference has already been made. Jeremiah probably did not live to see either the sign or the prophecy of the Chaldean destruction fulfilled.
[365] Herodotus, II, 161, 169.