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).

1. 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).

2. 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.

3. 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.