Jeremiah 44:16

44:15-19 These daring sinners do not attempt excuses, but declare they will do that which is forbidden. Those who disobey God, commonly grow worse and worse, and the heart is more hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Here is the real language of the rebellious heart. Even the afflictions which should have parted them from their sins, were taken so as to confirm them in their sins. It is sad when those who should quicken each other to what is good, and so help one another to heaven, harden each other in sin, and so ripen one another for hell. To mingle idolatry with Divine worship, and to reject the mediation of Christ, are provoking to God, and ruinous to men. All who worship images, or honour saints, and angels, and the queen of heaven, should recollect what came from the idolatrous practices of the Jews.

As for the word that thou has, spoken unto us in the name of the Lord,.... Which they did not believe that it came from the Lord, but was a device of the prophet's, and a lie, as in Jeremiah 43:2 ; and if it did come from the Lord, their impudence was risen to such a pitch, that they were determined not to regard it: we will not hearken unto thee: to thy words; neither to thy exhortations, reproofs, or menaces, even though thou comest and speakest in the name of the Lord. This, and what follows, is an unparalleled instance of the pride, obstinacy, enmity, and rebellion of the carnal mind against God.

Jeremiah 44:16-19 . As for the word thou hast spoken unto us, we will not hearken unto thee — Johanan and the rest ( Jeremiah 43:5 ) only denied that God had said such things, and told Jeremiah he had spoken falsely: but now these people rise higher; they acknowledge Jeremiah had spoken to them in the name of the Lord, but, nevertheless, tell him in plain terms they would not obey his word, and indeed this is in the hearts of all sinners that are ruled by their lusts; though they will sometimes pretend that what they hear is not the will of God, but spoken out of malice and prejudice; yet they are pre-resolved they will not comply with it, let their understandings be never so well informed. But will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth out of our own mouth — That is, that which we have solemnly vowed to perform. Here we have the root of all the disobedience of sinners, their resolution to please themselves, and do their own will, and not in any thing to deny themselves. To burn incense to the queen of heaven — To the moon and the rest of the host of heaven: see the note on Jeremiah 7:18 ; and Jeremiah 19:13 . As we have done, we and our fathers, &c. — Their arguments for continuing in this idolatry are, 1st, Custom and antiquity; they and their fathers had practised it. 2d, The example of their kings and princes. 3d, The plenty and prosperity they had while they did so, as if their idols and not Jehovah had been the authors of it.

They compared their former condition, before the invasion of Judea and the siege of Jerusalem, with their present state, and argued from their being in prosperity at that time, that they must needs have been then in the right; not considering that it was to be ascribed to the goodness and long-suffering of God waiting for their repentance, as being unwilling to destroy them, or even to bring any great calamity upon them. Besides, though on account of the measure of their iniquity being filled up, they now suffered more grievous calamities than they had ever done before, yet, if they were at all acquainted with the history of former times, they could not but know that idolatry had always brought calamities on their fathers, and that they never were so prosperous as when they worshipped and served Jehovah only. But since we left off, &c ., we have wanted all things — This is their last argument in defence of their idolatry, an argument drawn from the evils that had befallen them since they had left off to worship the host of heaven; thus making their ceasing to commit the sin of idolatry the cause of their sufferings, whereas, in truth, the commission of that and their other sins had been the cause of all the calamities to which they had been exposed. And when we burned incense, &c., did we worship her without our men?

As for the word that thou hast spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will {h} not hearken to thee. (h) This declares how dangerous a thing it is to decline once from God and to follow our own fantasies: for Satan ever solicits such and does not leave them till he has brought them to extreme impudency and madness, even to justify their wickedness against God and his prophets.

Had burned incence - Omit "had;" burned incense. This appeal of the prophet was made at a public festival held somewhere in Pathros, i. e., Upper Egypt: for the women are assembled in a great congregation (compare Jeremiah 26:9 ), here formed for religious purposes. As they advance in regular procession to worship the moon-goddess, in accordance as it seems with a vow Jeremiah 44:17 , Jeremiah meets them, makes the procession halt upon its way, and pronounces in Yahweh's name words of solemn warning. The reply that all the settlers in Egypt were formally putting themselves under the Queen of heaven's protection was made by the heads of the congregation.

We read, Jeremiah 43:5 , Johanan and the rest only denied that God had spoken such things, and told Jeremiah he had spoken falsely; but now these women and men rise higher, they acknowledge Jeremiah had spoken to them in the name of the Lord, but tell him in plain and direct terms they would not obey it. And indeed this is in the hearts of all sinners that are ruled by their lusts; though they will sometimes pretend that what they hear is not the will of God, but spoken out of malice and prejudice, yet they are pre-resolved they will not do it, let their understandings be never so well informed.

The answer of the people to this threatening address. - Jeremiah 44:15 . "Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women standing [there], a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, Jeremiah 44:16 . [As for] the word which thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jahveh, we will not hearken unto thee: Jeremiah 44:17 . But we will certainly perform every word that has proceeded out of our own mouth, by burning incense to the queen of heaven, and pouring out libations to her, just as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; and we were filled with bread, and became prosperous, and saw no evil. Jeremiah 44:18 . But since we ceased to offer incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out libations to her, we have been in want of everything, and are consumed by sword and famine. Jeremiah 44:19 . And when we [women] have been burning incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out libations to her, have we made cakes to her without our husbands, making an image of her, and offering libations to her?" To the word of the prophet the men and women oppose their pretended experience, that the adoration of the queen of heaven has brought them comfort and prosperity, while the neglect of this worship, on the other hand, has brought want and misfortune.

No doubt they inferred this, by the argument post hoc, ergo propter hoc, from the fact that, after idolatry had been rooted out by Josiah, adversity had befallen the land of Judah; while, up till that time, the kingdom of Judah had been independent, and, for more than a century before, had been spared the suffering of misfortune. Thus, through their blindness, peculiar to the natural man, they had overlooked the minor transient evils with which the Lord visits His people when they sin. Not till near the end of Josiah's reign did misfortune fall on Judah: this was when the Egyptian army, under Pharaoh-Necho, marched through Palestine; Josiah was slain in the battle he had lost, the land was laid waste by the enemy, and its inhabitants perished by sword and famine. In Jeremiah 44:15 , those who are represented speaking are all the men who knew of their wives' idolatry, i.e., who permitted it, and all the women, "a great company," i.e., gathered together in great numbers, and all the rest of the people who lived in Egypt. The specification "in Pathros" is not in apposition to the words "in the land of Egypt," but belongs to the verb ויּענוּ; it tells where the gathering took place, viz., in a district of Upper Egypt. From the presence of a large number of women, we may conclude that the assembly was a festival in honour of the queen of heaven.