Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you! But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. But since we stopped burning incense 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.” Jeremiah 44:15-18
“We will not listen to you!” The force with which these words are spoken to the prophet— in light of the destruction which has taken place in Judah and Jerusalem, which destruction was prophesied for many years by the mouth of the very same prophet—is chilling.
It is not as if these rebellious men and women were utterly devoid of the grace of God. It was the grace of God which sent Jeremiah to them in the first place. And, in one sense, they could not have even rebelled against God apart from His grace. What is man, anyway? But they cast aside God’s gracious warnings and refused to listen, preferring instead their own “damn” way, if you will.
These words spoken so long ago are chilling, but we should also find them sobering. Sobering because you and I have also to decide how we will respond to the word of the Lord. Recall these words spoken by another of God’s prophets. To us today. “For if the word spoken through messengers proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” How indeed.
