Jeremiah speaks words of judgement to those who thought they could escape it in Egypt. No-one escapes the eye of the Lord.
Jeremiah 44: Judgment for Idolatry
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros,
2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them,
3 because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.
4 Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, 'Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!'
5 But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods.
6 Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day.
7 And now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant?
8 Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth?
9 Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10 They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I 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 harm, to cut off all Judah.
12 I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt.
13 I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,
14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except some fugitives."
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah:
16 "As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.
17 But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster.
18 But since we left off making offerings 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."
19 And the women said, "When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands' approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?"
20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer:
21 "As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them? Did it not come into his mind?
22 The LORD could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.
23 It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day."
24 Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, "Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.
25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, 'We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.' Then confirm your vows and perform your vows!
26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, 'As the Lord GOD lives.'
27 Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them.
28 And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs.
29 This shall be the sign to you, declares the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm:
30 Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life."
Jeremiah 45: Message to Baruch
1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
2 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch:
3 You said, 'Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.'
4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up---that is, the whole land.
5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the LORD. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go."
Things to think about…
1. Jeremiah 44 gives his last message to those who were left behind by the Babylonians and who fled to Egypt. They didn’t listen and remain in Judah, but took Jeremiah with them. Jeremiah now says, why have you cut off the remnant, vs 7 and left the land of Judah. Now in Egypt they are about to be finally destroyed. The Lord say he has set himself against them for harm, vs 11, and that He will consume them, vs 123. But they remain hard to the words of Jeremiah and the Lord and say “"As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you”, vs 16. When religious people who have heard the gospel, many times continue in their rebellion and unbelief there is a certain, fearful expectation of judgement. We must encourage each other to be sensitive to hear the Word of the Lord and obey it. Maybe reflect now in the areas of your life which are not fully handed over to obedience to God’s Word and His prompting by the Holy Spirit.
2. Worse than repenting is vowing to continue in idol worship and offering sacrifices to idols. In this case it was the Queen of heaven, Jer 44:17. They us the excuse that when they offered to the Queen of heaven they were blessed in the land of Judah, vs 17 and so will continue to do so in Egypt. They argue that since they stopped offering, they have been handed over to the sword and famine, vs 18. The women wonder why Jeremiah is angry with them. They say, “was it without our husbands' approval”, vs 19. The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in mercy. Because He did not judge their wicked deeds straight away, while they were offering to idols, they thought that the continued blessing was because of their idol worship, when in fact it was because of God’s patience. But His patience had run out and it was because they had continued in their rebellion Jeremiah says that “this disaster has happened to you, as at this day", Jer 44:23. Egypt has some blessing because the Lord had not yet judged the land, but because the Judeans had fled there for safety judgement was about to come upon Pharoah Hophra (Apries) and the remnant that fled to him from Judah, vs 30. Just as Nebuchadnezzar had come to destroy Judah, the enemies of Hophra would destroy him and parts of Egypt. This happened from 570- 567BC. But Jeremiah also predicted the fall of Pharoah Necho in the battle of Carchemish in 605BC which was before the fall of Jerusalem in Jeremiah 46. Jeremiah 44 is not historically chronological as it speaks about the Judeans who escaped to Egypt after the fall of Jerusalem in 586BC. This can be confusing to the reader when there is no understanding of the historical timeline.
3. Jeremiah 45 steps back before the fall of Jerusalem in 586BC. Jeremiah speaks to his scribe Baruch. He had re-transcribed Jeremiah’s words after Jehoiakim had burned the first scroll, Jer 36:32. Anyone associated with Jeremiah was in for a hard time. Baruch had suffered and was saying “'Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest”, Jer 45:3. Those who live godly lives the Apostle Paul says will suffer persecution, 2 Tim 3:12. Baruch was feeling discourage. Jeremiah’s encouragement to him from the Lord is not to avoid persecution or seek great things for himself but seek the Lord and the promise is the Lord will “give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go”, Jer 45:6. We will be blessed in this life and the next when we obey God’s call. It is a miserable existence to hear God’s voice and then turn away to follow our own dreams and desires. But when we “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”, Mt 6:33. The promise from Jesus is “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”, Jn 10:10. The focus of course is having a Christ centred focus in your heart and He promises to bless with earthly provision and eternal life.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesday – 6:30pm at church. 5:30om for prayer. New Life group starting in Karana Downs.
Prayer Points
1. Easter services – pray for messages and visitors
2. Pray for Israel/Gaza, Ukraine wars. May Yeshua, the Prince of Peace still the storms
3. New people as they settle in
4. New Life group in Karana Downs
5. Those that haven’t come to church for a while to return.
6. Revival over our city.
7. Finances to cover our needs
8. Pray for PlayPatch, Kids church, Creche and Kids Hope at Karalee State school.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for new people on Sunday.
2. PlayPatch keeps seeing new people every week.
3. The Lord’s grace over our lives and country
4. Café, music, kids church, admin, sound and technical team every week
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Easter services. Good Friday 18th Apr 9:00am and Easter Sunday 20th Apr – 9:30am
2. Ministries this week. Life group, Kids@Church, Kids Hope - Karalee.
3. PlayPatch 1-5yos, Fridays 9:30am at church.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for April...
Q. 31. Can anyone go to heaven with this sinful nature? A. No - our hearts must be changed before we can be fit for heaven.
