44:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt.
God gave Jeremiah a second message while he was in Egypt. Midgol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis were cities in Lower Egypt. Jeremiah used a figure of speech called a merism, which included all of the cities of Egypt. The Jews had left Judea and were now living in Egyptian cities from northern to southern Egypt. During the days of Moses, Israel had left Egypt as a slave nation. Now, Israel had left Jehovah and returned back to the land of Egypt.
44:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted.
Jehovah pointed out to His Jewish people in Egypt that Judea had been devastated. It was lying in ruins.
44:3 This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. They made me angry by worshiping and offering sacrifice to other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors previously knew.
The reason that Israel was wasted was because she was making sacrifices to demonic gods.
44:4 I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate.
Jehovah previously sent many prophets to Israel to warn her not to worship these demonic idols.
44:5 But the people of Jerusalem and Judah would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods.
Israel would not listen to the prophets which were sent to her.
44:6 So my anger and my wrath were poured out and burned like a fire through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they have become the desolate ruins that they are today.’
No Gentile army could defeat Israel. It was Jehovah’s anger towards Israel’s idolatry which caused her destruction.
44:7 “So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, asks, ‘Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant?
God reminded Israel that He was sovereign over all of history. Today, history is being taught in public schools without this divine foundational knowledge. Instead of teaching how God uses history to teach man, history has become boring with its dates, causes, and effects. Parents are responsible for making sure that their children learn history through divine viewpoint and not secular viewpoint. Secular viewpoint is the history of the satanic world system. It teaches that there is no God controlling history. It teaches that history is just a bunch of series of random variations. Therefore, men should eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow they die.
Israel had harmed herself by refusing to listen to her prophets. Her lack of application of Bible doctrine was going to cause the physical deaths of every Jewish man, woman, child, and baby who was living in Egypt.
44:8 That is what will result from your making me angry by what you are doing. You are making me angry by sacrificing to other gods here in the land of Egypt where you live. You will be destroyed for doing that! You will become an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth.
Israel was the chosen people of God. Instead of living in Israel and sacrificing to Jehovah, they were living in Egypt and sacrificing to demons. Instead of being the head of the nations, they were being the tail of the nations. Instead of becoming the priests to all of the nations, they were worshiping other demonic idols from all of the other nations. They were even worshiping the bugs from Egypt. Babylon and all of the other nations bragged that their demonic gods were greater than Jehovah. Israel’s disobedience had profaned the One True Living God.
44:9 Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, by you and your wives?
Israel was God’s chosen people, but she had become a nation of Satan worshipers.
44:10 To this day your people have shown no contrition! They have not revered me nor followed the laws and statutes I commanded you and your ancestors.’
Israel had always disobeyed God and worshiped demonic idols.
44:11 “Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I am determined to bring disaster on you, even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here.
Jehovah would destroy most of the Judeans who moved to Egypt.
44:12 I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle or perish from starvation. People of every class will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse.
There is a price for demonic worship. The nation of Israel would be destroyed temporarily as an example to the Gentile nations.
44:13 I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem.
The Jewish people in Egypt would die in the same way that those in Judea died. They would die from war, starvation, and disease.
44:14 None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives.’ ”
God would only allow a few fugitives to return to Israel. God must always keep a Jewish remnant alive so that He can fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant.
44:15 Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. They answered,
There was a huge assembly of Jewish men and women worshiping the Mother Goddess. The men did not have strong enough Bible doctrine to control their wives. Just as Solomon’s 300 wives seduced him into idolatry, so did these Jewish wives seduce their husbands into idolatry. Many times, the moral barometer of a nation can be measured by the morality of the women. Men were created to possess authority over women, but the satanic world system has trained men and women to reverse these roles. If feminism is left unchecked, then the end result is worship of Mother Earth.
44:16 “We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us!
The Judeans in Egypt arrogantly told Jeremiah that they did not believe that God was speaking through him. Today, many modern liberals foolishly claim that God does not speak to them through the written Word of God. They are banking their eternal life on their human intellect. This is dangerous, because man is totally depraved and evil. He cannot trust his mind, his heart, his emotions, his feelings, his intellect, his experiences, or his education. His education has come from the biasness of the satanic world system. A man without Bible doctrine will carry in his intellect the ideas and philosophies of the satanic world system. He will begin to think that good is evil and evil is good.
44:17 Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles.
The Jews in Jerusalem told Jeremiah that not only were they not going to return to worship Jehovah in Judea, but they were also going to continue worshiping “the Queen of Heaven.” Who was the Queen of Heaven? She was the mother of Nimrod, the Assyro-Babylonian goddess Ishtar, the Canaanite Ashtoreth (Astarte), the wife of Baal, the wife of Molech, the Greek Athena, the Roman Venus, the Madonna of many ancient pagan nations (including the Native Americans), and the current Virgin Mary of the Catholic Church. The New Age religions call her Mother Earth. She was the goddess of military and the goddess of sex. Prostitution temples have been established in her name in all of the ancient cultures and in all of the continents all over the world (including the Native Americans in South America, Mexico, North America, and Canada). This perverted goddess permeated all ancient societies through the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel.
The Roman Catholic Church introduced the Queen of Heaven into Christianity during the days of the Roman Emperor Constantine (325 A.D.). At this time, the pagan Roman priests followed their Emperor into Christianity and mixed their pagan rituals into the Catholic Church. The veneration of the Virgin Mary actually derives from the pagan Roman priests who learned it from the Babylonian religious system which came from the Tower of Babel. Catholicism is basically syncretism, which is the blending of Christianity with the paganism of Nimrod.
44:18 But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation.”
Before King Josiah, Israel was worshiping the Queen of Heaven, but they were not prosperous. They were being judged by God. Jehovah sent many foreign nations to attack Israel so that He could bring Israel his wife back to Him. After King Josiah’s reforms, the worship of the Queen of Heaven was removed from Israel. Israel began to become prosperous once again. However, after a few years, the Jews began to return to the worship of the Queen of Heaven. They also added the worship of many other demonic gods as well. God sent Assyria and Babylon to attack the Jews in an attempt to bring her back to Him. Apparently, neither of these invasions were able to turn the hearts of the people back to Jehovah. It was obedience to Jehovah which brought Israel prosperity. However, these Jews twisted history in their minds and gave credit of their prosperity to the Queen of Heaven. They wanted an excuse to worship the Queen of Heaven once again.
44:19 The women added, “We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her.”
The flat cakes were probably in the shape of the Queen of Heaven. These cakes are still used in many “Easter” celebrations today. Easter is basically the worship of Ishtar, who was the ancient Queen of the Heaven of many different nation and cultures. It is Passover, and not Easter, which should be celebrated by Christians. Many feminists are bringing the Queen of Heaven back into their “Mother Earth” rituals.
44:20 Then Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who responded to him in this way.
Jeremiah listened to their complaints and then gave God’s viewpoint on this matter.
44:21 “The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.
The Jews had rewritten their history. They were guilty of offering sacrifices to demonic idols.
44:22 Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses.
The Mosaic Covenant promised blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience. Israel was disobedient to the Mosaic Law, so God kept His promise and cursed them. God vomited the Canaanites out of her land because of her sin. Israel possessed more light and more sin than the Canaanites, so they would be judged double for her sins.
44:23 You have sacrificed to other gods! You have sinned against the Lord! You have not obeyed the Lord! You have not followed his laws, his statutes, and his decrees! That is why this disaster that is evident to this day has happened to you.”
Israel was being punished for four different sins. First, she was sacrificing to other demonic idols. Second, she sinned against Jehovah. Third, she was not obedient to Jehovah. He asked Israel to stay in Judea and she moved to Egypt. Fourth, Israel did not follow the Mosaic Law. The penalty for violating the Mosaic Law was removal of Israel from her land.
44:24 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. “Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt.
Jehovah had a strong message for the Jews in Egypt, especially the women who had led their men into idolatry. The Queen of Heaven is the worship of feminism. It is very attractive to the sin nature of women, because they desire authority over men. Genesis 3 placed wives underneath the authority of their husbands, just as the church (the bride of Christ) is to place herself underneath the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ (the husband of the bride). Feminism is an attempt to break the divine roles of men and women which were divinely given by God. God had a tough message for these feminists who wanted to lead a life without God.
Women who lack strong Bible doctrine will often degrade themselves and devolve into feminism. Feminists will rebel against God, commit fornication, and murder their own babies. They will place other feminists in political power so that they can control other men. The divine viewpoint of the written Word of God is that the wife is to be submissive to her husband "in all things". This includes her vote at the ballot box. The human viewpoint of the satanic world system is that women are equal to men in all authority. A 51% majority of feminists will lead a democratic nation into abortion, same sex marriage, transvestism, and multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is the act of making all religions equal with the Christianity of Scripture. All other religions are demon influenced, so they are not equal to Biblical Christianity.
44:25 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘You women have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! You said, “We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.” Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out!’
Jehovah sarcastically told the Judean women living in Egypt to go ahead and fulfill their vows to feminism. The Bible often uses sarcasm, but the devil does not like it. He wants to shame all Christians into not using sarcasm, because it is such an effective weapon against him. The devil wants to be the only one who uses sarcasm. The devil wants a monopoly on sarcasm. The devil's control of sarcasm has produced a corrupt and evil political correctness in many nations, including America.
It is important to note that to be politically correct is a trap of the satanic world system. It keeps one from speaking the truth. It forces one to compromise with the truth. God the Father, God the Son, the Apostle Paul, the prophets, and the apostles never compromised with the truth. They all used sarcasm to drive a Bible doctrine home. Many unbelievers and carnal Christians will claim that sarcasm is not “Christ-like.” It is Christ-like, if it is used in application of Bible doctrine.
44:26 But listen to what the Lord has to say, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. The Lord says, ‘I hereby swear by my own great name that none of the people of Judah who are living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name in their oaths! Never again will any of them use it in an oath saying, “As surely as the Lord God lives.…”
Judah had already broken her oath to God. She planned on keeping her oath to the Queen of Heaven. Now, God is going to make His own oath, but unlike Judah, he will keep it. God will allow the Jews in Egypt to keep her vow to the Queen of Heaven. However, this ungodly and disobedient Jewish crowd would experience the end result of her vows.
44:27 I will indeed see to it that disaster, not prosperity, happens to them. All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left.
The Queen of Heaven would not be able to prosper the Jews in Egypt. The Jews would keep their vows to her, but she would give them disaster instead of prosperity. They would die from the sword or from starvation. The Queen of Heaven would not be able to feed them.
44:28 Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, mine or theirs.’
Only a few of the Judeans in Egypt would survive. They would return back to Judea knowing that Jehovah is the One True God. They would be able to tell others that the leaders of Judah were a bunch of liars, but Jehovah keeps His promises.
44:29 Moreover the Lord says, ‘I will make something happen to prove that I will punish you in this place. I will do it so that you will know that my threats to bring disaster on you will prove true.
Jehovah would prove to the Judeans in Egypt that He has the power to do what He says.
44:30 I, the Lord, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.’ ”
Judah broke her oath to God, but God would not break His oath to Judah. God promised Judah that He would hand Pharaoh Hophra over to King Nebuchadnezzar. When the Judeans observe this act firsthand, then they would know that Jeremiah was a true poppet of God. Since Jeremiah was a true prophet of God, then the Judeans in Egypt would suffer the same fate as Jerusalem. They would die from sword, starvation, and disease.
According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Pharaoh Hophra lost his throne in 570 B.C. Pharaoh Hophra sent General Amasis to stop a rebellion among his army. However, the army united behind General Amasis and made him Pharaoh. General Amasis defeated Pharaoh Hophra in battle and imprisoned him. General Amasis handed Pharaoh Hophra over to the Egyptians, who strangled him (Herodotus 2. 161–3, 169).