SUNDAY, 10 DECEMBER 2023
TEXT:
Jeremiah 44:1-19
1:
This word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in Lower Egypt—in
Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis—and in Upper Egypt:
2:
“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the great
disaster I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie
deserted and in ruins
3:
because of the evil they have done. They aroused my anger by burning incense to
and worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever
knew.
4:
Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this
detestable thing that I hate!’
5:
But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their
wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.
6:
Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah
and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today.
7:
“Now this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Why bring
such great disaster on yourselves by cutting off from Judah the men and women,
the children and infants, and so leave yourselves without a remnant?
8:
Why arouse my anger with what your hands have made, burning incense to other
gods in Egypt, where you have come to live? You will destroy yourselves and
make yourselves a curse and an object of reproach among all the nations on
earth.
9:
Have you forgotten the wickedness committed by your ancestors and by the kings
and queens of Judah and the wickedness committed by you and your wives in the
land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem?
10:
To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they
followed my law and the decrees I set before you and your ancestors.
11:
“Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am
determined to bring disaster on you and to destroy all Judah.
12:
I will take away the remnant of Judah who were determined to go to Egypt to
settle there. They will all perish in Egypt; they will fall by the sword or die
from famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine.
They will become a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of
reproach.
13:
I will punish those who live in Egypt with the sword, famine and plague, as I
punished Jerusalem.
14:
None of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape or
survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they long to return and live;
none will return except a few fugitives.”
15:
Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods,
along with all the women who were present—a large assembly—and all the people
living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah,
16:
“We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the
Lord!
17:
We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the
Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our
ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and
suffered no harm.
18:
But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring
out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by
sword and famine.”
19:
The women added, “When we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out
drink offerings to her, did not our husbands know that we were making cakes
impressed with her image and pouring out drink offerings to her?”
(New
International Version Holy Bible)
TOPIC:
IDOLATRY BREEDS DISASTER
The remnant that went
to Egypt was neck-deep in idolatry in total disregard to God's command. God
drew their attention to the disaster that befell Jerusalem and all the towns of
Judah but they did no listen to Him. As a result, they all perished in Egypt to
a tripartite disaster - the sword, famine and plagues.
This tripartite
calamity has always been God's tool for punishing His rebellious people. The
Church should do a self-examination as we continue to endure bloodletting left
and right, back and front and an inflationary spiral unequalled in the history
of our nation.
Pestilence has also
become the new normal. As a Church, we urgently need to look at ourselves in
the mirror for self-evaluation.
QUESTION:
What do you think God is telling us by allowing armed bandits, famine and
pandemics to decimate mankind?
PRAYER:
Oh Lord, give the Church the courage to face her reflection in the Your mirror.
Amen.
Remain
Blessed
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