©Laura Haverkamp
Chapter 7:16-26 (ESV) - “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. Is it I whom they provoke? declares the LORD. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? Therefore thus says the LORD God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.”
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
Question to consider: Why does God tell Jeremiah not to pray for this people?
Throughout this study, I have been emphasizing that even though Jeremiah was called out by the LORD as a prophet, he was a young man who descended from Aaron and was looking forward to serving as a temple priest. Unlike the priests who had compromised themselves with idolatry or those who made merchandise of the people, Jeremiah loved the LORD and the people of Judah and deeply desired to intercede for them.
However, the word of the LORD to Jeremiah in today’s passage was, “Don’t bother.” It was a waste of Jeremiah’s breath to intercede in prayer for Judah, for they had not repented of their sin. Entire families participated in worship of Astarte, the Phoenician moon goddess who was considered the wife of Baal and called the queen of heaven.
I’m not sure why there has always been a temptation to assign God a wife. People today will try to attribute feminine qualities to the Holy Spirit or treat Mary, the mother of Christ, as the queen of heaven. I would argue that all of this is done with the same intent as what was happening in Judah at the time of Jeremiah.
The issue was not that the worship of God was rejected, but it was done alongside those of other nations that seemed reasonable to the people despite the fact that the LORD strictly commanded the people of Israel to worship Him alone, for He alone created the heavens and the earth.
The worship of the gods of the nations was one-sided. The people did things to arouse their gods or appease their gods in order to have a good harvest, herd of cattle, or even to be fertile in their own offspring. The God of Israel, however, promised to dwell in their midst and be their God. The relationship between God and His people was personal, and yet like Adam, the people decided to ignore the commands of God and do what was right in their own eyes despite God sending prophets to get their attention.
Jeremiah standing at the entrance to the temple courts and giving the people God’s word was tame when compared with Hosea who was forced to marry a prostitute or Ezekiel who was struck mute and forced to act out silent performances that warned the people of the judgment that was coming. Instead of listening to these servants of the LORD, the people rejected, marginalized, and murdered them.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the patience You have shown us in justifying us in Christ and sanctifying us through Your Spirit. May we learn to love what You love and not return to the slavery of sin. Amen.