Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 42-44.

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After the assassination of the governor appointed by the Babylonians the people remaining in Judah were afraid that the Babylonians would launch a reprisal.  So, they asked Jeremiah to pray to God for guidance as to what they should do.  They told Jeremiah that they would do whatever God told Jeremiah they should do.  However, when Jeremiah came back to them with God’s answer, they accused him of lying and did exactly what Jeremiah said that God told them not to do.  Despite Jeremiah telling them that they should not go to Egypt, they went to Egypt.  Once they were in Egypt they began worshiping other gods.  God sent Jeremiah to them to call them back to Him.  Jeremiah accused them of not humbling themselves, of not fearing God, and not walking according to God’s laws.  Rather than repent of their sins, the people responded by claiming that they had been prosperous in Jerusalem when they worshiped these idols and that their troubles began when they abandoned them.  So, they were returning to this idolatry.

In the past I had taken the claim that they were merely returning to the idolatrous practices of their ancestors at face value.  In reading the passage today, I realized that the writer never confirms that their idolatry in Egypt was a revival of practices they had previously followed.  That is not really my focus here, just something I wanted to note.

I want to focus on the fact that before they went to Egypt, they consulted God about what they should do.  Then they did the opposite of what God revealed to them.  Then once they were in Egypt they began worshiping the “queen of heaven.”  Let us not do as they did.  If we ask God for guidance, let us do what He guides us to do.  Specifically, we should not do what He tells us not to do.  Actually, that is an important lesson for me.  I have been struggling with choices and asking God to guide me.  I had decided to do something yesterday to address my problems, but God sent someone to me which prevented me from taking that action.  Now I must decide if that was God telling me not to do that.  In any case, now I must humble myself and walk in the fear of the Lord.  Seeking to walk according to His laws.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.