As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
The verse stands late in the chronological order of Jeremiah's prophecies, after chapters 40, 41, 42 and 43 and before chapter 46, since the chapters are not always arranged chronologically, and it belongs among the closing chapters recounting Jeremiah's personal experiences, including his going into Egypt. It records Jews who disobeyed God's express command to remain in the land, followed their own plans to go down to live in Egypt, and there fell in with burning incense to Egyptian gods. In context Jeremiah had given them a divinely inspired rebuke, a reminder of past judgments on Israel for departing from God, and a warning of similar punishment, and they answered that rebuke with the refusal stated in the verse.
The verse is an open refusal to hearken to and obey the word spoken in the name of the LORD through Jeremiah, declaring that they would not hearken to him but would do whatever went forth out of their own mouth and what they themselves had decided. What they insisted on doing was continuing to worship the queen of heaven by burning incense to her and pouring out drink offerings to her, as they, their fathers, their kings, and their princes had done in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, showing how widely that worship had spread. The queen of heaven is identified with the sun, so the refusal was tied to disregarding the Sabbath and turning to sun worship.
Their stated reason was present prosperity: they said that while offering to the queen they had plenty of victuals, were well, and saw no evil, but since leaving off they had wanted all things and been consumed by sword and famine, and they claimed they had prospered while offering incense and suffered only after stopping. That reasoning reversed the true cause and mistook God's patience and temporal blessings for approval; as Jeremiah 44:23 explains, calamity came because they sinned against the LORD and disobeyed his law and testimonies, and when their wickedness could no longer be borne, famine, pestilence, the sword, desolation, captivity, enforced exile, and the utter ruin of Jerusalem and Zion came upon them for this apostasy and evil sowing. The verse thus means judging duty by present prosperity, the short-sighted worldly reasoning that God settles all accounts as life goes along by prospering what pleases him and afflicting what displeases him, the same reasoning that asks if Saturday-keeping pleases God why he does not prosper it more and if Sunday observance is sin why he blesses those who persist in it. The passage in Jeremiah 44:16-22 shows the sad result of false worship and false education among Judah's own people and kings.
The verse stands late in the chronological order of Jeremiah's prophecies, after chapters 40, 41, 42 and 43 and before chapter 46, since the chapters are not always arranged chronologically, and it belongs among the closing chapters recounting Jeremiah's personal experiences, including his going into Egypt. It records Jews who disobeyed God's express command to remain in the land, followed their own plans to go down to live in Egypt, and there fell in with burning incense to Egyptian gods. In context Jeremiah had given them a divinely inspired rebuke, a reminder of past judgments on Israel for departing from God, and a warning of similar punishment, and they answered that rebuke with the refusal stated in the verse.
The verse is an open refusal to hearken to and obey the word spoken in the name of the LORD through Jeremiah, declaring that they would not hearken to him but would do whatever went forth out of their own mouth and what they themselves had decided. What they insisted on doing was continuing to worship the queen of heaven by burning incense to her and pouring out drink offerings to her, as they, their fathers, their kings, and their princes had done in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, showing how widely that worship had spread. The queen of heaven is identified with the sun, so the refusal was tied to disregarding the Sabbath and turning to sun worship.
Their stated reason was present prosperity: they said that while offering to the queen they had plenty of victuals, were well, and saw no evil, but since leaving off they had wanted all things and been consumed by sword and famine, and they claimed they had prospered while offering incense and suffered only after stopping. That reasoning reversed the true cause and mistook God's patience and temporal blessings for approval; as Jeremiah 44:23 explains, calamity came because they sinned against the LORD and disobeyed his law and testimonies, and when their wickedness could no longer be borne, famine, pestilence, the sword, desolation, captivity, enforced exile, and the utter ruin of Jerusalem and Zion came upon them for this apostasy and evil sowing. The verse thus means judging duty by present prosperity, the short-sighted worldly reasoning that God settles all accounts as life goes along by prospering what pleases him and afflicting what displeases him, the same reasoning that asks if Saturday-keeping pleases God why he does not prosper it more and if Sunday observance is sin why he blesses those who persist in it. The passage in Jeremiah 44:16-22 shows the sad result of false worship and false education among Judah's own people and kings.