Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
The question lays bare open, public idolatry practiced throughout the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. It was not hidden but carried on openly, provoking divine judgment. Mere form of temple worship was of no avail to the ungodly engaged in it.
That worship was family-wide devotion to the queen of heaven, in which children gathered wood, fathers kindled the fire, and women prepared cakes. It also included sacrifices to the queen of heaven and worship associated with Baal and the heavenly bodies. Along with this were the abominations of Topheth, treachery and shamelessness, and idolatrous false worship and false education among the people and their kings.
The verse warns Judah of the consequences of ignoring the prophets' calls to turn back to God. Those warnings went unheeded, and Judah eventually fell as an independent nation despite some partial reformations. Willful persistence in that sin was soon to be punished by the swift avenger Babylon.
That punishment brought God's judgment on the nation in captivity and exile from ruined Zion. Beloved Zion lay in utter ruin while the people reaped in captivity and enforced exile the evil sowing of that false worship. This false worship and its consequences were a warning the Judean youths had seen before their captivity, including Daniel and his companions.
In its context God pronounces unquenchable fire upon Jerusalem and the cities of Judah because of their idolatries. The fire is a judgment sent from God that no man is able to quench. Unquenchable does not mean everlasting, for when the material the flames feed upon is devoured the fire goes out of itself. This shows the undying worm and unquenched fire are a symbol for the complete destruction of the wicked in the second death, which is the wages of sin.
The question lays bare open, public idolatry practiced throughout the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. It was not hidden but carried on openly, provoking divine judgment. Mere form of temple worship was of no avail to the ungodly engaged in it.
That worship was family-wide devotion to the queen of heaven, in which children gathered wood, fathers kindled the fire, and women prepared cakes. It also included sacrifices to the queen of heaven and worship associated with Baal and the heavenly bodies. Along with this were the abominations of Topheth, treachery and shamelessness, and idolatrous false worship and false education among the people and their kings.
The verse warns Judah of the consequences of ignoring the prophets' calls to turn back to God. Those warnings went unheeded, and Judah eventually fell as an independent nation despite some partial reformations. Willful persistence in that sin was soon to be punished by the swift avenger Babylon.
That punishment brought God's judgment on the nation in captivity and exile from ruined Zion. Beloved Zion lay in utter ruin while the people reaped in captivity and enforced exile the evil sowing of that false worship. This false worship and its consequences were a warning the Judean youths had seen before their captivity, including Daniel and his companions.
In its context God pronounces unquenchable fire upon Jerusalem and the cities of Judah because of their idolatries. The fire is a judgment sent from God that no man is able to quench. Unquenchable does not mean everlasting, for when the material the flames feed upon is devoured the fire goes out of itself. This shows the undying worm and unquenched fire are a symbol for the complete destruction of the wicked in the second death, which is the wages of sin.