Jeremiah 44: 1 – 30
She can’t have her cake and eat it too
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3 because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers. 4 However I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!” 5 But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods. 6 So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.’ 7 “Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain, 8 in that you provoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers.’ 11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will set My face against you for catastrophe and for cutting off all Judah. 12 And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine. They shall die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine; and they shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach! 13 For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, 14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return and dwell. For none shall return except those who escape.’?” 15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: 16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you! 17 But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. 18 But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” 19 The women also said, “And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ permission?” 20 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people—the men, the women, and all the people who had given him that answer—saying: 21 “The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and did it not come into His mind? 22 So the LORD could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law, in His statutes or in His testimonies, therefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day.” 24 Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt! 25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’ 26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord GOD lives.” 27 Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them. 28 Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs. 29 And this shall be a sign to you,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for adversity.’ 30 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.’?”
Many of you might be thinking that today’s topic is not correct. I think you are pondering the saying, ‘You can't have your cake and eat it too.’ Am I right?
This one is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech. The proverb literally means "you cannot simultaneously retain your cake and eat it". Once the cake is eaten, it is gone. It can be used to say that one cannot have two incompatible things, or that one should not try to have more than is reasonable. The proverb's meaning is like the phrases "you can't have it both ways" and "you can't have the best of both worlds".
For those unfamiliar with it, the proverb may sound confusing due to the ambiguity of the word 'have', which can mean 'keep' or 'to have in one's possession', but which can also be used as a synonym for 'eat'. Some people feel the common form of the proverb is incorrect or illogical and instead prefer: "You can't eat your cake and [then still] have it (too)".
My statement is not the same which is ‘She cannot have her cake and eat it too.’ My reasoning is that ‘she’ is a non-entity. It is a demon masquerading as the Queen of Heaven in a statue.
Today we are going to learn about this queen of Heaven who is derived from the Babylonian religion who worshiped Nimrod’s wife Semiramis. In this pagan ritual people would bake cakes and lay before this statue. Unfortunately, the cakes go uneaten.
This is a new word of YHWH not directly connected with what has gone before, although clearly coming after the fall of Jerusalem. It was given in the time of Pharaoh Hophra (verse 30), and therefore prior to 570 BC. It commences with the words ‘the word that came to Jeremiah --’ and can be divided up into four sections:
1). YHWH’s word against His people warning of His coming judgment because they have not heeded what He has done against Jerusalem. The remnant who have escaped to Egypt will be destroyed (2-14).
2). The people’s defense to the charge and their response to Jeremiah’s words (15-19).
3). Jeremiah’s immediate reply reminding them that YHWH had seen what they and their fathers had done and had acted in judgment on them by desolating their land and making it a spectacle to the world (20-23).
4). A further word confirming YHWH’s judgment on all Jews living in Egypt because they have turned to other gods and are trusting in Pharaoh Hophra as their deliverer (24-39).
While not stated in the text we can make a contrast here between the refugees here in Egypt and the exiles over in Babylon. These in Egypt have become involved in the worship of other gods, incorporating YHWH into a syncretistic basically polytheistic religion, and refusing to listen to Jeremiah’s pleas, while many of those in Babylon will purify their faith, thanks in large measure to Ezekiel, and be ready to return to their land when the time is ripe.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,
This is a new prophecy, separating it from what has gone before. It informs us that what follows is YHWH’s word to all Jews who have taken refuge in Egypt. The opening prophecy is directed at the remnant who have escaped from Judah as previously described, who settled at Tahpanhes, whilst the concluding prophecy is directed at all Jewish refugees throughout Egypt.
It is apparent from this word here that there were currently colonies of Jews in different parts of Lower Egypt. Migdol (‘tower or fortress’) is mentioned in Exodus 14.2 and was on the Israelite route out of Egypt. It was therefore close to the borders. Noph is identical with Memphis. Tahpanhes was also a border city. That it covers a large area comes out in its use elsewhere. It may thus have included a number of communities of ‘Jews’. The name means ‘the Southland’ and it may therefore indicate Upper Egypt, the long Nile valley extending north to south between Cairo and Aswan.
These words were seemingly delivered in the land of Pathros, where Jeremiah was apparently visiting the Jewish settlers (verse 15). Whether in fact it was a gathering of Jews from all over Egypt for a special festival we are not told, although it is quite possible, for his words have very much in mind those who had arrived with him from Judah, which suggests that they were present. At this time YHWH makes clear to the Jews through Jeremiah that they have made a foolish choice in coming to Egypt, a choice based, it will become apparent, on their disillusionment with Him, although really resulting from hearts set on idolatry and lacking in trust. He points out that they are simply behaving as their fathers have always done and must therefore expect similar judgments to those which came on their fathers.
2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3 because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers.
This verse sums up YHWH’s charge against Israel and is introduced under His full grand title, ‘YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel’ which will be repeated three times for emphasis. Jeremiah wants them to recognise the greatness of their God. The verse points out that it was because His people had burned incense to and worshipped other gods not previously known to them or their fathers, that He had brought down His judgments on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah, making them a desolation, and uninhabited, because of their wickedness in doing so. He had indeed borne long with them and had given them ample opportunity to repent, but they had simply seen this as giving them licence to continue in their false ways. Thus all that had come upon them was because of their polytheism, and thereby their rejection of Him as their only God, thus breaching the first two stipulations in the covenant (the first two commandments), and thereby rejecting the whole.
4 However I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!”
YHWH stresses the efforts that He had made in seeking to guide them onto the right path. He had sent to them ‘all His servants the prophets’. And He had acted with the great determination to do it in that He had ‘risen up early’ to do it, something which reflects the importance He had placed on what He was about to do. It emphasizes the great concern and effort that He had exerted in order to help them, commencing right from the beginning (‘early’), and continuingly revealed in the ongoing nature of his activity (‘all the prophets’), having in mind all the true prophets, both well known and little known, who had prophesied since the time of Moses. And all had brought one message to them, ‘Do not do this abominable thing (worship other gods) which I hate,’ a breaking of the first and second commandments (words of the covenant).
5 But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods.
Yet despite all God’s efforts His people had refused to listen. They had refused to hear His constant pleas that they turn from their wickedness in burning incense to other gods and had blatantly continued to do so. And with their worship had gone their morals.
6 So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.’
This indeed was why Jerusalem and Judah were in the condition that they were at that time, wholly in ruins, and why His anger had been poured forth on them and had been kindled ‘in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem’. This was why their cities were wasted and desolate. It was because they had followed and worshipped other gods, gods of nature, who demanded nothing of them morally and were largely controlled by their ritual activities.
7 “Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain, 8 in that you provoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
And now these people were doing the very same thing. They were burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, something which was a great evil against their own souls and could only result in them also being cut off. They were acting just like their fathers had done. The impression given is that these were gods of Egypt to which they had turned in hopes of improving their situation. They were therefore on their way to suffering the Levitical and Deuteronomic curses outlined in Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28, which would result in them being cut off and becoming a curse and a reproach among all the peoples of the world.
9 Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
He calls on them to consider the past. Have they forgotten how their fathers and their fathers’ wives had behaved, and how the kings of Judah had behaved? Have they forgotten how they themselves had behaved, and their wives? It was because of their wickedness practiced openly in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that all God’s judgments had come upon them (7.18). That was why they were in the position that they were at this very day.
10 They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers.’
They have taken such little notice of their past that even at this very time they were not humbled, nor did they fear, or walk in His Law, or in His statutes, which He had set before both them and their fathers. All His judgments have failed to move them. For in spite of their apparent change of heart revealed when they had called on Jeremiah to discover YHWH’s word for them (42.2-6), they have subsequently ignored that word and gone their own way.
11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will set My face against you for catastrophe and for cutting off all Judah.
YHWH now turns back to addressing the people. Therefore, let them be sure of this, He YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel would ‘set His face’ against them with a miserable end in view, the cutting off all Judah. Their God Who had once delivered them from Egypt and its gods, but Who had acted so powerfully in the past against them and their fathers because of their evil ways, would now act equally powerfully against them at this time.
12 And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine. They shall die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine; and they shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach!
For He would take all the remnant of Judah who had ‘set their faces’ to go to live in the land of Egypt and ensure that they were consumed by famine and sword, the very two enemies that they had been seeking to avoid by coming to Egypt. ‘Here at least’, they had thought, ‘we need fear neither famine nor sword’. But let them be sure of this. From the least to the greatest of them they would die by that very sword and by famine and become vilified and an astonishment in the eyes of all people. They would become a curse and a reproach. Take a look at the play on the fact that YHWH had set His face against them because they had set their face towards Egypt.
13 For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence,
For in committing the same sins as those in Jerusalem by turning to other gods, the gods of Egypt, they were deserving of the same punishment. They equally therefore would suffer sword, famine and contagious disease, as indeed Jeremiah had previously prophesied (compare 42.17).
14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return and dwell. For none shall return except those who escape.’?”
And His purpose was that none of the remnant who had escaped from Judah and had gone into the land of Egypt to settle there, would escape the coming judgments, or would survive in order to be able to return to the land of Judah in spite of their desire to do so, that is apart from a few refugees.
The idea ‘Save such as shall escape’ is that judgment will be so severe that only a very few will somehow survive by the skin of their teeth.
So the same judgments that had come on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah because of their disobedience, were now to be visited on these rebels because of their disobedience. It should be noted that this was not simply because they had sought refuge in Egypt, but because that seeking of refuge had been a renunciation of the God of Jeremiah, and because the consequences of their doing was now being revealed in their continuing disobedience, something revealed by the way in which they had quickly and eagerly turned to the gods of the land of Egypt. It was their motives which had been wrong from the start as YHWH well knew, and it had brought them to this.
The people’s defense is now blatantly stated and confirms all that Jeremiah has said. As far as they were concerned their ways had prospered when they had worshipped ‘the queen of heaven’ and other gods. Since being turned to the sole worship of YHWH by Josiah things had only gone wrong (they overlooked the years of prosperity and independence under Josiah and the fact that after he had died public worship went back to its syncretism). As far as they were concerned it was that that had brought on them famine and sword. It should be noted that this was not a total rejection of YHWH, He was after all the God of Israel, but it was a claim that He was only one among others, and that in their view the help of more than one God was needed. But it was a very weak argument, ignoring the facts and only convincing to themselves because they wanted to be convinced.
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: 16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!
Jeremiah now found himself faced by a large group of people whose spokespersons were both the men whose wives were involved in the false worship, and the wives themselves. It would appear that the women were the chief spokespersons (verse 19), although clearly what was said by a number of people is being summarized in what appears to us to be one speech. The point is that all the Jewish men and women who had gathered there in Pathros, possibly for ceremonies connected with the moon/star god/goddess, spoke to Jeremiah through their spokespersons, whether official or unofficial, and gathered behind them in support.
Their disobedience to the word of YHWH as communicated through Jeremiah is once more blatantly stated. They openly declare that they will not listen to Jeremiah’s words spoken in the name of YHWH. It is a deliberate rejection of YHWH’s true prophet, and therefore of YHWH Himself as He really Is. They were rejecting ‘the word of YHWH’.
17 But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble.
They insisted that what they would do was obey themselves and their inclinations. They would fulfil all the vows that they had made to the moon/star god by burning incense and pouring out drink offerings before her, just as they had previously done in the streets of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah (7.18), along with their fathers, kings and princes (who, they should have noted, were now either dead or in exile). In other words, they were looking back to what they saw as ‘the good times’ and giving the credit for them to the moon/star god/goddess whom they had been unofficially worshipping at the time, completely overlooking what had occurred since. They were blaming all the bad things on YHWH.
We have here in summary the typical attitude of the natural man towards religion. What he is concerned about is what he can get out of it. His question is, ‘does it work?’ In other words does it make him prosperous and make his life easy. It was Satan’s view expressed about Job, ‘does Job fear God for nothing?’ (Job 1.9). In contrast the spiritual man asks, ‘is it making me purer, more righteous, truer? Am I more God-like as a result?’ That last was a question that this people never even considered, for had they done so they would have known the answer.
18 But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.”
For, the women claimed, it was only since they had been forced to leave off burning incense and offering drink-offerings to the moon/star god/goddess that they had found themselves in want and had experienced the sword and famine. This was, of course, an exaggeration, for after the death of Josiah all the kings who followed him had ‘done evil in the sight of YHWH’, thus allowing the burgeoning of idolatry. It was therefore rather a vague memory of a time in the past when King Josiah had caused all such things to cease as far as worship in Jerusalem and other major cities was concerned (it had still gone on secretly in the high places). And they conveniently saw everything that followed as resulting from that.
19 The women also said, “And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ permission?”
And the women assured Jeremiah that they were not alone in thinking like this. Their husbands had been equally involved. They had been fully aware of what their wives were doing, and had even connived in it. This would in fact have been necessary for no woman in Judah could make a binding vow unless her husband agreed with it (Numbers 30.3-16). Furthermore, this worship was not something that they could have kept secret from their husbands. Indeed, as 7.18 so vividly portrays, ‘the children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the moon/star god/goddess and to pour out drink-offerings to other gods. They were all involved together.
So, if this was a gathering of all the Judeans in Egypt who had gathered together from all over Egypt, they stood firm together in their determination not to listen to Jeremiah, but to pursue their own course of syncretistic polytheism. They themselves were claiming that they were making the same choice as their fathers had before them. Once again Jeremiah could have looked everywhere and would have found no one willing to do the will of YHWH. It is manifest that they had failed to learn the lesson of history.
Jeremiah’s reply was to point out that it was the very fact that they had offered worship to other gods that had in the past been the cause of all their problems. It was that that had brought all God’s warnings of judgment on them from the prophets. It was precisely what God had had in mind when He had caused their cities to be destroyed and had made them a spectacle to the world.
20 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people—the men, the women, and all the people who had given him that answer—saying:
Note that Jeremiah’s reply is to ‘the men and the women’ who had been involved in the people’s response to him. All were involved and therefore all were guilty.
21 “The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and did it not come into His mind?
He points out that it was the very incense burned in their cities to false gods that YHWH had remembered and had recalled. That was the very reason why He was angry with them and was why judgment had come on them. And what was more they had all been involved, they themselves, their fathers, their rulers and all the people of the land.
22 So the LORD could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore, your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, as it is this day.
It was not just their false worship that YHWH could ‘no longer bear’, but also the evil practices that arose from it and went with it. The ‘abominations’ were their false worship. But ‘the evil of their doings’ had in mind the actions and behavior that went along with their false worship, sexual misbehavior, violence and excess. And it was because of all these things that their land had been desolated to such an extent that it had astonished all their neighbors around them. That was why their land had become a curse, subjected to the curses described in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. It had been left ‘without inhabitant’.
23 Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law, in His statutes or in His testimonies, therefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day.”
Here Jeremiah analyses everything that has resulted in their judgment. This evil had happened to them precisely because they had:
.Burned incense (to false gods).
. Sinned against YHWH
. Not obeyed the voice of YHWH
. Not walked in His law, nor His statutes, nor His testimonies
In other words, It had happened to them because they had rejected YHWH’s commands and had breached His covenant with them continually, living in deliberate disobedience and flagrantly refusing to walk in His ways. Now at last His patience had come to an end. And these people especially had no grounds for complaint, for they had actually promised YHWH that they would do whatever He told them (42.3-6) and had then refused.
We have here the last prophetic words of Jeremiah of which we are aware, and they are as severe an indictment of the Judeans in Egypt as any that he gave against Jerusalem and Judah. The judgment he pronounces is so severe that the consequence will be that none will be left in Egypt to say ‘as the Lord YHWH lives’. It is a picture of the almost complete annihilation of the Jews at that time present in Egypt. Furthermore, in case they are looking to the Pharaoh of Egypt to help them, he warns them that far from being able to protect them, the great Pharaoh Hophra on whom they are relying will himself prove as helpless as their own King Zedekiah had been. It is his demise that will be a sign to them that all that YHWH has said concerning them will come about.
24 Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt!
Once again, we have the stress on the fact that this is ‘the word of YHWH’. That does not simply mean that YHWH has said it. It stresses that YHWH will bring it about. YHWH’s word always goes forth to bring about what He has said.
25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’
Jeremiah points out concerning their idolatry that they have both declared it openly with their mouths and by their actions have brought it about. And it applies both to them and their wives. None were innocent. They had said that they would assuredly fulfil the vows that they had made to burn incense to ‘the queen of heaven’, and that is what they had done. And they had also offered drink offerings to her.
Note the stress on the vows that they had made. They had entered specific covenant with her, ignoring their covenant with YHWH.
The command “Establish then your vows and perform your vows” is full of significant sarcasm. It contains a veiled warning of what will happen if they do so. It is a warning that they are heading straight into trouble. In other words, God is saying, ‘OK, do what you intend, but recognize at the same time how awful the consequences will be for you’. Note the emphasis both on their making their covenant with the false goddess (‘establish your vows’) and their carrying it into practice (‘perform your vows’), when they should have been doing both to YHWH.
26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord GOD lives.”
Of course, by their behavior they were rejecting the Name of YHWH, for they were doing precisely what He had forbidden. Well they were making their vows, and now let them take note of the fact that He is making His vow. For He has sworn by His great Name, the Name that by their actions they have blasphemed, that His Name will be taken from among them. They will no more name His Name, nor will they say, ‘as the Lord YHWH lives’. And this will be because they are dead.
The point behind this is that to name the Name of YHWH puts men under special obligation to observe His covenant. While they would no doubt have argued that they still held to the covenant and worshipped YHWH among other gods, YHWH was pointing out the impossibility of sustaining that position. To follow His covenant would necessarily have resulted in a rejecting of all other gods. Thus, by their very compromise they were bringing on themselves YHWH’s judgment because of their hypocrisy. For YHWH would not allow such hypocrisy to continue where it involved His holy Name. They were either His or they were not. By His very nature they could not be ‘partly His’. The very point of saying that ‘the Lord YHWH lives’ was to bring out that He is the living God. It should therefore have made them recognise that He would brook no compromise, and therefore that as the living God He would act in judgment against them.
27 Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them.
So, yes, He would continue to watch over them. But it would be for evil and not for good. He would bring on them what by their actions and words they were bringing on themselves. He would demonstrate that He was the living God. For He would arrange for all the Jews in Egypt to be consumed either by war or by starvation, something that would go on until a complete end had been made of them. Both were the constant fear of men in ancient times. And they would occur because YHWH was no longer protecting them. He would leave them to the consequences of history.
28 Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.
But even in this there was a saving purpose. For the aim was that the remnant who did escape would in the future be able to bear witness to the truth of what YHWH had said and done and would be able to verify the fact that His word stood firm. There will be a remnant who will escape to carry God’s promises forward. God does not leave Himself without a witness.
29 And this shall be a sign to you,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for adversity.’
YHWH then gives them a sign in terms of a future occurrence. His very declaration of the certainty of what is to happen in the future is to be a sign. Thus, here YHWH’s words of what would happen were themselves to be the sign. And it was a sign of the certainty of their future punishment and a guarantee that His words would bring about evil on them. His very words, which had in the past done Israel so much good, would now ‘stand against them for evil’.
30 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.’
For the sign that He was giving was the guarantee of the downfall of the king of Egypt in whom they were trusting. The great Pharaoh must have seemed to them like a mighty bulwark. He was the guarantee of their security in Egypt. But let them now note the fact that YHWH was guaranteeing his sure end. On the word of YHWH Pharaoh Hofra would be given into the hands of those who sought his life. Thus He would prove not to be so invincible after all. And YHWH’s very declaration of the fact was a sign both that it would happen, and that Judah in Egypt were similarly doomed. Whilst in normal circumstances what someone says will happen cannot be a sign, it was different in the case of YHWH. For His very saying it was a guarantee that it would happen.
Pharaoh Hofra (or Apries) ruled over Egypt from 589-570 BC. It was he who promised aid to King Zedekiah against the Babylonians but who, despite attempting to provide such aid, was unable to deliver on his promises, his army being thwarted and turned back by the Babylonians (37.5). Whether an actual battle took place we do not know. In 570 BC part of his army rebelled against him because of a disastrous campaign in Libya and for three years he had to be satisfied with ruling Egypt jointly alongside Pharaoh Amosis (Amahsis). At the end of the three years he was overthrown by Amosis and executed, and thus ‘given into the hands of his enemies who sought his life’. It was during the latter’s reign (in 568/7 BC) that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt, probably on a reprisal raid. Egypt did, however, retain its independence and Amosis and Nebuchadnezzar would later establish a treaty relationship.
Reference to what happened to Zedekiah at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar is intended to bring out that it was YHWH who brought about the end of both Hophra and Zedekiah. The destinies of both were under His control. It may also indicate that Hophra had similarly offended YHWH and was therefore dealt with in a similar way. But we are given no detail. There is no suggestion that Hophra himself directly suffered at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. The emphasis is on the fact that he would not die peacefully. It is interesting that Hophra had once declared, ‘not even a god can remove me from my throne’.
