Jeremiah 44:20

The Bible says in Jeremiah 44:20-23, “Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,[21] The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?[22] So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.[23] Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.” This “incense” that is mentioned in verse 21 has to do with false religion. The people whom God had blessed so much were involved in false religion. This is an affront against God, and goes against the very purpose for which God created human beings. We were born to serve the Lord. The very first commandment says in Exodus 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The real reason that so many bad things happened to these people is because they turned away from God. If you want to have the best life possible for you with the happiest results, make sure that you turn to Jesus and serve Him. Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

In Jeremiah 44:22 the word “curse” is used to describe what happened to the Israelites. This verse reminds us that what happened to them can never happen to us because we who believe in Jesus will never be under a curse from God. We are not under law but under grace, and therefore, we are free from the curse of the law. Jesus obeyed the law, and His righteousness is credited to our account.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 44:24-30, “Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:[25] Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.[26] Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith 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 liveth.[27] Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.[28] Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.[29] And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:[30] Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.” Human nature does not change. People are people no matter what id their race or family history. And people are the same today as they were thousands of years ago. That is one of the reasons that the Bible is so applicable. These Israelites who fled to Egypt show how foolish and inconsistent that people can be with the vows that they make. And people do still make vows. A vow is simply a promise to do something. People make promises all the time. As a matter of fact, the covenant of the law was based upon a mutual promise: God promised to bless the children of Israel, and they promised to obey the law. Unfortunately, the children of Israel did not keep their promise. That was the weakness of the law: the inability of human beings to keep their side of the promise. Therefore, the contract was broken and made null and void. The New Covenant that is based upon the blood of Jesus does not have that weakness because the New Covenant is based entirely upon God’s promise, and God always keeps His promises. The promise is that whoever believes in Jesus will be given eternal life and will be under the love of God forever unconditionally.

In regards to the vows or promises made by the Israelites, it did not seem to bother them that they broke their covenant with God. But once they made a vow to a false god, then they just had to keep that vow. It was a matter of honor, you know. I have seen the same foolish logic used by some young people. They make some foolish promise to their peer group or their friends, and they feel they must keep that foolish promise. That promise might have to do with drugs or alcohol or some other risky behavior. If you made a foolish promise, then you made a mistake of judgment. It is okay to tell someone that you made a mistake, and that you are not going to keep the promise because it was a foolish mistake to make it in the first place.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 45:1-5, “The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, [2] Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch;[3] Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.[4] Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.[5] And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.” Baruch was one of the few people who helped Jeremiah and who served the Lord during this tremendously difficult time in Israel. But Baruch had a failure of faith. Anyone who says, “Woe is me now” like Baruch did has had a failure. Believers have the highest of goals and the most noble of standards set for us by our Savior. One of the things that the Lord wants us to learn is to live by faith in Him. The importance of living by faith cannot be over-emphasized. The first act of faith for any true Christian is when he or she puts their trust in the Lord Jesus as Savior from their sins. In addition to being saved by faith, the Lord wants us to learn to live by faith: to put our trust in Jesus for every moment of every day. It says in Romans 1:17 in a quotation from Habakuk 2:4, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” It is obvious that Jesus was consistently teaching the apostles to learn to live by faith.

Several times in the book of Matthew Jesus said to the apostles, “O ye of little faith.” It was both a rebuke and a statement of amazement. How could those who had been with Jesus so much demonstrate such lack of faith at times. The same can be said today. How can those who have known Jesus as Savior for many, many years come upon situations where they shoe no faith? It says in Matthew 6:25-30, “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?[26] Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?[27] Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?[28] And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:[29] And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.[30] Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” This passage of scripture is all about worry and fear. You can tell if you are living a life of faith in the Lord, by how much worry or fear you experience. If you are one of God’s children because you have been saved by Jesus, the Lord has promised to provide for you, guide you, protect you, and use you as you go through this life. In this passage Jesus is talking about the basic necessities of life: food and clothing. Jesus gives a very clear promise in verse 33 that every believer’s basic needs will be supplied. Jesus promised, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” This is God’s side of it that is designed to take away worry. Our side of it is to believe and trust Him. Of course, there is a practical side too. Faith is not a welfare system. Faith does not eliminate the practical side of things and the need to be willing to work. Faith does not take away the work necessary, but faith does take away the worry. Jesus said in verse 30, “O ye of little faith” because He was amazed that the apostles were still worrying about their material needs.

Jesus also said in Matthew 8:23-26, “And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.[24] And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.[25] And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.[26] And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” What should a Christian fear? The answer: nothing. This is a world in which life is temporary and there are many natural disasters. But Jesus is Lord over nature as well as everyone and everything else. He will protect us as long as He has a use for us on this earth. If you have faith in your Lord no matter what danger you are facing, then you will not fear.

The following passage is one of the most well-known incidents in the gospels when both Jesus and Peter walked on water. Jesus said in Matthew 14:22-32, “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.[23] And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.[24] But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.[25] And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.[26] And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.[27] But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.[28] And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.[29] And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.[30] But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.[31] And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?[32] And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.” One of the lessons to be learned from this incident in reference to a person who lives a life of faith is that you can accomplish things that you may be totally unaware of right now. You can do whatever the Lord wants you to do, if you live by faith in Him. There are no limitations for you, whether you are a man or a woman, and whether you are a boy or a girl. Because all things are possible for God, that means that all things are possible for you too if you live by faith in Jesus. In other words, commit every task that you have to the Lord and trust Him for the outcome. How great that outcome can be if you learn to live by faith day by day. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

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