Jeremiah 44:20-25 - Because you have not obeyed disaster has come upon you

44:20-23

Jeremiah tells them that they had seen all these things happen in Jerusalem and Judah. And they had seen the judgement of God come upon them. Yet they had learnt nothing. Our capacity to not learn from our mistakes knows few bounds. This is something we see both on a personal level, and on a national level. The book of Jeremiah can be seen as the depiction of the utter depravity of mankind. The claim that if only we had one more chance we would be OK is not backed up by the evidence.

44:24,25

Jeremiah then addresses the people, and it adds “including the women”. The men were indeed wrong not to correct the women when they made cakes for idols. However, the women should also have accepted responsibility for their actions. This is a good general principle. We all need to take responsibility for ourselves. We can always find someone else to blame. That person may well have their own guilt, but that does not absolve us of our own responsibility. The Lord tells them that they have indeed done what they vowed to do (to disobey God). They would therefore take the consequences.