Jerimiah 44:16-18- As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto 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 had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.

First, let's state the obvious, there is no "queen of heaven". This queen of heaven was not blessing the people when they gave her offerings and not blessing them when they stopped because this "queen of heaven" did not and does not exist. Why then were the Jews suffering through famine and war?

Jerimiah 44:23- 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 testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.

The chastisement was not coming from the queen of heaven but the LORD of heaven. They had forgotten the fact that with sin, comes consequences, even when you cease doing it. Sometimes God's people think to themselves, since I have stopped this sin, I will not receive a consequence. This is not always true, especially when you consider the level (under the sun) of sin it is. Some sins can cause a consequence that can go on for days, years, and even a lifetime. We must be careful to avoid such actions. In this case the Jews are guilty of idolatry, so God saw it fit to send them famine and war. Since they received this, the Jews saw it fit to return to worship this queen of heaven. As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly (Pro 26:11). When receiving a consequence for our sin, this is no time to return to it. May we take the chastisement from the Lord as his children, and continue to follow after him. Since the Jews decided to go back to idol worship, God would say, I've had enough.

Jerimiah 44:27- 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.

A message like this can seem harsh, I share it though because I have experienced it myself. The sins of yesterday can leave long lasting scars and going back to those sins can lead to destruction. My prayer is that the church turn from the sins that easily beset us and press into the kingdom; whether we are feeling a consequence or not.

In Christian Love,