The Mystery of Ephraim

Chapter 43 sets the background that lead to Chapter 44, where the impudent and impious contempt which the remnants of the Jews put upon this admonition, and their declared resolution to persist in their allegiance to the Queen of heaven and other idolatries, in despite both being warned from God and his prophet Jeremiah.

God’s judgement upon them for their obstinacy are shift; that they should all be cut off and perish in Egypt, except a still smaller number of which will escape; because the Pharaoh of Egypt should shortly fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and be unable to protect them any longer.

Jeremiah 43

¹ And it came to pass that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, even all these words,

² then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, “Thou speakest falsely. The Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, ‘Go not into Egypt to sojourn there.’

— and Johanan and all the proud men; Johanan who had saved them earlier, who are commonly proud of their greatness; of their descent, their family and blood; of their wealth and riches, and posts of honour; perhaps the captains of the forces are meant, who elsewhere are mentioned along with Johanan, Jeremiah 40:13;

— these were men having a high opinion of their own wisdom; and could not bear to be contradicted or advised by the prophet, nor even by the Lord himself; and are justly called, by the Targum, as wicked men; their pride was the cause of their rebellion against God and disobedience to him;

— saying unto Jeremiah, thou speakest falsely: or “a lie” it being contrary to their minds: so the prophets of the Lord and even the word of God itself are charged with falsehoods;

— the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, go not into Egypt to sojourn there; they did not care to own it was the word of the Lord; whatever convictions they had in their minds; they would not openly appear to be opponents against God; but deny that the prophet was sent byGod.

³ But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death and carry us away captives into Babylon.”

— but Baruch the son of Neriah sets you against us to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death and carry us away captives into Babylon; upon this suspicion and accusation, these men based their opposition to Jeremiah’s counsel which conveyed to them the warnings of the Lord.

⁴ So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people obeyed not the voice of the Lord to dwell in the land of Judah. — so Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord to dwell in the land of Judah.

⁵ But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah, who had returned from all nations whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah

— these are those who had fled to other countries, but now were returned from thence, in order to settle in the land of Judah; having heard that a governor from among the Jews was appointed over it; as from Moab, Ammon, Edom and other countries; Jeremiah 40:11;

⁶ even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.

— men, women, children, even the king’s daughters, the princesses of the royal household, Jeremiah 41:10, and every person that Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah, the governor,

— and even Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the scribe; all of these people were obliged to join the caravan of refugees, but the Q is, why didn’t Jeremiah and Baruch resist? And go their own way?

⁷ So they came into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord; thus came they even to Tahpanhes. — so the Jews and the king’s daughters came into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord, as made known by the mouth of Jeremiah; thus came they even to Tahpanhes, the city of Daphne on one of the eastern delta-arms of the Nile.

⁸ Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, — so Jeremiah was among his fellow treacherous Israelites, also came into Egypt; did he not rebelled against God, or was he bound and lacked freedom?

⁹ “Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah; — Tahpanhes is the seat of the Pharaoh of Egypt where the Jewish refugee came for;

— the palace of Pharaoh included not only the buildings proper, but their entire enclosure as well, surrounded by a high wall. Opposite the entrance of this enclosure the bricks for the building or for the repairing of the royal palace were made, and it was in the clay of this kiln among the stones that Jeremiah and others were to be hidden;

— Tahpanhes is the same with “Hanes” in Jeremiah 2:16 and Tahpanhes, Jeremiah 43:7 as the Targum calls it; it is thought to be the same with Daphnae Pelusiae; here Pharaoh had a house or palace; Jeremiah 43:9 and this is the reason that the entourage from Judah and the king’s daughters had good refuge to go there for protection.

¹⁰ and say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

— now God expounds his meaning in his former command: he ordered Jeremiah to take stones and hide themselves in a place near the king of Egypt’s palace; thus they most probably didn’t meet the Pharaoh’s entourage;

— thus saith the God of Israel, Behold, I will send Nebuchadnezzar, my servant, in carrying out my purpose upon Egypt, and will set Nebuchadnezzar’s throne upon these stones that I have hidden the refugees; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them, namely, the rich tapestry which formed the curtains over the throne when the king sat to judge;

— God makes one wicked man or a wicked nation, a scourge and plague to another; he calls Nebuchadnezzar his servant, his horsewhip, because in this instance he should execute God’s will, accomplish his purposes, and be instrumental in carrying on his designs; Ezekiel 29:18-20;

— upon these stones that I have hidden the Prophet Jeremiah and his close ones, Baruch and the king’s daughters; God inspired the stones to be laid by himself, because here the Scripture revealed they were laid at his command and even spread his royal pavilion over them, but put Nebuchadnezzar, his servant, to sit on that throne to judge!

¹¹ And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as are for the sword to the sword.

— and when Nebuchadnezzar cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt and deliver such as are for death, principally by the sword, rather than by famine and pestilence to death, and such as are from captivity to captivity, and by the sword, that is, as if death in battle, to the sword;

— in this way, as the scourge of the Lord, he would also act as the servant of the Most High; both the act of laying the stones and the words spoken of are significant; for the stones of the throne’s foundation are symbolical of the power and firmness of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, while the clay of Pharaoh’s palace signifies the weakness of his power.

¹² And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captives; and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.

— and God will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, to show the helplessness of their idols in the country whose security the Jews seeked; including the Queen of heaven, Astarte; and he, Nebuchadnezzar, shall burn them and carry them away captives, the very gods of Egypt who they serve; and he shall array himself in the land of Egypt as a shepherd putteth on his garment, and he shall go forth from thence in peace;

— the point of comparison is the freedom and the ease of the act; for just as easily and quickly as a shepherd takes up his mantle, practically his garment and wraps it about him, so will Nebuchadnezzar easily take hold upon Egypt and the whole country in his hand, leave without hindrance and none opposing him.

¹³ He shall break also the images of Bethshemesh [the House of the Sun] that are in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.’”

— Nebuchadnezzar shall also break the images of Bethshemesh that is in the land of Egypt, the renowned Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis. “The images of Bethshemesh are, above all, the obelisks, of which there was an unlimited number in the city. Of the oldest, however, were not the largest, one still remains in its place.”

— the images of the Bethshemesh; that is, the “city of the sun” as the Septuagint says; and so “Bethshemesh” signifies the “house of the sun” either it designs the temple of the sun, or the city where it was worshipped; as Heliopolis was famous for the worship of the sun, and for a magnificent temple in it; but is foretold of its destruction by Isaiah, Isaiah 19:18;

—where the Targum expressly calls it the city Bethshemesh, that is to be destroyed; in this manner would all the representatives of Egyptian idol-worship fall before the power of Nebuchadnezzar, and the hope and trust of the Jews who fled to Egypt would find themselves worshipping these gods of woods and stones in vain.

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Another parallel on Sun worship in Ezekiel 8 by the house of Judah with comments embedded below

¹⁵ Then said He unto me, “Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶ And He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’S house, and behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east.

— the heads of the twenty-four courses of the priesthood, led by the high priest, making up the “twenty five men” were not only worshipping the sun: they were doing so in the very temple of God, with their backs turned upon the presence of God!

— the worship of heavenly bodies was against God’s will which Moses had warned the people (Deuteronomy 4:19, 17:3, whose penalty is to be stoned to death, Deuteronomy 17:5 ’till they die). These 25 men corrupted themselves by worshipping the sun; and so the Targum renders it, “and, lo, they corrupted themselves, worshipping facing the east the sun; their backs toward the temple of the Lord” — turned their backs to the most holy place; which is an aggravation of their impiety; casting the utmost contempt for God:

Moses’ warnings in Deuteronomy 17

³ And [if you] hath gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, 4 and it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it and inquired diligently, and behold, it be true and the thing certain that such abomination is wrought in Israel, 5 then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman who has committed that wicked thing unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones till they die. Deuteronomy 17:3-5

— today, more than 98.5 percent of Christians are honoring the SUN by observing SUNday worship. They have “their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the SUN toward the east; whose penalty is to be stoned to death – ’till they die.

— also, following the SUN-worshipping Samaritans, most Church of God Communities are showing their contempt for God by having their “wavesheaf offering” and Pentecost on a SUNday; always on a SUNday. And these are supposedly in God’s Sanctuary, but God says He is a jealous God, so these pretentious Christians could be spewed out of His mouth! A death penalty – ’till they die!

Jeremiah 44

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

— the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which seeked refuge in Egypt, in spite of the earnest remonstrances of Jeremiah, which dwell at Migdol, on the northeastern boundary of Egypt,

— and at Tahpanhes, in the delta of the Nile, and at Noph, or Memphis, the capital of Lower Egypt, and in the country of Pathros, that is, Upper Egypt, for in the intervening years the Jews had selected different parts of Egypt for temporary omes;

— but if Jeremiah and Baruch were faithful servants of God WHY did they allowed themselves to come to Egypt with Johanan the son of Kareah? Jeremiah and Baruch were not in chains so why didn’t they remain in Judah?

— the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt; This Note Is From The Companion Bible:

Recent discoveries of Papyri in the ruins of Elephantine (an island in the Nile, opposite Assouan), dating from the fifth century BC, bear witness to two great facts:-
(1) That Jews were then dwelling there (in 424-405 BC)
(2) That they were observing the Feast of the Passover, “as it is written in the law of Moses.”

² “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,

— thus saith the Lord of hosts, Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem and of Judah, most of the Jews addressed having been witnesses of the terrible catastrophe; and behold this day they are a desolation and no man dwelleth therein, the entire land, formerly so rich, fruitful and populous had become an uninhabited desert;

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 knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers.

— because of your wickedness to provoke me to anger in that you went leaving the path of God and duty set before them by the Word of God, to burn incense and to serve other gods, by such act of worship, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers.

⁴ Nevertheless, I sent unto you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, ‘Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.’

— however, I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, full of merciful eagerness to prevent the threatened catastrophe, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate, which filled him with loathing.

⁵ But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. — but they hearkened not nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, they paid not the slightest attention to Yehovah’s admonitions and warnings, and not to burn incense to other gods.

⁶ Therefore My fury and Mine anger was poured forth and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.

— wherefore my fury and anger was poured forth, like an overturned vessel spilling all its contents at once, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and streets of Jerusalem, for the fire of destruction was a manifestation of divine anger; and they are wasted and desolate.

⁷ “Therefore, now thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why commit ye this great evil against your souls to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah to leave you none to remain,

— therefore, thus saith the God of Israel, Why commit ye this great evil to the destruction of their own lives, for they were not injuring the Lord, but merely themselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, in a judgement of complete extermination, to leave you none to remain,

⁸ in that ye provoke Me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt whither ye have gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

— provoking me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, having profited nothing by the example of Jerusalem’s destruction, that you might cut yourselves off, and that you might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

— that they were looked upon as an accursed people of God, and their names were taken up for a proverb and a reproach everywhere; because of their dwelling there, Egypt was invaded; for if they hadn’t gone there, Egypt would have been left alone;

— whereas the manifestation of God’s glory was limited in the days of Egypt during the Exodus, the manifestation of God’s glory during the endtime would be unlimited; this comes as a result of our advancement in satelite communications, 4G, 5G and even 6G by then.

⁹ Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives which they have committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

— have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, their evil doings and wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

— the queens of Judah, together with the women throughout the country, had been the chief promoters of idolatry; for just as women may be the chief upholders of virtue, they may also be the chief agents for the spreading of wickedness.

¹⁰ They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in My law, nor in My statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.

— they are not humbled even unto this day, they had not yet learned to turn to the Lord with contrite hearts, neither have they feared nor walked in my Law nor my Statutes that I set before them and before their fathers;

— they had deliberately ignored the norm and rule which the Lord had given them to follow, and the Lord speaks of them partly in the third person to give expression to the supreme disgust which filled his heart at their behavior;

— the Targum says, “they cease not unto this day;” that is, from committing the same things; which shows they had no true humiliation and contrition for them. This is to be understood not of the Jews in Babylon only, but chiefly of those in Egypt.

¹¹ “Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set My face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah. — and to cut off all Judah; not the whole tribe; not those that were in Babylon, which were by far the greatest number of that tribe; but those that were in Egypt.

¹² And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine. They shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be an execration and an astonishment, and a curse and a reproach.

— that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt, despites all the remonstrances made to them to the contrary; and were now actually sojourners there: this describes such persons who wilfully go against God’s will and of their own accord;

— and they shall all be consumed in Egypt; not by natural death, one after another; but by the judgements of God, even be consumed by the sword and by famine; by a foreign army and sieges; by the sword of the king of Babylon;

— they shall die; from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; which is repeated for the confirmation of it, to persons of every age, state and condition, rank and degree, young and old, high and low, rich and poor: and they shall be an execration, an astonishment and a curse.

— that they were looked upon as an accursed people of God by the Egyptians, and their names were taken up for a proverb and a reproach everywhere; because of their dwelling there, Egypt was invaded; for if they hadn’t gone there, Egypt would have been left alone

— such a scene would be repeated at the endtime, the Goyim would be wondering why the house of Jacob is such a curse; surely they are the blessed people; collectively the birthright people, Ephraim the firstborn;

Below are a few Scriptures for reflections:

And He said unto me, “Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this scroll that I give thee.” Then did I eat it, and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetnes,” Ezekiel 3:3 (good to read the whole chapter);

And I went unto the angel and said unto him, “Give me the little book.” And he said unto me, “Take it and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.”

“And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter,” Revelation 10:9-10

¹³ For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, — God ensures those that disobeyed wouldn’t be able to escape;

¹⁴ so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah to which they have a desire to return to dwell there; for none shall return but such as shall escape.”

— so that none of the remnant of Judah which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there shall escape or remain that they should return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there, they were literally, “lifting up their souls with eagerness” and hoped to make Judea their home once more;

— for none shall return but such as shall escape; out of the hands of Johanan and the rest of the captains; nor should they get out of the land of Egypt before the Chaldeans came into it;

— perhaps Jeremiah and Baruch did escaped, together with the king’s daughters, whose mission was to build up and to plant; another commission of Jeremiah taken up by Ezekiel 17; of bringing down the high tree and exalting the low tree.

¹⁵ Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great multitude, even all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

— then all their wives that had burned incense unto other gods and other women that stood by, a great multitude, from which many have concluded that the festival was to honor the Queen of Heaven, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, where this meeting was held,

¹⁶ “As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. — even the men, greatly influenced by the women, who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, rebelled against Jeremiah, saying, “we will not hearken unto thee.”

¹⁷ 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 bread, and were well and saw no evil.

— but we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, the vows which they had made when they embraced idolatry, to burn incense unto the Queen of heaven, that is, Ashtaroth or Astarte, 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;

— such statement amounts to revolting boastfulness; for then had we plenty of victuals, literally, “we were satisfied with bread,” having food of every kind in sufficient amounts, and were well and saw no evil; enjoying good fortune and happiness as they believed.

¹⁸ But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings unto her, we have been wanting in all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.”

— but since we stopped to burn incense to the Queen of heaven, and to pour drink offerings unto her, we have had scarceness of everything, and we have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

¹⁹ “And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her without our men?” — “without our men” that is, without their husbands’ knowledge and consent;

— the Queen of heaven: that is, they sacrifice to the sun, moon and stars, which they called the queen of heaven;

— the Phœnicians called the moon Ashtoreth or Astarte: the wife of Baal or Moloch, the king of heaven; today the virgin Mary Queen of heaven and so out of the virgin and mother of Jesus Christ, made an idol; for here the prophet condemns their idolatry. (the Queen of heaven, that is, Ashtaroth or Astarte: more at the end)

²⁰ Then Jeremiah said unto all the people — to the men, and to the women, and to all the people who 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?

— the incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah and in Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, of which they in their wickedness, did not the Lord remember them and came it not 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 ye have committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, and an astonishment and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

— so that the Lord could no longer bear because of the evil of your doing’s and because of the abominations which ye have committed, with all his long-suffering he could no longer endure it;

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 has happened unto you, as at this day.”

— therefore is your land a desolation and an astonishment and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. The evidences of his wrath upon the Land of Promise were still evident and all on account of their idolatry, as the prophet now repeats once more, for the sake of emphasis.

²⁴ Moreover Jeremiah said unto 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 saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, 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!

— thus saith the Lord of hosts, you 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 perform your vows;

— here is a bit of irony; for as Jeremiah states, no one could accuse them of unsteadiness in keeping their idolatrous promises. If they had only been as steadfast toward Yehovah, the God of the covenant, yet they vowed and burned incense to the Queen of heaven!

²⁶ Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah who 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.”

— 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: or of their being called by his name, and reckoned his people, since this respects not a name by which they should be named, but which they should name; and intends their use of the divine name in an oath, of which this is a form, “the Lord God liveth”:

— or as sure as the Lord lives, or by the living God, especially as used in their vows to burn incense to the Queen of heaven, they vowing by the living God that they would do so, which must be very abominable to him; and therefore he solemnly swears there should not be a Jew in all Egypt that should use it; the reason is, because everyone of them that did should be cut off.

²⁷ Behold, I will watch over them for evil 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 the famine, until there be an end of them.

— and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword, or by famine until there be an end of them; that is, the greatest part of them, excepting a few that shall escape, hereafter mentioned, particularly Jeremiah, Baruch and the king’s daughters;

— but as for the main body of such, who went of their own accord to Egypt, and settled, and fell: into the idolatry of the country; these should all perish till there were none of them left; either by the sword of the king of Babylon; or by famine, which his army and sieges would produce; or by pestilence, though not here mentioned, yet is in Jeremiah 44:13.

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.

— yet a small number that escaped the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah; they shall make their escape out of the land of Egypt, where they did not go willingly; and by one providence or another, shall come back to their native country, the land of Judea, were the rest will not;

— and all the remnant of Judah that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know what words shall stand, mine or theirs; those that are left of the sword, famine and pestilence, shall know by facts before them, whose words have their effect and accomplishment; whether theirs, that promised impunity and safety, peace and prosperity in their idolatrous practices.

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.’

— and this shall be a sign unto you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place; in Egypt as before; and what follows is a confirming sign that so it would be; and which, when observed by some, gave the hint to them to make their escape; though others, being hardened in their idolatry, impenitence and unbelief, continued and perished.

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 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.’”

— as God gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon that sought his life; and God puts the Jews in mind of what they had done to him; and might from hence conclude that this as a sign of their own ruin; and which they might know that it was indeed, the king of Egypt, in whom they trusted, being taken by his enemies, and his country wasted, they must in course fall prey to the conqueror.

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More on the Queen of heaven: Astarte, or Easter

Easter (which is how you pronounce Ishtar) is originally the celebration of Ishtar, the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility and sex. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, in its entry “Easter,” states:

“The term ‘Easter’ is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pasch [Passover] held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast . . . From this Pasch the pagan festival of ‘Easter’ was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity” (W.E. Vine, 1985).

Ishtar was an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, fertility, and sex. She is featured in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the “Ishtar Gate” was part of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. Her worship involved animal sacrifices; objects made of her sacred stone, lapis lazuli; and temple prostitution.

Superimposed over an image of Ishtar are these words: “This is Ishtar: pronounced ‘Easter.’ From Ishtar the name Easter was derived. It’s well known that Easter was originally the celebration of Ishtar, the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility and sex. Her symbols (like the egg and the bunny) were and still are fertility and sex symbols.

Back at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, Constantine read out the letter that he would subsequently send to churches everywhere: “When the question arose concerning the most holy day of Easter it was decreed by common consent to be expedient, that this festival should be celebrated on the same day by all, in every place… Let us then have nothing in common with … the Jews” sums up one of the key movement for the establishment of Easter to be cerebrated in the Church today.

After Constantine decided to Christianize the Empire, Easter was changed to represent Jesus. And everything Jewish were understood to be totally incompatible with Christianity. But at its roots, Easter is outwardly all about celebrating fertility and sex but inwardly it’s paying homage to a Mesopotamian goddess, the Queen of heaven, Ishtar.

~ by Joel Huan on March 14, 2023.

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