The Consequences of Separation from God

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: Jeremiah 44:1-30

 

Ephesians 6:12

 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

(ESV)

 

The expected red wave in the November 8, 2022 election did not materialize but the U.S. House of Representatives did shift from Democrat control to Republican, making it possible to halt the out-of-control spending contributing to high inflation in the U.S. While this is good news for the U.S. economy, the closeness of the election indicates a divisiveness in the culture. Politically this divisiveness is a division between the Democrat and Republican governing philosophies, spiritually there is a division between Godliness and ungodliness, a battle not with flesh and blood but a battle with principalities and powers in high places (Ephesians 6:12). This battle cannot be fought with conventional weapons but spiritual weapons (Ephesians 6:13-18), weapons only accessible through drawing close to God and not separating from God.

 

A remnant of Jews in Judah decided to move to Egypt to seek safety from the Babylonian occupiers of Judah. This goes against the Word of the Lord issued by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 42:7-17). In Jeremiah 44:1-30, we see that the remnant in Egypt has decided to separate from the worship of the one true God and worship the queen of heaven when in Egypt (Jeremiah 44:17). While those choosing to worship the queen of heaven believe this will return them to the prosperity they enjoyed in Egypt, it is exactly what led to the exile (Jeremiah 44:20-21). The consequences of this decision to separate from the worship of God to the worship of the false God of the queen of heaven will have the dire consequence of death by the sword and famine (Jeremiah 44:11-14).

 

Despite this additional warning from the Lord, the remnant in Egypt continues their path of separation from the worship of God and continue their worship of the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 44:15-19). The queen of heaven possibly refers to the goddess Ishtar, Astarte, or Ashtoreth a near eastern goddess of fertility. (1) It is separation from God that led to Israel and Judah’s exile and the remnant in Egypt is destined to suffer a worse fate, death by the sword, famine, and pestilence for their separation from the worship of God (Jeremiah 44:11-14). The moral of the story is that one should run to God and not from Him in times of trouble.

 

The remnant returning to Egypt from Judah have decided to worship the queen of heaven, following in the footsteps of their ancestors (Jeremiah 44:15-17). To justify their decision, they fall for the deception that the consequence of their situation is due to stopping the worship of foreign gods, forgetting that their situation is due to the worship of other gods and the separation of themselves from God, resulting in their exile. God explicitly commanded His people to only worship Him (Exodus 20:1-3) reminding them that He was the one who delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 20:2). However, the remnant from Judah going to Egypt is seeking safety and security by returning to Egypt instead of returning to God.

 

We live in unprecedented times. While the overturning of Roe v. Wade returned the decision on legalizing abortion over to the states, the debate remains with the lives of the innocent unborn in the balance. Traditional marriage is under attack, replaced with gay marriage with churches under pressure to perform gay weddings. Businesses are under pressure to cater to the LGPTQ community to avoid legal action and negative comments in media and social media. Even the creation of God which God declared as good (Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31) questioned with people born with one gender claiming God made a mistake and they should be the other gender.

 

The Church has a choice to make. Does it essentially return to Egypt by reaching out to individuals falling for these deceptions, accepting their behavior, or remain true to God by standing against these ungodly lifestyles, lovingly pointing the individuals involved in these lifestyles to Christ? The Church at Laodicea is an example of a Church preoccupied with its wealth and prosperity instead of with Jesus Christ, a lukewarm Church (Revelation 3:14-22). While Revelation 3:20 is used to evangelize people, in the context of Revelation 3:14-22, it indicates Jesus is outside this Church wanting to come in and not involved in the Church.

 

In contrast, the Church at Philadelphia is a Church not spewed out of the Lord’s mouth because of its lukewarmness but instead commended for its good works and provided an open door despite its little power (Revelation 3:7-13). Even though this Church had little power, it stayed true to the word of God and promised escape from the hour of trial coming upon the world (Revelation 3:8-10). The mission of the Church is not a mission of compromising with the world to attract them into becoming involved with the Church but a mission of staying true to the Word of God and pointing people to a loving God who sent His Son to die for their sins (John 3:16-18; Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20; Revelation 3:8). If you are reading this and have never asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior, I invite you to do so now by praying with me,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.

 

1. Mariana, Tota. Who is the Queen of Heaven in Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19; 44:25. The Marian Blogger. [Online] July 23, 2019. [Cited: November 19, 2022.] https://themarianblogger.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/who-is-the-queen-of-heaven-in-jeremiah-718-4417-19-4425/.