When someone knows God's message but refuses to listen, it's a deeper problem than just not knowing. What does this kind of defiance reveal?

In Jeremiah 44:16, the people of Judah, now refugees in Egypt, don't deny that Jeremiah spoke God's word to them. Unlike some who might claim ignorance or misunderstanding, they plainly state, 'As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.'

Acknowledging the Source, Rejecting the Message

This isn't a case of mistaken identity or a false prophet. They recognize that Jeremiah claims to speak for the LORD. Their rebellion is direct and conscious. They know the message is supposedly from God, but they have firmly decided they will not obey it.

The Root of Resistance

This stubborn refusal often springs from a heart determined to follow its own desires. The commentaries highlight that when people are ruled by their lusts, they may pretend a message isn't from God, but deep down, they're resolved not to comply. It's a pre-meditated decision to prioritize their own will over divine instruction, regardless of how clearly God's word is presented.

The people in Egypt faced hardship, but instead of seeing their sin as the cause, they blamed their suffering on obeying God. How does this twisted logic work?

The people of Judah had fled to Egypt after the destruction of Jerusalem, a state of great distress. In their misery, they were doing precisely what God had forbidden – burning incense to the 'queen of heaven' (likely a reference to celestial bodies or a pagan goddess).

The Self-Serving Argument

When Jeremiah confronts them with God's word, their defense, as noted in the commentaries, is quite revealing. They argue that since they stopped worshipping the host of heaven (following some prior, perhaps incomplete, injunction), they have 'wanted all things.' They implicitly blame their current suffering and lack of provisions on their of idolatry.