“We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD. Instead, we will certainly do everything we promised: we will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her…”
Jeremiah 44:16-17
Through the Bible: Jeremiah 41-45
I thought I was done with some things.
You know that feeling — when you’ve left behind an old habit, an old coping mechanism, an old sin, and you really believe it’s behind you for good. You’ve buried it. Moved on. Walked away clean.
But then life gets hard. The wilderness sets in. And out of nowhere, the old gods start whispering again.
“Remember how good it felt when you had me?”
“Remember how much easier life was back then?”
“You were happier with me.”
And too many times, I’ve believed them.
In today’s passage, Jeremiah is speaking to a group of Judean refugees who have fled to Egypt after Jerusalem fell. Their homes are gone. Their temple is ash. Their nation, crushed under Babylon’s heel.
If anyone should be ready to listen to Jeremiah, you’d think it would be them.
But when Jeremiah calls them back to faithfulness, their response is stunning.
They double down. They reject Jeremiah — and God — outright.
And then comes the heartbreaking reason:
“When we worshiped the Queen of Heaven, we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped, we’ve had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.” (v.18)
In other words: “Life was better when we served our idols. Ever since we stopped, everything’s fallen apart. So we’re going back.”
The Allure of the Queen of Heaven
The “Queen of Heaven” was probably Ishtar or Astarte, an ancient fertility goddess tied to prosperity, sexuality, and security. Her worship promised control: do the rituals, say the prayers, offer the cakes — and the gods will give you what you want.
It was transactional religion. A divine vending machine.
And it felt like it worked.
When Judah prospered materially under idol worship, they drew the wrong conclusion: “Our blessings come from the goddess, not from God.” When suffering came, instead of repenting, they doubled down on the false gods they trusted.
My Own Old Gods
I wish I could shake my head at them and say, “How foolish.” But if I’m honest, I’ve had my own “Queen of Heaven.”
I know what it’s like to look back on old habits — even destructive ones — and feel the tug of nostalgia.
I know what it’s like to whisper to myself:
- “I was less stressed when I had a glass of wine at night.”
- “I felt more alive when I flirted with danger.”
- “Maybe if I just went back to that thing, I’d feel whole again.”
Sometimes bondage wears a memory like perfume. And when wilderness seasons come — when God feels silent or distant — the old gods start to whisper:
“Remember how good it felt when you had me?”
The Tragedy of Misreading the Pain
The Judeans in Egypt got it backward. They thought God’s judgment fell because they stopped idol worship, when in reality, it fell because of idol worship.
How many times have I done the same? When consequences come, I blame God’s commands instead of my rebellion:
“Ever since I tried doing things God’s way, life got harder.” “If following Him leads to emptiness, maybe I should go back.”
But Jeremiah reminds us: it’s not God’s commands that enslave us — it’s the chains we forged ourselves.
Trusting When It Hurts
God’s path often looks riskier than the Queen of Heaven’s. Idols promise immediate satisfaction. God promises something harder: trust Me, even when you can’t see the outcome.
That’s what makes Jeremiah 44 so tragic. God’s people had reached a tipping point where their hearts hardened. They couldn’t believe anymore.
And that’s what makes me pray, quietly, desperately:
“God, soften my heart before it calcifies. Keep me from romanticizing my sin. Help me trust Your goodness, even when instant gratification feels better.
We all have “queens of heaven” — the old gods we turn to for security, comfort, and control. They promise relief. They promise life. But they always take more than they give.
When the old gods whisper, may we have the courage to whisper back:
“No. I remember where that road leads. And I remember Who rescued me from it.”
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