“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” Isaiah 5:20

I’ve been doing my morning reading in the Old Testament, specifically the book of Jeremiah and I’ve gotta say, it’s been years since I’ve read through some of these tougher portions of the Bible. It’s slow going at times, but I am learning a lot.

The prophet Jeremiah ministered at a time in Israel’s history when the nation was finally coming under God’s judgment for their continuous idolatry. After hundreds of years of warning and gracious postponement by God, judgment came and the capital city of Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian army in 587 BC. People were carried off into captivity in Babylon (modern day Iraq) and refugees also spilled out into the surrounding areas of Edom, Moab, and Egypt.

It was among the refugees in Egypt that the prophet found an almost unbelievable situation. The Jewish community, after fleeing for their lives, had arrived at a completely wrong-headed interpretation of recent events. Rather than attributing the devastation of Jerusalem to their own unfaithfulness, they concluded that it was because they had not been faithful enough to their false idols. They said:

“We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord! We will certainly… burn incense to the Queen of Heaven [a Canaanite and Egyptian false god] and pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time, we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven… we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.” Jer. 44:16-18

Whaaat?? You’ve got to be kidding! What kind of messed up thinking is this? It was exactly opposite! Jeremiah quickly wrote back and set the record straight:

“When the Lord could no longer endure your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became a curse and a desolate waste without inhabitants, as it is today. Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed Him or followed His law or His decrees…this disaster has come upon you.” Jer. 44:22-23

Do you see what happened there? They connected the dots but drew the wrong picture. They added up 2+2 and got 5. Their perspective was completely off and they didn’t even know it. They assumed something was true when God’s view was, in fact, quite different.

The Enemy is all about this kind of deception. He surrounds us with lies and tries to get us to buy in. Just like in the garden, the Serpent is always saying, “Did God say…?” in an attempt to cause doubt and confusion. There is only one thing that can keep us traveling true North—and that is the very word of God. If only Israel had listened to the word of God, they wouldn’t have gotten wrapped up in idolatry in the first place. May God grant us wisdom and discernment to both know the Father’s heart, to hear His voice and walk in His way.