You Thought They Would Have Learned Their Lesson

16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, 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 victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
耶利米书 44章
16 至于你奉耶和华的名对我们所说的话，我们必不听从。
17 我们定要照自己口中所说的一切去行，向天后烧香，浇奠祭，如同我们与我们的祖先、君王、首领在犹大城邑和耶路撒冷街头所行的一样；因为那时我们食物充足，生活安好，没有遭遇灾祸。

YOU THOUGHT THEY WOULD HAVE LEARNED THEIR LESSON
When the children of Israel were taken captive to Babylon, a remnant went down to Egypt, along with Jeremiah. Did this stop their idolatry? God is speaking to them through his prophet Jeremiah, from verse 2 through to verse 15, God says why and what will happen to these people, but look at their crazy arrogance, they said, do you think what you say scares us?
God was gracious to this people, he let them go into the land of Egypt, but still they refused to acknowledge him and went their own way, sound familiar. Nothing has changed, God is continually seeking to be gracious to his world, but what does man do, he refuses point blank to respond in the correct way, he says, we have got into this situation by doing it our way, we don’t want to hear any other answer, we will do what is right in our own eyes.

你以为他们会吸取教训
当以色列人被掳到巴比伦时，有一部分余民连同耶利米一起去了埃及。这阻止了他们的偶像崇拜吗？神通过他的先知耶利米，从第2节到第15节，向他们说明原因及将要发生的事，但看看他们那疯狂的傲慢，他们说，你以为你说的话会吓到我们吗？
神对这群人满有恩慈，允许他们进入埃及地，但他们仍然拒绝承认神，走自己的路，这听起来是不是很熟悉？什么都没变，神不断试图对他的世界施恩，但人做了什么呢？他们断然拒绝以正确的方式回应，他们说，我们是按照自己的方式才走到这一步的，我们不想听其他答案，我们要按自己眼中看为对的去做。

Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
The book of Judges is probably the most depressing book of the Bible, it is a book of wasted opportunities, the children of Israel, seeking to do it their way, look where that got them. Nowadays, we have people who still, as Romans 1 puts it, worship the creature rather than the creator, so God gives them over to a depraved mind.
士师记 21:25
在那些日子，以色列中没有王，各人任意而行。
士师记可能是圣经中最令人沮丧的一卷书，它是一本充满浪费机会的书，以色列人试图按自己的方式行事，看看这让他们落得何种境地。如今，正如罗马书第1章所说，人们仍然崇拜受造之物而非造物主，因此神任凭他们存邪僻的心。

Romans 1:21-25
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
罗马书 1:21-25
21 因为他们虽然知道神，却不把他当作神荣耀，也不感恩，反在自己的想象中变得虚妄，他们愚昧的心就昏暗了。
22 自以为是智慧的，反而成了愚拙，
23 将不朽坏之神的荣耀，变为必朽坏的人、飞鸟、四足牲畜和爬虫的形象。
24 因此，神任凭他们随心里的情欲行污秽的事，彼此玷辱自己的身体。
25 他们将神的真理变为虚谎，去敬拜侍奉受造之物，而不敬拜那永远可称颂的造物主。阿们。

Jeremiah 44:22-23
22 So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
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 is happened unto you, as at this day.
耶利米书 44:22-23
22 耶和华因你们所行的恶和所犯的可憎之事，不能再容忍，因此你们的土地今日变为荒凉、令人震惊、受咒诅，无人居住。
23 因为你们烧香，得罪耶和华，不听从耶和华的声音，不遵行他的律法、条例和法度，所以今日这灾祸临到你们。

This chapter is so sad, but so relevant to us today. People want to do it their way, but this way leads to only one place and that is death. One day all men will be silenced, Jesus will judge all men. The time is now to turn to the Living God. Stop drinking dirty water and drink the pure water of life.
这一章如此悲哀，但对我们今天却如此相关。人们想按自己的方式行事，但这条路只通向一处，那就是死亡。总有一天，所有人都会被止住，耶稣将审判所有人。现在是时候转向永生神了。停止饮用脏水，喝那生命的纯净之水。

God bless you, Keith
愿神祝福你，Keith