In this daily Bible reading is the account of Johanan, leader of the refugees left in Israel after the Babylonian conquest, taking the refugees to Egypt to hide. God, through Jeremiah, had told them to remain in Israel, and God would protect them. They did not listen to God and went to Egypt anyway. Further, after they went to Egypt they continued to sacrifice to idols and demons. Jeremiah was also taken to Egypt and continued to tell the people Words from God. However, the people still refused to listen.
Before Babylon attacked Jerusalem the people were prosperous and comfortable. They reasoned that they were prosperous because they worshiped idols. Specifically, they worshiped a demon they called ‘the queen of heaven.’ They also believed that calamity came upon them because they stopped sacrificing to the ‘queen of heaven.’ They were deceived and not receptive to God’s Truth. This is true today. People are deceived into thinking they don’t need God in their lives. They do evil things and still prosper. They live comfortably and don’t see a need for God in their lives.
The Bible says that God allows Satan to deceive the masses. However, the people are accountable to God for their choices. God has provided the world with plenty of opportunities to choose His Truth over the lies of the world. God provided Israel with ample opportunity to choose Truth over lies. However, they chose to believe the lies. They were justly punished for their choices. The Bible says that very soon the entire world will be punished for choosing lies over God’s Truth.
