Authorised Stupidity

Relationship

At one point or another, you’ve probably been confronted by an angry parent or guardian demanding to know why you’ve done something silly. To which you mistakenly replied ‘because they said so.’ However, such a response probably evoked more anger, and an exaggerated comparison along the lines: ‘if they said jump into a fire would you do that too?’

I’ve read a lot of things in the Bible that have caused me to feel happy, sad, and everything in between… but I can assure you that no passage has filled me with more rage than this one. But maybe I just take things to heart?



The Backstory

“Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you. But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” And the women said,“When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?” (Jeremiah 44:15-19)

In the preceding chapters, the Israelites feign obedience; pledging to do whatever God wants them to do as long as Jeremiah prays to God on their behalf (Jeremiah 42:1-6). God tells them explicitly that His will is for them to stay where they are, and not go to Egypt (Jeremiah 42:10, 19). Of course the Israelites disregard what God is saying to them through Jeremiah, and decide that Egypt is where they will go nonetheless (Jeremiah 43:7). When they arrive they decide that they will promptly resume worshipping other gods as their forefathers had done. Therein lies the problem…. and therein lies my anger.



The Drama

Firstly, God had stated quite clearly that if they stayed in Judah they would be blessed (Jeremiah 42:10). Therefore, how can they justify worshipping these gods in order to receive the surety that God had already promised them, but they chose to reject? Secondly, it’s worth noting that it was the men (Jeremiah 43:1-6) who made the decision that what God had said to them through Jeremiah was disagreeable. So, presumably they are the ones who spearheaded the plan to head back to Egypt and sacrifice to the gods for their prosperity. However, the women, upon scrutiny, justify their actions by saying they sought ‘permission’ to  worship the gods.

Ladies, getting your man to authorise something that is wrong doesn’t make it right.

If you know it’s wrong initially, then his seal of approval doesn’t elevate its status. It frustrates me that anyone could possibly think that the support of one person, even the one they love the most, is enough encouragement to do wrong. It’s not. Marriages ought to be harmonious. However, in this instance I thoroughly believe that God would have been pleased if these wives had defied their husbands’ wrongdoing, rather than showing them misplaced allegiance.



The Issue

“Therefore, to her who knows to do good and does not do it, to her it is sin.” (James 4:17)

So tell me ladies, are you ready to lose your salvation because your husband authorised your stupidity? I hope not! The Israelites went to Jeremiah specifically to know God’s will (Jeremiah 42:2). If you seek counsel from someone godly, and they tell you something displeasing, it would be unwise to disregard what they had said.

God speaks to you in different ways and its not up to you to pick and choose what seems most agreeable and fits into your plans.

I implore you to remember that in a relationship there is a leader and a help meet, respectively. Neither of you is a puppet. Moreover, neither of you should go along with something you know is bad, or seek approval for it. Sin really isn’t as grey as we make it seem; you’ll know if the action is black or white.



So…

There’ll definitely be times you feel tempted to follow your emotions, which in some cases will lead you back to ‘Egypt.’ If ever you feel stuck and unsure about what to do, remember: “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). Lastly, if someone is giving you godly counsel then for goodness’ sake, take it!

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