Jeremiah 44

As the remnant of Judah that was left by the Babylonians, including Jeremiah, were taken (kidnapped) to Egypt by those that rejected Jeremiah's counsel concerning the will of the Lord, Jeremiah now reveals the wickedness of these leaders.  He even asks them, is there not sufficient evidence that all of this destruction has been the results of there unfaithfulness saying -

"...Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,
3 Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers."  (Old Testament | Jeremiah 44:2 - 3)

He even adds -

"Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
5 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods."  (Old Testament | Jeremiah 44:4 - 5)

We begin to see what causes a people to ripe in inquity is when even the women turned to inquity as Jeremiah tells them -

"...Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain;
8 In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?
9 Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?
10 They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers."  (Old Testament | Jeremiah 44:7 - 10)

The response and rational of these leaders is much the same as today where basically they are saying, things were good when we worshipped idols and worldly things and now things are not good when you ask us to worship the Lord.  They respond with -

"Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,
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.
18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine."  (Old Testament | Jeremiah 44:15 - 18)

So these Jewish leaders again justified their actions and would not change...them or their wives to which the Lord answers -

"Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them."  (Old Testament | Jeremiah 44:27)

We see a righteous and just God now watching over the evil that will come instead of blessing them.