We might have expected that after the destruction — after so many warnings — the people of Yehuda would have learned their lesson. That they would understand the cost of idolatry and be willing to heed the word of God. Indeed, Yirmiyahu’s prophecy rebuking them for idolatry opens with a brief historical review meant to prove the truth of his words: "You yourself have witnessed the entire disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Yehuda. They are a ruin with no one living in them because of their evil that they perpetrated in order to anger Me, burning incense to serve other gods whom they never knew – neither they nor your nor your ancestors" (44:2-3). Yet the people of Yehuda reject the lesson, giving us an insight for us into a debate that likely raged within the kingdom of Yehuda long before its destruction and continued long after.

Their response is startling. In a large assembly, they declare that they will continue to worship idols, and they even provide a historical justification: "We will continue to do all that we said we would, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour libations to her exactly as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in the towns of Yehuda and in the streets of Jerusalem. There we had plenty of food, and we were successful and suffered no harm. But when we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour libations to her, only then did we lack everything and were finished off by sword and by famine” (44:17-18). Their argument is simple: They have a tradition, passed down from their ancestors, of worshiping idols. And when they did so, everything was good; but when they stopped, disaster struck, and the destruction came.

It is a jarring perspective, and what makes it all the more unsettling is that it is true. Let us look back at Melakhim and examine the historical record. In the days of Chizkiyahu, a religious revolution began, turning the people back to God and destroying idolatry. The results: the rise of the Assyrian empire, the destruction of nine-tenths of the kingdom of Yehuda, and a siege of Jerusalem that was averted only by a miracle. His son, Menashe, ruled after him — a king of unparalleled wickedness, who introduced every form of idolatry and massacred the prophets and the faithful. Yet he reigned for 55 years — the longest of any king of Yehuda — during a time of peace, with no enemy invasion (at least according to Melakhim). His son Amon ruled briefly, only two years, and was succeeded by Yoshiyahu. Yoshiyahu zealously eradicated idolatry, destroyed the high places, and renewed the covenant between the entire nation and God — only to “merit” dying in battle against Egypt. From there, the decline in security and political stability begins, continuing persistently until the destruction.

Facts can always be interpreted in multiple ways. A prophet of God would explain the truth: that the destruction came because of Menashe’s sins, and because, although idolatry had been curtailed, it had not been entirely removed. But after all the explanations, to the average person, it seemed that in Menashe’s own days, there was no disaster at all, and calamity only began once the people started abandoning idolatry.

We often assume that the people of that generation were either foolish or especially wicked, and we reassure ourselves that if only we had a prophet, we would surely listen. But this is not true. Reality can be interpreted in different ways, and sometimes, from the perspective of a heretic, the alternative interpretation even seems more compelling. And yet, God presents us with the challenge: to accept His interpretation of reality. It is a difficult challenge, but not an impossible one. In our modern lives, we no longer have prophets to point us to the right understanding. But it remains our responsibility to learn the lessons from the prophetic books we do have, and to try to discern the way God governs the world, to seek out what He is telling us, and what He wants us to do. We no longer have a prophet. We have no prophet, so what Yirmiyahu would have proclaimed with certainty and an exclamation mark, we can only attempt to suggest hesitantly, with a question mark — yet we must still strive to hear God.