Read Jeremiah 7
False Religion Worthless
7 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:
“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestorsfor ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
9 “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and standbefore me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.
12 “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name,and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.13 While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer.14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors.15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’
16 “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offeringsto other gods to arouse my anger. 19 But am I the one they are provoking?declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?
20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.
21 “‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’
27 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.
29 “‘Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.
The Valley of Slaughter
30 “‘The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. 32 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33 Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 34 I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.
Go Deeper
Jeremiah is told by the Lord to stand at the gate of the Lord’s house to proclaim a prophecy to those who were entering the temple courts to worship. Dr. Thomas Constable, a retired professor from Dallas Theological Seminary, notes there was a custom at that time (which was most likely abandoned by the people) in which a priest of the temple would stand and ask the pilgrims coming to worship to examine their lives before entering the temple courtyard.
God speaks through Jeremiah and tells the people to amend their ways and He will have mercy on them and let them dwell in the land He has given their ancestors (v. 7). God does not want followers who proclaim to the world, “We are delivered”, only to go on sinning, living like the rest of the world. Some of the sins listed are egregious, like stealing, murder, or adultery. Others we may commit without realizing, like sacrificing to false “gods”. We are prone to worship anything but the Lord, whether it’s extra 0s in the bank account, fewer pounds on the scale, or our favorite sports teams. As the late Tim Keller has said, “Idolatry happens when we take good things and make them ultimate things.”
Jesus quoted Jeremiah 7:11 when He cleansed the temple in Matthew 21:13. Jesus seeing the sale of animals that would be sacrificed in the temple courts (the only place that gentiles were able to enter to worship the one true God) He overthrew the tables of the money changers and said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers”.
In Jeremiah 7:14 Jeremiah declared that God would destroy the temple. Centuries later, Jesus did the same in Mark 13:2 and John 2. Paul said that the believer’s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). We should constantly be cleansing ourselves to ensure we are worshiping the Lord alone and making no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14).
It’s easy to read this chapter and think it’s about non-believers, but in reality this is Jeremiah prophesying over people coming to the temple claiming to follow God. The issue with this is they were attempting to worship Him on their terms and not His. In verses 22-23, God says when He brought their ancestors out of Egypt He didn’t speak to them about offerings and sacrifices but their hearts. Let this serve as a reminder today to check our hearts and ask God to purify them today.
Questions
- Ask the Lord to search your heart for any idols that are getting in the way of your worship of the one true God. Does anything come to mind for you?
- Invite your Life Group or community to speak into your life and call you to a higher standard, to point out any sin that may be in your blind spot.
- Who is the most Christlike person you know? What marks them that makes you say that? Call him/her and encourage them today!
Did You Know?
Dr. Constable also has this note on the similarities between between Jesus and Jeremiah:
- In both of their cases: Jerusalem was about to fall, the temple would suffer destruction soon, the worship of Yahweh had become formalistic, and there was a need for emphasis on an individual relationship with God.
- Both men had a message for Israel and the whole world.
- Both of them used nature quite extensively for illustrative purposes in their teaching.
- Both came from a high tradition: Jeremiah from a priestly, prophetic heritage, and Jesus from a divine, royal position.
- Both were very conscious of their call from God.
- Both condemned the commercialism of temple worship in their day.
- Their enemies charged both of them with political treason.
- Both experienced persecutions, trials, and imprisonments.
- Both foretold the destruction of the temple (7:14; Mark 13:2).
- Both wept over Jerusalem (9:1; Luke 19:41).
- Both condemned the priests of their day.
- Both experienced rejection by members of their own families (12:6; John 1:11).
- Both were so tenderhearted that some Jewish leaders identified them with the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.
- Both loved Israel deeply.
- Both were lonely (15:10; Isa. 53:3).
- Both enjoyed unusually intimate fellowship with God (20:7; John 11:41-42).
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4 thoughts on “Jeremiah 7”
I realize that not all have children, but all of us were a child at one time. As a parent, when I told my child to not do something because it was not the best for them or others, and there would be a consequence for the action I meant what I said so I had to follow through. God has told Judah and Israel before them that they have rules to follow. They did not follow those rules, so here comes their consequence. I believe we think this is harsh but we as parents, having rules in place to protect and help our children is what we need to do. When they do disobey we forgive them but give them their consequence, sometimes it happens over and over. God has rules in place because He knows what is best for His children. He gave them and us grace but He got to His limit and said enough is enough. The comparison is very understated but you catch my drift. Verses 5-7 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. Verses 23-24 But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.
God is Holy and He expects us to pursue holiness and He ask us to be Holy, this is what He expects and it goes hand and hand with forgiveness.
Leviticus 19:2“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
Leviticus 20:7Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 20:26 You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.
1 Peter 1:16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
God thank You for not listening to the voices that tickle my ears. Thank You for hearing Your voice very distinctly is my hearts cry and desire!!! God thank You for helping me with my disobedience. God open the eyes of my understanding to know, hear and love You with all my heart soul mind and strength!!!! God thank You that I can see others through Your love goggles so that I can love them as myself. Thank You for pursuing holiness, learning and comprehension so that I can be pleasing to You and You alone!! God thank You for this day and these minutes that I can glorify You in all I say and do in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!
Reading The Word from beginning to end being neither hot nor cold-
Why are we not emphasizing the most common issue- idolatry? Even in 2 Cor 5 as ambassadors we are messengers it says pleading come back to God.
The seriousness of idolatry which today seems to be enamored by attention to so many other things that are clearly the main thing. Yet – in spite of The Word – the messages i hear are actually hey its ok we all do and thats why grace. My heart will be taking a hard look and what I have inside consuming me. I love His kindness leads to repentance. This reading plan is so good.
Reading this chapter brought grief to my heart. Today, I will pause and examine my life for idols that have grieved God’s heart and repent. May nothing stand between my Savior and me. I will invite accountability from those who know me best. Daily I will pray the prayer Nate shared, “God, if there is more of you to know would the Holy Spirit allow me to know it.”
Jeremiah told them to amend their ways and their doings and live with God each day being obedient to God’s commands because their actions, words, attitudes and thoughts were different when they were not at the temple. In our culture today, are we not doing the same? Are we treating the Ten Commandments like the Ten Suggestions – obedience optional. Do we say religious words, sing religious songs, then leave church and go live without the ethical demands of faith? I am grateful that God puts leaders (J.P.) in our path to wake us up to the whole truth of God.
Abba, Father, thank you for your grace. Help me to have a posture of faithfulness and not a routine ritual for the sake of outward appearance. Open my eyes and my heart in obedience to your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.