THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH: Listen Before its Too Late Jeremiah 7
Dr.
Jerry A Collins
IGNORING GOD WHEN HE HAS
CLEARLY SPOKEN ALIENATES ONE FROM GOD
God explains
Himself 1-8
Verse 1-2:
Jeremiah received another message from the Lord v 1. He was to go to the gate of the temple in Jerusalem and
deliver a prophecy in God's name to all Judah who entered to worship v 2.
Verse 3-6:
Here are six messages for Israel to stay in the land v 3 and v 7:
(1) Amend your ways and
your deeds—that is, repent.
(2) Do
not trust in deceptive words from the false prophets and priest’s v 4. The people were not to assume that
just because they had the temple, the Lord would keep them safe. Three times
they said, “... the temple of the Lord” believing the Temple was a sort
of good luck charm to protect them from any attack.
(3) Truly practice
justice between a man and his neighbor stop the injustices against one another v 5.
(4)
Do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow the helpless in society who could not easily protect
themselves if wronged v 6.
(5) Do not shed innocent
blood in this place killing one another rather than due process v 6.
(6) Nor walk after other
gods to your own ruin stop the
idolatry now v 6!
Verse 7-8:
If the people did these things, then God would allow them to remain in the land
given their forefathers v 7. However,
they are trusting in deceptive words that the Temple would protect them but
God said through Jeremiah, to no avail but it will not protect them from
God’s wrath v 8.
Israel
ignores God 9-12
Verse 9-11: The
people commit sins such as steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely,
offer sacrifices to Baal, walk after other god’s v 9 and then they come to the Temple, and stand before Me in
this house and say, “We are delivered! “that you may
do all these abominations? v 10. They would
go through this ritual only so they could go out and sin again. Paul said, are we to continue in sin
that grace might increase? May it never be! (Romans 6:1). This house has
become a den of robbers just as it was at the time of Jesus (Matthew
21:12-13). Just as Jesus saw it, so God said, “I
have seen it” v 11.
Verse 12: They
think they are safe in the Temple so God told them, “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at
the first. It’s where the Tabernacle stood for about 350 years (Jud 18:31).
They were to see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel carried into exile. Therefore,
Jeremiah's hearers should not think that He would preserve the temple from
destruction in spite of their sins.
NB: Today we are the Temple of God, where His name dwells.
Do we think we can live in sin and say, “It’s okay, I’m saved, I’m forgiven?” God knows what you are bringing into His
Temple; your body, soul, and mind. Look at His attitude in Israel. It is no
different today for His body, the church.
God will ban
Israel 13-15
Verse 13-14:
Now, because you have done all these things...and I spoke to you...but you
did not hear... therefore: The people had been sinning in all these ways
for a long time. The Lord had sent them prophets and leaders who had warned
them from the earliest days of their departure from Him v 13. Consequently, I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust making the temple a good luck charm instead of trusting God. As I
did to Shiloh, deserted and a ruins the
Lord promised to destroy the temple bearing his name as Shiloh v 14.
Verse 15: Furthermore,
I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out...all the offspring of
Ephraim [northern kingdom of Israel] taken into exile by
sending them into captivity.
ALIENATION FROM GOD
ISOLATES ONE FOR THE JUDGMENT OF GOD
Verse 16-18:
God told Jeremiah to not pray for Judah because He will not respond to Jeremiah’s
prayer v 16. Judah’s sin is so bad
now, no one can appeal to God to stop the coming judgment. Can’t you see what
they are doing both in the outlying areas and the city streets v 17? God gives an example of their
sin: whole families were acting together the children gather wood, the
fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the
queen of heaven and they also pour libations pouring wine and oil
over them v 18. Worship of Queen of
Heaven popular in Judah during reign of Manasseh (2 Kings 23:4-14), though it
began earlier (Amos 5:26) done on housetops (Jer 19:13;
32:29; Zeph. 1:5).
Verse 19-20:
They did this to spite God, but their false worship did not damage God v 19. The people would bear the consequences
of their actions, is it not themselves they spite to their own shame? Behold, my anger and My wrath will be poured out
on this place, on man...beast...trees... fruit...it will burn and not be
quenched. Their flagrant disobedience would come back on them v 20. It
would be unquenchable.
GOD REQUIRES OBEDIENCE
NOT HEARTLESS RELIGIOUS RITUAL
Verse 21-23:
God told Judah to eat their whole burnt
offerings which should have been burned up completely on the altar v 21. Carefully observing His
instructions about offering animal sacrifices mattered little to Him if their
hearts were not right. God could say this because burnt offerings and
sacrifices were not His primary concern v
22. Obedience to His words is what He commanded them first v 23. He had given them the Decalogue,
which called for righteous conduct, before He gave them the religious ritual. It
was more important that they obey Him and walk in His way than fake ritual.
Verse 24-26:
In spite of these promised blessings, the Israelites had not obeyed or even
listened to the Lord's voice v 24.
They had followed their own advice, and their evil hearts had stubbornly
refused to yield to His will. Competing to be more obnoxious than their
forefathers sent on a downward spiral. Ever since the Exodus, God had
graciously arisen early to send prophets to urge the Israelites to follow Him v 25 (v 13). The image of God getting
up early in the morning stresses the priority He gave to instructing His
people. In spite of these instructions, each succeeding generation of
Israelites did not listen or pay attention v
26. They did even more evil than their fathers.
Verse 27-28:
The Lord told Jeremiah as he passed along all these words to his contemporaries,
they would not listen to him any more than they had listened to the former prophet’s
v 27. God’s truth is to be
proclaimed whether they believe it or not (Eze 2-3; Romans
1). Jeremiah was to tell the people that they were a disobedient nation v 28. They refused to accept correction
from their Lord.
Verse 29: Here
is a lamentation: The people were to cut off their hair as a sign of grief. The
Nazirite's hair was the mark of his separation to God
(Num 6:5). When he was ceremonially defiled, he had to shave his head. So
Jerusalem because of her corruption must do likewise. Her mourning is because
the Lord has cast her off. They were to go up to a bare hilltop and lament
their fate, because the Lord had rejected and forsaken this generation to pour
out His wrath.
NB: God did not save you to be religious but to obey Him.
Stop using ritual to cover your sin.
GODS JUDGMENT WILL BE
DEVASTATINGLY APPLIED TO THE RECALCITRANT
Verse 30-34: The reason for this strange behavior v 29 was the evil they did in the
Lord's sight v 30.
(1) They have set their detestable things in the house which is
called by My name, to defile it v 30. They
did this in front of God not behind Him. They had no shame. (2) They have
built the high places of Topheth, which is in the
valley of the son of Hinnom v 31.
High places were used to worship idols. The Hinnom
Valley is just below the city, on the south side. It’s where the refuse from
the Temple sacrifices and the garbage were continuously burned. Jesus looked
out over this valley called Gehenna and compared hell
to this “Lake of Fire” (Matthew 5:22, 29-30). (3) To burn their sons and
their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind v 31. Horrible child sacrifice
was made to these idols (2 Kings 16:3; 21:6; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Jeremiah 19:5).
Not only did God never command such a thing, He would not even think of such horrible
thing for people to do. King Josiah had attempted to wipe out this horrible
practice (2 Kings 23:10), but the people revived it after he died in 609 B.C.
(Ezek. 20:25-26).
God’s law protected the children. Jesus loved the children.
NB: evil in My sight, declares the Lord; this is the essence of all sin. Sin, by definition,
is what is evil in God’s sight. Romans 3:23 fall short of the glory of God.
Verse 32-33:
This valley will one day be re-named the valley of the Slaughter because
there will be so many dead bodies when Babylon attacks Jerusalem, there will be
no place to bury them v 32. So they
will pile up in this valley, where they will be food for the bird’s v 33. This future mass grave would
become a feeding ground for birds and beasts. No one would frighten the animals
away because the Israelites who remained alive would be taken away as captives.
Verse 34: And
the voice of joy and gladness will cease in Jerusalem, for the land will
become a ruin.
SO WHAT?
1. Here is a reminder that
we can drift from God’s standards very easily and jeopardize our walk with him.
We casually believe God grades on a curve or winks at our compromise or understands our sin.
2. Our God is relentless
about gaining our hearts. While we are separate from Him, this world’s
influence is toxic. God knows this and ever calls us to full devotion to Him or
face the consequences.