Jeremiah

The book of Jeremiah.

7. Do Not Trust the Temple

Review

Did David’s sons follow in the footsteps of their father? What was the result for the whole kingdom?

When the society of ancient Israel grew corrupt, God did not immediately smite them for their sins. He gave them so much time to repent. And he sent them messengers in the form of prophets to convict them of all their sin and all they had done to displease God. We often think of prophets as ‘men who tell the future.’ While the biblical prophets did sometimes see visions of what God promised to accomplished in the future, their primary task was to convict people’s hearts and bring them to awareness of their current sins.

Over centuries, God made so many promises in covenant with Israel, to make them a great nation, to bless them, to multiply them. But they would not be allowed to continue with those blessings indefinitely if they continued to sin and break the covenant. That was true for the kings and the priests, individuals and the people as a whole.

One of the major prophets recorded in the Old Testament is Jeremiah, and he was told by God to warn the men of Judah.

Jeremiah 7: Evil in the Land

7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

Men assumed that because they had access to the physical temple of God, that all could be made well. But God cared more about their hearts and their obedience than he cared about their building and their rituals.

5 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, 6 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, 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.

God has his eye on those who are in need, and those who neglect to serve the needy are cursed. This teaching of the prophets was repeated by Christ and the apostles. (James 1:27)

Remember that you’re not off the hook from this just because you haven’t literally murdered someone or haven’t literally worshiped an idol. Jesus said that unrighteous anger was murder. The apostle Paul said that covetousness is idolatry. Have you been angry? Have you coveted after something?

8 “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?

The equivalent message for us today would be: are you going to go into church every Sunday and claim that you’re saved while your heart is devoted to other things besides the living God?

20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.”

When people sin, the whole land is cursed. It was just men sinning, but the beasts and the trees and the ground all suffered as a result. This is what happened with Adam as well, and this is what continues to happen because of sin. Many people are urgently concerned about environmental causes, and think all sorts of government policies should be enacted to save the world, but the greatest catastrophe ever to happen to the environment is the Curse on Mankind. “Cursed is the ground because of you.” The only true hope we can have of nature being healed is if people are repentant, sanctified, and, ultimately, overcoming the power of sin and death in the resurrection.

21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. 22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 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.’

This echoes the language of the prophet Samuel — what God wants first and foremost from us is our hearts, in repentance and obedience. (1 Sam 15:22; Psalm 51:17) And yet, people throughout the ages are convinced they can get away with wayward hearts and disobedience as long as they do the right religious ritual at the right place.

24 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. 25 From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. 26 Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.

Similarly, Jesus rebuked Jerusalem for rejecting and killing the prophets that God sent to them. (Matt. 23:37)

27 “So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips. 29 “‘Cut off your hair and cast it away; raise a lamentation on the bare heights; for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.’

30 “For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the Lord. They have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 31 And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. 32 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere. 33 And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away. 34 And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste.

So, let’s review. Jeremiah said that the people of Judah should expect terrible wrath and judgment because of their sins. Their sins included: presuming that they were untouchable because they had God’s temple; showing injustice to the needy; shedding innocent blood; worshiping other gods; stealing; lying; committing adultery; going their own way; ignoring the prophets sent by God to warn them; accelerating the sins of their fathers; killing their own infants. To top it all off, if verse 34 is any clue, they were still enjoying themselves and laughing about it all and partying in the streets, rather than lamenting and begging God’s forgiveness.

I’m sorry to say but that sounds like a portrait of our society in many places today.

At that point in time it was too late for the kingdom of Judah. We can only pray that it’s not too late for our nation, and that God will revive our country. Otherwise, this kind of judgment is all we can expect for the nation. No matter how bad it gets, we can have hope God will always show mercy on his church and the people who trust in him. But we should cherish the land that God has given us to live in and pray that sin doesn’t tear it all apart.

Now, that doesn’t mean that we need to go out on the street corners shouting about doomsday. God has not necessarily called you to that ministry the way he did Jeremiah. But we must be convicted of our own sin and be willing to stand against the injustice, idolatry, and immorality of those around us. It is a very unpopular thing to name sin as sin in our day. But based on what Jeremiah wrote, it was unpopular back then, too.

12. Complaint Against the Wicked

The Broken Covenant

Jeremiah 12:11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”

America is not the chosen nation in the same way that ancient Israel was, and as such God’s covenant of blessings and curses does not lay hold on America in the same way as it did on Israel at that specific time in history. But insofar as America has Christians within it, those Christians are God’s holy nation and we do seek those covenant blessings. (1 Peter 2:9; Romans 8:16-17) That is to say, we cannot expect to be heirs of the world if we are not meek and faithful. (Matthew 5:5) Those who are prideful and unfaithful will not participate in Christ’s inheritance.

The Righteous Branch

23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. 3 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

Despite sending Jeremiah to foretell great destruction and doom upon Israel and Judah, God still promises goodness. Even though they would have to endure many sorrows and the turmoil of different empires (Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman), the people would be returned to their land.

5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

It is this promise that caused people to hope in a messiah: someone who would restore order to God’s people after many years of exile, captivity, and desolation.

Key Take Aways

Our nation is full of sin and we are called to speak out about it.

Discussion Questions

America does not have the same covenant status that ancient Israel did. So what would it look like for our nation to repent of its sin and return to God?

Are churches today doing a good job of convicting people of their sin? Why or why not?

What are ways that God has abundantly blessed our nation? What are ways that we have been cursed and punished?