Jeremiah 7:5-10

God tells Jeremiah to stand at the temple gate this time, and speak to all those who enter. So we know that the audience of the following passage is those ‘God-believers’ in Judah. The ones who at least profess to serve the true God, and come to the temple to offer their sacrifices and pray (vs. 1-2). This is interesting, because the message that God gives Jeremiah to speak to them is one of the most scathing thus far in the book. God gives clear instructions:

‘For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.’ (Jeremiah 7:5-7)

This is some set of rules. Thoroughly is used twice. For God expects no less than complete obedience, thorough in every respect. He is a holy God, and we cannot lose sight of that as He speaks to Judah, and as He speaks to us through the Bible. He is a holy God. All words spoken to us by Him are spoken with that fact in view. But also, it is a reasonable argument, or agreement. Judah could not expect God to keep His end of the bargain if they did not keep theirs, and so this statement is a warning, out of love, telling them to ‘amend their ways’ so that God could in fact bless them.

Notice however, the fact that God does not say that the nation will be removed as God’s people, or that they will be ultimately cut off from the land forever. Indeed, God states categorically that the land was given to the nation’s fathers ‘forever and ever’. Rather, the consequence of sinful actions is that they won’t ‘dwell in this place’. Here I take ‘dwell’ to be of much more significance than mere physical presence (which of course it alludes to as well). Where you ‘dwell’ is where you call home. It is where you find peace and comfort. It indicated familiarity. On Getaway the other night, they interviewed Jerry Seinfeld on some ‘holiday tips’. He said that wherever you go has to feel like home. ‘It isn’t a real holiday unless you know how to make the shower just the right temperature’. There’s a sense of familiarity associated with home.

Thus, God’s promise is of belonging to the land that they own categorically, if they should amend their ways thoroughly. The next few verses reiterate this and provide a message for our day:

‘Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations?’ (Jeremiah 7:8-10)

This showed the true hypocrisy of the temple-goers of the time. They walked into the house called by God’s name after committing atrocities and abominations, with the excuse ‘we are delivered to do these abominations’.

Let me rephrase the verses:

‘Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you cheat on tests, hate others, lust, make empty promises, swear, worship nature, give more time to other interests than me, and then come before Me at church and say ‘We are saved, so it’s okay to do all these abominations?’

And yet how many of us are thoroughly guilty of this? Let us amend our ways. God does not threaten to cut us off from Him. For He gave us our salvation ‘forever and ever’. That is categorical. But He promises us that if we amend our ways, we will belong to our salvation. There will be familiarity, strength and comfortability in it. There will be satisfaction in it.

There is much more in the chapter, but not enough space here to describe it. Please, study it for yourselves.