Jeremiah 7:1-11
1 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.’ 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. 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? 11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.
In this chapter the Lord condemns Judah for its hypocrisy. They "commit adultery ... and go after other gods" (verse 9), "and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are delivered!'" (verse 10). They were putting their trust in "the temple of the Lord" (verse 4), thinking that as long as they had the temple God would approve of whatever they did. But God is not pleased with that deception; He sees the truth (verse 10), and He wants real obedience (verse 3). Unfortunately we make the same mistake when we think that as long as we go to church it is okay that the rest of our life is immoral. God is not interested in our church attendance, he wants our repentance. If we are using the name "Christian" as a cloak to hide our sin, then God will be even more displeased by the harm we have done to His name.
Lord, help me to obey Your voice and not hide behind Your name.
1 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.’ 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. 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? 11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.
In this chapter the Lord condemns Judah for its hypocrisy. They "commit adultery ... and go after other gods" (verse 9), "and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are delivered!'" (verse 10). They were putting their trust in "the temple of the Lord" (verse 4), thinking that as long as they had the temple God would approve of whatever they did. But God is not pleased with that deception; He sees the truth (verse 10), and He wants real obedience (verse 3). Unfortunately we make the same mistake when we think that as long as we go to church it is okay that the rest of our life is immoral. God is not interested in our church attendance, he wants our repentance. If we are using the name "Christian" as a cloak to hide our sin, then God will be even more displeased by the harm we have done to His name.
Lord, help me to obey Your voice and not hide behind Your name.