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August 9th

The bible reading today is in Jeremiah chapters 7,8,9.

God used Jeremiah to speak to kings and government counselors and city councilmen as well as ordinary citizens in the countryside and in the town market places. But today God sends him to Solomon’s Temple at the time of a national holiday of feasting and worshipping. Perhaps the feast of the Passover when tens of thousands of people were in Jerusalem to worship at the Temple.

During his 40 year ministry, Jeremiah would preach publicly in towns, villages, countrysides, and fortified cities. But scripture only records two times where Jeremiah publicly preached at the Temple gates. Today’s passage is the first mentioned.

Jeremiah was to preach to the priests and scribes and Levitical Temple servants as well as the local and tribal worshippers of Yahweh that would have come in for the festival. And Jeremiah’s message was not a happy sermon for the “Temple goin’” folk.

“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.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭7:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Some say “this place” refers to the Temple. “Dwelling there” would mean staying there long enough to worship with their friends and families. Others say that “dwell in this place” refers to staying in Jerusalem rather than being taken away into Babylon. I lean toward this interpretation.

Yes, I believe that God gave Judah one last opportunity to repent of the sins of their abominable pretense and avert the Babylonian exile. But they didn't and the rest is history.

So what exactly made Jeremiah ‘s sermon so disturbing? What was in the content that would cause the young prophet the slightest pause? Jeremiah called the priests and worshippers at the festival “liars”. He said, “You come to this place...chanting “Temple...the Lord’s Temple”...your body is there but your hearts are somewhere else...This Temple calls you to worship your God Savior, yet you only go through the gates...you only go through the motions...your hearts are somewhere else. Your offerings at the Temple are ritually correct...people all around can see that...but what they cant see, God does...your heart is somewhere else.

Reminds me of the message of the greatest prophet priest and king, Jesus Christ, to the religious people of his day. “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15:7-9‬ ‭

Like Jesus, Jeremiah was calling the spiritually backslidden Judeans hypocrites. They talked a religious talk, but their hearts were far from the true worship of their God. Their hearts desired another love. Jeremiah was passionately / tearfully working with God to call Judah back to the worship and holy service of the one and only God Yahweh, better known to us as Jesus!

God forbid our own hypocrisy, brethren in Jesus. He deserves much more.

Have a great day