The Book of Jeremiah
Lesson 4
Jeremiah 7 – 8
Introduction
Jeremiah prophesied destruction when the prophets of the temple said that no evil/destruction would come upon them; the prophets prophesied peace. Everyone was full of wickedness, and they did not administer justice to the orphan and the needy. Therefore, God rejected the people as unpure silver is rejected. Because the people were rejected, they would be destroyed (indeed, the destruction had ready begun). Tonight, we’ll look further at Judah’s rejection.
I. Why can’t Judah find security in the temple?
a) Last week we saw how the prophets prophesied falsely saying that no evil would come upon the people and that they would live in peace (5:12, 6:14). That they chose to believe the false prophets gave them a false sense of security; they neither listened to Huldah nor Jeremiah who prophesied destruction for the nation. Their false sense of security is partly built upon the name of the city itself. Jerusalem – Jeru salem, meaning city of peace. The whole narrative of the city was that nothing could happen to it and all of the leaders of the city reinforced this narrative, but it was a lie. They believed they were exceptional (Jerusalem exceptionalism) and they created a “propaganda machine” to reinforce and perpetuate this narrative.
b) Added to their false belief in the prophets and the city itself, the people believed that God would not destroy the temple, the place where God’s presence dwelt. God warns them in v. 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.’” Just because God’s presence dwelt there did not mean that the temple could not be destroyed. Therefore, God tells Jeremiah to stand at the gate as the people entered the temple to worship; there he proclaimed the temple and the people’s destruction.
c) God reminds the people about Shiloh in v. 12. Shiloh was a worship site in the northern kingdom where the people would go to worship instead of Jerusalem in the south. Because of the people’s wickedness, Shiloh was destroyed. The people would have recognized what Jeremiah said concerning Shiloh, but they didn’t take it as a warning. They still believed that nothing would happen to the temple.
II. How has the temple become a “den of robbers”?
a) In their security that nothing would happen to them, they continued to commit all wickedness and injustice. Last week we saw that justice was helping the orphan and defending the needy (5:28). This week, Jeremiah expands the meaning of justice. We have already discussed the orphan and the shedding of innocent blood, but tonight we’ll add 2 more. In 7:6, Jeremiah says, “if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place ….” The alien is who we call an immigrant today. That aliens/immigrants should not be oppressed comes directly from the law. Lev. 19:33 says, “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien.” V. 34 goes on to say that the immigrant should be treated as a fellow citizen and that we are to love the immigrant as ourselves. A widow wasn’t just a woman whose husband had died, but a woman who had no sons or family and thus, no means of support. Often the orphan and the widow are spoken of together. Deut. 10:17-19 speaks of all three.
b) Not only did they not establish justice, they also committed abominations (7:9). An abomination is an act that is detestable to God. People today make too much of the word abomination, as if a particular sin is more detestable to God than another. Injustice is an abomination, as well as the sins identified in v. 9; then after committing these abominations, the people would come to the temple, offer sacrifice and worship, “only to go on doing all these abominations … (7:10).” Because the people committed abominations the temple ceased to be a place of worship (7:30). One cannot worship and continuously commit sin at the same time. Worship requires the repentance from sin; thus, the temple had become a “den of robbers (v. 11), a place where sinners gathered without repentance (and no intention to repent).
III. Why does the prophet mourn?
a) The voice of Jeremiah and the voice of God are intertwined here in chapter 8. The leaders of the city “…have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace (8:11).” As we have seen, there are 2 wounds: the wound of injustice, and the wound of abomination. The leaders of the city/nation have acted carelessly by not taking these wounds seriously and instead proclaiming the false narrative of peace. They acted so shamefully that they couldn’t even blush.
b) God hears the cry of the people as the city is being destroyed. “My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick (8:18).” In v. 19 they call out to God asking whether God is in the land; and God responds by asking why have the people provoked God to anger? “For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me (8:21).”
c) “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there (8:22)?” The abominations/sins of the people are so severe that there is no balm for them. God has doomed them to parish (v. 14). For those who will remain, death will be preferred than life (v. 3).
Next Week: Jeremiah 9 – 10
Questions for the week:
1. What becomes of a nation full of lies?
2. What is the danger of idols?
3. What will be the punishment of Judah?