Jeremiah

Jeremiah Chapter 7

• Jeremiah 7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
• 2 Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.
• 3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

All they had to do was to change, amend and follow after God's ways instead of their own and they would have been able to dwell at peace in their own land without any fear of the surrounding enemies.

God doesn't make laws just to make everyone miserable. All His commandments are for the good of mankind. Take for instance, "Thou shalt not kill." That was written for all our good. If we were allowed to kill anyone we didn't like, the rights of that individual would be taken away. His laws are for the good of everyone. The same law of stealing, adultery, honoring the father and mother etc. are all for our own good.

His commandment about having no other gods before me, is one of the most serious laws that was given for our protection. God knows that the only other powers besides His power is an evil power. That power of Satan is out to destroy mankind and destroy our souls. All idolatry and false religion is a tool of Satan to keep mankind from finding the true way of salvation. He doesn't want any of us to receive eternal life. He is headed for an eternity in hell and he wants to take everyone with him that he can.

God knew we had no strength in ourselves to keep His laws so He sent us His only Son, Jesus show us the way back to God, to pay the price for all of our sins and then give us the gift of the Holy Spirit to teach us and be with us until He returns to put down all the power of the enemy of our souls and set up a kingdom that lasts forever.

The devil sets up false ways, false gods and false religions to get mankind distracted away from the truth so they will not find the way to eternal life and freedom from sin.

• Jeremiah 4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.

If we stop following the Lord and return to sin, we can't trust in our religious services and rituals to keep us from being judged. Israel was not to trust in the fact that the temple dwelt among them if they forsook the holy way of God and did only what was right in their own eyes. Religion or religious services and rituals cannot save the soul. We can worship in outward emotions and not have anything in our hearts. God seeks for us to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

• John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
• 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Through Jesus a way was brought to us that changed us from within instead of outward ordinances and religious rituals that were not bad but could not change the inner person.

• Jeremiah 5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;

True faith in God will produce good works. If we truly love God and love our neighbors, then we will be fair and treat them with kindness.

• Jeremiah 6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

A true follower of Jesus Christ will not oppress strangers, fatherless and widow.

We see here how God hates the shedding of innocent blood. Is not abortion shedding innocent blood? Who could be more innocent than one who has not yet been born and had no chance to do any evil or good.

• Jeremiah 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

These commandments are all Israel had to do to dwell safely.

• Jeremiah 8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Lying words and feel good messages from preachers do not profit. A true servant of God will tell you the truth even at the risk of making you mad at them and stop giving them offerings.

• Jeremiah 9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

All these sins accompany false religions. Every false religion may not be guilty of every one of them but sooner or later they will have some of these sins among them. Let's make sure they do not get among true believers in Jesus Christ.

• Jeremiah 7:10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

This is another trait of false religion and trusting in religion to save. Many think they can do as they please and then trust in their religious services or temple to cleanse them so they can be okay and go out and do as they please again.

There are also those that trust in their infant baptism to save them. What religion we were born into cannot save us.  It doesn't matter how we were baptized, it is what we are now that counts. This is why I do not believe in the eternal security doctrine.  It's what we have now that counts, not what we had ten years ago.

• Jeremiah 7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.

Christians too, are not to go to church on Sunday and then cheat, steal, commit adultery the rest of the week.

• Jeremiah 7:12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

God reminds His people to remember His judgments upon those who forsook Him to do wickedness.

• Jeremiah 7:13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;

Why do you think God sends prophets, preachers and teachers?

He desires to save, not destroy. He sends preachers of the gospel to tell us how we can be delivered from eternal damnation and show us the way to eternal life. Sin will not only destroy our nation and our peaceful way of life but it will destroy our souls and send us to an everlasting burning hell. Would He have allowed evil men to torture and beat His only Son if sin was not a serious thing that had to be done away with?

• Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 
• 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A new and living way, a way of peace, a way of joy. Through Jesus we have a new beginning, a new life that enables us to actually walk with God on a daily basis.

• Jeremiah 7:14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
• 15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
• 16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.

Let us not get to the place where God doesn't even want someone to intercede on our behalf. Let us now turn to the living God for salvation and deliverance from sin through faith in Jesus Christ. Repent and be born again by His precious Holy Spirit. Let the word of God cleanse and sanctify you and you shall have eternal life.

• Jeremiah 7:17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
• 18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
• 19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?

Worshipping other gods not only make God angry but it brings us confusion, evil and destruction.

Other gods do not always mean idols but any religion or non-religion that keeps us from turning from sin and seeking God. Humanism and atheism is also evil and destructive to our eternal souls.

• Jeremiah 7:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
• 21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.
• 22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
• 23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

God is out for our good. Obedience is better than sacrifice and religious rituals. Walk in His ways. Our own ways bring destruction. His ways are for our good. He will be our God. He wants to be our God. What a comfort to know that.

• Jeremiah 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

We need to cast down our imaginations.

• 2Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
• 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Through the power of the Holy Spirit given to those who receive Jesus Christ, we can resist the devil and cause him to flee. We don't need that stuff in our lives.

• Jeremiah 7:25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
• 26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
• 27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.
• 28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

Never at any time should we stop learning of God and listening to His word. Never should we harden our hearts from hearing the truth. The word of God should be our delight day and night.

• Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 
• 18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. 
• 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. 
• 105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The word is so precious to our souls. Its feeds us better than the best foods feed our bodies. God is good folks.

• Jeremiah 7:29 Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
• 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.
• 31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

This is why God allowed the destruction of nations that dwelt in the land of Canaan before the children of Israel settled in the land. The iniquity of those people became so great that they sacrificed their own sons and daughters in fire to idols. Here we see that Israel had started doing the same things. Their sin was worse than the nations before them because they had the law of God and knew better.

Take offense, get mad or whatever but in the countries that are more civilized are doing the same thing in the name of abortion. Killing children is what destroyed nations before us and it will destroy nations now if we do not repent and turn from this wickedness.

• Jeremiah 7:32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
• 33 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
• 34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from 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 be desolate.

This is why they were taken over by Assyria, Babylon, and other nations because of forsaking God and copying after the wicked nations around them.

We do not get by with sin. Not in the days of the Old Testament nor in the present days.

The beautiful thing we have now is the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He died that we may live and be made free from sin.

• Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
• 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
• 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

See the awesome freedom we have in Christ. Free from the law of sin and death. DC

• Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Jeremiah Chapter 8