Jeremiah 7 Commentary
Chapter 7 begins the famous temple sermon. Jeremiah is commanded to stand at the gate of the temple and preach from there.
Two points stand out. Firstly, clean house: treat each other justly; don’t oppress the poor, the fatherless, and the widows; and don’t shed innocent blood. Secondly, don’t follow other gods to your harm.
Then comes an important verse: “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?”
The LORD Jesus Christ referenced this verse when He drove out businessmen and businesswomen from the temple.
Because of Israel’s wickedness, God’s dwelling place at Shiloh was destroyed. Because of wickedness, God’s dwelling at Jerusalem would be destroyed, unless men and women changed their ways.
Jeremiah makes this point, even while the temple remained standing and people still flocked to it in numbers, it remained dead because of Israel’s wickedness. Israel’s confidence in the temple was all vanity.
Without the presence of the LORD God in an individual, all outward rituals – regardless of their good looks all amount to nothing. The saint is warned.
The LORD’s anger and wrath would be poured out on Jerusalem: on man and beast, on the trees, and on the crop in the field – the devastation of the economy in addition to human fatalities. Life becomes impossible. Isn’t our world getting closer to this point, if not already there?
When nature begins to work against mankind and when men and women turn on each other, you suspect there is more to it. The green energy campaign and the promotion of peace talks all sound great but read Jeremiah again and you know the solution is more spiritual than physical.
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