"The Temple of the Lord!"

“Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ — that you may do all these abominations? “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the LORD (Jeremiah 7:8-11).

These words are part of what some refer to as Jeremiah’s “temple sermon.” The prophet is called by God to go to the gate of the temple and preach to those who were entering to worship (Jeremiah 7:1-2). Somehow the temple and the rituals associated with it had come to be viewed as a “magical rabbit's foot” among the people of Judah. They had been deceived into putting their trust in the words of a mantra: “The temple of the Lord. The temple of the Lord. The temple of the Lord” (Jeremiah 7:4). And yet, away from the temple, they were living lives of ungodliness. As the text above reveals, they were stealing, murdering, committing adultery, swearing falsely, and practicing idolatry. But as long as they showed up at the temple and went through the rituals, they thought they were safe from the consequences of their sinfulness. Maybe they reasoned that God didn’t see or care what they did away from “church.” But they were wrong. As God says in vs. 11: “Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord.

Some today still seem to think that as long as you show up at church, participate in the right rituals, and believe the right doctrine, it doesn’t matter how you live during the rest of the week. But don’t believe it. It still doesn’t work to pretend to be a saint on Sunday and live like the devil from Monday through Saturday. We may fool each other but we aren’t fooling God.

God loves you!

Mike