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Jeremiah

Jeremiah 7

False Religion Worthless
The Valley of Slaughter

Jeremiah 7:1-8

This is known as Jeremiah's temple sermon; the message was delivered at the gate of the temple.  This was a busy place where many, if not most, would frequent at some time or another.  Jeremiah wouldn't have been popular preaching this in that crowd.  He essentially calls all who would come and worship to listen closely for he had a message from the Lord.  Using the term 'Lord Almighty' was indicating the Lord as commander of the armies of heaven and earth. 

 

The message was a call for reformation; they needed to make things right.  If they did so, they would be allowed to live in God's land.  The people were trusting the deceptive words that said, "All is well, we are safe."  The triple repetition is like a incantation for them.  They assumed the Lord's presence in the temple and were trusting they would be safe in calling on the temple, being near the temple. 

 

Their covenant and thereby their protection, wasn't based on proximity or some incantation of hope, it was conditional – as it always had been:

  • If they really change, treating each other justly.

  • If they don't oppress the foreigner, orphan and widow.

  • If they don't shed innocent blood.

  • If they don't follow other gods.

  • Then, and only then, would they be allowed to live in the promise of God.

 

Instead of belief in the covenant and word of God, they believed another word, the one that made them comfortable and safety.  Unfortunately, that word was a lie.

 

Jeremiah 7:9-11

The people had forgotten their covenant responsibility of obedience.  Even more important was they had forgotten their relationship with the Lord where obedience was a joy and it was God's joy to bless His children.  They had somehow substituted this incantation of the temple and words of safety.  Did they really feel they were safe in doing all these things forbidden by God's law (the Ten Commandments and Deut 5:6-21).  They were turning God's house to a den of robbers (Mt 21:13; Mk 11:17; Lk 19:46).  The Lord had been watching what was going on.  They thought they were getting away with something, as if the Lord would say nothing.

 

Jeremiah 7:12-15

Jeremiah invited them to visit Shiloh and see what the Lord had done.  Shiloh was the former religious center.  Shiloh was the gathering place of all the tribes during the conquest.  It was there the people heard from the Lord and trusted Him.  It was their they received their allotment of the land and went forth to take that Promised Land.  See Joshua 18:1 and 19:51.

 

Shiloh was apparently destroyed; or at least it was no longer the religious center after the war at Aphek.  The was judgment on the house of Eli (See 1 Samuel 3).  Eli's sons were wicked and disrespectful in their service in the temple.  This brought judgment that played out in 1 Samuel 4.  They were conquered by the Philistines and the Ark was captured.  It's not clear that Shiloh was destroyed, but the judgment came on the disobedient, the Ark was lost and it was no longer the religious center.   

 

The Israelites were doing the same thing again.  The Lord repeatedly warned them but they didn't listen, they didn't answer His call.  Therefore, the Lord would treat them as He treated Shiloh.  They would be destroyed in judgment and suffer broken fellowship with their God.

 

Jeremiah 7:16-19

The normal activities of a priest was to represent God to the people as well as represent the people before God.  The Lord told Jeremiah not to bring anything before Him regarding these people.  It was too late for them and He would not listen. 

 

It was as if Jeremiah asked, "Why?"  The Lord asked if he had not seen that their idolatry had become a family affair, part of the household and life, as if it were very normal.  This was part of their worship of the goddess Ishtar (in Mesopotamia, Anat in Caanan, Ashtoreth in Israel.  She was the goddess of love and fertility; their worship was the pursuit of blessings for the prosperity of their crops. 

 

Ashtoreth is not the only god, they worship others, pouring out a drink offering.  It's as if they do this to purposely arouse the anger of the Lord.  The word used 'arouse my anger' can mean it was done with the purpose to provoke or the result was that they provoked Him.  In the end, it does not matter; they had known better and had been warned.  So, the harm they brought was not to God, but to themselves.  The passage makes it sound as if they purposely did these things to anger God.  Were they trying to force God's hand into giving them their desired outcome?  What a dangerous game!

 

Jeremiah 7:20

While they may have sought blessings from the fertility goddess to have children, to grow their flocks, to increase their orchards and crops, the Lord announced His wrath and anger would be poured out on these same things.  Not only would they not receive a blessing, they would lose the blessings they had. 

 

Jeremiah 7:21-29

All the burnt offering was to be consumed on the altar.  The meat of the other sacrifices was to be eaten by the person bringing it and could be eaten by the priests.  They were making a mockery of the entire system so the offering was meaningless and rejected by the Lord.  In an example of sarcasm in the bible, the Lord suggested they just keep the burnt offering, add it to their meal and eat all of it themselves. 

 

The instructions were specific commands to be carried out for the purpose required by these sin-fallen people.  These were given to them for their well-being, not for God's desire for sacrifices.  It was their opportunity to deal with sin and restore relationship with their creator.  The command was to 'walk' and it would go well with them.  Obviously, it is implied to walk otherwise meant it would not go well. 

 

From the beginning, they were a problem.  The Lord sent correction daily, over and over, in an effort to turn them back.  They firmly placed themselves in the category of disobedience and 'failure to walk'.  The truth died!  What a sad day. 

 

Cutting off your hair was a sign of mourning.  The entire nation was called to mourning over the judgment.  The barren heights may be specific to the temple mount or more general to Jerusalem.  The point was the Lord would not be found to resolve their problems, their judgment would stand.

 

Jeremiah 7:30-34

In 2 Kings 21:2-7 we see that Manasseh placed idols and cult symbols in the temple.  Josiah had cleaned them out but they were apparently replaced shortly after Josiah's death.  They were a primary cause of Judah's guilt and punishment.  The Topheth was a word meaning 'stove'.  They set up these altars on the high places and burned their children in the fires.  Their bodies send to the valley below.  These sacrifices were strictly pagan but they were mixing their pagan worship with the worship of the Lord.  This is doubly offensive; they associated the Lord with this child sacrifice. 

 

The coming judgment would change the name of the valley.  It would become the place of slaughter of the people of Judah.  Instead of the slaughter of children for sacrifice, the Lord would sacrifice his people in judgment.  We can imagine the birds and wild animals eating the bodies of these children they burned.  The only thing this offering did was feed the animals and anger God.  In this coming day, the birds and wild animals would feast in this valley on the children of Israel after their judgment for such things. 

 

©2018 Doug Ford