Jeremiah 7:8-11

B. A Fallacious Assumption Jeremiah 7:8-11

TRANSLATION

(8) Behold, you are trusting in the words of the worthless lie. (9) Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, sware falsely, offer incense to Baal, walk after other gods which you do not know (10) and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My Name and say, We are safe; in order to do all these abominations? (11) Has this house which is called by My Name become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen this (oracle of the LORD).

COMMENTS

God cannot continue to allow His people to dwell in the Promised Land so long as they continue to trust in deceitful words (Jeremiah 7:8). In Jeremiah 7:4 the prophet has already given an example of the words of the worthless lie. The fact that the Lord has His Temple in Jerusalem will profit them nothing if they continue to live godless lives. The people were engaging in every conceivable sinful activity: stealing, murder, adultery, false swearing, worship of false gods (Jeremiah 7:9). Yet they would come and stand before God in His house and think that because they had expressed this outward concern for the Lord they were completely safe from all harm, The regular visits to the Temple made no difference in the lives of these hypocrites. They went to the services to keep God on their side. As long as He was on their side they could practice their abominations with immunity. What a distortion of religion! What a fallacious assumption! With amazement the Lord asks, Has this house which is called by My Name become a den of robbers in your eyes? The Temple had become to the people of Judah no more than a refuge into which they would flee after committing their criminal acts. But God has seen all. He knows their hearts. He is aware of their evil intentions and sinful attitudes. He is not deceived by the outward manifestations of religious zeal.