Jeremiah 7:1

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, The prophet stood at the gate of the temple, in order that the multitudes from the country might hear him. His life was threatened, it appears from Jeremiah 26:1, for this prophecy denouncing the fate of Shiloh as about to befall the temple at Jerusalem. The prophecy given in detail here is summarily referred to there. After Josiah's death the nation relapsed into idolatry, through Jehoiakim's bad influence; the worship of Yahweh was, however, combined with it (; )....

1-16 No observances, professions, or supposed revelations, will profit, if men do not amend their ways and their doings. None can claim an interest in free salvation, who allow themselves in the practice of known sin, or live in the neglect of known duty. They thought that the temple they profaned would be their protection. But all who continue in sin because grace has abounded, or that grace may abound, make Christ the minister of sin; and the cross of Christ, rightly understood, forms the most effectual remedy to such poisonous sentiments. The Son of God gave himself for our transgressions, to show the excellence of the Divine law, and the evil of sin. Never let us think we may do wickedness without suffering for it....

CHAPTER VII _Here begins another section of prophecy, ending with the ninth_ _chapter. It opens with exhorting to amendment of life, without_ _which the confidence of the Jews in their temple is declared_ _vain_, 1-11. _God bids them take warning from the fate of their brethren the_ _Israelites, who had been carried away captive on account of_ _their sins without any regard to that sacred place,_ (Shiloh,) _where the ark of God once resided_, 12-15. _The iniquities of Judah are so great in the sight of God that_ the prophet i

In Jer. 7–10 he addresses the people as they flocked into Jerusalem from the country, to attend the solemn services in the temple upon a fastday. Jehoiakim Jeremiah 26 had just ascended the throne, and was so incensed at this sermon that he would have put Jeremiah to death but for the influence of Ahikam. With the accession of Jehoiakim all hope of averting the ruin of the country had passed away. He represented the reverse of his father’s policy, and belonged to that faction, who placed their sole hope of deliverance in a close alliance with Pharaoh-Necho. As this party rejected the distinctive principles of the theocracy, and the king was personally an irreligious man, the maintenance of the worship of Yahweh was no longer an object of the public care. At this time upon a public fast-day, appointed probably because of the calamities under which the nation was laboring, Je

EXPOSITION Ch. 7-10.—Severe rebukes of idolatry alternating with announcements of the impending judgment. The circumstances connected with this discourse, or part thereof, appear to be detailed in Jeremiah 26:1. Among the parallelisms between the two sections, notice especially the reference to the fate of the temple of Shiloh (comp. Jeremiah 26:14 with Jeremiah 26:6). The date of the original utterance of the prophecy is thus fixed for one of the early years of the reign of Jehoiakim. Jeremiah 10:1, however, requires separate consideration....

THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAH,.... The Word of prophecy, as the Targum: FROM THE LORD, SAYING; this begins a new prophecy. This verse, and the beginning of the next, are wanting in the Septuagint version....

Jeremiah 7:1. _The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 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. 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._ Many of them thought that, if they went up to the temple, it was all right with them, if they did but go through the outward ritual, they would certainly be accepted. They must have been astonished when Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, met them at the temple door, and told them that the best worship of God was holiness, not the mere outward ceremony but the renewal of the life, the cleansing of the heart before him. Jeremiah 7:

THE WORD THAT CAME The general character of the message in the temple gate is, like the first and second messages, one of rebuke, warning, and exhortation, but this message is addressed more to such in Judah as still maintaining outwardly the worship of Jehovah; it is a message to religious Judah, for example (Jeremiah 7:2); (Jeremiah 7:9); (Jeremiah 7:10); (Jeremiah 9:10); (Jeremiah 9:11)....

THE PROPHET'S TEMPLE ADDRESS (7-9) CHAPTER 7 _ 1. Amend your ways and your doings (Jeremiah 7:1) _ 2. No prayer-answer to be expected (Jeremiah 7:16) 3. Sacrifices rejected; Obedience demanded (Jeremiah 7:21) 4. Jerusalem's rejection (Jeremiah 7:29) Jeremiah 7:1. We call this next address of the prophet “the temple address,” because he was commanded to stand in the gate of the LORD's house. There he stood, a solitary figure, and said: “Hear the Word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in a

THE TEMPLE SERMON. The prophet is sent to the gate of the Temple, to rebuke the false confidence of Yahweh's worshippers in the possession of this block of buildings (these, Jeremiah 7:4). Yahweh desires social justice (Jeremiah 7:6), moral conduct (Jeremiah 7:9), and wholehearted worship; otherwise the security inspired by the fact that the Temple belongs to Him (Jeremiah 7:10, note _mg._) is utterly baseless. Yahweh will not permit His Temple to become like some cave which shelters robbers (Jeremiah 7:11; _cf._...