The Word Came To Jeremiah Through The Desolate Land (Jeremiah 7:1-34)

By Devadas Prakash
​1. What did the people of Judah need to do to dwell in the land of their fathers?
Throughly amend their ways: “(1) The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, (2) 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. (3) 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. (4) Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. (5) For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; (6) If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: (7) Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever” (Jeremiah 7:1-7).
· Proclaiming the word at the gates (Jeremiah 17:19-20, Jeremiah 26:2, and Acts 5:20).
· Amend your ways (Proverbs 28:13, Ezekiel 18:30-31, and Luke 3:7-8).
· Don’t trust in lies (Proverbs 19:27, Matthew 15:14, and Ephesians 5:6-7).
· The emphasis of thoroughly amending their ways (Psalms 37:27, Ezekiel 14:6, and Ezekiel 33:14-16).
· The emphasis of thoroughly executing judgment (I Kings 6:12-13).
· Oppressing the defenseless and innocent would not be overlooked (Malachi 3:5-6 and Proverbs 6:16-19).
· Hurt for following other gods (Deuteronomy 11:28 and Ezekiel 20:8).
· If repentance occurred, then they could dwell in the places of their fathers (Jeremiah 25:5).
2. Did it profit Israel to trust in lying words?
No: “Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit” (Jeremiah 7:8).
· Lying words do not help the hearers (Proverbs 26:28, Jeremiah 23:14, and Titus 3:3).
· This underscores the value of the truth (Proverbs 23:23 and John 8:32).
3. Did the vain worship of Israel profit them?
No: “(9) Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; (10) And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? (11) Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. (12) But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. (13) And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; (14) Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. (15) And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim” (Jeremiah 7:9-15).
· Titus 1:16 says it all here.
· God does NOT accept worship from those who are sinning (Proverbs 15:8, Proverbs 15:29, Proverbs 28:9, Isaiah 1:10-18, Mark 7:1-9, and John 9:31).
· Turned the place God established for worship under the Law of Moses (cf. John 4:20-24) into a den of thieves (John 2:13-17).
· Go and see what God did in the past over these things in Shiloh (I Samuel 4:1-22 and Psalms 78:60-62).
· God tried to restore them, but they wouldn’t have it (II Chronicles 36:14-17).
4. How often was Jeremiah supposed to pray for Judah?
Not at all: “Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee” (Jeremiah 7:16).
· Jeremiah 11:14 and Jeremiah 14:11-12; cf. Proverbs 29:1.
5. What caused God to want to pour out His anger and fury on everything?
They provoked Him with their idolatry: “(17) Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? (18) The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. (19) Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? (20) Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched” (Jeremiah 7:17-20).
· God wanted Jeremiah to observe what Israel is doing (Ezekiel 8:6).
· They were putting forth collective efforts to practice idolatry (Jeremiah 11:10).
· They were provoking God to anger (I Kings 14:7-10, Isaiah 3:8, and Isaiah 65:3-5).
· Therefore, they were going to get God’s unquenchable anger (II Chronicles 34:25, Jeremiah 4:4, and Jeremiah 17:27).
6. Was God more interested in sacrifices or obedience?
Obedience: “(21) Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. (22) For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: (23) But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. (24) But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. (25) Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: (26) Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. (27) Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. (28) But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth” (Jeremiah 7:21-28).
· Here is a clear answer that shows it all: “(22) And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king” (I Samuel 15:22-23).
· Obedience is the real show of love (Deuteronomy 30:20, John 14:15, John 14:21, John 15:10, and I John 5:2-3).
· Had they just done right all would have been good for them (Leviticus 26:1-7 and Deuteronomy 5:33).
· Yet, they’ve shown from generation to generation they wanted their ways over the Lord’s way (I Samuel 8:7-8, II Kings 21:15, Ezekiel 2:3, and Acts 7:51).
· Think about how sad the statement is “truth is perished” (Isaiah 59:15 and Hosea 4:1-6).
7. Why did God reject and forsake the people of Jerusalem in the generation Jeremiah was prophesying to?
Because they did evil in His sight and polluted His house with unauthorized sacrifices of their children: “(29) Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. (30) For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. (31) And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart” (Jeremiah 7:29-31).
· Leviticus 10:1-2, Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 17:1-6, Deuteronomy 12:32, and Luke 6:46.
8. Why was Tophet going to be known as something different than it once was?
God was going to see to it that the erring were slaughtered there: “(32) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. (33) And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away” (Jeremiah 7:32-33).
· God is only doing what He WARNED them He would do (Deuteronomy 28:14-26).
9. In the time God set forth His Judgment on them, what happened to the joy that once had been in the streets of Jerusalem?
It ceased because God caused the land to be desolate: “Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate” (Jeremiah 7:34).
· Isaiah 3:16-26 and Jeremiah 25:10-11.