Jeremiah 7

Jeremiah had a long ministry from the days of Josiah until the last days of Zedekiah. The last recorded days in Jeremiah is an event in days of Evil-Merodach of Babylon in the 37^th year of the exile counting from 605 BCE, thus 568 BCE. He saw the conditions before and after the exile. When a prophet of the Old Testament functioned for God, he had a clock with him, because he had to talk about periods, chrono-periods, end-time scenarios, calculated times, Divine appointed times and so forth. The prophet also focused on the sins of the Remnant weed and spelled out promises for the Remnant seed. He listed the problems and suggested solutions. As usual, the people were stiff-necked. Much to the frustration of the prophet and of God. In this chapter Jeremiah was to stand in the gate of the Lord’s house to proclaim His word (v. 2a). The message is for worshippers just like messages from God every week is to members of the church coming to church to worship. The Lord asked them to change their lifestyles and He will let them stay in that area in the future Eschaton when He created the New Heaven and New Earth (v. 3). Deceptive words were going around saying “This is the temple of the Lord” so nothing can go wrong (v. 4). Superstitiously they thought that the building is the house of God so God living in that house will be their rescue without them needing a relationship with Him. Then Jeremiah spelled out the reformation needed: change your lifestyle (v. 5a); changes your actions/deeds (v. 5b); be just to your neighbor (v. 5c); do not oppress the alien believer (v. 6a); the orphan (v. 6b); the widow (v. 6c); do not shed innocent blood [meaning for justice the courts can shed guilty blood?] (v. 6d); walk after other gods of self-interest to one’s own ruin (v. 6e). If the law or Torah of God is kept perfectly, God will give them a promise land “forever and ever” in the Eschaton after the Hell-event when He created a New Heaven and New Earth (v. 7). Jeremiah lists the problems: they trust in deceptive words (v. 8); steal (v. 9a); murder (v. 9a); commit adultery (v. 9a); swear falsely (v. 9b); offer sacrifices to Baal (v. 9c); walk after unknown gods (v. 9d); command-breaking they come to worship proclaiming that they are “saved” yet cling to abominations (v. 10). God says that the place of worship has become a den of robbers (v. 11). The remnant weed should go to Shiloh and study history and see what God did in the past with that disobedient place and its worshippers (v. 12). While they were doing these things, the Lord spoke to them early in the morning (v. 13b) but they did not pay attention or hear. He called them but they did not answer (v. 13c). The Lord is going to punish them the same as Shiloh of the past (v. 14). They are going to be cast out (v. 15). A church that is rebellious in their actions, their members or worshippers will be cast out by the Lord. If the church-board is skew, the Lord will do it Himself His own way. The religious leaders of the evil Remnant members in the congregation are asked not to pray for the rebellious members to the Lord (v. 16a); “do not lift up a cry of prayer for them” (v. 16b); “do not intercede with Me” about them for the Lord will not hear the wicked intercessor (v. 16c). In the cities and streets they are doing wicked things at night and day (v. 17). Corporately, fathers, mothers and children have each their supportive action in contribution of the abomination set up against the Lord in His house of worship (v. 18). Each one come and help make kimbab for the church picnic but they do not pay tithe, they drink alcohol, they work on Sabbath in their gardens and farms but they want to come Sabbaths for an hour to say, “We are saved!” Are they spiting the Lord? They spite themselves (v. 19). The anger of the Lord will be poured out on that place in the Eschaton and not stop until all evil is finally exterminated, after the Millennium and during the timed Hell-burning event (v. 20). When the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt in 1450 BCE, and instructed them at Sinai in 1448 BCE, He did not speak to them about the tabernacle service with its burnt offerings and sacrifices pointing to Christ just as an event to eat flesh (v. 22). Personal faith and personal sanctification and personal obedience (v. 23) were connected to this whole salvation system repeatedly in Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 6:3; Exodus 19:5, 6 and Leviticus 26:12. Without faith, obedience and sanctification, worship in church is useless. They did not follow the Lord, they did not obey, nor listen, but walked after fables and their own existential and experiential sensibility (v. 24). God sent them His messengers, prophets, rising early and be sent (v. 25). They did not listen (v. 26a); but stiffened their necks (v. 26c) and did not evil in Jeremiah’s day than the Israelites did in the Wilderness (v. 26d). Even though Jeremiah will speak to them they will not listen and when he calls them they will not answer (v. 27). Jeremiah was to say to them that they are the nation that is disobedient (v. 28b) do not want to accept correction (v. 28c); they neglect truth and it perished (v. 28d); and their mouths stopped talking about the truths of God in His Scriptures (v. 28e). Jeremiah was to cut his hair and go to the hills and throw away the hair for the Lord will cut off the Remnant weed (v. 29) in similar fashion as Moses described in 1460 BCE what Job did in 2200 BCE (Job 1:20). An old custom of dismay thus. The action of cutting by the Lord will be fulfilled at the Eschaton after the millennium. Evil things they have set in the house of the Lord and defiled it (v. 30). They built high places and ovens to burn their sons and daughters in the valley of Hinnom in fire which was not commanded by the Lord (v. 31). They burnt foreign fire in the house of worship. In the Eschaton, this area will be called the valley of Slaughter for that is what Hell is (v. 32). The dead bodies of the evil at the Second Coming of Christ will be for the birds since only Satan will be lonely on this earth for a thousand years before the Hell event (v. 33). At that time, the land of Judah and Jerusalem will be a land of ruin, of course, for a thousand years (v. 34).

.

Dear God

Grant that we may listen to your warnings and change our lives to conform to your requirements of sanctification and obedience and not be rebellious and stiff-necked people. Amen.

Koot van Wyk, (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Kyungpook National University, Department of Liberal Education, Sangju, South Korea; conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia