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temporary temple

Jeremiah 7:1-15 (JDV)

Jeremiah 7:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahveh. This is what it said:

Jeremiah 7:2 “Stand in the gate of the house of Yahveh and call out this word there: ‘Hear the word of Yahveh, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship Yahveh.

Jeremiah 7:3 ” ‘This is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your actions, and I will allow you to continue living in this place.

Jeremiah 7:4 Stop trusting deceitful words, which chant, “These buildings are the temple of Yahveh, the temple of Yahveh, the temple of Yahveh.”

Jeremiah 7:5 Instead, if you really correct your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another,

Jeremiah 7:6 Stop oppressing the guest, orphan, and widow and stop shedding innocent blood in this place or following other gods, bringing harm on yourselves,

Jeremiah 7:7 I will allow you to continue living in this place, the land I gave to your fathers long ago and permanently.

Jeremiah 7:8 But notice, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.

Jeremiah 7:9 ” ‘Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known?

Jeremiah 7:10 Then do you come and stand before me in this house that bears my name and say, “We are safe, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts”?

Jeremiah 7:11 Has this house, which bears my name, become a hideout for robbers in your view? Notice, I too have seen it. This is what Yahveh declares.

Jeremiah 7:12 ” ‘But return to my place that was at Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first. See what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel.

Jeremiah 7:13 Now, because you have done all these things – this is what Yahveh declares – and because I have spoken to you time and time again but you wouldn’t listen, and I have called to you, but you wouldn’t answer,

Jeremiah 7:14 what I did to Shiloh I will do to the house that bears my name – the house in which you trust – the place that I gave you and your fathers.

Jeremiah 7:15 I will banish you from my presence, just as I banished all of your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.’

temporary temple

Joe Pritchett relates this story to Jeremiah 7:

“A young woman took notice of an elderly shut-in lady connected to her church. The young woman decided to surprise her with a home-made chocolate cake one Friday afternoon. The elderly lady thanked her profusely. Her response pleased the young woman, so she decided to do it weekly. After the third week, the elderly lady asked if she could bring the cakes on Wednesdays so that she could serve them to her bridge club on Thursdays. Two weeks later, she told the young woman that her club preferred lemon cakes, so she should bring lemon instead. One week, the young woman was ill and could not prepare a cake. The elderly lady called to berate the young woman for being inconsiderate and unreliable because she did not bring her a cake that week!”[1]
How quick we all are to take blessings for granted, and to assume they will always be there. Jeremiah’s people thought the temple would be a permanent fixture, but Jeremiah reminded them of Shiloh. Nothing is permanent for people who reject God’s word.

Lord, build in us a lasting appreciation for your word.

[1] Maranatha Daily Devotional. Tuesday, November 3, 2015.