Verses 1-11, “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 you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord!’ ” Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’ “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord.”
Jeremiah was called to boldly speak the truth right at the entrance to the temple, which means that the people entering thought they were coming to worship the Lord. Somehow they were trusting in the temple to cover up their evil, but we know that God desires obedience from us more than sacrifice. If they continued in this manner after their open rebuke, God would have no choice but to judge them because He is holy and just. However, if they would truly change their ways, He would not be forced to exile them from their land. Many Christians today trust in a prayer or in a church movement to cover their sin. Trusting in Jesus and His blood sacrifice is the only way our sins can be covered, but when you do, you will not continue sinning as though you have a free pass. I Peter 2:16, “...as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.”
When you are saved and covered by the blood of Jesus, you will change your ways...not continue walking in darkness. Expecting that you can still engage in wickedness is trampling on Jesus and insulting His grace, which is deserving of punishment. Hebrews 10:29, “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” In fact, you will be careful not to have fellowship with those who are unholy, knowing how quickly leaven spreads and that we are accountable for overlooking sin which can suggest our approval. Ephesians 5:8-11, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
Verses 16-27, “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the Lord. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?” Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.” Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. “Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you.”
Due to the hardened nature of their hearts, Jeremiah was told not to pray for these people. Imagine how well that would go over in the church today. You would be accused of being ungodly and unloving. People have a hard time even following a biblical path of church discipline, feeling bad for the one sinning and interfering with the work of the Lord. The best thing we can do for the person is trust in God, pray, and follow His ways. There are times, however, when people are so hard to the truth, that sharing godly wisdom with them will do them no good and may cause you harm. Matthew 7:6, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” This was the case with the Jewish leaders, who turned on Jesus and murdered Him. In this case...it was God's will. The Spirit will give you wisdom for your situation if you are able to hear and willing to obey.
The disobedience in this chapter was a family affair. Each member had their special role in worshipping the false gods, making them all guilty before God. The queen of heaven that the women baked cakes to is none other than the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. It appears as though the word Easter is the Anglican name for Ishtar, and the celebration of fertility through rabbits and eggs would certainly give evidence to that. Their sins were provoking God to anger. Therefore, He will pour out His fury on their land, livestock, and people. It wasn't as though it was undeserved either. God had sent His prophets with continual warning, but each generation got worse than the one before. The sins of our country follow the same path...each generation more wicked than the one before. We are angering God and heaping up wrath as a nation and throughout the world, which is why friendship with the world is enmity toward God. Separate yourself and be holy, that you may escape the wrath that's coming.
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