Jeremiah 7:32-34
“‘But soon, very soon’—GOD’s Decree!—’the names Topheth and Ben-hinnom will no longer be used. They’ll call the place what it is: Murder Meadow. Corpses will be stacked up in Topheth because there’s no room left to bury them! Corpses abandoned in the open air, fed on by crows and coyotes, who have the run of the place. And I’ll empty both smiles and laughter from the villages of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. No wedding songs, no holiday sounds. Dead silence.’”
“So beware, for the time is coming,’ says the LORD, ‘when that garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They will bury the bodies in Topheth until there is no more room for them. The bodies of my people will be food for the vultures and wild animals, and no one will be left to scare them away. I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah. The land will lie in complete desolation.”
Language, like any of God’s other good gifts, can be corrupted by Satan, chiefly when words are redefined for self-preservation and greed. This clouds our communication but not God’s vision. Thankfully he is true to his righteousness and calls us out as he did Israel here. God stands firm and we cannot escape our fates by trying to shift the fabric of the universe, calling black, white and white, black.
Few have ever heard, “Dead silence.” It is the unnatural quiet of a noisy, lively place. I heard it once, in the woods with a forest fire ten miles away. The absence of the natural world’s background music filled me with supernatural dread. In Judah, survivors would be left with horror and grief when human noises disappeared. They weren’t the only ones. God grieved too.
Lord Jesus, thank you for forgiving me, helping me, saving me from myself. You are my lifeline out of the pain within and around me. I cling to you. Never let me go.
Jeremiah 7:27-28
“Tell them all this, but don’t expect them to listen. Call out to them, but don’t expect an answer. Tell them, ‘You are the nation that wouldn’t obey GOD, that refused all discipline. Truth has disappeared. There’s not a trace of it left in your mouths.’”
“Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond. Say to them, ‘This is the nation whose people will not obey the LORD their God and who refuse to be taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their lips.’”
God made us to hope as a reflection of himself. Here God has lost hope in Judah just as we do with our human relationships. We despair the lost blossoming of shared ideas and emotions. The universe’s creator knows our pain because he has lived it also. Amazing and comforting too.
Lord, I cannot understand this. How can you be so big and yet still understand my small emotions? The mystery of it overwhelms. You are most worthy of all the devotion I can give you. Make me able to love you more.
Jeremiah 7:21-23
“‘The Message from GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God: ‘Go ahead! Put your burnt offerings with all your other sacrificial offerings and make a good meal for yourselves. I sure don’t want them! When I delivered your ancestors out of Egypt, I never said anything to them about wanting burnt offerings and sacrifices as such. But I did say this, commanded this: “Obey me. Do what I say and I will be your God and you will be my people. Live the way I tell you. Do what I command so that your lives will go well.’”
“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take your burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves! When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’”
God doesn’t want our sacrifices. We do all kinds of things to puff up our sense of worth, obliging God to favor us, even those who know better. The sin we were born into is the culprit. Our first though is always to self-aggrandize. But there is no need. God loves us even though we are sinners. (Romans 5:8) He longs for relationship with us as he did with Israel. Our sacrifice of word and deed has no power over him because he doesn’t want it in the first place.
Lord, forgive my posturing. Anything good in me came from you in the first place. Shred me when I try to paper over my life with good deeds. Keep me anchored at your fountain of blessing where working and trying give way to peaceful being.
Jeremiah 7:13-15
“So now, because of the way you have lived and failed to listen, even though time and again I took you aside and talked seriously with you, and because you refused to change when I called you to repent, I’m going to do to this Temple, set aside for my worship, this place you think is going to keep you safe no matter what, this place I gave as a gift to your ancestors and you, the same as I did to Shiloh. And as for you, I’m going to get rid of you, the same as I got rid of those old relatives of yours around Shiloh, your fellow Israelites in that former kingdom to the north.’”
“While you were doing these wicked things, says the LORD, I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer. So just as I destroyed Shiloh, I will now destroy this Temple that bears my name, this Temple that you trust in for help, this place that I gave to you and your ancestors. And I will send you out of my sight into exile, just as I did your relatives, the people of Israel.’”
Any good parent recognizes this situation, where their child passes into outright defiance and requires discipline to help them develop self-control. Why should we, who were created in God’s image, be surprised to find he operates likewise? The difference is he is a perfect parent, knowing when the delivery of consequences is necessary as the only way to free and healthy living. He knows how we work best and wants the best for us.
Lord, the Enemy shines at telling us ethics are situational. Please open our eyes to this lie. Give us courage to see how sick we are and how needy we are of that which only you can give. Make us willing to see upside down, that living by your rules leads to freedom.
Jeremiah 7:8-11
“Get smart! Your leaders are handing you a pack of lies, and you’re swallowing them! Use your heads! Do you think you can rob and murder, have sex with the neighborhood wives, tell lies nonstop, worship the local gods, and buy every novel religious commodity on the market—and then march into this Temple, set apart for my worship, and say, ‘We’re safe!’ thinking that the place itself gives you a license to go on with all this outrageous sacrilege? A cave full of criminals! Do you think you can turn this Temple, set apart for my worship, into something like that? Well, think again. I’ve got eyes in my head. I can see what’s going on.’ GOD’s Decree!”
“Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, ‘We are safe!’—only to go right back to all those evils again? Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the LORD, have spoken!”
God is no respecter of our cultural institutions, places, and ideas we build our security upon. They are only as solid and dependable as we, their people. Their integrity is dependent upon the cultural mores of those who created them. When we choose to live otherwise, they lose their power to protect us. This world God made works in a particular way. Nature has its rules. Why should we expect we can throw them into the wind without consequence?
Lord, I fear for my country and the world. It seems to be coming apart, a big conflagration imminent. Help me to be all you want me to be in this corner I live in. Make me salt and light, able to comfort, with your wisdom to share. Help me and others to be ready.
Jeremiah 6:21
“So listen to this. Here’s GOD’s verdict on your way of life: ‘Watch out! I’m putting roadblocks and barriers on the road you’re taking. They’ll send you sprawling, parents and children, neighbors and friends— and that will be the end of the lot of you.’”
“Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘I will put obstacles in my people’s path. Fathers and sons will both fall over them. Neighbors and friends will die together.’”
When we encounter one roadblock after another it is wise to take note. God could be testing us. He could also be warning us as he did Judah here. He does not capriciously pounce upon us in anger. He deals with us as he did this ancient nation, warning first and calling us from death to life.
Lord I can so easily step off your path. It scares me. Please never let go of me. May I ever heed your warnings, choosing and living life with you.
Jeremiah 6:16-19
“Go stand at the crossroads and look around. Ask for directions to the old road, The tried-and-true road. Then take it. Discover the right route for your souls. But they said, ‘Nothing doing. We aren’t going that way.’ I even provided watchmen for them to warn them, to set off the alarm. But the people said, ‘It’s a false alarm. It doesn’t concern us.’ And so I’m calling in the nations as witnesses: ‘Watch, witnesses, what happens to them!’ And, ‘Pay attention, Earth! Don’t miss these bulletins.’ I’m visiting catastrophe on this people, the end result of the games they’ve been playing with me. They’ve ignored everything I’ve said, had nothing but contempt for my teaching.”
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ I posted watchmen over you who said, ‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’ But you replied, ‘No! We won’t pay attention!’ ‘Therefore, listen to this, all you nations. Take note of my people’s situation. Listen, all the earth! I will bring disaster on my people. It is the fruit of their own schemes, because they refuse to listen to me. They have rejected my word.”
God purposed Israel to share himself with the world. He gave them the user’s manual on how things work best. They chose to live by their own ideas instead. Now God calls the nations as witness. Even in her destruction, Israel will point to the God who made her. Several hundred years later, during Jerusalem’s second destruction, God will make a way for those nations to move from witnesses to participants. He ever uses what is to point to what will be. Let us take note.
Lord, my own agenda always blinds me to yours. Help me grow in unity with you that my agenda and yours are one. May I always choose to consult your user’s manual. Open my eyes to my sin lest its consequences surprise me. I trust you to use my best and my worst for your glory.
Jeremiah 6:2-3
“I have likened my dear daughter Zion to a lovely meadow. Well, now ‘shepherds’ from the north have discovered her and brought in their flocks of soldiers. They’ve pitched camp all around her, and plan where they’ll ‘graze.’”
“O Jerusalem, you are my beautiful and delicate daughter—but I will destroy you! Enemies will surround you, like shepherds camped around the city. Each chooses a place for his troops to devour.”
It is easy to get lost in the pathos of these verses, a heart-breaking picture of lost innocence and promise. But that is to place the emphasis on people. Instead, looking at what it says about God, we see his grief and purpose to act according to who he is, righteous and holy. The Lord takes no pleasure in dispensing justice. He has no choice. He cannot be other than he is. He expects the same of us, to be the reflection of himself he made us to be. There is great comfort in knowing God must be true to himself. He is not capricious, nor can her be wheedled into action. He is always the same, rock solid, dependable.
Lord, I praise you for this comfort! You are faithful because you are ever the same. May I faithfully bear your image. Set me free to believe, spread hope and to love, telling the world about my strong and steady Lord.
Jeremiah 5:26-29
“‘My people are infiltrated by wicked men, unscrupulous men on the hunt. They set traps for the unsuspecting. Their victims are innocent men and women. Their houses are stuffed with ill-gotten gain, like a hunter’s bag full of birds. Pretentious and powerful and rich, hugely obese, oily with rolls of fat. Worse, they have no conscience. Right and wrong mean nothing to them. They stand for nothing, stand up for no one, throw orphans to the wolves, exploit the poor. Do you think I’ll stand by and do nothing about this?’ GOD’s Decree. ‘Don’t you think I’ll take serious measures against a people like this?’”
“‘Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They continually set traps to catch people. Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots. And now they are great and rich. They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?’ says the LORD. ‘Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?’”
God cares about the poor and their problems, having nasty things to say about those who abuse them. Christ grew up in a poor village. He spent his ministry among the disadvantaged. He trusted the disciples, ordinary men, to spread his message of God’s love and forgives. God works powerfully in the ordinary, among peoples like us. We have his presence to comfort when mistreated. Assuredly, he will even up the scales in his perfect time.
Lord, I am ordinary and also rich because I am an American. Let me see you present and at work in my daily life. Grant me wisdom and passion to step out on behalf of the world’s poor. Show me, grace me to your good purpose.
Jeremiah 5:21-25
“Why don’t you honor me? Why aren’t you in awe before me? Yes, me, who made the shorelines to contain the ocean waters. I drew a line in the sand that cannot be crossed. Waves roll in but cannot get through; breakers crash but that’s the end of them. But this people—what a people! Uncontrollable, untamable runaways. It never occurs to them to say, ‘How can we honor our GOD with our lives, The God who gives rain in both spring and autumn and maintains the rhythm of the seasons. Who sets aside time each year for harvest and keeps everything running smoothly for us?’ Of course you don’t! Your bad behavior blinds you to all this. Your sins keep my blessings at a distance.”
“Have you no respect for me? Why don’t you tremble in my presence? I, the LORD, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set. But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned away and abandoned me. They do not say from the heart, ‘Let us live in awe of the LORD our God, for he gives us rain each spring and fall, assuring us of a harvest when the time is right.’ Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings. Your sin has robbed you of all these good things.”
God sustains and controls our natural world, though Satan has worked to distort this gift. God placed its resources at our disposal, its beauty to enjoy. As we have allowed our baser parts to abuse nature, nature has responded with its own unruliness. As we turned away from God towards greed and indulgence, we have instigated nature’s decay and now it is going haywire. Our sins keep its blessings at a distance and threaten to destroy it altogether.
Lord, thank you for the blessings of the natural world. Thank you for my many opportunities to enjoy and cherish it. You have placed within it great resilience. Given a chance it will heal. Show me how to do my part in reversing its defilement, stewarding it for your glory.
Jeremiah 5:20
“Tell the house of Jacob this, put out this bulletin in Judah: Listen to this, you scatterbrains, airheads, with eyes that see but don’t really listen.”
“Make this announcement to Israel, and say to Judah: Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.”
We are indeed scatterbrained airheads, absorbed with trivia and fantasy, ever looking for our next hit of warm fuzzies. Our culture is undone by the superficiality of its people, rich and poor alike. Let us shun slang and cliches, instead speaking with the power of our nuanced, amazing language. May we fill our heads with ideas worth chewing on and then live them. We are children in adult bodies. We need to grow up.
Lord, again, have mercy. Our land is reeling with the vacuous lives of its inhabitants. Make us people of substance, able to think critically, harnessing our emotions to build things and ideas that will last. Grace us to lead the kind of lives that make a difference, according to your good purpose for all the peoples of the earth.
Jeremiah 5:18-19
“‘Even then, as bad as it will be’—GOD’s Decree!—‘it will not be the end of the world for you. And when people ask, ‘Why did our GOD do all this to us?’ you must say to them, ‘This is back on you. Just as you left me and served foreign gods in your own country, so now you must serve foreigners in their own country.’’”
“‘Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely,’ says the LORD, ‘And when your people ask, ‘Why did the LORD our God do all this to us?’ you must reply, ‘You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’’”
With God’s promise to preserve a remnant of the population comes this dreadful prophesy. Judah is to be reduced to slavery and servitude in a strange land. Imagine we Americans forcibly exported to Beijing. Knowing nothing of China or its language. We’d be isolated in an unknown culture, families disbursed in the transition, cultural ties ripped apart. Our existence would shrink to long days of manual labor, exhaustive sleep, strange food and a cacophony of strange noises. Judah’s elders and statesmen said, “Jeremiah’s prophisies will never happen to us.” But they did. It could happen to us too.
Lord, have mercy on us. May we turn to you before it is too late, our sin and selfishness cascading back upon us. May we, your people, more effectively call our countrymen back to the way we work best. Show us how to do this in our pluralistic society. Return us to virtues of honesty, commitment, and hard work. We need a hard lesson. Help us please!