Jeremiah
Chapter 7
Sermon on the Temple
These words were spoken by the Lord to Jeremiah,
“Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim this in a loud voice: Listen to what the Lord says, all you people of Judah (who enter these gates to worship the Lord).
The Lord the God of Israel says this: Change your ways and deeds, and I will stay with you in this place.
Do not rely on empty words like: ‘Look, the temple of the Lord! Temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord!’
It is far better for you to change your ways and act justly toward all.
Do not mistreat the stranger, orphan, or widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, or follow false gods to your own destruction.
Then I will stay with you in this place, in the land I gave to your ancestors in the past and forever.
But you trust in deceptive and useless words.
You steal, kill, take your neighbor’s wife; you swear falsely, worship Baal, and follow foreign gods who are not yours.
Then, after doing all these terrible things, you come and stand before me in this temple that bears my name and say: ‘Now we are safe.’
Is this house, on which my name rests, a den of thieves? I have seen it myself —it is the Lord who speaks.
Visit the Sanctuary at Shiloh in Israel, where I first let my name rest and see what I did to that place because of the wickedness of my people Israel.
You have done all this and have not listened when I repeatedly warned you; nor have you answered when I called you.
What I did in Shiloh, I will also do to this temple, on which my name rests, this sacred place in which you trust and which I have given to you and your ancestors.
As for you, I will drive you out I will drive you out of my sight, just as I cast away all your kin in the north, the entire race of Ephraim.
Intercession Is Pointless
Do not plead for this people. Make no prayer or supplication for them; do not press me on their behalf because I will not listen to you.
Don’t you see what they do in the cities of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem?
The children gather wood, and the fathers light the fire. The women knead dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings for foreign gods.
They do this to belittle me. But is it really me they belittle? asks the Lord. No, they are only belittling themselves, leading to their own confusion.
Because of this, the Lord has spoken: ‘The fury of my anger will be poured out on this place, both on man and beast, on the trees in the fields and the produce of the earth; it will burn and not be extinguished.’”
Worship Is Worthless
This is what the Lord of Hosts says to you: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the flesh.
When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, I did not give them a command regarding sacrifices and burnt offerings.
One thing I commanded them: Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Walk as I command you, and all will be well with you.
But they didn’t listen or pay attention. They followed the bad habits of their stubborn hearts and turned away from me.
From the time I led their ancestors out of Egypt until now, I have been consistently sending them my servants, the prophets;
But these stubborn people wouldn’t listen. They ignored and were even worse than their ancestors.
You might tell them all these things, but they won’t listen. You’ll call them, but they won’t answer.
This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord and has refused to be disciplined. Truth has vanished and no longer comes from their lips.
Mourning for the Valley of Ben-Hinnom
Cut off your hair and discard it. Sing a lament on the empty heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken these people.” This is the Lord’s word.
The people of Judah have committed an act that disgusts me. They have put their idols in the Sanctuary that bears my name and have desecrated it.
They have built the temple of Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, where they burn their sons and daughters, something I never commanded or even thought of.
Therefore, the time will come when it will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-Hinnom but instead the Valley of Slaughter, because they will bury the dead in Topheth due to lack of space elsewhere.
The corpses of these people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the animals of the earth, and nothing will scare them away.
In the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, I will put an end to all signs of joy and happiness, the songs of the bride and bridegroom, because the land will turn into a wilderness.
Commentaries
Sermon on the Temple.
This marks a crucial point in Jeremiah’s prophetic work. The temple is the center of the Promised Land and bears the “Name” of the Lord; it is where the faithful and the people of Israel can call upon the Lord and worship Him. There, He listens and accepts their offerings. This presence of God depends on fidelity to the covenant: welcoming strangers, caring for the weakest, respecting life, and avoiding idolatry… (6).
The memory of when the Assyrian troops withdrew from destroying Jerusalem remains, serving as a clear sign of the Lord’s power to its inhabitants (cf. 2 Kgs 19:32-34; Is 37:33-35). Israel became overconfident and developed a false sense of security by relying heavily on the temple and worshiping God at will. God also reminds them of what happened to the ancient temple at Shiloh, which, after the defeat by the Philistines, was never used again (cf. Jos 18:1; 1 Sm 3; Ps 78:60).
Intercession Is Pointless.
Even God himself seems hesitant to listen to the prophet’s prayer on behalf of the people. Similarly, the people do not appear very interested in Jeremiah’s intercession, as they remain firmly committed to worshiping other deities; specifically, the “queen of heaven” is mentioned here. This was a widely revered goddess, also known as the “Mother Goddess.” In Mesopotamia, she was known as Ishtar, and in Canaan, as Astarte; her cult and rituals focused on fertility.
Worship Is Worthless.
This refers to worship, which is often misunderstood as a condition of the Covenant, where there are no commandments regarding sacrifices and cultic practices. God is not pleased with the sacrifices of an unfaithful people (21). Although Jeremiah comes from a priestly family, he remains faithful to the Deuteronomistic doctrine, which states that worship is subordinate to obedience to God. Verse 23 precisely quotes the core of the Covenant, the commitment to adherence that Israel made at the time of its foundation at Sinai: to be the people of God, of the God who had freed them from Egyptian power.
Mourning for the Valley of Ben-Hinnom.
Long hair represented the dedication of the Nazirites (Nm 6:5-9). The Hebrew verb ‘Nazar’ means to dedicate or to separate. Israel is no longer a dedicated people (see 7:1-15). The temple’s defilement with idols and the corruption involving child sacrifice and holocaust, following other Canaanite practices, alienated God’s people, who foresaw the death and decline of Judah along with their kings, priests, prophets, and princes.