Preaching at the church door!
Scripture reading for August 5: Jeremiah 7-10
Jeremiah was sent to preach to God’s people and told that they would not listen! (Jeremiah 7:27) He was told on several occasions not to pray for these people because their sins had removed them from God’s grace, but he wept rivers of tears for them anyway! (Jeremiah 7:16) (Jeremiah 9:22-23) His preaching was straight and he used interesting object lessons to get the people’s attention! He was told by God to go to the gate of the temple of the Lord and preach to the people as they arrived for worship and sacrifice. (Jeremiah 7:2-7) “Hear the Word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, The God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, and in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.”
God’s people were going through the motions of religion and were deceived! Jeremiah’s words struck to the heart of the matter. We can use our religious activities to justify our own selfish lifestyles. God is not interested in religious activities unless they come from a heart that is humble, repentant and willing to listen to Him. Their trust was in their attendance at the temple. God called them to change attitudes and actions. He cared about orphans and widows, the alien and the poor. His heart was broken when innocent blood was shed and people dealt unjustly with one another. He hated adultery and lying. God wanted His people to reflect His heart of love.
God was and is watching over His Word and His people’s response to His Word! When He sees hypocrisy, He desires repentance and faith. Jesus Christ went into the temple of the Lord and saw the same things with the money changers and traders. He quoted from Jeremiah: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’.” (Mark 11:17) (Jeremiah 7:11) After preaching, He then cleansed the temple! Maybe we need more preaching at the church door!
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