Jeremiah 7 - 10.31.25
Scripture: Jeremiah 7:1-7
“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
“Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:
“‘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 foreigner, 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, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.”
Observation:
Jeremiah was commissioned by God to warn the people that they need to reform their ways. My Bible has a note that the lie the people believed is they were safe from judgment because the temple was there. Isaiah had prophesied over 100 years earlier that the temple would be protected from attack. Repeating “the temple of the Lord” three time was a literary device used for emphasis. The people were saying this with false hope that they were safe from judgement due to their disobedience. God then gave Jeremiah the key to change their ways to be in right standing and remain in Jerusalem.
Do not oppress foreigners, the fatherless, and the widows
Do not shed innocent blood
Do not follow other gods
Trust God, not deceptive words
Some of us may say we follow the above. However, we need to look at our actions and see if we have let the enemy deceive us in any way. He is crafty in twisting truth for another time and deceiving many. He used God’s word to tempt Jesus: John 4:10-12. He will use it to tempt us. Also, are we helping those who need it as Jesus asked us to? Do we truly trust God’s plan? Another thing that stuck me is this could be a call to people today to proclaim to those being deceived. This generation has believed many lies. We know the truth and are called to share it.
Application:
I want to be sure I have not let the enemy deceive me in any way. I need to pray and ask God how I can proclaim the message to those who are deceived. Many think they are a “good person” and believe Heaven will be their home without surrendering to God and following His plan. Others do not know of God’s love and sacrifice for them.
Prayer:
Lord, your mercy is wonderful. You have given us your Word to follow, sent Jesus to proclaim truth, die for our sins, and be raised to life again as our Savior and Intercessor. Please search my heart and show me if there is something that has deceived me. Help me know what promises are for today and what was a specific instruction given at a certain time and circumstance. Please help me seek you and be obedient when you speak something for me to proclaim from a simple “God bless you” or a smile to something more deep that will cause someone to repent and turn from destruction. Thank you for your sovereign plan and love for people like me.
Amen
- Cindy Howard
