(Jeremiah 7:1 ff)

At the beginning of the reign of king Jehoiakim the Lord sent Jeremiah to the gate where the people of Judah had gathered to worship.

The Lord told Jeremiah to stand at the entrance of the Jerusalem temple and announce to them what he had to say to them.

The people of Judah had increasingly become irreligious through their sinfulness. They ignored repentance and continued to sin

The reforms that King Josiah carried out had equally been ignored. Therefore, they had returned to the wicked ways of King Manasseh

There was ritual worship at the temple and therefore the people lacked inner commitment to their God.

Besides, they had taken God for granted that he would continue being their God and spare them despite their sinfulness.

King Jehoiakim had re-introduced pagan worship among the people of Judah thus making the people to become more sinful.

In addition, the people of Judah had false confidence in the temple as a source of their protection despite their sinfulness.

Against such a background Jeremiah condemned the people and their practices in this sermon.

He revealed to the people that the Lord had sent him to them and urged them to listen to what he had to say.

Jeremiah began his sermon by calling upon the people to change their ways of living and the things they were doing.

He revealed that the Lord would allow them continue living in their land if they would listen to him. The land would be their permanent possession since it was given to them through their ancestors.

Jeremiah urged the people of Judah to stop believing in their deceitful words that they were safe by being in the Lord's temple.

Jeremiah called upon the people to be fair in the way they were treating one another. Jeremiah advised them to stop taking advantage of aliens (foreigners), orphans and widows.

Jeremiah made a call to the people to stop killing innocent people in the land of the Lord. Jeremiah appealed to the people to stop worshipping other gods pointing out that it would destroy them. This was a call for Judah to revert to her monotheistic faith.

Jeremiah accused Judah of putting their trust in their deceitful ways and continued to believe that they were safe before the Lord.

He accused the people of Judah of theft, murder committing adultery and telling lies under oath.

The prophet blamed the people for offering sacrifices to Baal and worshipping the gods they had not known before.

Jeremiah told the people that they could do all the things the Lord hated and could still go and stand in his presence to claim that they were safe.

The prophet challenged the people whether they thought the temple was a hiding place for robbers.

Jeremiah revealed to the people of Judah that the Lord had seen whatever they were doing

Jeremiah asked the people to go to Shiloh, the first place the Lord chose to be worshipped and see what the Lord had done there because of the sinfulness of the people of Israel.

Jeremiah declared that the people had sinned that however much the Lord could speak to them over and over again; they refused to listen to God and respond to his call.

Jeremiah declared that the lord would destroy the Jerusalem temple in the same way he had Shiloh.

Besides, the Lord would drive Judah out of his sight the way he had done to their relatives, the people of Israel.

According Jeremiah, the lord forbade him from praying for the people neither was he to cry or pray on their behalf nor plead with him. The Lord would now listen to him as he was determined to punish them.

Jeremiah declared that the Lord would pour out his fierce anger upon the temple and their animals. It would be like that and no one would put it out for destruction was now under way and no one would survive it.

He condemned the people's wrong sacrifices and permitted them to eat them all. He justified this that their burnt offering now meant nothing to the lord.

Jeremiah also reminded the people how the lord commanded their ancestors to obey him in order for them to be his people. After bringing them out of Egypt, they chose to disobey him without paying any attention.

Besides, their ancestors did whatever their stubborn and evil hearts told them to do thus they became worse instead of better.

Jeremiah revealed that the people could no longer listen and answer to whoever the Lord had sent.

Jeremiah declared that the people's faithfulness was dead that it was no longer talked about.

Jeremiah urged the people to mourn and sing funeral because the Lord was angry with them.

Jeremiah condemned the people of Judah for having placed their idols which the Lord hated in his temple and defiled it.

Jeremiah saw that the people had built an altar called Topheth where they could sacrifice their sons and daughters in the fire.

He prophesied a time the people would die massively and there would be no burial place for them.

Besides, the land of Judah would become a desert thus making it difficult for the people to live in it.

He revealed that Lord had promised to put to end the sounds of joy and gladness and the happy sounds of wedding feasts in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.

Revision Questions

1.          Account for Jeremiah's temple sermon

2.          Justify Jeremiah's temple sermon in Chapter 7

3.          Why was Jeremiah hostile to the worshippers at the temple?

4.          Discuss the circumstances that led to Jeremiah's temple sermon.

5.          Why did Jeremiah tell the people of Judah not put trust in the temple?

6.          Comment on Jeremiah's temple sermon in Chapter 7.

7.          If Jeremiah came to Uganda now why would he condemn the worshippers?

8.          What lessons can modern Christians learn from Jeremiah's temple sermon?

RESPONSE OR REACTION TOWARDS JEREMIAH'S TEMPLE SERMON

The temple sermon was a great shock to the people of Judah who thought that all was well.

The people of Judah were disappointed had the prophet had condemned their ways of worship and everybody else in the land.

The worshippers rioted to the extent that the court officials and the king were so alarmed and hurriedly went to the temple.

The sermon brought Jeremiah into conflict with Priest Pashhur who was the high priest for he considered his sermon as a threat to his position.

Jeremiah was beaten up, put in chains and taken to prison near the upper Benjamin gate upon the order of Priest Pashhur .

The priests seized Jeremiah and threatened him with death for having committed blasphemy.

The sermon caused confusion among the people of Judah. It was rather difficult for them to accept and believe in Jeremiah's message.

The people of Judah developed a wide spread opposition towards Jeremiah. They isolated him because of his disastrous messages.

Jeremiah was branded a traitor. It apparently became clear to the people that Jeremiah was against them and their ways of life.

Jeremiah was later taken for trials and recommended to be put to death for they found him guilty of blasphemy.

Jeremiah was taken to be a person causing trouble in the land. The people looked at him as a person who was only interested in seeing the people suffer.

He was taken to be a hypocrite for they wondered how he could talk about their destruction amidst his claims that he loved them so much.

However some of the worshippers came to realize that and recognize Jeremiah as a true prophet of God because he spoke without fear.

Some people requested Jeremiah to plead with God on their behalf so as they could be spared from the destruction.

Comment on Jesus' attitude toward the use of the temple

•  He referred to the temple as his father's house

•  He called it a house of prayer

•  It is a holy place

•  It is a place of worship

•  He chased away those who abused the temple

•  He respected the temple

•  He had authority over the temple

•  The temple was a house for knowing God.

•  He felt the temple had to be respected.

•  He felt that the worshippers were misusing the temple.

Discuss the attitude of the present Christians toward the place of worship

•      A house of God

•      Great emphasis is put on respecting places of worship

•      It is a place of prayer

•      It is a holy place

•      It is a place for praise and worship

•      It is a place for obtaining blessing from the lord

•      A place which needs support from the worshippers

•      People feel secured and protected when in their places of worship

•      However, some go to such places for formality

•      Others have commercialized places of worship

•      Some people expect material help from their places of worship