Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (OT)

Jeremiah 7:1-15

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. ³ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. ⁴ Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

⁵ “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, ⁶ if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, ⁷ then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.

⁸ “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. ⁹ Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, ¹⁰ and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? ¹¹ Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord. ¹² Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. ¹³ And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, ¹⁴ therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. ¹⁵ And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim.

Jeremiah stands outside the temple proclaiming to those who are coming to the temple of The Lord, that it is actually the temple of The Lord. Many people come to being their words, or lip service to The Lord whil their hearts are far from him.

Jeremiah points the people to the Ten Commandments. He calls them to repent of the shedding of innocent blood. He calls them to repent of their false worship. These people come and offer their sacrifices but do not amend their deeds, or actions, or words. They do not change. These people being their words and physical sacrifices, while their hearts, minds, and souls love themselves, the world, and power more than God.

It is time for us to come humbly before The Lord. It is time for us to turn and see our salvation. Jesus Christ has laid down his life for you. He has claimed you to be his own. He has given you the Holy Spirit. He has even placed his name upon you. Now how are you going to treat this holy gift. Are you going to turn your church into a den of robbers? Are you going to lead a life of deception, and sin? Are you going to repent of your sins, and live a better life?

I know I leave church on Sunday mornings, refreshed and ready to start a week of holy living. But I find sin crouching at my door step even before I get back home. Sin is always around us and consuming us, but that does not mean we should indulge them but fight them, with the strength and knowledge of Jesus Christ.