Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

7:1-2 Jeremiah takes God's message to the temple-going public. This sermon is undated, but may have been during Jehoiakim's reign (609-598 b.c.; see notes on 1:3; 26:1).

7:3 Though the Israelites come to worship (v. 2), they must amend (lit., "make good") their patterns of life. Such change is necessary if they are to dwell in this place, the Promised Land.

7:4 deceptive words. Either taught by false prophets or derived from a misunderstanding of Scripture. temple of the Lord. Apparently the Israelites either believed the temple would never be destroyed or thought swearing by the temple kept them safe.

7:5 The true (not deceptive) word was that Israel should amend oppressive deeds by executing justice (right and fair decisions).

7:6 sojourner. A resident alien living in Judah. fatherless. Either through death, desertion, or irresponsible sexual acts. widow. Either through death or desertion. These three groups lack social protection and are thus afforded special care (Deut. 16:11, 14; 24:19-21). shed innocent blood. For gain or revenge (Jer. 2:34; 26:20-24). your own harm. Such actions bring disaster on their perpetrators.

7:7 let you dwell . . . in the land. Obedience (Deut. 4:4) and repentance (Deut. 30:1-10) are essential prerequisites for a long tenure in the Promised Land. Loss of the land is possible (Deut. 28:64-68).

7:9-10 Judah has broken the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17) and has not repented. called by my name. See 1 Kings 8:41-43; 2 Chron. 6:33. delivered. Forgiven because of the completed ritual. go on doing. The people feel justified in sinning, as they did before they came to "worship."

7:11 den of robbers. Jesus combined this passage with Isa. 56:7 (see Matt. 21:13 par.) to highlight the temple's defilement. Here God declares the false worshipers to be violent thieves preying on others (cf. Isa. 7:5-9).

7:12-14 Shiloh. This was the central sanctuary (about 19 miles [31 km] north of Jerusalem) prior to the monarchy (Judg. 21:19; 1 Sam. 1:3). because of the evil of my people. Constant sin caused God to shut down this old site. What happened to Shiloh will happen to Jerusalem. Apparently after the battle of 1 Sam. 4:2-11, the Philistines overran Shiloh itself (cf. Ps. 78:60-64). Judah's trust in a physical site is misplaced.

7:15 cast you out. To foreign lands (Deut. 28:64-68). Ephraim is another name for Israel, the northern kingdom, and also the area where Shiloh was located.

7:16 do not pray . . . do not intercede. This is an unusual command for a dire situation. After many warnings, God has made the decision to punish, and he will not hear (respond to) further pleas from Jeremiah. This is a decisive turn; previously (e.g., Ex. 32:10-14), God would accept intercession.

7:18 Whole families work together to worship the queen of heaven, an astral deity named Astarte, whom the Assyrians and Babylonians believed aided fertility. She was popular in Judah for many years (2 Kings 23:4-14; Zeph. 1:5). drink offerings. Fluids poured out to show devotion to God (Num. 28:7) or other gods.

7:19 their own shame. See 3:25; 17:18.

7:20 God's anger and wrath (42:18; 44:6) will spill over from the city into the countryside. His anger will not be quenched until it achieves its purpose (17:27).

7:21 Burnt offerings were to be consumed by fire, but parts of some sacrifices could be eaten. Useless sacrifices cause God to treat the people all alike--with judgment.

7:22-23 Acceptable sacrifices are based on a right relationship brought about by faith in the God who delivers (Ex. 19:3-8; 20:1-2). Only those who believe will obey; only those who walk in all God's ways because of their faith can be God's people.

7:24 The Israelites did not obey because of the stubbornness of their evil hearts (3:17; 5:23). Only a new heart can repair their relationship with God (3:10; 4:3-4, 14).

7:25-26 Starting with Moses (Deut. 34:10-12), God sent his servants the prophets to instruct, exhort, and warn Israel. With few exceptions (e.g., Josh. 24:31), each generation did worse than their fathers.

7:28 not accept discipline. This refers to the Israelites' refusal to accept previous hardships as evidence that they needed to repent (2:30). Truth (honesty, 5:1) has been amputated from their mouths (9:2-4).

7:29 Cut off your hair. A symbol of mourning (Job 1:20; Mic. 1:16), this may also refer to a Nazirite vow (Num. 6:2-8). If so, the phrase may underscore again the end of false worship. raise a lamentation. A funeral dirge. bare heights. Where the Judeans worshiped idols (Jer. 3:2, 21). the generation of his wrath. The generation that experienced loss of the Promised Land.

7:30 detestable things. Images of false gods (4:1).

7:31 high places of Topheth . . . Hinnom. See 2 Kings 23:10; Isa. 30:33; Jer. 19:6-14. Children were burned alive at these places as sacrifices to Molech and other gods, even though human sacrifice was banned in the law (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5). God hated such a practice; hence he did not command it, nor did it come into his mind. (This last expression does not mean that God was unaware of it or that he did not know it was going to happen, but that he did not have the slightest thought of approving such a horrible practice.) Child sacrifice was known from Canaanite/Phoenician contexts. The offering of children, especially firstborn, to the gods was seen as a means of manipulating deities to grant fertility to the offerer. Archaeological excavations at Carthage, a Phoenician colony founded in the eighth century b.c., include the charred remains of thousands of child sacrifices.

7:32 When Babylon conquers Jerusalem, the dead bodies will be heaped so high that the valley will be renamed the Valley of Slaughter (19:1-9).

7:33 food for the birds. See Deut. 28:26. This punishment will occur due to covenant disobedience. Dead bodies should be buried, not left to scavengers.

7:34 I will silence . . . the voice of the bridegroom. Normal joy will cease, so weddings will cease (16:9; 25:10). The land shall become a waste--another consequence of covenantal disobedience (Lev. 26:31, 33).

8:1-2 Removing bones from a grave was a great insult (2 Kings 23:16-18) and was often done by victorious invaders (Amos 2:1). Ironically, these bones will be placed in full view of the very parts of creation that Judah worshiped when venerating astral deities (Jer. 7:17-19).

8:3 Death shall be preferred to life. Cf. Deut. 28:64-68.