False worship: What's the point? A study in Jeremiah chapter 7

Truth and Consequences: 

Lesson Seven (of 52): False Worship

  INTRODUCTION

Today’s chapter is spoken in a relocation. For the last few chapters, the weeping prophet Jeremiah has been addressing the Jewish people from an undisclosed location. Today he is ordered by God to relocate and set up his preaching station at the gate outside the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Not in the Temple himself, even though he is a son of a priest, think of it as the Damascus Gate for those who have been there.  

I don’t know which gate was appointed, as there were six gates by the time of first century Jerusalem including 1) The Dung Gate (part of the southern wall near the city of David leading to the Hinnom Valley), 2) Tekoa Gate which led a traveller in the direction of Tekoa. 3) The Essene Gate was located in the southwestern corner and it led into the area of the Essene Quarter. 4) the Joppa Gate was the busiest gate and it led toward Joppa. (By the way, the Gate Beautiful (Acts 3) is that gate. Joppa means ‘beautiful.’) The three mighty towers stood near the Joppa Gate. 5) The Damascus Gate or more properly the Shechem Gate was very beautiful located along the second wall. And finally 6) The Eastern Gate (Susa Gate) was located on the eastern wall leading into the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives.

At whichever gate, Jeremiah was stationed, the prophecy of chapter 7 takes place there.

 Remember what the gate does and what it represents. It’s there that the City Council would sit and make rulings that were of consequence to the citizens. It’s there that tolls were collected and money was both negotiated and exchanged. The Department of the Treasury has its roots there at the gate.  The military had its headquarters there, of course, as the gate would be shut by them if an invasion occurred and they also set up watchmen on the walls, and the gates were the CenterPoint for their reporting. Tourists came and went; it was the place of welcome or rejection and the first impression of any city. 

What will God speak through his prophet today? And what about the next few chapters? Let me tell you the next four chapters form a single sermon, and I apologize for breaking it into fourths. But this way we can seriously consider the message, for ourselves. The main themes of Jeremiah, as we have said, are truth and consequences. And this four-fold sermon deals with that first theme in the converse. 

The titles of the next four chapters could be “False worship,” “False prophets,” “false confidence,” and finally “False gods.”

So today, “False worship.”

Let’s dig into this chapter and hear, really hear, what God is saying to our people. And Jeremiah will list several things that do us no good at all.

1. Our worship does us no good (.1-15)

Luck. Good luck charms. Amulets. Hamsa necklaces. Have you ever seen Rafael Nadal walk onto a tennis court? Have you ever watched him go through his routines of walking, not touching any lines, lining up his beverages just so? He has superstitious mechanics of moving his hair, adjusting his shorts, and bouncing the ball just before he serves. The patterns probably help him to concentrate on what matters, but to many of us who are not so locked in, those self-detailings are a bit much. 

Look, I have people who come into our shop who want to buy a hamsa for good luck. They have a relative who is having a tough time, and they want to send the hamsa as a favour for their mate. I really appreciate the love that one has for the other, but a hamsa is nothing more than a cursed talisman which will not aid anyone. How do I know that?

Both Isaiah and Ezekiel blast those whose hopes were linked with something like that. 

“But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day: loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells. You felt secure in your wickedness and said, ‘No one sees me,’ your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you; for you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’ But evil will come on you which you will not know how to charm away; and disaster will fall on you for which you cannot atone; and destruction about which you do not know will come on you suddenly.

Stand fast now in your spells and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit, perhaps you may cause trembling. You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and save you from what will come upon you. Behold, they have become like stubble, Fire burns them; They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; There will be no coal to warm by Nor a fire to sit before! So have those become to you with whom you have labored, Who have trafficked with you from your youth; Each has wandered in his own way; There is none to save you. (Isaiah 47.9-15)

The charms and the false preachers, the astrologers and the sorcerers will not save us. They are utterly false. 

“Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive?... Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds.” (Ezekiel 13.18-20)

Here in chapter 7 of Jeremiah, we see the people hiding behind the Temple, as if it were a magical ‘home’ in a celestial game of tag. God’s anger was raging against the Jewish people, as we continually rejected his sovereignty and made our own rules. We trusted in the worship that was taking place in Jerusalem, as if the sacrifices and prayers, the choirs and pronouncements there were capable of washing over us. Our sins were front and centre, and the name-drop of the Temple was useless. The problem was false worship.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, “Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!’”  (Jeremiah 7.1-2)

To worship. … לְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֖ת לַיהוָֽה to bow down. This isn’t just popping in to sing in church. This is visible and personal. We bow; perhaps all the way down!

^“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.” (verse 3)

The word for ‘amend’ is at its root the word ‘Tov’ meaning, ‘Make good’ your ways. That’s fairly simple. You were wrong. You were doing “NO GOOD” and now, turn around, do good. Verse 5 tells us, “practice justice”, “don’t oppress the less fortunate” and “don’t worship false gods” All those and we win; we can live in the land. But we don’t make good. What we are doing is ‘not good.”

Just because we had a Temple didn’t mean we were secure, as is evidenced in 586 BCE at the tail end of Jeremiah’s prophecies. The Babylonians will destroy our Temple and we see that same narrative playing out in 70 CE under Rome. Hiding behind the religion of our people never cuts it with the Almighty.

Here’s how Jeremiah records this:

“Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ — that you may do all these abominations?” (7.8-10)

God blasts us for breaking at least five of the Ten Commandments then hiding in the Temple as if it’s our Safe Haven. And declaring “We are delivered.” Meaning we are untouchable. We neither know the state of our sins nor the God of Holiness. In each case, getting ourselves wrong or getting God wrong will lead us into captivity and failure. 

It’s only when we know ourselves, admit our sins, and cry to him for mercy, and know him who is above it all, and who is the God of all grace and kindness… only in knowing both him and us, do we find eternal life and the joy and voice and presence of the Lord. Amen?

Verse 11 says the Temple is a ‘den of robbers.’ Yeshua says the same of the Jewish leadership at the end of his own public ministry. (Matthew 21.13, Mark 11.17, Luke 19.46). And what is the contrast? 

It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’ FOR ALL THE NATIONS’; but you are making it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”

We love that citation from Isaiah and it is found in Hebrew graffiti on our shopfront.  (Isaiah 56.7). God wants his people, us, the Jews, to help other nations to come into God’s economy and into relationship with him. Our misbehaviour prevents their coming and thus enrages the Lord. His love is for all people.

For those who are here in the Zoom room today, on Christmas Eve 2021, don’t you like that line from Simeon, the old man in the Temple who was there when Miriam and Yosef brought the baby Yeshua in for dedication. (Luke 2.29ff) Simeon said, “Now let your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation; a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.” God always had Gentiles in mind when he called Israel to represent him. We were not called to be so special that we prevented others, but rather that we were used to call others to the Lord of Life. 

Verses 12-15 says there is no escape. We are done for. What God did through the Assyrians to Israel (here Ephraim) in 722 BCE, he will do to Judah very soon. No way out. You rejected God. Early in the morning you went off to Temple, but your ears were closed by your own volition.

2. Your prayers will do them no good (.16-20)

Don’t bother praying; your prayers won’t do you any good either. Look at verses 16-20 and see God’s announcements. This is the first of three occasions when the Lord specifically warns Jeremiah not to pray for his people. That sounds outrageous and plain WRONG! What’s the point of warning if there’s no way out? 

I believe God is saying here that the Jews are past the point of no return. God was done shaking his head; now it’s a done deal. 

What’s the problem? He already has listed 5 of the Big Ten. Now he says false worship characterizes the people. They, and this includes the children, the next generation, being taught the wrong things and they use their strength and their capacity to worship false deities. Wood, fire, offerings of drinks and dough all to the Queen of Heaven and to other foreign gods. Don’t get distracted and shout at me that this is Mary, the Virgin Queen of the Roman church 800 years later. False worship can be anything, anyone, any celebrity, any sports hero, any preacher!, any national leader like Hitler or someone of political magnetism who charms the public. They can each be the Queen of Heaven, in this regard.

3. Their sacrifices won’t do them any good (.21-26)

Their sacrifices fail. And God says, “I never asked for those.” Wait a minute, you say, God DID ask for such sacrifices. Have you never read Leviticus? So which is it? Did God, or didn’t he?

My friends, this is one of those points I hear from messianic folks in Tennessee, and in Georgia, in Kansas and all across the USA. So many get this wrong. They focus on the obedience of actions; they want God to be pleased with their deeds. In EACH prophet in the Older Testament, the warning and the answers are visible. 

Verses 23-24: “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ ²⁴ “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.

The Hebrew for forward is dramatic. L’fanim. Towards the face. Towards the presence of God. It’s personal! Stop worrying about the details; stop measuring your own good deeds as if that would satisfy anyone besides you (and be honest, it never does satisfy you either!).  There are only two possible results of living in a checklist religion: 1) you will accomplish the deeds and feel smug and proud or 2) you will fail and feel condemned. Neither of those, pride or condemnation, are what God wants for his people. He wants us to love him. 

This week I spent some time with each of my grandsons, and the oldest, who is 10, and I worked on a project involving painting, nailing, measuring, and then of course, putting things away. It was very satisfying, and I’ll tell you the most important part of it all. You might even guess. It wasn’t how well he hammered, although he was excellent at that. It wasn’t in how he held the paint brush or any of the physical enterprise. It was that we were together. And we finished, and tomorrow we will showcase the result, and everyone will be pleased. But I’m already pleased because we were together. He listened to my instructions, and we did a good thing. Good is the result of fellowship and relationship and that’s what God has been after in his people from the beginnings. 

4. God’s correction won’t do any good (.27-34)

God’s correction won’t serve any purposes in the final section of our chapter today. The people are so depraved that they literally burn their children in the Valley of Hinnom as an offering to the gods. This by the way, is the Gehenna of Yeshua’s ‘hell’ imagery and God says in verse 34, I never let that come into my mind (Hebrew: heart). 

We today use the term ‘heartbroken’ to describe this pain of someone who cannot fix the problem of another. In romantic comedies they use the phrase ‘unrequited love’ and it feels sad. I think God’s love, knocked back by ancient Judah, is still available today, for you and me, for all our mates and even our enemies. 

Listen, an Israeli who has been to our gatherings the last couple of years, ended his life this week, even after one of our volunteer sisters gave him a final chance to humble himself to Yeshua, to receive his Lordship and grace. God’s love is ever reaching out to all, in Orthodox circles, in your circles, in Sydney, in Tennessee, wherever you and I are, today, next week, and until we meet again in 2022. 

Don’t knock it back. 

Don’t say no to the Lord of life.

Say yes; you want good in your life? Turn to Yeshua. Say yes to him. Tell others of your new faith and you will have reason to go on, and to live life abundant. 

Joy to the world, they sing, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare him room. Dear friends, let your heart prepare room for Yeshua. Now and forever more.

CONCLUSION

God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life. 

PRAYER

Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up. 

We hope to see you again in the new year, as we study chapter 8. Today is our final class for 2021, and we will meet again on Friday 21 January. Until then, merry Messiahmas, Happy 2022, and for tonight, Shabbat shalom!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert, Albert Barnes’ Commentary on the Old Testament, 

Craigie, Peter; Kelley, Page; Drinkard, Joel. Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah.  1991. 

Henry, Matthew, Commentary.

Weirsbe, Warren. Be Decisive. David Cook Publishers, Colorado Springs 1991.

Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.

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ACTUAL TEXT

Jer. 7:1   The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, ² “^aStand in the gate of the LORD’S house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!’” ³ Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “^aAmend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. ⁴ “^aDo not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘¹This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ ⁵ “For ^aif you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly ^bpractice justice between a man and his neighbor, ⁶ if you do not oppress the alien, the ^1aorphan, or the widow, and do not shed ^binnocent blood in this place, nor ^cwalk after other gods to your own ruin, ⁷ then I will let you ^adwell in this place, in the ^bland that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

Jer. 7:8   “Behold, you are trusting in ^adeceptive words to no avail. ⁹ “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and ^1aoffer sacrifices to Baal and walk after ^bother gods that you have not known, ¹⁰ then ^acome and stand before Me in ^bthis house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ — that you may do all these abominations? ¹¹ “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the LORD.

Jer. 7:12   “But go now to My place which was in ^aShiloh, where I ^bmade My name dwell at the first, and ^csee what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. ¹³ “And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the LORD, “and I spoke to you, ^arising up early and ^bspeaking, but you did not hear, and I ^ccalled you but you did not answer, ¹⁴ therefore, I will do to the ^ahouse which is called by My name, ^bin which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I ^cdid to Shiloh. ¹⁵ “I will ^acast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the ¹offspring of ^bEphraim.

Jer. 7:16   “As for you, ^ado not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. ¹⁷ “Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸ “The ¹children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they ^apour out drink offerings to other gods in order to ^bspite Me. ¹⁹ “^aDo they spite Me?” declares the LORD. “Is it not themselves they spite, to ¹their own ^bshame?” ²⁰ Therefore thus says the Lord ¹GOD, “Behold, My ^aanger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the ^btrees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.”

Jer. 7:21   Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your ^aburnt offerings to your sacrifices and ^beat flesh. ²² “For I did not ^aspeak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. ²³ “But this is ¹what I commanded them, saying, ‘^aObey My voice, and ^bI will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may ^cbe well with you.’ ²⁴ “Yet they ^adid not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and ^1bwent backward and not forward. ²⁵ “Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have ^asent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them. ²⁶ “Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but ^astiffened their neck; they ^bdid more evil than their fathers.

Jer. 7:27   “You shall ^aspeak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will ^bnot answer you. ²⁸ “You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that ^adid not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept correction; ^1btruth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.

²⁹  ‘^aCut off ¹your hair and cast it away, 

And ^btake up a lamentation on the bare heights; 

For the LORD has ^crejected and forsaken 

The generation of His wrath.’

³⁰ “For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight,” declares the LORD, “they have ^aset their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. ³¹ “They have ^abuilt the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to ^bburn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I ^cdid not command, and it did not come into My ¹mind.

Jer. 7:32   “^aTherefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will ^bbury in Topheth ¹because there is no other place. ³³ “The ^adead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. ³⁴ “Then I will make to ^acease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the ^bland will become a ruin.

Expect the unexpected

The last two years have taught us one thing: Expect the unexpected! Plans for your trip to Europe or the wedding or event in your family life... shot in a heartbeat. Actually COVID-19 was itself the unexpected for many of us, and then with it, commensurate problems. 

But that was in March, 2020. After a few months of difficulty, with advice ranging from don't bother to stay 2 metres away from others, wash your hands, sterilise everything, wear a mask, attend/ don't attend any cafe or movie theatre, and barber shop was definitely off limits. Almost nothing was allowed and that was completely unexpected.

In Australia for months on end, until May 2021 we had escaped much of the trouble. We began to meet again in public; we didn't have to wear a mask. Most people didn't even begin to consider the use of vaccines, and they were not even available until the middle of March or so (2021). Then we queued to get the vaccine and all of a sudden in May, the virus from India came. Delta was its name and the variant was stronger and knocked us for a loop.  It knocked us in New South Wales out of the action for 3 months!

But then the unexpected came. Were we ready? Had we been expecting another round of this virus?

Events were again scheduled and even up to last week, Christmas programs in the Canopy in Lane Cove and carols in car parks and such had to be canceled. Why? Omicron, the next strain of the virus, has landed and now over 2,000 cases a day are showing as positive from the queues of testing centres around our city and our country. Seems as though nowhere is without vulnerability.

For those who are aware of the uncertainties that Covid has brought, this is not surprising; we are expecting the unexpected. A good planner includes contingencies for such (in)actions. I certainly hope Carols at the Myer go ahead on Friday night. I love watching and listening and being taken up into the highest places when Silvie Paladino sings. Lots of others, for sure, but Silvie rings my bell.

In "An ideal husband", Oscar Wilde, the flamboyant and quick-witted cultural commentator, said, "To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect."

So I'm guessing that we have to expect that things won't always turn out the way we anticipated. Underdogs might win Grand Finals; (I hope England walks away from the Ashes with appropriate sadness; they are down 2 already).  I hope Oscar Wilde's declaration of being thoroughly modern in our intellect works for us in these days.

This is the season of Christmas, which is good news for retailers, and for many who are able to meet up with family and friends. But for many, the unexpected has hit again. Prevention of contacts; slowdown of travel, and once again the unexpected is the new norm. 

If you remember the real story of Christmas, before David Jones and Myer battled for the market share, the story takes place in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem. A young Jewess is expectant. This pregnant Jewish woman, barely into her teens, has a baby. I guess that's expected. 

Only, the story goes, she never had sex with a man, and was 'found to be with child by the Holy Spirit." That's fairly far-fetched, and unexpected. But then miracles in the Bible are regularly featured, although not happening very often. So, the term 'regular' has to do with their mention in Holy Writ, not due to their frequency in human history. But a virgin having a baby? That's unexpected!

This young Jewish baby, Yeshua of Nazareth, would grow up to be a man of sorrows and a healer, a teacher, a prophet, and finally the sacrifice for the sins of all of humanity. That's a massive story, and to the Jewish people of his day, (and dare I say, to this day), that the Messiah would be Divine and would accomplish this sacrifice for their sins--- that's completely unexpected.

But what we have learned in the last 2 years is to expect the unexpected.

How about you? Could Yeshua (some call him Jesus) be your Messiah and Saviour? What did you expect?

6 sleeps

 For so many in Australia, in the USA, and around the globe, this is the 'most wonderful time of the year.' Joy to the World! Only six sleeps to go. We're almost there. The trees, the lights, the spirit of the season is everywhere. Television movies with echoes of previous years of Home Alone and It's a Wonderful Life are non-stop.The radio stations are relentless with carols, and the shopping malls remind us to visit Santa at any of the three locations he is on his chair awaiting longing children.

The stores, whose advertisements we have overlooked for months,

are also sending us 'seasons greetings' messages, that indicate their pleasure in 'knowing' us all year. The dentist and Amazon and the local barber shop, that cafe we had a cappuccino in February and our regular down the block. Everyone wants to send me a greeting. And honestly, I like that.  

What's the alternative? Not hearing from companies? Not hearing from those who have our address? Frankly, I am glad that the IT department of major corporations know how to send me an eCard, and by 'me' I mean their entire eBlast tickler list using whatever application and program they have modified. There were not enough icons of trees and glitter in my inbox before... keep sending those to me.

Why am I telling you this? Look, my reaction to seeing the first glimpses of Christmas commercialism usually in September is one of disgust. And I'm ever searching the shelves that have a manger scene or nice cards for me to send to some mates myself. I guess through all the glitter, I'm trying to find the reason for the season.

Which is...

...why do we celebrate this season anyway?

The story was told every year in my youth by Linus, Charlie Brown, and the kids of Peanuts. Jesus was not born on the 2nd floor of Target or Myer, between the men's suits and ladies' watches. He was born in a stable in Bethlehem. He began life in a rough place. He lived it tough. He died a tough ending on two wooden posts executed by Roman soldiers. And then he rose again in Jerusalem. And a month and a half later, when he ascended to heaven, he was given a place fit for a king. Yeshua, Messiah, King of Kings.

Celebrate with glitter. Celebrate with greeting cards and carols. And Santa. Sure, whatever your traditions. As long as you don't forget the real story. 

Born is the King of Israel.

Refuseniks have a ministry: A study in Jeremiah 6

 Truth and Consequences:     

To view this on YouTube click here

Lesson Six (of 52): Refuseniks have a ministry

  INTRODUCTION

I mean no disrespect to those Russian-speaking Jewish people who in 1973 were refused permission to emigrate from the former Soviet Union. The term ‘refusenik’ was first coined then and was applied to those Jewish people. Later on in the 20^th century, the term ‘refusenik’ was associated more widely with people who refuse or decline something. The specific gave way to the general and that’s normal as languages morph. That’s the way the word is used in these days.

Today my lesson (and the lesson I see in Jeremiah chapter 6) is one of refusal and honestly, a refusal that is so deeply held that God shakes his head in sadness and in the fullness of his own disappointment with our Jewish people. 

For those on YouTube if you haven’t yet read today’s chapter, please pause your playback, read Jeremiah chapter 6 and then re-join us. Thanks.

Truth. That’s what God wanted to speak and what Jeremiah continued to proclaim to a refusenik people. Consequences—that’s what Jeremiah sees coming and which he begs his people to avoid. The longing, the aching, those are what brings sadness to the prophet and to each of us who today reads these words. And our goal in 21^st Century Australia is to help the many to love truth, no matter the cost. 

I sat with a Jewish man the other day over coffee and shared the truth with him about social consequences to some misinformation that continues to have its way in the news media and sadly in his mind. It may be the last time I see him, which I suppose is true of each time we see anyone, as no one is promised tomorrow, but also because of his health which is diminishing, and his religious cultural stand on the vaccine available to him which he refuses. When religion mingles with culture, it's a fascinating study, and in this case, I urged my mate to ready himself for consequences. 

This is not a statement of politics which in the US where I am visiting just now is a huge factor in anything COVID or health related. I have views, to be sure, but I’m listening to the advice of Jeremiah and how he would speak to a waiting public. What are the consequences of x or y or z? Follow information to the natural conclusion and this will help you in determining decisions you have to make.

Let’s dig into this chapter and hear, really hear, what God is saying to our people.

1. 1. God initiates the war on Judah (.1-5)

Verse one: The theme of sudden destruction is repeated. Mention Port Arthur to a Tasmanian; mention Lindt in Martin Place to a Sydney sider; mention Columbine to an American and the image of savagery and violence comes immediately to mind. That’s what Jeremiah does with Tekoa and Beth-hakerem. Both cities were very nearby, within a few miles from Jerusalem, and is partly literary, partly geographical. Tekoa, which had once been the home of Amos, was about twelve miles south of Jerusalem, bordering the great wilderness area that extended east, down into the great depression and the shores of the Dead Sea. 

Facing a foe from the north, citizens of Jerusalem might be expected to flee south to Tekoa, and from there eastwards into the comparative safety of the wilderness.

Rehoboam had fortified the city in his day.

Of note is the play on words. Tekoa has as its root T’kiah, or the trumpet sound of the ram’s horn. A warning device used by the Jewish people, thus a signal hill would be perfect for this place of fleeing.

Also there is the Davidic reference to Tekoa: The woman of Tekoa is an unnamed figure in the Bible.  She appears in 2 Samuel 14, after Absalom was banished following his murder of Amnon, his brother.  Joab sends for the Tekoite woman and she tells a story to David to elicit his sympathy and obtain his favourable judgment. The unnamed woman says that her son killed his brother, and now the rest of the family wants to kill him. When David decides that her son should be spared, the Tekoite woman turns the tables on David and tells him that he should do the same for his son Absalom.

In a way seeing Tekoa here in Jeremiah 6 tells me that a place of refuge is also a place of conviction of our sin, especially the harsh mistreatment of others. It’s a place of calling us to reconciliation. 

There are two possibilities for Beth Hakerem, and each helps us. One, it could be Ain Karim, about three miles west of Jerusalem. They have found remains there of what could be the signal fires referred to by Jeremiah.

The other possibility for this village is found at the tell at Ramat Rahel, about two miles south of Jerusalem.  Here, Jehoiakim built a fortress/palace (perhaps alluded to in Jer. 22:13–19), of which the remains have been excavated and again signal fires were lit.

Alarm! Trumpet! WARNING! Jeremiah is clearly announcing danger ahead, Will Robinson, and we should not be dismissive of those warnings. Like the writer of Hebrews says, “See to it that you do not dismiss him who is speaking.” (Heb. 12.25) Or in light of our word of the day, “Don’t be a refusenik!”

What is the warning about? Verse one: EVIL is coming from the north. That evil is none other than Babylon. 

A word about God’s use of the nations and judgment. 

When we as Jewish people walk away from the Lord and live counter to his plans, he must punish us. Judgment must begin with the House of God. (1 Peter 4.17) And God uses other nations to bring that judgment on us. It’s not the stock market; it’s not the toothaches alone that God uses; it’s nations. Then, don’t miss this, God will subsequently judge the nation that brings that mis-treatment on us. It’s a fascinating situation. We sin; God judges by bringing destruction on Israel from a foreign nation, then God judges the foreign nation for mistreating Israel. It may not be immediate, but be assured; it will come.

So we see in 1290 when England evicted all the Jewish people at York. Less than 60 years later, the Black Death ravaged London and Europe. In 1492 all Jewish people were thrown out of Spain and a few years later out of Iberia, and by 1588, the Spanish Armada, the ruling naval force of the world was summarily defeated and Spain never again held world domination. Follow the mistreatment of Jews in a country, and you will subsequently find death and devastation. More on this as we carry on in this book.

Back to our text.

The comely and dainty one, that’s the tender way God speaks of his people, will nevertheless be stricken. A war is coming. Verse one: Great destruction. Verse two: Damiti. Cut off. DEAD!

Verse three: the wagons are circling, but that’s not going to be enough.

Verse four: Prepare, KADDISH( Consecrate) a war. In other words, this is God’s call to Babylon. As I said, God uses the enemies of the Jews to bring judgment to us. It’s a holy operation!

Here in Tennessee, we had tornadoes come though the region last Shabbat, and we were alerted with SMSes and sirens, even television and radio announcements. Back in Bible days, Jewish people had three methods of sending information. They were all used here: 1) trumpet signals, 2) signal fires, 3) up close, watchmen on the walls of a city. Clearly, God initiated the battle and notified us of his intention.

1. 2. God sends the Babylonians (.6-15)

It’s odd to think the Lord would use the enemies of the Jewish people to bring judgment on us. But you have to know this is love; real fatherly love to make his people listen to him. 

He tells the Babylonians why and how to bring the victory home. It’s as if the coach in heaven shares with the coach of the Babylonians the playbook of Judah. Whatever we were planning, however we were living, it’s as if the enemy knew our plans before we enacted them. 

Verse six says to cut down trees and use them as ramp to lay siege to Jerusalem.  That’s how to win. Also march in at midday, when no one would expect. 

Why is God sending the enemy? Judah is filled with injustice labelled violence, destruction, oppression and wickedness. The more I think about God’s desire, he has shown you, and what does the Lord require of you? To do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6.8) Judah was not living in that way. We lived for ourselves, and not for others. And certainly without care for God’s interests.  Look at his summary of shame in verse 15, “They were not even ashamed at all; they did not even know how to blush.”

Verse 22 tells us this is a ‘great nation’, but cruel and have no mercy (v. 23)

Look back and see the main reason…it is that Judah was not listening (v. 10) When God is trying to get our attention and to have us change our ways, yes, you could enter into compliance and agreement with his ways. Yes, you could write books about what God said and even go on television and start a podcast to announce it. But honestly, what does God want? He wants you. He wants you and he to be in relationship. Listening is about being near each other. It’s more personal than reading what is written. A person can read something written thousands of miles and thousands of years away. But listening in those days? That’s about being near and attentive. It’s giving yourself to the speaker. 

1. 3. The reason repeated (.16-.23)

There is no secret about Judah’s sin, or rather sins, as those have been listed from the opening words. In verses 16-23, again, the Lord shares his own heart. 

Verse 16, we refused to walk in the way of God which would give us rest for our souls. He calls it the ‘good way’, but the refuseniks disregard God. He sends the shofar to warn, and Judah says “We will not listen.” 

לֹ֥א נַקְשִֽׁיב

Verse 19, we refused to listen to God’s words. That’s the crux of the argument as I said earlier. Not listening here, though, is specifically REJECTING the Torah. 

וַיִּמְאֲסוּ־בָֽהּ

Rejecting is refusing. Saying ‘nyet’ to the Almighty is not the way to live. You want the ‘good way’ in 2022? Listen to God and do what he says. You want to survive the uncertainties from COVID and from joblessness? Do not refuse God’s word and reject his Torah. 

Verse 20 shouts the number one stench in God’s nose. Hypocrisy. They bring false worship, incense and prayers, but if not matched with the reality of your humility and justice, it’s religion, and false religion at that. It might look good to outsiders, but it’s horrible. If you speak with friends who don’t yet believe, one of their main objections is that there are so many hypocrites, like Bible preachers who are ungodly outside church. Admit it; you often don’t live up to your own convictions. I admit it of myself. I fall short of God’s standards. 

So what’s the difference between us who are hypocrites and those Judeans in 600 BCE or so? WE ADMIT our sin; they boasted in their sin. We long for God’s word to rule in our lives; they were refuseniks. So maybe we need to adjust the definition of hypocrite to be one who pretends to be good and rejects the notion of pretence. What do you think of that?

Isaiah had decried religious hypocrisy with “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. (1.14) and later Isaiah says of the hypocrites who boast in their external religion “[they] say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.” (65.5) It’s the stench which is only removed with the humility of admission. Amen?

1. 4. Suffering is real (.24-30)

Finally, verses 24-30 talks of the pain and suffering of the Jewish people, but sometimes pain is not enough to change our minds about ourselves and about God. Verse 24, our hands are limp. Anguish has seized us. Pain like a woman in childbearing. Look, I’ve had three kids, but thankfully my wife actually had them. I have a low pain threshold. 

It’s in verse 26, bitter and a destroyer. 

Verse 28: They are stubbornly rebellious. The words repeat. To amplify.

סָרֵ֣י סֽוֹרְרִ֔ים

In verse 29 we see the operation in metal working where fire is placed under an ore and the dross rises to the surface, but it’s unsuccessful. 

 Christopher Wright says this of the final verse: “[It] must have been chilling when it was first uttered, and even more frightening when it hung over those who sat in exile—the place of experienced rejection.” They are called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them.” (v.30)

כֶּ֣סֶף נִמְאָ֔ס קָרְא֖וּ לָהֶ֑ם כִּֽי־מָאַ֥ס יְהוָ֖ה בָּהֶֽם׃

Refuseniks have a ministry; they refuse, and God refuses them. That’s not the position you want for yourself or your friends. It’s time to warn our people. It’s time to live right, to love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Admit your sins, don’t refuse Him who is speaking. Listen to Torah and his living word Yeshua. 

The Psalms say it and Yeshua said something about being rejected as recorded in Matt. 21:42  Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?

Don’t join the Stone rejecters. Don’t be a refusenik against the Lord today. Say ‘yes’ to him. Listen to what he asks, and say ‘yes’. Amen?

CONCLUSION

God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life. 

PRAYER

Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up. 

We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 7. This will be our final class for 2021, and we will meet again after 15 January. Until then, merry Messiahmas, Happy 2022, and for tonight, Shabbat shalom!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert, Albert Barnes’ Commentary on the Old Testament, 

Craigie, Peter; Kelley, Page; Drinkard, Joel. Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah.  1991. 

Henry, Matthew, Commentary.

Weirsbe, Warren. Be Decisive. David Cook Publishers, Colorado Springs 1991.

Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.

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ACTUAL TEXT

Jer. 6:1    “Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin, 

From the midst of Jerusalem! 

Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa 

And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem; 

For evil looks down from the north, 

And a great destruction.

²  “The comely and dainty one, the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.

³  “Shepherds and their flocks will come to her, 

They will pitch their tents ¹around her, 

They will pasture each in his ²place.

⁴  “^1aPrepare war against her; 

Arise, and let us ²attack at noon. 

Woe to us, for the day declines, 

For the shadows of the evening lengthen!

⁵  “Arise, and let us ¹attack by night 

And destroy her palaces!”

⁶  For thus says the LORD of hosts, 

“Cut down her trees 

And cast up a siege against Jerusalem. 

This is the city to be punished, 

In whose midst there is only oppression.

⁷  “As a well keeps its waters fresh, 

So she ¹keeps fresh her wickedness. 

Violence and destruction are heard in her; 

Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.

⁸  “Be warned, O Jerusalem, 

Or I shall be alienated from you, 

And make you a desolation, 

A land not inhabited.”

Jer. 6:9    Thus says the LORD of hosts, 

“They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel; 

Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer 

Over the branches.”

¹⁰  To whom shall I speak and give warning 

That they may hear? 

Behold, their ears are ¹closed 

And they cannot listen. 

Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them; 

They have no delight in it.

¹¹  But I am ^aull of the wrath of the LORD; 

I am weary with holding it in. 

“Pour it out on the children in the street 

And on the ¹gathering of young men together; 

For both husband and wife shall be taken, 

The aged ²and the very old.

¹²  “Their houses shall be turned over to others, 

Their fields and their wives together; 

For I will stretch out My hand 

Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD.

¹³  “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, 

Everyone is greedy for gain, 

And from the prophet even to the priest 

Everyone ¹deals falsely.

¹⁴  “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, 

Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ 

But there is no peace.

¹⁵  “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? 

They were not even ashamed at all; 

They did not even know how to blush. 

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; 

At the time that I punish them, 

They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

Jer. 6:16    Thus says the LORD, 

“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, 

Where the good way is, and walk in it; 

And you will find rest for your souls. 

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

¹⁷  “And I set watchmen over you, saying, 

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ 

But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

¹⁸  “Therefore hear, O nations, 

And know, O congregation, what is among them.

¹⁹  “Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, 

The fruit of their ¹plans, 

Because they have not listened to My words, 

And as for My law, they have rejected it also.

²⁰  “For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba 

And the sweet cane from a distant land? 

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable 

And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

²¹  Therefore, thus says the LORD, 

“Behold, I am ¹laying stumbling blocks before this people. 

And they will stumble against them, 

Fathers and sons together; 

Neighbor and friend will perish.”

Jer. 6:22    Thus says the LORD, 

“Behold, a people is coming from the north land, 

And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.

²³  “They seize bow and spear; 

They are cruel and have no mercy; 

Their voice roars like the sea, 

And they ride on horses, 

Arrayed as a man for the battle 

Against you, O daughter of Zion!”

²⁴  We have heard the report of it; 

Our hands are limp. 

Anguish has seized us, 

Pain as of a woman in childbirth.

²⁵  Do not go out into the field 

And do not walk on the road, 

For the enemy has a sword, 

Terror is on every side.

²⁶  O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth 

And roll in ashes; 

Mourn as for an only son, 

A lamentation most bitter. 

For suddenly the destroyer 

Will come upon us.

Jer. 6:27    “I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people, 

That you may know and assay their way.”

²⁸  All of them are stubbornly rebellious, 

Going about as a talebearer. 

They are bronze and iron; 

They, all of them, are corrupt.

²⁹  The bellows blow fiercely, 

The lead is consumed by the fire; 

In vain the refining goes on, 

But the wicked are not separated.

³⁰  They call them rejected silver, 

Because the LORD has rejected them.