Put Your Hope In The Right Place
One outburst from the President caused the stock market to drop sharply this week. For those who put their trust and hope in their stock portfolio, it was a devastating blow from which some may never recover. In Jeremiah 7:1–11, 21–23, the people of God put their trust in God’s promise to their ancestors, that the temple would be His dwelling place on earth. They assumed that they were divinely protected because of the temple… no matter what evil they did. But the prophet Jeremiah told them they were dead wrong to trust that the temple would protect them like some “good luck charm”. He warned them to turn away from their evil practices and worship of other gods and turn back in obedience to God so that life would go well for them. What are you putting your trust and hope in? I pray that we will all put our hope and trust in God, the only One who can keep us and sustain us. Amen
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. (Jeremiah 5:1-8)
Jeremiah began by establishing that the message he had for God’s people came from the LORD. Jeremiah was a prophet, which meant that his calling was to say what God gave him for the correction of His people and to give them hope. God urged His people to repent from their disobedient and sinful ways and to stop listening to false prophets who told them that they had nothing to fear from invading Babylonian forces because of the presence of God’s house (the temple). If they did repent, life would go well for them and they would be able to continue living in peace in their own land.
“‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 5:9-11)
Jeremiah laid out God’s indictment against His people. They worshiped other gods and committed other evil acts, all while superficially worshiping God in the temple. But because of the presence of the temple and the symbolism of it being God’s dwelling place on earth, false prophets led the people to believe that they were protected against the enemy. They didn’t believe that their sinful acts would affect their relationship with God or affect His commitment to protect and provide for them. As long as they went through the rituals of worship, they believed God was satisfied and they were covered no matter what else the did.
“‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. (Jeremiah 5:21-23)
God told His people that their rituals and sacrifices were not a substitute for their obedience. Their obedience was a condition of His covenant with His people. He promised that they would be His people if they walked in obedience to Him, and it would only go well for them if they did. Unfortunately, they were doing everything but walking in obedience to God. His warning to them, through the prophet Jeremiah, was to repent or suffer the consequences of their disobedience. The presence of the temple would not protect them, only their obedience to an omnipotent God would provide protection from the Babylonian enemy.
Jeremiah told God’s people that their hope and trust was misplaced. It was not the presence of the temple that would save them from an invading Babylonian army… it would only be an almighty God. They needed to put their hope and trust in Him and return to Him in obedience. If they did, things would go well for them. Unfortunately, we know that they did not heed Jeremiah’s warning and they suffered the devastation of captivity and destruction throughout their land. What things have you made gods that you worshiped and put your trust in over the LORD? Have you believed that because you go to church that your walk is automatically right with God? It’s time to put our hope and trust back fully in God, to worship Him and walk in His way. Let’s make sure that our hope and trust is in the right place (God)….that it may go well for us!
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
