Jeremiah 7:1-11: a reflection

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2“Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim this word there, and say, ‘Hear the LORD’s word, all you of Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.’” 3The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says, “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4Don’t trust in lying words, saying, ‘The LORD’s temple, the LORD’s temple, the LORD’s temple, are these.’ 5For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor; 6if you don’t oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and don’t shed innocent blood in this place, and don’t walk after other gods to your own hurt, 7then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even forever more. 8Behold, you trust in lying words that can’t profit. 9Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, 10then 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? 11Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it,” says the LORD.

Standing in the gate of the temple, Jeremiah confronts a false trust: the people came to worship, chanting The LORD's temple, the LORD's temple, as though the mere presence of the temple guaranteed their safety, while they went on stealing, murdering, committing adultery, and oppressing the vulnerable. Don't trust in lying words, God says through Jeremiah. Amend your ways. Their trust was in the outward forms of religion, in having the temple, while their lives were unjust; and God exposes this as an empty trust that cannot save. Has this house become a den of robbers in your eyes? God asks. The outward religion meant nothing while they lived unjustly. This confronts a false trust: relying on outward religious forms while our lives are unjust. God rejects a trust in outward religion divorced from just living. Outward religious forms cannot cover an unjust life. God wants amended lives, not empty trust in religious forms.

Notice what God confronts: a trust in the outward forms of religion while the life is unjust. The people came to the temple, performed the worship, chanted their confidence in the temple's presence, while at the same time they stole, murdered, oppressed the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed innocent blood. They trusted that having the temple, keeping the outward religious forms, would keep them safe, regardless of how they lived. And God exposes this trust as empty and false: the outward religion, divorced from just and righteous living, could not save them; it had become a cover for their evil, the temple a den of robbers. This confronts something in us too. We can trust in the outward forms of our religion, in attending, in the practices, in belonging, while our lives are unjust or unrighteous, as though the religious forms themselves would suffice apart from how we live. But God wants amended lives, real justice and righteousness, not empty trust in religious forms while we live unjustly. Outward religion cannot cover an unjust life. God calls for amended ways, not a false trust in religious observance divorced from just living. Religious forms are empty without a life to match. God wants justice and righteousness, not outward religion alone.

That is worth taking to heart, for God confronts a false trust in outward religious forms divorced from just living, and calls instead for amended lives. We can trust in the outward forms of our religion, in attending and belonging and the practices, while our lives are unjust or unrighteous, as though the forms alone would suffice; but God rejected the people's trust in the temple while they lived unjustly, calling it a lying word that could not profit, and called them to amend their ways. Outward religion cannot cover an unjust life. Do not trust in the outward forms of religion while living unjustly; amend your ways, and let your life match your worship. Do not trust in outward religious forms while your life is unjust, as the people chanted their confidence in the temple while they stole, murdered, oppressed the vulnerable, and shed innocent blood, and God rejected their trust as a lying word that could not profit and called them to amend their ways; for God wants amended lives, real justice and righteousness, not an empty trust in religious observance divorced from how we live, and the outward forms of religion cannot cover or excuse an unjust life, so that we do well not to rest in attending and belonging and the practices while living unjustly, but to let our lives match our worship, amending our ways as God calls us to do.

Lord, standing in the gate of the temple, Jeremiah confronts a false trust: the people came to worship, chanting The LORD's temple, the LORD's temple, as though the mere presence of the temple guaranteed their safety, while they went on stealing, murdering, committing adultery, and oppressing the vulnerable. Don't trust in lying words, you say through Jeremiah. Amend your ways. Their trust was in the outward forms of religion, in having the temple, while their lives were unjust; and you expose this as an empty trust that cannot save. The outward religion meant nothing while they lived unjustly. Show me what you confront: a trust in the outward forms of religion while the life is unjust. The people came to the temple, performed the worship, while at the same time they stole, oppressed the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed innocent blood. They trusted that keeping the outward forms would keep them safe, regardless of how they lived. And you expose this trust as empty: the outward religion, divorced from just living, could not save them. This confronts something in me too. I can trust in the outward forms of my religion, in attending, in the practices, in belonging, while my life is unjust, as though the forms themselves would suffice apart from how I live. But you want amended lives, real justice and righteousness, not empty trust in religious forms. Take that to my heart, for you confront a false trust in outward religious forms divorced from just living, and call instead for amended lives. Keep me from trusting in the outward forms of religion while living unjustly; help me amend my ways, Lord, and let my life match my worship, offering you real justice and righteousness rather than an empty trust in religious observance divorced from how I live.