The Strand Study Bible

JEREMIAH 6:23

JEREMIAH 7:6

1152

great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. P 23 1 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. P 24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: 1 anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. P 25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; 1 for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side. P 26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ash- es: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: 1 for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. P 27 I have set thee for a tower and a for- tress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. 28 They are all grievous revolters, walk- ing with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters. 29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. 30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them. Historical Note - Babylonian history continued c. 625 BC, with the New Kingdom Period , in which Nabopo- lassar , a Persian prince wrested the control of the city of Babylon from the Assyrian empire (Nah 3:12). In 614

1. Fulfilled - II Ki 25 (Fall of Judah)

BC, Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar made an alliance with Cyaxeres, the Mede; together they attacked Nineveh, destroying the capitol of Assyria and it’s empire in 612 BC. READ NEXT - II Kings 22:3-20 Jeremiah 7 God wants obedience (righteousness), not observance (ritualism) (Note - This portion of Jeremiah’s prophecy took place in the 18th year of King Josiah’s reign) Date Written - c. 623 BC/AM 3377 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying, 2 Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. 3 Thus saith the LORD OF HOSTS , the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, 2 are these. 5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judg- ment between a man and his neighbour; 6 If ye 3 oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, 4 and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

2. or, “is greater than the Designer of the Temple”

3. Exo 22:22-24 4. Jere 7:30-32

6:30 Judah had become so worthless ( Reprobate silver ) that the Great Refiner (GOD) could find no value in them (I Cor 9:27). Jeremiah 7 Subject Head This chapter and the three that follow it (chapters 8-10) appear to form one sermon that was preached just prior to Josiah’s great revival in 623 BC (II Ki 23:1-20). 7:4 The threefold repetition of the words “ The temple of the LORD ” points to the very problem God’s people were having. With no thought of the Divine Presence that inhabited the Temple, the people of God were more enamored with the greatness of their Temple (Solomon’s billion dollar “manmade” building) and the ritualism that went along with it (the sacrifices) than the greatness of their God and the righteousness He demanded ( I Sam 15 :1- 22 ). They would later be asked by God (vs 22-23 ), “What came first: obedience (righteousness – Exo 19-23) or observance (ritualism – Exo 24-34 and Lev 1-27)?” NOTE – Sadly, the Jews of Jeremiah’s day thought that the physical presence of the Temple somehow guaranteed them perpetuity; that since God had chosen it for His residence on earth (Psa 132:13-16), that somehow the city was safe. It was not. The magnificence of the monument that stood before them was no guarantee that judgment would not come upon Judah and Jerusalem. 7:6 The three great representatives of the poor and helpless (the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow) stood most in need of man’s justice ( oppress not – Exo 22:25-27 & 23:3). NOTE – God asked the nation of Israel to obey three initial commands, which covered the majority (if not all) of the commands found in Exodus 19-23: 1. Help the helpless; don’t steal from them ( oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow – Exo 20:10 & 22:21-24 & 23:9,12) 2. Harm not the harmless; don’t murder innocent babies ( and shed not innocent blood – Exo 20:13 & 21 :12-14, 22-23 & 23 :23- 24 ) 3. Worship not the worthless, i.e., educational idolatry, monetary idolatry (vs 11 and Exo 20:23), and self idolatry, which leads to adultery ( neither walk after other gods – Exo 20:3-5 & 22:20 & 23:13).