THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS

This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.

Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.

Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may go to the archive below and find it.

Bruce McGee, Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418

We have a great friend in Gary Godard. He has set up an archive page. To view ALL the prior devotions by Scripture, just clik

HERE

Bro. Bruce's commentaries for the books of Genesis through 2Kings are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just mail your request for COMMENTARY ON (BOOK NAME) to the address above.

Jeremiah

CHAPTER 7

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, are these. 5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; 6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Again, God, being patient and longsuffering, calls for repentance.

He tells the people they cannot simply trust in the "temple of the Lord" (verse 3). Just because God has always delivered Jerusalem and saved the temple before, doesn't mean He will continue to do that if they continue to sin.

The Bible tells Christians today that they are the "temple of the Lord" (1Cor. 6:19). But if we sin willfully we defile the temple. And God wants nothing to do with a defiled temple!

Repentance from sin assures us of God's presence and protection (verse 7).

8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. 9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; 10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

Being God's "chosen people" does not give a "license to sin!" God's chosen people will certainly not be sinless, but they should sin less!

Christians today are delivered from sin, not to sin!
One cannot live a life of sin all week, then come to church on Sunday and expect God to provide and protect.

11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. 12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; 14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

When Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21), He was angered at what He saw. The priest had allowed money-changers to take up residence in the temple, and they were cheating the people. Then, he drove the money-changers out as He quoted Jeremiah 7:11.

Unclean thoughts, trickery, and deceipt DEFILE the temple. God's desire is that the temple be kept clean for prayer and praise.

The original tabernacle from the days of Moses was located in Shiloh in the days of the judges. But God allowed the "ark of the covenant" to be taken, and Shiloh to be defeated (see 1Samuel 4).

In His call to repent from sin, God reminds the people of that event in Shiloh.

The word "Shiloh" itself means "our peace." Our peace with God is defiled by sin. And if a saved man continually sins, God has no use for him in the world, and will take his life.

15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. 16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. 17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

The tribe of Ephraim had been forsaken by the Lord because of idolatry. They had been captured and scattered across the earth by the Assyrians.

And God tells Jeremiah that these people are so bound in sin, they will not repent. Prayer for them is in vain because of their idolatry. They all participate in worshipping idols (verse 18).

19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

When people have heard the gospel and still practice idolatry, they bring confusion upon their own hearts. And they also "provoke" God to anger against them.

21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. 22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: 23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. 24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: 26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. 27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.

All the offerings and sacrifices in the world cannot satisfy God from one sin. The offerings and sacrifices of the Old Testament were SYMBOLS of repentant hearts. When offered WITHOUT a repentant heart, they accomplished NOTHING!

God had told Israel from the beginning that what He wanted was obedient hearts (verse 23). But rather than walk FORWARD in obedience to God's will, they had walked BACKWARD in idolatry (verse 24).

Even though the people have become hard-hearted and will not listen, the faithful are to continue preaching the truth (verse 27).

28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. 29 Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. 31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

The message Jeremiah is to deliver is the message that the people have indeed grown too hard, and they have refused TRUTH (verse 28).

They should "cut off" their hair in shame because God has now REJECTED them!

The reason for God's rejection is that they have continued in idolatry so far they are even offering babies to an idol (verse 31). ((See also 2Kings 23, and Jeremiah 32:35))

My friends, we have something like this happening in America today. People are worshipping the idol of SELF! For the sake of preserving a certain lifestyle for self, young men and women will conspire to commit abortion. They commit the sin of promiscuity and sex before marriage, but refuse to be burdened by the child that is a product of their sin. In effect, they are OFFERING the unborn child to the god of "SELF!"

32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. 33 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. 34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

God not only promised to destroy Jerusalem because of its hardness and idolatry. But He also promised to destroy the place where innocent children were slaughtered by their worship of selfish desires.

Friends, we see over 1,000,000 abortions per year in the USA. And we are told that over 80% of them are because people don't want their lifestyle changed! A child would be INCONVENIENT at this time. Or the child would cause HARDSHIP in trying to obtain goals and dreams.

I believe that his wholesale slaughter of innocent children is worse than the days of King Manasseh, who "..shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to the other..." (2Kings 21:16)

It is time that the true people of God begin to cry out against this evil with such a loud voice that shame come upon our nation from teenagers to the Supreme Court. Either that, or it is time for God to do as He did with Jerusalem - and destroy it!

God will still forgive, for He is a loving God. Any person who has committed abortion has the opportunity of forgiveness. But they must come to Christ and plead forgiveness by His mercy.

Shall we REPENT, or remain HARDENED and SELFISH?

PLEASE CONTINUE IN BIBLE STUDY WITH US TOMORROW.