Jeremiah 7:20-8:3, Backward Not Forward

The way of life is growth. No doubt there were those in Judah who felt Judah was “alive.” But like every nation before them and since, they were declining. And Yahweh tells them why. They have forsaken Him. I was talking to a friend today who feels like America is near collapse. And it may be. No empire has ever lasted. But the answer isn’t some politician. The answer to going forward and not backward is faith in and obedience to God.

²⁰ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Yahweh says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.

²¹ “‘This is what Yahweh Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! ²² 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, ²³ 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. ²⁴ But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. ²⁵ From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. ²⁶ But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’

²⁷ “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. ²⁸ Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed Yahweh its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. ²⁹ Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for Yahweh has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.’”

^{30 “}The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares Yahweh. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. ³¹ They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. ³² So beware, the days are coming, declares Yahweh, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. ³³ Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. ³⁴ I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.

^8:1 “‘At that time, declares Yahweh, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. ² They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground. ³ Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares Yahweh Almighty.’

Because of Judah’s rebellion, God’s judgment is coming, not just on the people but on the land, as well. With biting irony, Yahweh tells the people making a burnt offering, which is supposed to be entirely burned up, to go ahead and eat the meat from it, as a further defiling of their sacrifices. Obedience to God’s commands is what makes sacrifices of value. Worship with unclean hands is unclean. God is not fooled. The nation has gone backward instead of forward in their spiritual development.

And so, even as God told Jeremiah not to intercede for the nation, so He tells him that this people won’t listen to him. They might as well begin their mourning by cutting off their hair, because the judgment is coming. Truth has perished from their lips.

The slaughter from the judgment will appropriately fill the Valley of Hinnom, where they sacrificed their children to Molech, putting them on the super-heated metal statue of Molech. The dead bodies there will not be buried, left for the carrion birds to eat, a huge dishonoring. There will be no joy in Israel. Even the bodies of the kings, prophets, and priests will be exposed in this way, exposed to the sun, moon and stars that they idolatrously worshiped. The survivors will be banished to a foreign land where they will wish that they died.

Finally, after putting up with Israel’s rebellion for so long, seeing all the injustice and idolatry, Yahweh is done!

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Discussion Questions:

1. Why do we think that giving God worship will serve to overlook our sins?
2. Which is worse, truth being on our lips but not practiced, or truth entirely departing from our lips?
3. What is our equivalent to sacrificing our children on the altar of Molech?
4. Do you think it is likely or possible that our country will suffer a humiliating demise?