Jeremiah 7:1-3
False Worship
Outline:
I. \\#Jer 1:1-19\\ Jeremiah’s Calling
A. \\#1:1-3\\ Jeremiah’s Background
B. \\#1:4:10\\ Jeremiah’s Commission
1. \\#1:4-5\\ What God FORMED Jeremiah to do.
2. \\#1:6-9\\ What God ENABLED Jeremiah to do.
3. \\#1:10\\ What God COMMISSIONED Jeremiah to do.
C. \\#1:11-19\\ Jeremiah’s Conditioning
1. \\#1:11-12\\ Something Is About to Happen
2. \\#1:13-16\\ Something Is About to Boil Over
3. \\#1:16-19\\ Someone Needs to be Ready
II. \\#2:1-37\\ God’s Case Against Judah
A. \\#2:1-8\\ Judah Blessed but Not Satisfied
B. \\#2:11-13\\Judah Abandoned God.
C. \\#2:30\\ Judah Refused Correction
D. \\#2:9\\ Judah Called to Repentance.
E. \\#2:36-37\\ Judah Facing Judgment
III. \\#3:1-25\\ Israel’s Three Time Zones
A. \\#3:1-5\\ Their Past State
B. \\#3:6-19\\ Their Possible State
C. \\#3:20-25\\ Their Continuous State
IV. \\#4:1-6:30\\ Sins and Judgments
A. The Sins
B. The Judgments
C. The Mercy
V. \\#7:1-\\ Some Specific Messages
A. \\#Jer 7:1-34\\ A Message to the Religious
1. \\#7:1-3\\ Standing in the Temple
2. \\#7:4\\ False Trust
3. \\#3-6\\ False Conclusion
4. \\#8-12\\ False Religion
5. True Consequences
I. \\#7:1-34\\ False Worship
A. \\#7:1-3\\ A Message to the Religious
1. The first 25 chapters are a compilation of Jeremiah’s
messages.
2. \\#7:2\\ As Jeremiah is told to preach this message in the
gate of the temple, we understand that this message is a
message to the religious of Israel.
3. As we read the words of this message, we need to remember:
a. It is not directed to the wicked northern kingdom who
had created their own gods and religions.
b. It is not written to the wicked of the southern
kingdom who had abandoned God and quit worshipping
Him.
c. It was preached to the best that Judah had to offer.
Those who still went to the temple to pray and offer
their sacrifices.
B. \\#4\\ False Trust
1. Israel has a history of always trusting the wrong things.
a. Remember, these are the religious who claim to worship
Yahweh so they will not be trusting in false idols or
even Gentile nations.
b. They will be trusting in religious artifacts.
2. What did they trust?
a. \\#1Sam 4:1-5\\ In fighting the Philistines, they had
trusted in the Ark of the Covenant.
1Sam 4:5 And when the ark of the covenant of the
LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with
a great shout, so that the earth rang again.
(1) Of course, God allowed the Jews to be defeated at
that battle and the Ark was taken captive.
(2) That was the last time the Ark was ever taken to
Shiloh, Israel’s first capital and worship
center.
(3) As a result, there is no Biblical record of the
religious Jews ever trusting in the Ark again.
b. \\#Jer 7:2\\, we see them trusting in the temple.
(1) Jer 52 - God will use Babylon to destroy the
temple.
(2) Although another smaller temple will be built 70
years later, there will not be another Biblical
reference to the Jews trusting in the temple.
c. \\#Matt 3:9\\, the religious Jews were trusting in
their lineage, the fact that they were descendents of
Abraham.
(1) Roman will come in 70 AD and destroy their
temple.
(2) The Emperor Hadrian outlawed the Jews even living
in the land in 130 AD.
(3) The Jews were essentially homeless until 1948.
(4) A great majority of Jews simply don’t trust in
anything anymore!
d. So God has systematically removed each one of the
artifacts that the religious Jews have trusted in.
(1) Why?
(2) Because God does not want us to trust in things.
(3) He actually gave two of the ten commandments to
tell us that He was against it.
Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods
before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth:
e. So Judah, the righteous half of the Jewish nation, was
about to have the temple that they trusted destroyed
by God so that they might learn yet again, trust not
in things but in the Lord.
C. \\#3-6\\ False Conclusion
1. \\#3\\ God in speaking to Judah, tells them that they need
to "amend" or fix their works.
a. If they will, He will let them stay in the land
forever.
(1) One conclusion that one might draw is that if
they do not, they are about to be pulled up out
of the land.
(2) Based on history, I think that is a correct
conclusion. (i.e. They did not amend their works
and they did not STAY in the land.)
b. Some of the works that they need to amend are
mentioned.
(1) \\#5\\ Execute justice between neighbors. That
is, start treating your neighbors correctly.
(2) \\#6\\ Don’t oppress the stranger, the fatherless,
or the widow.
(a) That is, treat these kinds of people
correctly.
(b) It sounds like this command just enlarges
the first command to include people who are
not necessarily your neighbors.
(3) Do not shed innocent blood.
(a) That is, do no violence against someone who
doesn’t deserve it.
(b) I guess this would enlarge the last two
commands to even include enemies.
(4) Do not follow other gods.
(a) Don’t worship false gods.
(b) God does mention there that if they do so,
it will be to their own hurt.
2. What is the false conclusion that some, maybe even the
Jews, drew from this statement?
a. That God was offering the Jews a "works" salvation.
b. Many people believe this is what God offered to the
Jews.
(1) They believe that the command to offer sacrifices,
to attend worship at the temple, and to obey
rituals of cleansing and eating were all
evidences that Old Testament Jews earned their
salvation.
(2) There is no doubt that this is what the Jews
themselves believed. (Read the book of Romans.)
(3) So was God telling the Jews that if they would do
good, behave, and keep His laws, they would be
saved?
c. The answer is "yes" and "no."
(1) The answer is "no" in that no amount of works can
produce forgiveness.
(a) The New Testament is clear on this thought.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to his mercy he saved
us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing
of the Holy Ghost;
(b) But what about the Old Testament saints?
Ro 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there
shall NO FLESH be justified in his sight:
for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood
of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
(c) Do we have anything out of the Old Testament?
Ps 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else
would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt
offering.
Isa 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense
is an abomination unto me; the new moons and
sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot
away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn
meeting.
(d) But the one verse that settles it for me
records what Jesus said on the topic.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me.
(2) However, it is "yes" in that if you have a right
relationship with God by faith, you will produce
the right kind of works.
(a) The works are never the means of getting
saved.
(b) But works are always the by-product of being
saved.
(c) So God was saying that if you do right and
keep doing right, it will be because you
are saved.
(d) There is no other means by which you can do
right!
(e) It took in the Old Testament and takes in
the New Testament having a relationship
with God by faith in order to do right!
D. \\#8-12\\ False Religion
1. One of the things that I have mentioned is that in the
first few chapters, God only spoke of sin as in an
introductory manner, like in the opening of a court case.
No more.
2. \\#9\\ Look at some of their sins:
a. stealing
b. murder
c. adultery
d. false swearing - More than likely lying under an oath.
e. worshipping Baal
f. Walking after other false gods
g. AND THESE WERE THE RELIGIOUS!
3. \\#10\\ Then they would go to the temple and make out like
they were worshipping God!
a. Don’t misunderstand. God has no problem with people
living in sin coming to church, but they are to come
to learn what He has to say about sin, get saved,
and turn from their wicked ways.
b. They are not come and pretend to be worshipping God
because they are not and cannot!
c. Any other reason for them being in God’s house is
another wickedness for them and causes a potential
judgment to the church for letting them in!
4. \\#12\\ This is the kind of judgment of which God is
speaking upon Shiloh.
a. Shiloh was the first Jewish capital and worship
center.
b. But it was deserted and abandoned after God took away
its blessings.
c. It has only recently, since 2009, begun to even be
excavated.
d. It is been abandoned and forgotten for over 3,000
years!
e. Does that not sound like a people who were spewed from
God’s mouth?
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither
cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my
mouth.
E. True Consequences
1. Mercy is to be extremely limited.
Jer 4:27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole
land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full
end. \\#Jer 5:10, 18\\.
2. Judgment is to be extremely brutal.
a. \\#15\\ They would be cast out of the land just like
Ephraim.
b. \\#20\\ God’s anger and fury would be cast upon them.
c. \\#31-33\\ Death would be across the land.
d. \\#34\\ The cites of Judah will cease to exist.
e. And that is just the statements of this chapter.
3. \\#16\\ The righteous are not to pray for this situation.
Jer 7:16 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.
a. No prayer means there will be no more mercy.
b. No prayer means there will be no more change.
c. No prayer means there will be no more time.
4. So Judah has one and only one option.
a. This is their last opportunity.
b. They can return to the Lord \\#Jer 4:1\\ and amend
their ways \\#Jer 7:3\\, or they can perish.
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