Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Jeremiah 7

Today, I will work on Jeremiah 7

" 'Hear the word of the LORD , all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD . 3 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD , the temple of the LORD , the temple of the LORD !" 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.
This demand for respect of the Lord's house doesn't mean only Temples and Churches. The Earth is the Lord's house, and we must treat each other fairly here. Do not oppress, and do not shed innocent blood. Most importantly, though, is this line:
do not follow other gods
Perhaps this doesn't mean actualy worship of other gods, but rather the ranking at which your religion lies within your life.
If you do everything for money, it is your god. If you do everything for fame, it is your god. If you do everything for your own advancement, you are your own god. If God takes precidence in your life, then you are following the One True God, and you have a place reserved for you in Heaven.

do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you.

He is not saying that you should give up. He is saying that you should change. Become one of God's Children. Live, and Love, as God wishes, in His footsteps.
He doesn't want pleas and wailing prayers. He wants action. He wants you to live His plan, the only way to be Saved.

Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, 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.


God uses strong imagery here. Not only does this talk about those who sinned in the time this was written, it speaks volumes about those who refuse the Lord today.
"The carcasses of these people will become food for the birds or the air and beasts of the earth..." Here, the Lord is speaking of what will happen to these people after death. Their bodies will rot, be eaten because they have no place for them, as their souls have no place in Heaven.
The "sounds of joy and gladness", or the life of sin that many live today will end. When the Lord calls, many will see that their way is harmful, and wrong. The Amazing Glory and Power of the Lord will quiet their reveling, and they will be stunned at His beauty.



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