Jeremiah 7:2-3 "Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord.3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. English Standard Version (ESV)
I read these verses on Sunday before going to church. The words struck me, thinking of the prophet going out and calling on the people to change their ways, to turn away from "other gods", who are not gods, and return to the Lord. Their worship had become hollow because they were so busy chasing things, other gods, that even when they went to the temple their hearts were not truly in it. It was not the act of going to "the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord" (v.4) as the fashionable thing to do, as a "front for other gods" (The Message) that was important. Rather,it was the rending of the heart, the changing, the amending of ways, the truly turning back to God that was important.
In our worship, we sang the song "All the Poor and Powerless". The words of the chorus reminded me of Jeremiah in today's verses:
Shout it
Go on and scream it from the mountains
Go on and tell it to the masses
That He is God
He alone is God and there is no other. He is what the people, "the masses" need. If we would go out and shout it in words and in actions that He is God. Selfish acts self seeking are to be replaced by acts of kindness, justice, mercy and compassion.
These thoughts brought me to the old hymn "Go Tell it on the Mountain". I'll share the last two stanzas that remind us of the heart of the prophet Jeremiah and the hearts of true worshippers through the ages.
When I am a seeker,
I seek both night and day;
I seek the Lord to help me,
And He shows me the way:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.
He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.
Read the passage from "The Message" below. The prophet is still shouting to "clean up our act". Is anybody listening?
In Christ,
Mike
Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Jeremiah 7:2-7The Message (MSG)
The Nation That Wouldn't Obey God
7 1-2 The Message from God to Jeremiah: "Stand in the gate of God's Temple and preach this Message.
2-3 "Say, 'Listen, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship God. God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel's God, has this to say to you:
3-7 "'Clean up your act—the way you live, the things you do—so I can make my home with you in this place. Don't for a minute believe the lies being spoken here—"This is God's Temple, God's Temple, God's Temple!" Total nonsense! Only if you clean up your act (the way you live, the things you do), only if you do a total spring cleaning on the way you live and treat your neighbors, only if you quit exploiting the street people and orphans and widows, no longer taking advantage of innocent people on this very site and no longer destroying your souls by using this Temple as a front for other gods—only then will I move into your neighborhood. Only then will this country I gave your ancestors be my permanent home, my Temple.
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