They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. They acted shamefully; they committed abomination, yet they were not ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord. —Jeremiah 6:14-15
The prophet Jeremiah rose to his calling during the reign of King Josiah. At the time, the southern kingdom of Judah was in upheaval, having recently revolted against the Assyrian Empire. King Josiah sought to restore Judah to the glory it knew under David and Solomon. He implemented sweeping societal and religious reforms, though these came with unintended consequences. Using the Temple as a protection totem, the nation’s “royal religion” positioned Judah as invincible from destruction. Here, Jeremiah speaks truth to power; warning against the coming judgment unless the nation returns to the teachings of God delivered from Moses.
Jeremiah’s famous Temple Sermon challenges the “false religion” of Temple worship. He pushes back against the notion—upheld by priests and prophets—that the Temple itself is Judah’s only hope for survival.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” —Jeremiah 7:3-4
Jeremiah sees these new reforms and the “royal religion” as false idols—leading to injustices against society’s most vulnerable. Marking a tragic misstep, he sees the oppression of the orphan, immigrant, and widow will ultimately lead Judah into exile. A warning that God will abandon the nation to judgment.
For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever. —Jeremiah 7:5-7
Jeremiah points to the unfaithfulness of the priests, prophets, and king as the root of rising oppression and injustice. In mistreating the least of these, they have violated God’s law. He condemns the leaders as,
…fat and sleek. They know no limits in deeds of wickedness; they do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. —Jeremiah 5:28
This prophecy of exile and criticism of the “royal religion” made Jeremiah very unpopular and subject to persecution. By not heeding Jeremiah’s warnings, the nation fell to Babylon, resulting in the first exile from Jerusalem in 597 BCE.
What can we learn from the prophet Jeremiah’s warnings? While my home country, the United States, is not under the same covenant as ancient Israel—we can come to understand what God values in Jeremiah’s prophetic words. Institutions—such as the Temple—mean nothing without the Spirit of God dwelling within them. Seeking salvation in the church, political leadership, or other idols leaves room for injustice and destruction. By idolizing power and self-preservation, leaders trample anyone in the pursuit of protecting their station in the world. God’s nature, according to Jeremiah, is not concerned with the mere representation of the Temple, but with how we live as representations of it.
Thus says the Lord : Act with justice and righteousness and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. —Jeremiah 22:3
God cares more about what is written on our hearts than the survival of institutions bearing God’s name. The hypocrisy of Judah’s leaders created an environment that bred the mistreatment and abuse of those whom God calls us to steward. God’s passion is for the least of these. Bending our religious traditions or pursuing duplicitous political aims cannot provide societal redemption or flourishing.
In the end, Jeremiah does offer hope. A new pathway that is not bound by one nation, church, or institution, but a covenantal relationship built on love, forgiveness, and mercy. A way of peace where the powers and principalities of the world fall away.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord ,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord , for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. —Jeremiah 31:33-34
During this Lenten season, reflect on Jeremiah’s words. Where are we complicit in societal downfalls? Do we look to idols to preserve only what we value? Are we ignoring the cries of the widow, orphan, and immigrant? Reflecting on the weight of Jeremiah’s words, I came across this quote from John Chrysostom…
Do not honor Him, Christ, in the Church with silken garments while neglecting Him outside where He is cold and naked… What we do in church requires a pure heart… for God does not want golden vessels but golden hearts. — John Chrysostom (4th century Church Father) – Homilies on Matthew
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