Religious Ritual Doesn’t Change a Sinful Life Style

Jeremiah 7:8–15
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Any theology which said Jerusalem was safe because of the Temple failed to take note of the hypocrisy practiced there. Those who came to the Temple had been guilty of stealing, murder, adultery, and false swearing. They had sacrificed to Baal and walked after other gods. Yet because they went through the motions of rendering homage to God, they thought they were safe. What was worse, they thought this hypocritical lifestyle could continue unabated. They had turned the Temple into a refuge for those who had committed criminal acts. That sacred place was nothing but “a den of robbers!” Their spiritual hypocrisy had not gone unnoticed by God. (vv. 8-11).

The people did not believe judgment would come to them because the temple was located in Jerusalem. They looked at the temple as a good luck charm that could ward off any attack. Jeremiah reminded them that the temple once resided in Shiloh but because of Israel’s wickedness this place was abandoned as their central worship center and later destroyed (vv. 12-14). The point of Jeremiah’s message was; if God did not preserve Shiloh because the tabernacle was there, why would He preserve Jerusalem because of the temple (vv. 14-15)?

Application

The people in Jeremiah’s day followed a ritual of worship but maintained a sinful life style. I never want to let ritual replace my heart for the Lord as it happens to many in our churches today.