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Jeremiah 7. Jeremiah was sent to stand at the gates of the temple and give this message. To the people going in and out of the Temple God was offering permanent lodging. They thought that attendance and the forms of worship were enough to get God on their side. Or maybe it was enough to be enlisted on His side. (I am giving them the benefit of the doubt.) "Wear the uniform and we'll be part of His army."

God is trying to correct their faulty outlook on life. True religion is more than form. There has to be substance.

They knew they were special. God had told them so many times. He performed mighty miracles to preserve them and establish them here in this particular spot. His Temple was here, after all. Surely we are safe by standing so close to it. "The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord."

But surely, as modern Christians, having been taught by the Holy Spirit, and having received new hearts, would never do this. Would we? Have you ever heard someone say, "but I am an American!"

Being American doesn't mean you are a Christian. Neither does going to church, tithing, reading your bible, or teaching Sunday School. Our actions do not define who we are. They never really have, although we have allowed them to. Our actions flow out of who we are. Attending church, praying, and reading the bible should happen because I can't really help myself. It is in my nature to do these things.

I believe that by offering to open up the Temple as a permanent residence, God was offering to change who they were, but they did not see it. God offers the same to us today.

God is still trying to change me a little bit more every day. And I think dwelling forever in His Temple sounds wonderful.

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Jeremiah 6.29-30. "The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, but the wicked are not separated. They call them rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them." Amazing, isn't it. God is trying to refine the people, make them pure. The fire is hot enough, but instead of purifying, the fire destroys. "The wicked are not separated."

And, notice this too. "They call them rejected silver." Who is 'they'? I don't know, but what God calls lead they call silver. "Look at us, at our value. Our abilities and talents, and God won't use us. We have been rejected." God sees lead, and they see silver. Quite a difference in value. A difference in vision. People usually see themselves as having more value than they really do. And then get upset when God doesn't use them in the manner they feel they deserve.

Lead or silver. Do I recognize my value? I know God does, but I need to ask Him where I am needed. Maybe I am neither.

Jesus told us to take our seat lower down, and wait for the Host to exalt us. The Host knows who we are, and were we deserve to be seated. Being humble is a whole lot better than being humiliated. These people were about to be humiliated because they set up their own value system, and rated themsleves very high.

This is a mistake. Instead of silver, God saw lead. Useless lead because it could not be refined.

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I haven't read Jeremiah in a while. And now I am finding a lot of little nuggets of gold buried in here. I want to dig them all out, but they seem so small I wonder if it is worth the effort. But, then I remember, they are gold, after all.

6.16--"Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,where the good way is, and walk in it." I like that phrase, "the ancient paths." It speaks to me of wisdom, the wisdom of age and experience. The paths of righteousness. The path of the upright man. Who can ascend to the mountain of the Lord? The upright, with clean hands and a pure heart. The voice of one crying in the desert, "Make your ways straight." Build up the highway of the Lord.
Stand. See. Ask. Stand by the ways means we have to seek out the right people. Psalm 1 tells us to avoid the wrong people. And Paul reminds us that people of bad character will corrupt us. And here, God tells us to seek the good, upright people and observe their ways. Find good role models for oursleves. So we stand by them, and we watch. We need to see and understand. The Proverbs repeatedly tell us to seek knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. As we watch someone elses life, we know what they do. Then we begin to understand why they do these things. From this understanding, we know how to apply this knowledge to our own lives, and this is wisdom. Wisdom is the ancient path established by the Lord.
Far from observing only, we also need to ask. Most understanding comes from asking. Standing and seeing gains much knowledge, and only sometimes understanding. So we ask, "Why?" And we begin to interact with those lives we are observing. (Thus the warning against bad company.) As our lives become intertwined, we follow them down the ancient paths.
Stand, see, ask, and now we walk. Don't forget the walking.

“At the time that I punish them, they will be cast down.” Jeremiah 6.15. Well, of course. If God punishes them, of course they will be destroyed. Isn’t this redundant? No. Look up to 6.14. “They have healed the broken-ness of my people superficially.” The prophets and priests of the time proclaimed peace when there was none, but at least it made the people feel better.
I think this is the point of this verse. When God judges the people, there will be no easy fixes. I have heard that God is judging our nation. Look at the forest fires and blizzards, the floods and the droughts. The disasters we have suffered in the financial realm were laid at His feet also.
These may be precursors, warnings as it were, but these events are not judgment. When the True Judgment of God falls, whether it be on a nation or an individual, that nation or individual will be cast down, and there will be no quick fixes.
It is better that we fall on the stone and are broken now, than to have the stone fall on us later and be crushed.

Notes on Jeremiah 6

v. 4,5-Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us attack at noon. Woe to us, for the day declines, for the shadows of the evening lengthen! Arise, and let us attack by night and destroy her palaces!" I know nobody wants to be attacked, certainly not when God ordains the attack. But something here caught my attention. Why these times? Noon and evening? Why do the inhabitants cry out woe in response to these times?
My impression is that the wrath of God was burning so hot that He didn't want to wait. Judgment was Now! Not tomorrow morning.
This is a terrible thought. It gives a better understanding of the grace and mercy given at the cross, and the terrors of The Day of the Wrath of Our Lord, the Great Tribulation.
Tribulation is coming upon this world. I don't know when, but I hope I'm not here. He has waited this long because of His mercy, and when the Day of the Lord comes it will be beyond believing. The Revelation speaks of 7 seals, 7 bowls, 7 trumpets, and 7 thunders. If I remember right, two-thirds of the world's population will die in about 3 1/2 years. Right now, that means about 4 billion people. Over 3 million every day. (And this is if Jesus returns now. If he waits another decade or two, and the population climbs to 10 billion, then how many will it be?)
But remember the Lawless One will be in charge at this time, and there will be no morality. Only his law, which will be one of instant self-gratification, a law of might makes right. Envy and jealousy will give way to murder and rape, theft and destruction, oppression and desecration. And when God's hand falls upon humanity, they will curse Him for making demands on them. Where they find His presence, they will destroy it: churches, saints, music and art. Anything telling the world of a Creator beyond them will be anathema.
And so His Wrath will fall. But what is holding Him back right now? It is the Cross. Jesus suffered the wrath of God so that those who come to him will not be afflicted in His anger. And now God is waiting, in His mercy, for all men to come to His salvation. Not everyone will come, but He will wait.
I am glad God waited for me, instead of attacking me at noon or evening.