JEREMIAH 7
16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 19 Is it I whom they provoke? declares the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? 20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.” 21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. 22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. 26 Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. – Jeremiah 7:16-26
JEREMIAH 7 IDOLS PROVOKE GOD’S WRATH
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
As a believer, God requires you to be faithful to him
You were given his Spirit so you can turn away from sin
The Lord is a jealous God and will not tolerate competition
If you make or bow down to another god, you are provoking him
Do not forget your covenant with the Lord your God; serve only him
You are desecrating God if you give your loyalty to other gods
Don’t even think that you can get away with unfaithfulness
You’ll receive his wrath if you continue your adultery to idols.
In this account, the Lord reminds his people through Jeremiah to stop following traditions and practices of their forefathers. This prophecy focuses on the consequences of those traditions of preparing food and drink offerings to those other pagan gods. The Lord sets the boundary to his covenant people about the provocation of his wrath will lead them to destruction. In verse 23, they were admonished to obey his commands and keep their vow to be loyal to God since they were already freed from wickedness.
We are reminded of our sinful nature that tends to idolize and be unfaithful to God by remembering what God has done to free us from such sinfulness. There is a very strong tendency for humans to be automated in following traditions and old habits of sin. But if only believers remember what sacrificed was done for them through Christ, they wouldn’t go back to the prison of idolatry and unfaithfulness.
REFLECTION
- Why do you think idols provoke God’s wrath? What’s the message to God when we have idols?
