Jeremiah 7
January 14, 2024 4:24 PM
Solitary Man
solitaryman.substack.com/
20240114
(Please refer to the Preface and Introduction sections found in the Jeremiah Chapter 1 commentary for some general information about this chapter by chapter study of Jeremiah).
A Special Section
Before I get into chapter 7, I wish to share my thoughts on a point of theology. Prompted by a sermon I watched last night, I was meditating last night and early this morning on the following topic. The topic is how should we look at the governments of America and Canada (and other western nations). Do they fit the pattern of Israel or Rome? Judah or Babylon? Jew or Gentile? The answer to this will help us to decide which pattern in scripture best fits our current situation. Prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel have several chapters devoted to the judgments of the Lord to the heathen nations, though of course the majority of their texts are devoted to speaking to Israel. When you look closely at the 2 portions, God does use different criteria to pronounce judgment, though of course there are striking similarities as well.
One can spend much time examining what the great theologians of the past had to say about this matter. Augustine, perhaps the greatest theologian outside of the apostle Paul, wrote a lengthy treatise on this very topic called The City of God, where he examined the role of church and state, and what the bible had to say in the interpretation thereof.
Yet I do not want to bog down the reader with a lot of academic research. What we need to hear is what is the Spirit saying to his body today, in these most perilous times. If we can come to some common understanding of how God sees us, then we will be better able to rightly divide the word and apply it correctly to our personal and national situations.
I want to make it clear that I will share what I believe the spirit of God has shown me. That does not mean that I am absolutely correct in all things, as when it comes down to it, it is simply my opinion. Other members of the body will take a different view, and have a different emphasis, as the spirit leads them. It is my hope that the points I raise will lead you to consider truths that may of not occurred to you before, and that you will be motivated to do your own study and always take everything you hear to the Lord to show you what you need to know.
The vast majority of judgments are against Israel and Judah, God’s covenant people, a physical covenant involving everyone in the land, initiated by God. One could argue America and Canada were nations that were birthed in covenant with God. Yet they were initiated by men, not God. Covenants inspired by God perhaps, but men dedicated their lands to God, so it’s not quite the same. Who knows if God agreed to enter into a binding covenant with our forefathers, since he did not initiate it like he did with Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon?
Israel was indicted for departing from God, disobeying all aspects of Torah, and worshipping idols, engaging in gross immorality as they did so. They often clung to the ceremonial aspects of worship in the temple, which God often condemned when all other aspects of obedience was absent.
Ezekiel prophesied over the Gentile nations in chapters 25 through 32. Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia all are judged because they gloated over Judah’s destruction. Tyre is judged for the same thing, but also because he thought he was a god. Egypt (ch 29-32) is judged because he claimed God’s creation for himself as if he made the Nile (Ez 29:3). Often the purpose of Gentile judgments is to reveal to them who exactly is God (Ez 29:6,9, 30:8,19). Ez 30:6 speaks of the pride of Egypt’s power. Too many false gods provoke God’s wrath (30:13-16). This speaks of inordinate pride. It also seemed like a lot of these prophetic words over Tyre and Egypt were a container for other truths. The lamentations for Tyre and Egypt go on for 6 chapters, and contain many strange utterances about satan, hell, Eden, and the afterlife.
In the New Testament, Jesus soundly condemns the Jewish religious leaders of the day who were exercising political roles. He had nothing to say about pagan Rome. Neither did any apostle. Paul said to obey them when they were acting lawfully, not just legally. In other words, they may pass an unjust law which made it legal, but not lawful. You never obey those.
The question is which pattern do our nations fall under – Israel or Rome? I believe the answer is a hybrid, depending on what the spirit is leading the man of God to speak of. Good arguments can be made for both. Personally, we resembled Israel at the start of our history, gradually transforming ourselves where we now resemble Rome. We also must take into account that we’re new covenant people. Old covenant people were primarily focused with justice in the here and now. For us, ours is a spiritual kingdom and our hearts should be focused on things above, not below (Col 3:1-3).
We are in the world, but not of it. Books like Jeremiah speak prophetically of what is occurring and what is about to occur in our lands. The book should be used more to get the church to repent rather than our pagan governments, who acknowledge no such covenant with our God. While we should never lock ourselves into a rigid, inflexible position that has no other applicability, we might want to look at Judah more representing the church and Rome (or Babylon) more representing our pagan governments (the globalists). Of course, any specific passage may have applicability to one or the other, or both.
This is truly a complex issue. Let each one be led by the Spirit of God in how to apply God’s holy word in their lives. I pray that these commentaries on Jeremiah are being led by the Holy Spirit, and that every reader will also be led by God to extract nuggets of truth that will convict, educate, and enlighten, and that the result will always lead to a closer walk with Jesus.
Now let’s get to the text.
Chapter 7
Jer 7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 7:2 Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.
As a priest, Jeremiah would have access to all parts of the temple. On special days of worship, perhaps a set fast day, many would throng to the temple. Jeremiah’s ability to access a key entrance gate would give him access to more people than the average person. We may wonder at times why God calls us to a certain career, or a location, or a journey, at a certain time and place, but he knows exactly what he needs to do to position you in the exact spot he needs you to be at a certain future point in time. Can God trust you to be confident that he which began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6)?
Jer 7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend (fix) your ways (your course of life or the road that you’re on) and your doings (actions), and I will cause you to dwell (I will allow you to permanently stay) in this place.
Where should we strive to permanently stay? In the real presence of Jesus. If we fix whatever God shows us to fix, not being stubborn, or lazy, or pretend we didn’t hear, then the promised blessings of a real relationship with Jesus will never be withheld from you.
Jer 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
False prophets play on your pride. They tell you: ‘we are God’s chosen people, who can stand against us’? The false doctrine of believing that just because you’re born again, you’re exempt from all present and future judgment because Jesus paid it all, must be destroyed. Just because you’re part of the body of Christ, does not mean God’s standards of behaviour don’t apply to you. Instead, it’s really the other way around. Jesus’s expectations may be found in scriptures such as Mt 5:48, 19:21, Lk 6:40, Jn 17:23.
Jer 7:5 For if ye throughly amend (yawtab yawtab – really, really fix) your ways (your course of life or the road that you’re on) and your doings (actions); if ye throughly execute judgment (really really do mishpat) between a man and his neighbour;
God is not asking for more faith, but real, real repentance which results in real, real changed behaviour of a permanent nature. The first behaviour modification God wants to see is, you guessed it, walking in God’s type of judgment, or executing proper decisions and verdicts between your fellow man the way God would execute them. Too many pastors and sheep want to come up with their own set of values. Since speaking the truth to sodomites, woke antifa types, corrupt cops, etc might cause us discomfort and even genuine persecution, we define our own mishpat – our own decisions and decrees of what is truly right and wrong. We decide staying silent is being loving instead of speaking the truth in love. We make a good show in the flesh, simply so we don’t suffer persecution for the cross of Christ (Gal 6:12)
Jer 7:6 If ye oppress (press upon, defraud, quarrel, strive) not the stranger (ger – guest, foreigner, alien), the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods (elohim) to your hurt:
Do we have a contentious spirit? Do we try to take advantage of strangers in business dealings? Do we ignore the plight of the orphan and the widow? As long as we don’t see it inside our church, do we really care about those without? Do some of you actually abort your babies, keeping it a secret and dare to come to God’s presence and pretend like nothing is wrong? Were you so deceived that you had no issue with either yourself, or others injecting themselves with toxic snake venom in order that you could go out to your favourite restaurant, or be allowed to attend your family’s thanksgiving supper? Are there habits and obsessions that so control your life, that they could easily be classified as walking after other gods? It seemed so appropriate when someone pointed out that almost all Christians immediately bow their heads every time their cell phone chimes, as they absolutely must see who has texted them this very moment! Do we immediately respond to the slightest nudge of the Holy Spirit in the same way?
Jer 7:7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
Unless you can pass the checklist of the above couple of verses, don’t expect to stay in the place of blessing and promises. It is a waste of time, and actually a gross deception, to sit under preaching that only talks about how all the blessings of God are yours, always and forever, without emphasizing all the conditions to enter in and abide in that glorious state.
Jer 7:8 Behold, ye trust (make your refuge) in lying (a sham) words, that cannot profit (do any good).
In the past, books like Jeremiah really didn’t move our souls like it should of, because our culture, our personal experience could not really relate to the environment that Jeremiah found himself in. How could all the prophets, priests, kings and princes be so totally corrupt? Sure, we have some bad apples in every area of life, but how could Judah be so depraved?
I don’t think anyone has the same trouble in relating to Jeremiah today. At least not if you’re totally honest about exactly how bad it has gotten within the church and without. Who can listen to even one sentence of the mainstream media, as it is a challenge to find even one sentence, much less one story, that is not one continuous lie. It seems they are not allowed to speak, unless it is an intentional lie. Churches enforce death jabs, setting up clinics in them, well compensated by the beast system in dollars and in worldly praise, for showing how to truly ‘love your neighbour’ and for saving grandma. They are utterly silent on God’s definition of idolatry and immorality. They won’t raise the banner of the Lord on high, but willingly fly the rainbow flag of the depraved. They made everyone muzzle up before they were allowed to enter and worship God, like a pack of rabid dogs, erasing any God given individuality and self respect.
The 98-99% of churches in Canada (and that figure is not an exaggeration) that blindly went along with every mandate the wicked government imposed, letting their dead conscience find refuge in the lie that this was to keep everyone safe, simply exposed how apostate they really were all along.
Jer 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal (a master false god), and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
Jer 7:10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered (we have been eternally permanently saved from hell fire) to do all these abominations?
Here is the anthem of the Calvinists, and all those like them. Will you say we are once saved, always saved because you happened to say one prayer? Because we’re now born again, works have no impact on your salvation status. I’ve heard many hyper grace, deluded preachers think they’re somehow defending the faith by taking such a demonic stand against works. The devil has gotten them to think of works as worse than some depraved sex act. This leftover protestant hyper reaction to the medieval church abuses of hundreds of years ago must stop and stop now. Paul says several times in his epistles that those who do things such as found in verse eight shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven. End of story.
Jer 7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
We all recognize this verse as one that Jesus referred to when driving out the money changers. The literal meaning goes like this: ‘You priests are using the temple as violent robbers use caves as a sanctuary, a safe place, a place free of consequence’.
Jer 7:12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.
God leaves us examples of past judgments. The most notable is the geologic evidence of the flood, found all around the globe. Shiloh was chosen as the centre of worship after the conquest of Canaan (Josh 18:1). Yet it became known as a place where questionable festivals were held (Jdg 21:19-21).
It was the place where the sins of Eli’s sons occurred (1 Sam 2:22). It lost the presence of the ark (1Sam 4:17). Thus Ps 78:58-64 became its destiny – a place destroyed by Yehovah. Do not think that any church is exempt from the same fate if we choose to go down the same path. This also applies to any individual believer.
Jer 7:13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
Jer 7:14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
As destruction came upon Shiloh, so destruction has been decreed for the temple. And as the church engages in some of the same sinful practices, so shall we suffer the same fate. Indeed, has not 2020 begun a literal fulfillment of this prophecy? Lock downs, 96 churches burned/vandalized in Canada since then, many became places where vax suicide was promoted, becoming a place of death rather than of life. Rainbow flags of utter abomination were planted by the enemy, even as victorious armies planted their flags atop castles they had taken. Many places lost 30% of their congregations permanently after they reopened.
God said he came to us early on in our rebellion, and he came to us many times. There used to be hellfire and brimstone preachers in abundance in this land. However, we often made fun of them, looking at them as uneducated, backward, and somewhat embarrassing. They were too legalistic, how could we reach the masses with all their rigid rules and regulations? They may of had some silly man made customs, but that did not negate the truth of the imminent judgments that were about to fall upon us.
God says that the church, which he gave to us and in which we trust, will suffer the same fate as the tabernacle in Shiloh and the temple in Jerusalem. We have been lulled to sleep by the hammering of one verse – ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’. Somehow we think the church will always survive, and that’s true. But we sort of lumped in our own churches into that verse as a matter of course and there is where we made our fatal mistake. Yes, Jesus will always have at least a faithful remnant somewhere, at every time, but that by no means gives any individual a free pass.
Jer 7:15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
If God cast out the northern kingdom, he could cast out the southern one. If God could cast out Ephraim, then Judah, from their promised lands, then why can’t he cast out the western church from theirs? Note this does not say he has cast out forever, but if God so chooses, he can make any country’s church disappear. Look at the 7 churches of Revelation – where are they today?
Jer 7:16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.
This is the most terrifying thing God could ever say about a people. There is no guarantee that God hears every prayer, there are actually a lot of verses in scripture about God not hearing our cries. I believe the rule of thumb is to keep praying unless and until God gives you a specific word about the person or situation and instructs you to stop. Even at this very late hour, I pray we as a nation have not reached this place of no return.
Jer 7:17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Jer 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
All family members today carry cell phones and are enslaved to them. Every time their God calls, they immediately answer.
Note how the devil entices entire families, including children, in participating in idol worship. This was some form of goddess that was associated with moon worship, making cakes to represent the shape of the moon. Generally believed to be the worship of Ashtoreth. Ashtoreth or Astarte was known as the queen of heaven (as the moon), wife of Baal or Molech, the king of heaven (as the sun). This symbolized the reproductive powers of nature, thus sexual acts were part of the worship. Our Monday, or moon-day, indicates the former prevalence of moon worship. Note how the cakes made were a perversion of one of the sacred offerings prescribed by the Lord in Leviticus, the minkhah, or meal offering.
Carnal believers sneer when I mention things like cell phones being essentially the same thing in God’s eyes. Of course, you are not formally bowing down to an actual fallen one or a specific demon, yet how our hearts are ensnared so comprehensively by our personal devices! How many believers could switch their phones off for one week and not turn them on? Precious few, I’d wager. A phone is supposed to be a tool, not a way of life. I don’t pull out my hammer and look at it every 5 minutes. It sits in a tool box until I need it, then I take it out, use it, and put it back. Why can’t we regard our phones in the same way we regarded them before the internet was available on them? They sat on a wall, and we only used them when we had to talk to someone. Not text, but talk. I must apologize, I had actually spoken to the Lord about this and concluded that I want to minimize personal opinion in this commentary, as I want the text to predominate, not any side issues. Now that I’ve gotten one of my worst pet peeves out of my system, I will attempt to restrain myself more completely in the future!
Of course, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the obvious connection that classical Protestants made between this verse and many Catholic’s obsession with Mary, who the Catholic church actually refers to as the queen of heaven, based on their unique interpretation of Rev chapter 12.
Jer 7:19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion (shame) of their own faces?
Literally, ‘Is it not themselves (that they provoke) to the shame of their own faces’?
Jer 7:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
Note it was God’s people that caused his anger and fury to rise. Note also that the entire planet must suffer the consequences when God’s people have not only wandered away from God, but have actively pursued other gods, which they were not born under, should not of been tempted with, should not of ever even had the opportunity to make their acquaintance, yet their lusts and desires opened them up to invite every sort of foul spirit to come upon them.
We are seeing God’s anger on man through the poisoning of our bodies. They are now shooting mrna into the animals on the planet, especially the edible ones, to take away our food supply. The trees and all plants are being poisoned by chem trails. Direct energy weapons are burning our land and our property with fires so hot, they cannot be fought. Indeed, the corruption is so bad, that in BC (British Columbia), when the forest fires began spontaneously (as if by magic), firefighters were actually told to stand down and police were told to hinder homeowners as much as possible from getting to their places and/or obtaining firefighting supplies. God is actively fighting against us at this time.
Jer 7:21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.
Jer 7:22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
Jer 7:23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
Jer 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
God is reminding them of his priority – the first commandment trumps all others. Professional church goers sure love their rituals and their routines. It’s much easier to give something out of our abundance than to obey the voice of God when he asks something of us that would interfere with our lifestyle and our comfort. As an example, no one in the bible had more personal sins exposed than David, yet his perfect obedience to the word of God spoken to him made him a man after God’s own heart. David did pay heavy temporal prices for his sins, yet few were promised greater eternal rewards than him. He lost four sons for his murder of Urijah. He lost 70,000 kinsmen for his trust in the size of his army rather than in God alone. Yet because he was always quick to repent and very quick to obey, God promised him a throne that he would sit on forever. Remember that God demands that Judah walked in all his ways, not just some of them. Saul prided himself in his partial obedience, and his reward was demon possession and most probably, hellfire.
Jer 7:25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
God did not withhold a single prophetic voice that he had in his arsenal. He will use everything that he has to try and get you to turn around. Don’t be surprised at all the judgments that have fallen, and are yet to fall, as we are a very wicked people, and judging by the hardness of heart of some of our relatives and friends, it’s going to take a lot more to really get their attention.
Jer 7:26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
Often we read that each generation, unless there is a revival, ends up worse then the one before it. This is certainly true in our generation.
Jer 7:27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.
It’s a tough assignment knowing that your words will do no good, and will only lead to persecution, but God commanded Jeremiah to speak anyway. Sometimes we hesitate, not in prudence but in fear, or in natural human reasoning. We calculate that speaking to someone about Jesus, or the jab, or the great reset, or any other great lie that they have swallowed, is a waste of time. And often it is. Yet let us make sure that God is not nudging us even still, maybe because we wants to leave an eternal testimony, like with Jeremiah, or maybe those words will not be received now, but will come back to mind later in that sinner’s heart. Yet I can also show you passages where prophets like Ezekiel had their mouth shut for a season. We will see later that Jeremiah was told to withhold certain truths from certain people. The goal is obedience in all things.
Jer 7:28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
God doesn’t look only at individuals, but at nations as a whole. It’s not just wicked leaders, it’s the people that have allowed wicked leaders to rule. Did any of us think that when we kept electing godless candidates back in the day when we had real elections that both Canada and America would have the leaders that we have today?
I will declare one thing, since charismatics love to declare stuff: ‘This verse is fulfilled in your ears today’. Truth has perished and is cut off from every one’s mouth who has a voice in the Babylon beast system today.
Jer 7:29 Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
There are certain generations that are destined to receive his wrath not only because of our sin, but of generations that have gone on before. Do not think that the tribulation of 2020 onward is solely just for our generation’s sins alone. I personally believe the clock began ticking when we embraced evolution, one of the worst blasphemies, and most ridiculously unbelievable insanities to ever embrace. We blasphemed the creator, we now blaspheme the redeemer in every way, form and fashion. The result is rejection and abandonment by God.
God tells us to shout out this truth in the high places. Publish it far and wide. Do not keep silent about it. Do not hide it away in a corner of the church. If we don’t do all we can to warn people that this is God come to punish the earth, then what will we have left once the judgment is in full swing?
Jer 7:30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.
I still remember the last service that I attended at a local church, which we had attended for 10 straight weeks, and was about the best church in our area to choose from. While the pastor and the people were of a good heart and sincere faith, certain things weighed on my heart that finally caused us to depart quietly. The last straw was 7 different times during the course of the sermon, cell phones went off and people actually answered them right in the pews and started having a conversation while the pastor was trying to speak! And no one corrected them! I just couldn’t stand to be a part of that anymore. Do you see why I call out the cell phone our modern day Ashtoreth, our queen of heaven? The signal comes from the sky, the almighty phone sits as the queen of our heart. May I suggest Mat 5:29-30 as a possible solution?
Jer 7:31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
Abortion comes to mind. Now we have grooming, sodomy, transgenderism, genital mutilation and paedophilia being secretly promoted and taught to our children in public schools, to all ages. They at least thought these demon gods would bless them if they showed their sincerity and devotion in burning their children. We are far worse, in that we simply rip the child out of our wombs because it would interfere with our drunken, fornicating lifestyles. How could we continue to sleep around if we have the inconvenience of a child to tie us down? I am so sick of people promoting stories of exceptions to the norm, such as incest and rape, as justification for first degree murder. 99% of abortion is for convenience, or now it’s to make money selling late term abortions to the pharma companies for profit.
Canada has no abortion restrictions whatsoever. There are 2 other countries with similar laws. They are China and North Korea.
Jer 7:32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
Jer 7:33 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray (frighten) them away.
As if the billion or so babies murdered since the seventies worldwide are not enough, God says the dead shall be so thick and heavy, that we will run out of places to bury them. How perfectly this is being fulfilled before our very eyes, as the jab is killing and will kill more people than all the abortions put together, a just verdict by the God of true mishpat (justice). Indeed, I have just heard that the largest pharma company has severely overpaid for a company whose sole product is to treat turbo cancers, as if this pharma giant somehow knows that turbo cancers are the next big ‘pandemic’ to hit the planet (I wonder how could that be?).
The dead are so numerous, no one is left to chase off the scavengers.
Jer 7:34 Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.
Sterility is one of the main curses of the jab. No joy of companionship, fellowship, marriage, and children playing, only social distancing and despair.
Solitary Man
https://solitaryman.substack.com/
Photos courtesy Depositphotos
