God’s people were acting like Judah was indestructible because they had the temple of the Lord. God told Jeremiah to go to the gate of the temple and preach to everyone, saying:
"'Do not trust in these lying words, saying, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these."
For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.
Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, "We are delivered to do all these abominations"? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,' says the Lord" (Jer 7:4-11, Unless otherwise stated: Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Used by permission. All rights reserved).
It wasn’t the presence of the temple that would save the people, but the presence of God. They had to repent of what separated them from the Lord, or His house would be of no benefit to them.
When Jesus was on the earth, the Jews had again fallen into the same mistake. As He drove out those who bought and sold in the temple, He quoted Jeremiah. “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves’” (Matt 21:13).
It wasn’t enough that they had the temple, they needed to worship God in spirit and truth. It wasn’t even enough that they were Jews by birth, or called children of Abraham (Rom 9:6-8; Luke 3:8).
Similarly, it is not enough that someone “goes to church” today. Even if someone is cleansed from their former sins and added to the Lord’s body, they are deceived if they think they can inherit the kingdom and continue in unrighteousness (1 Cor 6:9-11).
Like the Old Testament called for God’s people to live righteously, we are called to holiness as God’s spiritual temple (1 Cor 3:16, 17; 6:19, 20; Eph 2:19-22; Heb 9:1-12; 1 Pet 1:13-21).
Don’t just go or belong to a church, be the church. Live for God. Then you have a benefit in the house of the Lord.
Van
