Purging The Church Of Thieves
Jeremiah 7:1-15
Part of The Book of Jeremiah
September 29, 2022

A nation will rise or fall based on whether or not it follows God’s law.


Jeremiah 7:1-4
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord!’ ” Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 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.’


To God, it’s not about being religious but being righteous.


Jeremiah 7:5-7
“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.


Those who believe in God will behave godly.


Jeremiah 7:8-10
“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’?


It is incompatible to know that God bought you, while still living as if sin owns you.


Jeremiah 7:11
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.


The Church is not to be a safe-haven for spiritual thieves. The Church is to be heaven’s safe for spiritual truth.


Jeremiah 7:12-15
“But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these works,” says the Lord, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim.


The stature of God stands behind the person (or people) who abide by the statutes of God.

Discussion Questions

  1. What was it about the time and the place of where the Lord sent Jeremiah in the beginning of chapter 7? What does verse 4 imply? How is that error then applicable to now?


2. What is a byproduct of truly believing in God? Hint: What you believe determines how you _. (Use First John 2:4-6)


3. In Jeremiah 7:8-10, how are the people turning God’s grace into something gross? Why did they “believe” they could “behave” this way?


4. When Jesus quoted from Jeremiah 7:11, what was He doing and why was He doing it (See Matthew 21:12-13)? How does this apply today to His Church? After the Temple was purged, what does Matthew 21:14 tell us?


5. According to verses 12-15, what does Shiloh signify? How does this whole chapter thus far affirm the fact that the Lord desires righteousness not religiousness?