Jeremiah-Chap-7

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Colour coded details of our beloved TaNaKh:

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Please Note: Some alterations or (additions) have been made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’ of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, having been corrected like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.

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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!

“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).

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“Jeremiah Chapter 7”

With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.

Introduction:

Jeremiah 7 presents the pivotal “Temple Sermon”, where the prophet challenges the dangerous belief that the physical Temple provides automatic security, regardless of moral conduct. Jeremiah asserts that true, Divine favour requires ethical living, particularly justice for the vulnerable over mere ritualistic observance.

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Let us read Jeremiah Chapter 7, verses 1 to 34: (JPS-1917 version of the Torah). Below this chapter you will find my commentary on same.

1. “The word that came to Jeremiah from יְהוָה - the LORD, saying: 2. Stand in the gate of יְהוָה - the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say: Hear the word of יְהוָה - the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship יְהוָה - the LORD. 3. Thus saith יְהוִה הַצְּבָאוֹת - the LORD of Ha’tz’va’ot (Hosts), the אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God) of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4. Trust ye not in lying words, saying: ‘The temple of יְהוָה - the LORD, the temple of יְהוָה - the LORD, the temple of יְהוָה - the LORD, are these’. 5. Nay, but if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbour; 6. if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt; 7. then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. 8. Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. 9. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and offer unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye have not known, 10. and come and stand before Me in this house, whereupon My name is called, and say: 'We are delivered', that ye may do all these abominations? 11. Is this house, whereupon My name is called, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, saith יְהוָה - the LORD. 12. For go ye now unto My place which was in Shiloh, where I caused My name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of My people Israel. 13. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith יְהוָה - the LORD, and I spoke unto you, speaking betimes and often, but ye heard not, and I called you, but ye answered not; 14. therefore will I do unto the house, whereupon My name is called, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 .And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. 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. 17. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18. The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke Me. 19. Do they provoke Me? saith יְהוָה - the LORD; do they not provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces? 20. Therefore thus saith אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim: 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 land; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched. 21. Thus saith יְהוִה הַצְּבָאוֹת - the LORD of Ha’tz’va’ot (Hosts), the אֱלֹהִים - Elohim of Israel: Add your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat ye flesh. 22. For I spoke 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; 23, but this thing I commanded them, saying: ‘Hearken unto My voice, and I will be your אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, and ye shall be My people; and walk ye in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you’. 24. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in their own counsels, even in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward, 25. even since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day; and though I have sent unto you all My servants the prophets, sending them daily betimes and often, 26, yet they hearkened not unto Me, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff; they did worse than their fathers. 27. And 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. 28. Therefore thou shalt say unto them: This is the nation that hath not hearkened to the voice of יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם - the LORD their Eloheihem (God), nor received correction; faithfulness is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. 29. Cut off thy hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the high hills; for יְהוָה - the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath. 30. For the children of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight, saith יְהוָה - the LORD; they have set their detestable things in the house whereon My name is called, to defile it. 31. And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither came it into My mind. 32. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith יְהוָה - the LORD, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in Topheth, for lack of room. 33. And the carcasses of this people shall be food for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away. 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”.

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Let us now look at Chapter 7 commentary:

Verses 1-11: (The False Security of the Temple). Jeremiah confronts worshippers, challenging their belief that the Temple guarantees safety despite unethical actions. He highlights that true Divine dwelling requires the ethical treatment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow, rather than the oppression and violence that defile the sanctuary.

Verses 12-15: (The Lesson of Shiloh). The prophet warns that אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God) will abandon the Jerusalem Temple just as He did in Shiloh, using the historical destruction of that earlier sanctuary as a direct, terrifying example for the present-day corruption in Judah.

Verses 16-20: (The Persistence of Idolatry). The depth of national rebellion is underscored by the family-level devotion to the “queen of heaven”, representing a total abandonment of divine law. Jeremiah is commanded to cease interceding, as this profound disobedience inevitably triggers Divine judgment.

Verses 21-28: (Obedience Over Sacrifice). Jeremiah reiterates that the core Divine expectation from the beginning was ethical obedience rather than mere sacrifice. He argues that hollow, empty rituals are rejected because the nation has consistently ignored the fundamental requirement to follow Divine commands.

Verses 29-34: (The Valley of Slaughter). The chapter concludes with a dire prophecy of destruction, as the people’s heinous practices, such as child sacrifice, transform the land itself. The Valley of Hinnom is renamed the "Valley of Slaughter," symbolizing a complete reversal of divine blessing into desolation.

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My Closing Message:

Jeremiah 7 serves as a powerful reminder that religious ritual can never substitute for ethical behaviour. True, Divine protection and holiness are found in justice, not in empty, outward ceremonies. May we be inspired to ensure our actions in the world truly reflect our, spiritual commitments!

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Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, said the following via several of our prophets...

“Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD of hosts” Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. (JPS).

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May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts, be with you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as well as the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts, and continue saying your daily תְּפִלָּה - Tefeelah’s - Prayers and regular בְּרָכָה - Be’ra’chah’s - blessings before food and drinks, etc!

שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!

Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.

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