Jeremiah 7: 30-34: Call it what it is!

Call it what it is! We have a habit of attempting to pretty up bad things by giving them nice names. But ‘a rose is a rose by any other name.’ This also applies to evil, ugly things; they remain evil and ugly however we label them. Listen to these words: ‘’ ‘’But soon, very soon’’ – GOD’s Decree! – ‘’the names Topheth and Ben-hinnom will no longer be used. They’ll call the place what it is: Murder Meadow.’’ The Message. Can you imagine a situation so wicked that people were actually burning their children as sacrificial offerings to false gods? (30-31). It is no wonder that this society was going to come under judgment. (In fact we sacrifice our children to our’ gods’ in other ways that look more acceptable and civilised. But we are nevertheless destroying them.) If we cover evil practices with a veneer of religion we may feel that this ‘coat of religious paint’ makes it look better. But God sees everything and He knows the truth. He knows that the house is ramshackle and about to fall down.

Use it as you should! The people of Judah had misused the Temple, set up for the honouring of God’s Name: ‘’In deliberate insult to me, they’ve set up their obscene god-images in the very Temple that was built to honour me.’’ The Message. According to the second big section of the Bible, the New Testament, a local gathering of Christians is God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3), and so also is the physical body of a Christ follower (1 Corinthians 6). So it is important that in all we do in church life, and in our personal lives, that we should aim to honour God who made us for Himself and for His own glory. Let’s not misappropriate the ‘temple’ for our own uses.

Believe it because it’s true! As we read the Old Testament prophetic books we may find all the stuff about God’s anger and judgment a bit distasteful. But in everyday life we can find food that is good for us to be unpalatable. In a recent letter to the church in the U.K. the well-known preacher/writer R.T. Kendall pointed out that Jesus affirmed the Old Testament and was not ashamed of the God of the Old Testament. He called Him ‘Father’. Here are some key lessons we learn from the Bible about God:

  • He is Holy;
  • He hates all sin/wrongdoing/the breaking of His law;
  • He will judge and punish all evil;
  • He is also loving and gives ‘sinners’ many opportunities to repent;
  • In His love and justice, He gave Himself up for us all on the cross, in the Person of His Son; He took His own anger/judgment against sin, dying in our place. Therefore,
  • All who repent of their wrongdoing and trust in Christ will be saved;
  • All who reject Jesus will bring judgment on themselves.

This truth about judgment will not go away, and it is not for any theologian or preacher to re-write the Bible.

Prayer: Lord help me to swallow the parts of your Word that I find ‘tough’ meat along with the other bits that I find ‘tender’.