Today’s
Scripture Reading (April 1, 2020): Jeremiah 7
A few years ago, I had the privilege
of speaking on a fairly regular basis with a couple who were divided on the concept
of religion. She was a Christian, although likely not as plugged into the
Christian community as she might have once been. He professed to be an adherent
of a different faith but didn’t seem to know much about the belief that he confessed.
The critical element that appeared to have attracted him to his belief system seemed
to be that it was “not Christianity.” And while the different spiritual
outlooks had once not been all that important, it was becoming more critical.
And part of the problem was becoming how they could communicate essential
messages to each other when they both experienced the world so very differently.
Jerusalem, and specifically the
Temple, was built with the idea of religious and spiritual separation in mind.
The outermost court of the Temple was where anyone could gather. It didn’t
matter who you were or what you believed; here, you were welcome. The next
court was the Court of Women, a place where Jewish women could gather. The next
court was the Court of Israel, where the men of Israel could gather. The
innermost part of the Temple was a place only the priests could go and minister
before God and on behalf of the nation.
As a priest, Jeremiah could have
proclaimed his message in the innermost part of the Temple, empowering the
priests to repent and carry the message to the people. But that is not what God
orders Jeremiah to do. God tells him to go to the gate of the Temple, go to the
place where all of the people were permitted to be, both those entering into
the Temple and those who were just passing by so that everyone can hear the
message that God was giving to his prophet.
It seems likely that this command was
given to Jeremiah during one of the great festivals of Judaism; Passover, Pentecost,
or the Feast of Tabernacles. It was then that Judah came to Jerusalem. At such
times, the city would be filled with people from every corner of the nation,
and everyone could hear the message from God spoken through Jeremiah.
But just because the people heard Jeremiah’s
voice, that did not mean that they were internalizing the message and genuinely
listening to Jeremiah’s warning. The message was heard physically, but it did
not change the behavior of the people, and that was a problem.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 8
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