Is It Ever Too Late to Call a Nation to Repent? (Jeremiah 7)

Scripture reading – Jeremiah 6; Jeremiah 7

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* Please note that words and phrases in brackets are the author’s amplification.

Like most prophets of their time, Jeremiah’s plea for Judah to return to the LORD went unheeded. Although he faithfully preached the Word of the LORD, the prophet was despised by His people and persecuted by Judah’s leaders for 40 years.

Jeremiah 7

A Call to Repent (Jeremiah 7:1-4)

 In Jeremiah 7, we see the LORD instructing Jeremiah to go to the Temple, stand at the “gate of the LORD’s house,” and proclaim: “Amend your ways and your doings” (Jeremiah 7:3). In other words, “Do right!” If the people turn from their sins, obey the LORD, and keep His Commandments, He promises, “I will cause you to dwell in this place” (Jeremiah 7:3).

Yet, the depth of Judah’s hypocrisy is startling! The nation pretended to worship the LORD in His Temple (Jeremiah 7:1-2, 4). They boasted, “saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord,” but their actions were far from the holiness the Temple represented (Jeremiah 7:4).

The Conditions for God’s Blessings (Jeremiah 7:5-10)

Jeremiah announced the conditions for God’s blessings and again urged the people to change their ways and do what is right (Jeremiah 7:5). What did it mean for the people to “amend [their] ways”? (Jeremiah 7:5). How could they change them?

The prophet warned that to avoid the looming shadow of God’s judgment, Judah’s people must demand justice “between a man and his neighbour” (Jeremiah 7:5). They could no longer exploit the “stranger” [i.e., the alien, foreigner], children, and widows (Jeremiah 7:6a). They must stop abusing the innocent and worshiping idols (Jeremiah 7:6b). Only then would the nation receive God’s blessings and protection (Jeremiah 7:7).

Tragically, the people rejected God’s Word and instead placed their “trust in lying words” (Jeremiah 7:8). They broke their covenant with the LORD and disobeyed His Commandments. They were thieves (8th commandment), murderers (6^th commandment), adulterers (7^th commandment), liars (9^th commandment), and idolaters who “walked after other gods” (breaking the 1^st and 2^nd commandments, Jeremiah 7:8-11; Exodus 20).

The Place of Worship Became “A Den of Robbers” (Jeremiah 7:11-16)

The people kept up an appearance of spiritual piety; however, Jeremiah warned that the LORD knew what kind of people they truly were, for they had turned His house into a “den of robbers” (Jeremiah 7:11; note – Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46). The prophet reminded the people of what had happened to Shiloh, the place where their ancestors worshipped before the Temple, which the Philistines had destroyed. Jeremiah warned that if they continued in their sins, the LORD would destroy the Temple and Jerusalem, just as Shiloh had been desecrated and destroyed (Jeremiah 7:12-15; Psalm 78:60-64).

As with “Ephraim” (the name for the ten tribes of northern Israel that were in captivity, Jeremiah 7:15), Judah’s fate was sealed. Hence, the LORD instructed Jeremiah, saying, “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” (Jeremiah 7:16).

The Degeneracy of Judah (Jeremiah 7:17-20)

The LORD questioned Jeremiah and asked, “Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?” (Jeremiah 7:17). Having rejected the LORD and failed to keep His covenant and obey His Law and Commandments, Judah turned to worshipping idols. The people offered sacrifices to the “queen of heaven” and “drink offerings unto other gods” (Jeremiah 7:18).

The LORD, therefore, declared with astonishment, “Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?” (Jeremiah 7:19) Like the curse of sin that afflicts creation (Romans 8:22), the LORD declared His wrath and judgment would fall upon all of Judah, including man, beast, tree, and “the fruit of the ground” (Jeremiah 7:20).

Judah’s Fate Was Sealed (Jeremiah 7:21-27). 

No amount of offerings could satisfy God’s wrath (Jeremiah 7:21). Although the LORD taught their ancestors that He preferred obedience over sacrifice (Jeremiah 7:22-23; 1 Samuel 15:22), they rejected His words and continued “in the imagination of their evil heart” (Jeremiah 7:24). In His mercy, the LORD sent prophets (Jeremiah 7:25). Yet, the people persisted in their sins and “did worse than their fathers” (Jeremiah 7:26). Therefore, the LORD instructed Jeremiah to prepare for the people’s rejection, saying, “they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee” (Jeremiah 7:27). 

Spiritual Truth – A people’s sins determine a nation’s future. (Jeremiah 7:28-34)

Standing at the Temple gate, Jeremiah declared, “This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished” (7:28). The LORD commanded Jeremiah to tell the people, “Cut off thine hair [a sign of mourning], O Jerusalem, and cast it away…for the Lord hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath” (Jeremiah 7:29).  

The sins of the people had sealed the fate of the nation. They had profaned the Temple with idolatry (7:30). Not only did they worship idols, but they also sacrificed their sons and daughters (7:31-32). Jeremiah warned that in the place where they committed their abominations, their dead bodies would be fed upon by carrion-eating birds and wild beasts (7:33).

What a tragic portrayal of sin’s consequences! Jeremiah predicted that the streets of Judah’s cities would fall silent, and laughter and joy would disappear. The joys of young love would come to an end (7:34a), “for the land [would] be desolate” (7:34).

Closing Thoughts from the Heart of A Shepherd –

Jeremiah obeyed the LORD. He faithfully and boldly stood at the Temple gate and condemned the nation’s sins (Jeremiah 7:2). Yet, the LORD commanded him, “Pray not for this people…for I will not hear thee” (Jeremiah 7:16).

Perhaps the question we should ask is, “When is it too late to pray for a nation?” After all, Abraham pleaded with the Lord if Sodom might be spared if ten righteous souls were found in the city. The LORD answered, “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake” (Genesis 18:32). Of course, that wicked city was so given over to sin that only three souls escaped its destruction (Genesis 19:15-30).

The LORD revealed to Jeremiah that there was no hope for Judah to repent. Yet, although the people hardened their hearts and refused to listen to his warnings, Jeremiah’s calling was to preach the Word of the LORD and warn that God’s judgment was imminent.

Many followers of www.HeartofAShepherd.com are from Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. You might wonder, “Is it too late for our countries to repent and avoid God’s judgment?”

I’m not a prophet, and the LORD hasn’t shown me the future of our democratic societies. Still, the sins of our countries mirror those of ancient Judah. Justice has failed as the wicked deny the innocent their day in court. “Strangers” are entering our country and being used to weaken and destroy our cultures (Jeremiah 7:6). Thieves are protected, murderers face no consequences, and adulterers and liars are rewarded (Jeremiah 7:8-10). 

What is a believer’s role among a rebellious people? It is to remain faithful. Although Jeremiah knew it was too late for Judah, he still had a responsibility to declare the Word of the LORD to the nation, even at the gate of the Temple. 

2 Timothy 4:2, 4 – “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine…⁵But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”