Jeremiah 7 contains some of the most famous preaching in the history of God’s people. It’s known as Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon, and it was a call for spiritual reformation. The message was simple: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place.” The prophet was speaking to people who had come to the temple to offer sacrifices to God. These were devout worshipers. But they failed to grasp that religious observance without moral obedience cannot save (v 1-3). Their approach to religion was not complicated: “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.” The people had taken their faith in God and reduced it to faith in a building. They were putting their confidence in outward religion, assuming that if they maintained basic rituals, it didn’t really matter what they did with the rest of their lives (v 4). In our day, many trust in worship attendance, church membership, baptism, or religious experiences—even while they continue to live in sin. But we must trust in Christ alone if we would be saved, and genuine faith always leads to personal transformation. The people of Jeremiah’s day were violating virtually every one of the Ten Commandments. All week long, they showed no love for God or love for neighbor. But on the Sabbath, they showed up at God’s house, treating the temple as if it were a hideout for criminals. But God is not fooled. He had them under constant surveillance (v 5-11). To those who will not amend their ways, God suggests a field trip. “Go now to My place that was in Shiloh,” He says. Shiloh was where God used to dwell among His people, before they disobeyed Him and the ark of the covenant was hauled away by the Philistines. If the people of Judah were to visit Shiloh now, they would find a pile of rubble, not the presence of God. They thought such a disaster could never happen to them, but they were wrong (v 12-15). To our surprise, God tells Jeremiah not to bother praying for these people, for His purposes of justice were already determined. Why were they beyond the hope of redemption? Not only was their public worship unacceptable to God, their family worship was even worse. Moms and dads were spending time with their kids, but not in ways that were honoring to God. Idolatrous activity had provoked Him to anger. Truth had vanished from their homes, so there should have been signs of godly sorrow and true repentance (v 16-29). Instead, the misguided people of Judah were throwing their infant sons and daughters into the flames, hoping to atone for their sins (v 30-34). For further meditation: