“But
go now to 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. Now, because you have done all these works,” says Yahweh, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you didn’t hear; and I called you, but you didn’t answer: therefore will I do to the house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.
Jeremiah 7:12-14
Jeremiah 7 [3.] Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Don’t trust in lying words, saying, ‘Yahweh’s temple, Yahweh’s temple, Yahweh’s temple, are these.’ For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor; if you don’t oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and don’t shed innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt: then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even forever more. Behold, you trust in lying words, that can’t profit. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered;’ that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says Yahweh.
Jeremiah 7 [12.] “But go now to 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. Now, because you have done all these works,” says Yahweh, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you didn’t hear; and I called you, but you didn’t answer: therefore will I do to the house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, even the whole offspring of Ephraim.
Jeremiah 7 [16.] “Therefore don’t pray for this people, neither lift up a cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me; for I will not hear you. Don’t you see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? says Yahweh. “Don’t they provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?”
Meaning:
God sent Jeremiah to stand at the gate of the temple and rebuke the people. They trusted in the building, repeating “Yahweh’s temple”, while they stole, murdered and worshipped other gods (Jeremiah 7:11).
- “go now to my place which was in Shiloh”
After the conquest the tabernacle was set up at Shiloh, where Israel “set up the Tent of Meeting there” (Joshua 18:1). Yet when the people turned from God, he “abandoned the tent of Shiloh” (Psalm 78:60), and the Philistines captured the ark. In Jeremiah’s day Shiloh was a ruin.
- “I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you didn’t hear”
God had warned again and again. The judgement came only after long patience and many refusals.
- “therefore will I do to the house which is called by my name… as I did to Shiloh”
A sacred building could not protect a people who despised its Lord. Babylon destroyed Solomon’s temple in 586 BC.
The Significance of Jeremiah 7:12-14
- Jesus and the second temple
Jesus quoted this chapter when he cleansed the temple, and later said of Herod’s temple, “there will not be left here one stone on another” (Matthew 24:2). In AD 70 history repeated itself.
- Faith in God, not in places
Buildings, rituals and traditions cannot replace obedience and love for God.
Cross-References:
Matthew 24:2: "there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down." The second temple’s fate.
Jeremiah 7:11: "Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?" The sin behind the judgement.
Psalm 78:60: "So that he abandoned the tent of Shiloh," What happened at Shiloh.
Conclusion: In Jeremiah 7:12-14 God tells Judah to remember Shiloh, where his tabernacle once stood before he let it fall. Because they would not listen, the temple in Jerusalem would suffer the same fate. Jesus echoed this warning about the temple of his day.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible