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186
Royalty and Ruin
in vain. Ceremonies could not atone for sin. Only reformation of
heart and of the life practice could save them from the result of
transgression.
Thus “in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem” the
message of Jeremiah was, “Hear the words of this covenant”—the
instructions of God as recorded in the Scriptures—“and do them.”
Jeremiah 11:6
. The Lord inquired, “Why has this people slidden
back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?”
Jeremiah 8:5
. It was
because they had refused to be corrected. See
Jeremiah 5:3
. “Even
the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtle-
dove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming.
But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.” “Shall I not
avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
Jeremiah 8:7
;
9:9
.
While Josiah had been their ruler, the people had some ground
for hope. But he had fallen in battle. The time for intercession had
nearly passed. “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me,” the
Lord declared, “My mind would not be favorable toward this people.
Cast them out of My sight.”
Jeremiah 15:1
.
A refusal to accept God’s current invitation would bring the
judgments that had fallen on the northern kingdom more than a
century before. The message now was: “If you will not listen to ...
the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, ... then I
will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to
all the nations of the earth.”
Jeremiah 26:4-6
.
Those who stood in the temple court listening to Jeremiah clearly
understood this reference to Shiloh, when in Eli’s days the Philistines
[148]
had carried away the ark of the covenant. Eli’s sin consisted in
treating lightly the evils prevailing in the land. His neglect to correct
these evils had brought a fearful disaster on Israel. Eli lost his life,
the ark had been taken from Israel, thirty thousand people had been
killed—all because sin had flourished unrebuked and unrestrained.
Israel had foolishly thought that, despite their sinful practices, the
ark would ensure victory over the Philistines. Likewise, during
the days of Jeremiah, the people of Judah tended to believe that
performing the appointed temple services would preserve them from
punishment for their wicked course.
What a lesson this is to people holding positions of responsibility
in the church! What a warning to deal faithfully with wrongs that