Jer 7:1-17 Part 1, Pray Not for This People

[Study Aired April 11, 2021]

Jer 7:1  The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 7:2  Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.
Jer 7:3  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
Jer 7:4  Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
Jer 7:5  For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
Jer 7:6  If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
Jer 7:7  Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
Jer 7:8  Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
Jer 7:9  Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
Jer 7:10  And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
Jer 7:11  Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
Jer 7:12  But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.
Jer 7:13  And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
Jer 7:14  Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
Jer 7:15  And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
Jer 7:16  Therefore 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.
Jer 7:17  Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

Both John the Baptist and Christ addressed their words directly to those who had no eyes to see or ears to hear:

Mat 3:7  But when he [“John the Baptist” (vs 1)] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Christ repeated this same charge against the religious leaders of His day who had just accused Him of casting out devils “by Beelzebub”:

Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Mat 23:33  Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

“The damnation of hell” here is not the death of the old man which produces “the resurrection of life”. The Greek word translated as ‘hell’ here in Matthew 23 is G1067 (gehenna) which is, according to Christ, “the resurrection to damnation”:

Joh 5:27  And hath given him [Christ and His Christ] authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation  [G2920: krisis, judgment].

Here in John 5:29 we have the only two resurrections mentioned anywhere in scripture. The first one is to life, and the last one is to judgment.

How can we be sure that “the damnation of hell”, better translated as “the judgment of gehenna”, is “the resurrection of damnation”? We can know this for certain because of what Christ says in:

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

This “separating of the sheep” who are told “Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom” takes place at the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ as we are told in:

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy [“Ye blessed of My Father” (Mat 25:34)] is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

There we have it. There is a “blessed… first resurrection” with the reward of a “glorious… crown of life”, for those who “die in the Lord” in “this present time”. It is only those who first “die in the Lord” in “this present time”, and are being judged at “this present time” (Rom 8:18), who are given that “blessed and holy [reward of] having part in the first resurrection”:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

To those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear these verses reveal there are two deaths, two judgments and two resurrections. The first death is a “blessed… death” (Rev 14:13) with a symbolic thousand-year reign dividing the first death from “the second death” (Rev 20:5-6), and there are two resurrections, the one preceding the other, with a symbolic thousand years dividing those two resurrections (Rev 20:5-6). There are two judgments. The first judgment is “[now] on the house of God… [in] this present time”, and the second is the “great white throne… judgment” which takes place “when the thousand years are finished” (Rev 20:5 and 11). These scriptures very clearly say “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord… [and are being judged in] this present time”, and they tell us that the ‘goats’ who die in this present time are “ye cursed” who will be raised up in “the resurrection of judgment” which occurs only “when the thousand years are finished” (Rev 20:5):

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [G2920: krisis, judgment].

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The separation of two resurrections by a symbolic thousand years is not clearly revealed in the gospels. “The resurrection of life and… the resurrection of judgment” are both named in John 5:29.  The thousand-year reign, separating the two resurrections is revealed in the twentieth chapter of the book of Revelation.

Matthew 25:31-41 does reveal that “the throne of His glory” continues throughout the rewarding of the sheep at the first resurrection. It continues throughout the judgment of the cursed goats in the lake of fire.

Those who are being judged in this present time are raised up in “the first resurrection”. This is the resurrection which Christ called “the resurrection of life” (Joh 5:29, Rev 20:6). It follows that since there are only two resurrections in scripture, and since it is only the ‘sheep’ who are given a kingdom at the first resurrection, which takes place at the beginning of the thousand-year reign, then it must be “the goats”, who consist of any and all the rest of mankind who are not in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”. It is “the goats” who will be raised from the dead in the great white throne judgment, many of whom will be told “depart from me, ye cursed, into eonian fire prepared for the devil and his angels”.

“Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see [the] things which [we] see, and have not seen them” (Mat 13:17):

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

These “prophets and righteous men” will also have to wait until the white throne judgment to see and hear the things we are already privileged to see and hear. We can be sure this is the case because we are told that “he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than… John [the Baptist], and we are told that no Old Testament prophet was greater than John:

Luk 7:28  For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

“He that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than [John]”, excludes John from ruling with Christ in His thousand-year reign.

“The word… from the Lord” here in Jeremiah 7 is the same ‘Lord’ with the same message we are given in Matthew 25 concerning the judgment of the same people. Jeremiah was just several hundred years earlier:

Jer 7:1  The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 7:2  Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

As we will see here is Jeremiah 7, the Lord is separating the sheep from the goats. The “sheep” are the “one from a nation and two from a family” which we read about earlier in this prophecy:

Jer 3:14  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

Throughout scripture, ‘Zion” typifies the Lord’s elect. It typifies “the sheep” who are separated from the goats, given a kingdom and called “ye blessed of My Father” and who will then become the “saviors” of all the rest of mankind:

Psa 74:2  Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

On the other hand, we quote Jeremiah 22:29 quite often to demonstrate that the word ‘earth’ symbolizes the Lord’s own people who are estranged from Him through their sins and transgressions. Here is the Lord pleading with His own estranged people:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

Knowing that the ‘earth’ symbolizes the Lord’s own people who love to wear His name but despise having to wear His apparel or eat His food (Isa 4:1), helps us to understand who the second beast of Revelation 13 is:

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

A beast that appears to be a lamb but speaks as a dragon is the same as a whore who wants her Husband’s name but refuses to wear His apparel or eat His bread, the bread of life:

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

These “seven women” who will not eat the Lord’s bread or wear His apparel are the symbols of the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3. Those seven churches, with all their sins and transgressions, just like the seven women of Isaiah 4, think they are “rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing” (Rev 3:17). The Truth is that they “are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”, and they are the whore in the wilderness of Revelation 17-18.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

No whore thinks of herself in those terms. This is how you and I, the Lord’s own whoring people, think before we are dragged out of her:

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

That is a perfect inspired description of how we as the beast that ‘comes up out of the earth… [which looks] like a lamb… [but] speaks as a dragon’ thinks of himself. We are filled with self-righteous pride, and it is all by the Lord’s design and “after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11):

Rev 13:13  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

This beast that comes up out of the earth is the “earth, earth, earth” of Jeremiah 22:29, and just see to whom this entire chapter is specifically addressed:

Jer 22:1  Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Jer 22:2  And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

That is right! The ‘earth’ is the symbol for the Lord’s own special people who are called by His name but will not wear His apparel nor eat His bread. Now let’s put this introduction of chapter 22 right beside the introduction to this seventh chapter:

Jer 7:1  The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 7:2  Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

The only difference is not really a difference at all. Chapter 22 adds “the king of Judah, that sits upon the throne of David”, but both chapters are addressed to “thy people who enter by these gates”. Inasmuch as “King David” typifies and represents the people over whom the Lord has made Him ruler, these two chapters are addressed to the same people. They are addressed primarily to you and me, and they are also addressed to all who claim to be “in Christ… to take away [their] shame”.

Now notice that the message to us is the same in both chapters:

Jer 7:3  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
Jer 7:4  Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.

“The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these” is using the Lord’s name to take away our reproach, while committing blatant adultery and teaching false doctrines which directly contradict the doctrines of our own Husband, but the Lord will always have a remnant who will come out of this world, and will come out of Babylon.

Jer 7:5  For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
Jer 7:6  If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

Compare these words to chapter 22:

Jer 22:3  Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
Jer 22:4  For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

“Executing judgment between a man and his neighbor” here in chapter 7 is the same as “executing judgment and righteousness” in chapter 22.

However, we must also notice the big “For if…” in both chapters. It is always “If ye do this thing… then…” I will bless you:

Jer 7:7  Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Jer 22:4  For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

Our salvation is not contingent upon our good works, but it is contingent upon the workmanship of Christ who has “created us unto good works”, and that is simply what the scriptures teach:

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We simply cannot read verses 8-9 and not read the next verse. To do so is “rebellion [which] is as the sin of witchcraft”. To stop here and make a doctrine of ‘no works… Christs did it all for us on the cross’ is exactly what King Saul did when he brought King Agag and the best of the cattle back to offer them to the Lord after the Lord had told him to kill everything that breathed. King Saul cherry picked the Word of God, and he feared the people more than he feared the Lord. Like the seven adulterous women of Isaiah 4:1 he thought he had the right to obey the Lord as He saw fit, and if his way of serving the Lord meant that he would have to ignore some of the Lord’s words, then so be it. That fearful and rebellious spirit cost him the kingdom, and that rebellious spirit will also cost us the kingdom.

Here now is the next verse:

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We really can tell a tree by its fruits:

Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

All the Lord’s spiritual blessings will be preceded by obedience to His Words. He does not tolerate any spirit of disobedience or rebellion. The only way we will know the Lord is if we seek Him with our whole heart:

Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

To the Lord, making light of His word and disobeying Him by picking for ourselves which of His Words we will keep and obey is nothing less than “rebellion [and it] is as the sin of witchcraft and Idolatry”, and it will rob us of our crown of life. This is what Samuel told King Saul when King Saul attempted to justify his fear of the people and his rebellion against the commandment of the Lord:

1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

A prime example of this idolatrous spirit is when we say we are obedient to the Lord even as we blatantly disobey His commandments concerning how we are to keep false teachings and the sins of witchcraft, rebellion, and idolatry out of our midst. The story of how King Saul attempted to twist the Lord’s words to his own liking is the same message the Lord has for us in Ezekiel 14:

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5  That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Eze 14:6  Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Eze 14:7  For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
Eze 14:8  And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 14:9  And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Eze 14:10  And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;

We have all had idols of our hearts, but that was before we were “enlightened and had tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and had tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come.” If the Lord deceives us after experiencing all those blessings, then these are His words concerning all such men:

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; [They “find no place of repentance” (Heb 12:17)] seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned [in the lake of fire].

We will stop here for now, and next week we will pick up our study of this commandment, “Pray not for this people”. In our next study we will discuss the spiritual significance of why this commandment is repeated three times in this prophecy of Jeremiah.

Here are those three scriptures for your consideration until next week:

Jer 7:16  Therefore 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.

Jer 11:14  Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.

Jer 14:11  Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.