JULY272024

Put not your trust in the deceitful words: “This is the temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!” Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his neighbor … will I remain with you in this place. When the Assyrians had attacked Jerusalem several generations previously Isaiah had assured the people that God would not allow his temple to be detroyed. Jeremiah warns his contemporaries that what assures God’s presence is not the building but the actions of the people — God is with them when they act in a godly manner. Certain politicians in the United States like to wrap themselves in a mantle of Christianity. However, Jeremiah would warn them that no matter what you call yourself it is how you act, including according to the prophet “if you no longer oppress the resident alien,” that determines whether the Lord is in your midst or not.