Jeremiah 7:12-20

12 “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these works,” says the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim. 16 “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19 Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the LORD. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?” 20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.”

Jeremiah 7:12-20 NKJV

Shiloh was the original home of the sanctuary after Israel settled the promised land. The people became corrupt and the sons of Eli, who were responsible as priests to help them learn to follow God, lead the people in rebellion against God while pretending to serve Him. According to the SDA Bible commentary, the town of Shiloh was most likely burned and destroyed when the Philistines were allowed to capture the Ark of the Covenant because of Israel's sin. In the last days of Judah the people were as corrupt as their ancestors had been in the days of Eli, yet they pretended to honor God again. They trusted in the protection of themselves and their nation due to the location of God's temple in their midst. Just as the ark had become a mystical protector, really just an idol in their minds, so the temple in Jerusalem had become a mystical protector for the people of Jeremiah's day. They expected that the building itself would cause God to not allow Jerusalem and Judah to be destroyed. Instead of allowing God to enter their hearts and guide them to the safe paths of peace and prosperity, they thought they could act in ways that were contrary to God's revealed word and still be protected because the temple was in Jerusalem. The temple and its services were to point them to a closer relationship with God, they chose to ignore what the temple meant. The temple was ordained by God to lead them to an understanding of God's cleansing power in Jesus. Instead, they turned the temple into a permission to do whatever evil they desired, with no worry of the consequences because the temple would protect them. I today can choose to think that God will protect and save me because of some blessing He has given me. I will be making the same mistake as the Jews of Jeremiah's time if I 'keep' the Sabbath but allow corruption and wickedness to control my life in other areas, expecting my 'keeping' of the Sabbath to cause me to be saved.
While the people of Judah pretended to serve God, many openly worshiped the queen of heaven and other gods, with the entire family joining together and playing their roles in the false worship. According to the SDA Bible Commentary on Jeremiah 44:17, the queen of heaven was usually identified with the Assyro-Babylonian Ishtar, which had grossly immoral and debasing rites associated with its worship. So the Hebrews claimed to worship God, yet were also either openly or in secret giving worship to gods that destroyed their character and turned them against the true God. Their actions provoked the righteous God to anger and He promises that justice will come upon them. He says that he rose early to speak to them, warning and wooing them to a heart relationship with Him, but they refused to listen. They would not answer His calling. So Jesus calls me today. He starts early and continuously calls my heart to love Him, will I listen and open my heart to Him?

Lord,
Help me today to listen when you call me. Please help me to not think that by merely doing what I think You want in one area of my life, however good those thing or things may be, allows me to ignore You in the rest of my life. My culture and my sinful nature calls me to corruption, please give me the strength and wisdom to serve You with my whole life today, honoring You in all that I do.