“Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these” (Jeremiah 7:4).

The people of Israel believed they could commit any sin and still have God’s protection upon them, because “The temple of the LORD” was in their midst. False prophets preached that as long as the temple was there, judgment could never come. They were free to sin!

Jeremiah, preaching God’s message, soundly rebuked them by saying: “Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered [free] to do all these abominations?” (Jeremiah 7:9,10).

Here God reminded Israel that He had not spared Shiloh, where the original tabernacle had been set up in Joshua’s day. “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” (Jeremiah 7:12). Shiloh was destroyed; its people were not free to sin.

The tabernacle did not save Israel when it was at Shiloh. Solomon’s temple did not save Israel in Jeremiah’s day. Herod’s temple did not save Israel in the Lord’s day. Jesus said, “they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another” (Luke 19:44). This prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.

And what about America? Can it plunge deeper into sin and still survive? If God did not spare judgment on His own people due to their sin, can America expect any less? “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). National repentance is a must! (II Chronicles 7:14). NPS