In our scripture readings for today, the prophet Jeremiah is sent to the gate of the temple in Jerusalem, the centre of spiritual life in Judah, the presumed dwelling place of God Himself on earth. And the message Jeremiah is given to deliver from God is simple: “If you keep acting in abominable ways, I will not bear living with you in this place, and I will allow the unthinkable – the destruction of both the temple and the nation of Judah.” While the people think that their sacrifices at the temple are gaining them brownie points, what God wanted all along.... was obedience....
We've just come through Father's Day, so I will address this question to the fathers: which child would you rather parent, the child that is always making you nice cards and little presents, but comes home three hours later than their curfew, or the child that barely notices your care but follows all of your rules? I'm guessing you would rather parent the child who follows the rules. Because if your rules make sense, the child who breaks them doesn't just provoke you, they provoke themselves to their own hurt. They place themselves at an unacceptable risk, at least from the perspective of a loving father.
“On the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them, 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.'” From day one, on the journey to the promised land, God wanted to parent the child who follows the rules. The law...the ten commandments...came first. The system of sacrifices at the tabernacle and then, at the temple, came second. And the message God gives to Jeremiah to deliver at the temple, lets the people know that sacrifice at the temple WITHOUT obedience, is not acceptable. “Add your burnt-offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. Instead of allocating the best meat to me, to be consumed into smoke on the altar, eat it yourself because I will not accept it.”
The disobedience of the people was rampant. Five of the ten commandments are highlighted in the message. And the biggest violations are of the most important commandment, number one, “You shall have no other gods before me.” The people are making offerings to Baal, whole families are participating in making cakes for “the queen of heaven,” also known as Astarte or Astoreth or Ishtar, and the construction of the high place of Topheth continues, where child sacrifice occurs, a practice completely foreign to God's thinking, well, except for Isaac...and Jesus. How can God reside in the temple, in the curtained-off area known as the Holy of Holies, together with these people who are performing such abominations? He won't, unless they amend their ways and their doings. And that makes relying on the temple of the Lord....unsafe.
Any of this sound familiar today? Have you heard the opinion, “Monday to Saturday can be a free-for-all, as long as you're in your pew on Sunday?” Not safe! Are the activities which involve whole families today related to worshipping God, or worshipping something else? You are here, but most are not! Not safe! Are we more inclined today to sacrifice FOR our children, or to sacrifice OUR CHILDREN, not bothering to have children or interact with our children, so that we can pursue....what? Not safe! Yes, we are provoking God to anger and wrath, but we are also provoking ourselves, to our own hurt.
Thankfully, the only time God sanctioned child sacrifice was the sacrifice of his OWN son, Jesus Christ. With his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus restored the relationship between God and his people, turning away God's wrath, and turning the people back to God. The tearing of the curtain in the Holy of Holies at Jesus' death, signified the willingness of God to live with his people again, this time not in a building made of human hands, but in the hearts of disciples. And with Jesus' resurrection on the third day, disciples are kept looking forward to the eternal future with God, rather than backward at the disobedient life they leave behind.
In our baptism into Jesus' death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit sanctifies the temple of our hearts from our previous abominations. We are given a clean slate, AND, we are given the Holy Spirit as our guide, to enable us to see the LOVE BEHIND the rules. No longer do we approach the commandments from the perspective of “Dad says so!” We see the commandments as the best way to live, the way to thrive, the way that ensures that it may be well with us. We don't come home on time out of fear of dad's punishment for missing curfew, we come home on time because we know what we are like when we don't get enough sleep, and we have important things to do! As Paul writes to the church in Galatia, “the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came.” But now that Christ has come, our discipline has been replaced by DISCIPLE-IN.
Heavenly Father, we have no wish to have other gods before you, purge from us any desire for idolatry. Guide us by your Holy Spirit, that we may look forward to eternal life with you, in Jesus' name, amen.