“Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.” – Jeremiah 7:11
The word “den” in this verse literally means “cave” and refers to a natural hiding place for robbers that would provide them with protection and shelter. It is the place that they could run and hide after committing their crimes in order to escape justice.
Jeremiah is accusing the people of his day of trying to use their worship of God as a religious or moral hideout. Just like thieves go out and steal and then return to their cave, the people go out and sin and then return to the temple to hide in their worship. They mistakenly think that worship offers protection and shelter for the unrepentant.
Jesus quotes this verse from Jeremiah after He drives out the money changers from the temple. He makes the same claim about the people of His day as Jeremiah did of his. If this was true in both Jeremiah and Jesus’ day it’s probably true in our day too. We need to ask ourselves, “Has my religion become a coverup for sin in my life?”
At the end of the verse God declares, “I have been watching!” Here’s the reality… we may be fooling others by our religiousness, we may even fool ourselves, be we aren’t fooling God. Is there any sin in your heart that you are hiding?
Take a moment and ask God to search your heart and reveal anything that you need to bring out of the cave and confess today.
The word “den” in this verse literally means “cave” and refers to a natural hiding place for robbers that would provide them with protection and shelter. It is the place that they could run and hide after committing their crimes in order to escape justice.
Jeremiah is accusing the people of his day of trying to use their worship of God as a religious or moral hideout. Just like thieves go out and steal and then return to their cave, the people go out and sin and then return to the temple to hide in their worship. They mistakenly think that worship offers protection and shelter for the unrepentant.
Jesus quotes this verse from Jeremiah after He drives out the money changers from the temple. He makes the same claim about the people of His day as Jeremiah did of his. If this was true in both Jeremiah and Jesus’ day it’s probably true in our day too. We need to ask ourselves, “Has my religion become a coverup for sin in my life?”
At the end of the verse God declares, “I have been watching!” Here’s the reality… we may be fooling others by our religiousness, we may even fool ourselves, be we aren’t fooling God. Is there any sin in your heart that you are hiding?
Take a moment and ask God to search your heart and reveal anything that you need to bring out of the cave and confess today.
Posted in devo