Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, “We are safe! The temple of the LORD is here! The temple of the LORD is here! The temple of the LORD is here!” You must change the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. Stop killing innocent people in this land. Stop paying allegiance to other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. If you stop doing these things, I will allow you to continue to live in this land which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession. ” ‘But just look at you! You are putting your confidence in a false belief that will not deliver you. You steal. You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to other gods whom you have not previously known. Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! (7:4-10)
This passage portrays one of the most common and most idiotic beliefs of mankind: that we can fool God by paying him lip service. The Israelites thought they were protected simply because the Lord’s temple was in their midst. They thought they could live how they wanted as long as they showed up to that temple on the Sabbath.
We are lulled into the same false sense of security as American Christians. Firstly, we think that God is for America because we were founded on Christian principles. Never mind that we have never lived those principles out. We think that God is for America because we bring Christianity and civilization to the heathen nations. Never mind that we have committed atrocities in many places around the world in God’s name. Never mind that the flood of missionaries from America has severely slowed down over the past couple generations. Never mind that only 10% of the money American churches spend on missions actually goes towards efforts to preach the gospel to those who have never heard it. The United States and the American Church are not promised safety and security simply because of our belief that God is “in our midst”. God is not American and God is not an Evangelical. If we want God to be with us and for us, we must be living lives of obedience and service to him. If we do, then he is for us no matter if we believe he is or not. If we are disobedient and live for ourselves, he is against us, whether we believe he is or not.
Secondly, we live as if we believe that as long as we show up to church or Sunday school or small groups, that our attendance makes up for living in disobedience the rest of the week. We may not do all the things Israel was accused of (like stealing or murdering), but each of us has our own things with which we struggle. We may not kill or steal, but we may lust or lose our temper or put the TV before God and our families. Then we arrive at church on Sunday and say, “We are safe!” Again, a life of obedience is more important that dryly going through the motions on the Sabbath. Consider this: When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. I also explicitly commanded them: “Obey me. If you do, I will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you and things will go well with you.” (7:22-23)
Lord, help us live our lives in obedient service to you. May we not fall into a false sense of security in ourselves or in our nation. May we be a people who strive to live every moment to glorify you, and may you, therefore, use us mightily in the world in which we live. Amen.