Chapter 7: A Call to Repentance and Consequences

(34 Pesukim)

This chapter is a divine indictment against hypocrisy, idolatry, and injustice, and a passionate plea for sincere repentance. It warns that reliance on the Temple alone will not save a people who persist in abominations.

1. Yirmiyahu is asked to Prophecy by the gates of the Temple: (7:1)

• Yirmiyahu is commanded to stand at the gate of the House of Hashem and proclaim a piercing message to the people of Judah.

2. A Prophetic Call to Repentance (7:2-3)

• He proclaimed: “Please listen to the message of Hashem, all those of Judah who enter these gates to bow in worship before Hashem.”
• Yirmiyahu proclaimed: So said Hashem of Hosts, the Hashem of Israel: “Improve your ways and your deeds… I will allow you to dwell in this place”.

3. The Temple will not protect: (7:4-11)

• Do not rely on false words, saying: “The Temple of Hashem, the Temple of Hashem…” will save us.
• Hashem demands justice: “Do not oppress a stranger, an orphan, or a widow… do not shed innocent blood… do not follow other gods”.
• The people commit theft, murder, adultery, and idolatry, then stand in the Temple and say, “We are saved,” to continue their abominations
• Hashem rebukes the people for committing sins and then coming to the Temple—His house—and declaring themselves safe, as though the Temple protects them while they continue their wrongdoings. God asks whether His house has become, in their eyes, a refuge for corrupt people. Hashem compares the Temple to “a cave of wicked men”.

1.      A Look at Shilo (7:12-16)

• Hashem warns: “Go now to Shiloh… see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people”.
• He declares: “I will do to this house… as I did to Shiloh… I will cast you away from My presence”
• Your prayer wont help: Hashem instructed Yirmiyahu not to pray or plead on behalf of the people anymore. Their behavior has reached a point where G-d will no longer listen to intercession on their behalf.

5. Their terrible sins: (7:17-24)

• The prophet is shown the people’s idolatrous practices in Judah and Jerusalem. Entire families participate: children gather wood, fathers light the fire, and women prepare special dough to bake star‑shaped cakes for the “queen of heaven,” along with libations for other deities.
• These acts are meant to provoke God, yet God clarifies that the harm ultimately falls on the people themselves, bringing them shame.
• Hashem’s wrath will burn “upon man and beast… trees and soil… and it shall not be quenched”.
• Rituals are meaningless without obedience: “Add your burnt offerings… and eat flesh”.
• Hashem reminds: “Obey Me… and walk in all the ways I command… but they went backwards and not forwards”

2.      Rejection of Prophets and Stiffened Necks (7:25-29)

• Despite sending prophets “day after day with every fresh morn,” the people “did worse than their fathers.”
• Yirmiyahu is told: “You will speak… they will not hearken… call to them… they will not answer”.
• The nation is declared faithless: “Out of their mouth faithfulness has disappeared, yea rooted out!”.
• A lament is commanded: “Tear off your crown… Hashem has rejected and abandoned the generation of His wrath”.

3.      Abominations and the Valley of Slaughter (7:30-34)

• Judah defiled the house of Hashem with abominations.

• Sacrificing their children: High places like Topheth in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom are linked to gruesome practices such as child sacrifice. “They build “high places of Topheth… to burn their sons and daughters with fire…”. Hashem declares: “It shall no longer be called Topheth and Guy Ben Hinam… but the Valley of Slaughter”.

• The dead will lie unburied: “Carcasses… shall be food for the fowl… and beasts… no one will frighten them”.
• Joy will vanish: “I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and celebration in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—the voices of bridegroom and bride will no longer be heard, for the land will become desolate.”