How will the Lord cast them out of his sight the way he did to the offspring of Ephraim?

Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon ends on a very ominous and damning note: I will cast you out of my sight, says the Lord, as he had the people of Ephraim, in whose territory the shrine of Shiloh was located. The temple in Jerusalem, the symbol of the Lord’s presence with his people, would be removed forever. This sermon would not have been well-received by those coming to the temple because it exposed and condemned their hypocritical worship that gave them a sense of security. The response of the crowd to the prophet’s sermon is described in Jeremiah 26:1–24.¹ However, even this clear announcement of judgment in absolute terms, made with an implicit condition, may be designed to induce repentance. But clearly, if repentance does not come then judgment will certainly come.²