How do the people trust in “deceptive words” when they say, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord”?

The Lord commands his people not to trust in these deceptive words. The Hebrew word used is seqer and the literal meaning is, do not put your trust in the words of the lie.¹ The people’s trust in the lie is typified by the words they speak, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. These words had almost become a superstitious chant. The Lord had promised to give the people the land to live in. He had promised David to establish his kingdom that would last forever (2 Samuel 7:12–16) and to dwell in Jerusalem (Psalm 132:13–14) and keep the city safe (Psalm 46:5). Under Josiah, the temple had been restored and worship had been reformed. The people therefore believed that their safety in Jerusalem and in the land was guaranteed by the mere presence of the temple and their worship there. They even assumed that the Lord would guarantee the success of all their political manoeuvring in the region. But this confidence in the temple ignored the fact that the covenant called them to faithfulness and obedience.²

The source of these deceptive words is most likely the preaching of the false prophets who reassured the people that the Lord was with them and would not judge them for their unfaithfulness. The people turned to these prophets instead of listening to the warnings of prophets like Jeremiah.³ Jeremiah understood that the moral integrity of the people was far more important to the Lord than the mere physical presence of the temple. The Lord was first committed to his people and not to a building. The people should have been the same.⁴