“Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 7:11 Mean?
"Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD." God asks Judah if they've turned HIS house into a criminal hideout. The Temple — the house that bears God's NAME — has become a den where robbers feel safe. The robbers commit crimes elsewhere and then retreat to the Temple as though God's house provides sanctuary for evil. God's response: I've SEEN it. Nothing is hidden.
The phrase "den of robbers" (me'arat paritzim — a cave of violent ones/robbers) describes the Temple's function in the people's minds: a DEN is a hideout — the place criminals retreat to after their crimes. The robbers don't commit their crimes IN the den. They commit them OUTSIDE and then return to the den for safety. Judah treats the Temple this way — sin everywhere else, then come to God's house for protection.
The "even I have seen it" (gam ani hinneh ra'iti — also I, behold, I have seen) is God asserting His own observation: the people think the Temple HIDES their behavior from God. God says: I have SEEN. The den that was supposed to hide the robbers from divine sight is fully visible to the God whose name is on the building. You can't hide from the Owner inside the Owner's house.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Is your worship genuine — or a hideout where you feel safe from the consequences of how you really live?
- 2.How does the 'den of robbers' metaphor describe using religion as cover for injustice?
- 3.What does 'even I have seen it' teach about the impossibility of hiding from God in God's house?
- 4.What behavior are you practicing outside the 'Temple' while attending inside it?
Devotional
Is My house a hideout for criminals? You rob and steal and murder outside — then come to My Temple and say 'we are safe.' And God says: I have SEEN it. You can't hide from Me in My own house.
The 'den of robbers' is the functional description: a den is where thieves go AFTER the robbery. They don't rob inside the den. They rob outside and retreat inside for safety. Judah treats the Temple exactly this way: they commit injustice, idolatry, and oppression in the marketplace — then come to the Temple and feel SAFE. The worship becomes the alibi. The Temple attendance becomes the defense: we're religious people. We worship at God's house. We must be fine.
Jesus quotes this verse when He cleanses the Temple (Matthew 21:13): 'My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.' The pattern repeated eight centuries later. The Temple had again become a hideout — a place where exploitation was sanctified by proximity to God's name.
The 'even I have seen it' demolishes the illusion of religious cover: the robbers thought the Temple hid them. The worshipers thought the rituals covered the crimes. God says: I see everything. The house that bears My name doesn't block My vision. It enhances it. You're hiding from Me in MY building. I see more clearly here, not less.
Is your worship a genuine encounter with God — or a 'den of robbers' where you hide your real life?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Is this house, which is called by my name,.... Meaning the temple:
become a den of robbers in your eyes? or do you…
Robbers - literally, tearers, those who rob with violence. The temple was the place which sheltered them. It had been…
These verses begin another sermon, which is continued in this and the two following chapters, much to the same effect…
den of robbers a place of retreat in the intervals between acts of violence. Caves in Palestine were often used thus.…
Cross References
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