Through Jeremiah, God refers to the Temple as a den of robbers. Centuries later, Jesus would come on the scene and say the same thing . . .

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. Matthew 21:12-13

Religious leaders were using the people of God and the things of God for their own gain. But before we indict them too severely, we must ask ourselves if we do the same thing. Do we use the things of God to find a girlfriend or a boyfriend? Do we use the things of God to make business connections or even to establish a name in ministry? Do we subconsciously ask ourselves how we can use the Lord rather than how we can honor Him?

And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. Matthew 21:14

Jesus kicked out those who were using Him, but reached out to those who were choosing Him, those who knew they didn’t see the way they could or walk the way they should. So too, when we realize how blind and lame we are, Jesus will reach out to us as well. In Philippians 2:13 we read that it is God Who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. In other words, He changes our desires and then gives us the ability to carry out the desire He’s placed within us. That’s the beauty of the living Lord. He’s not saying, “Get it together.” He’s saying, “Let Me have your life.”

“I am crucified with Christ,” Paul declared. “Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but it’s Christ Who lives in me” (see Galatians 2:20). It’s not a matter of trying to be like Jesus. It’s not keeping outward rituals or spiritual customs, as the people were doing in Jeremiah’s day. Growth in the Christian life comes from saying, “I’m a sinner, Lord, and the only way I can be changed is by You forgiving Me through Your blood and living in me through Your Spirit. So I come to You with brokenness and honesty, asking You to live Your life through me.”