The warning was not heeded by the Jewish people. They forgot God, and lost sight of their high privilege as His representatives. The blessings they had received brought no blessing to the world. All their advantages were appropriated for their own glorification. They robbed 292 God of the service He required of them, and they robbed their fellow men of religious guidance and a holy example. Like the inhabitants of the antediluvian world, they followed out every imagination of their evil hearts. Thus they made sacred things appear a farce, saying, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these" (Jer. 7:4), while at the same time they were misrepresenting God's character, dishonoring His name, and polluting His sanctuary.

Jødefolket agtede ikke på denne advarsel. De glemte Gud og tabte deres store forret at være hans repræsentanter af syne. De velsignelser som de havde modtaget, blev ikke til velsignelse for verden. Alle de fortrin, de havde, blev benyttet til deres egen forherligelse. De berøvede Gud den tjeneste, han forventede, at de skulle yde ham, og de berøvede deres medmennesker åndelig vejledning og et helligt eksempel. Ligesom de mennesker der levede før syndfloden, fulgte de deres hjerters higen og tragten, som kun var ond. På denne måde latterliggjorde de hellige ting ved at sige: "Her er Herrens tempel, Herrens tempel, Herrens tempel" medens de på samme tid misrepræsenterede Guds karakter vanærede hans navn og vanhelligede hans tempel.