Here was a very amazing accusation! What does he mean by saying that the people are trusting in "lying words?" Jeremiah insisted:

"But now ye _are_ trusting in lying words that cannot profit."

Then he hastened to explain fully and without reserve:

"Will ye steal, murder and commit adultery; swear falsely and offer sacrifices to Baal, and go after other G.o.ds whom ye have not known, and then come and stand before Me in this House which is called after My name and say 'We are free to do all these abominations?'

"Is this, My house, which is called by my name, a den of robbers in your eyes?

"Behold: I, indeed, have seen it, saith the Lord."

The crowds stood there, mouths agape. They had never heard anything so outspoken and fearless before. Several so-called prophets were prepared to go on with the argument, but a number of a.s.sistant priests, who were marshalling the people with their sacrificial offerings into the Temple in proper order and to their appointed places, put a halt to the debate.

Word had come from the interior of the Temple that the chief priests were waiting for the sacrifices. The a.s.sistants wanted the people to move on. So it was arranged that, on the day following, Jeremiah should meet a chosen few of the Jerusalem prophets to discuss their differences of opinion publicly, in the Temple courts.

Jeremiah's acceptance of this challenge nearly cost him his life.

CHAPTER X.

_A Narrow Escape._

The issue was squarely drawn.

Either the Temple Prophets were the true spokesmen of the G.o.d of Judah and Jeremiah was an impostor, or Jeremiah spoke the truth that had been "cut off from their mouth" and the Temple Prophets were feeding the people on "lying words."

A great concourse of citizens of Jerusalem and pilgrims to the city gathered for the debate. Jeremiah, much older looking than his years, was the center of attraction. He was tall and erect. His face was somewhat drawn and showed wrinkles of worriment. He was dressed in an unadorned brown mantle that singled him out among the holiday-attired priests and prophets with whom he was conversing.

Evidently this was to be a friendly argument, without ill-feeling on either side.

Jeremiah was the first to speak. As soon as he began it was plain to be seen that his worry was not fear of the arguments with which his opponents were about to attack him, but that it was deeper-seated. He started by informing his hearers that he was well acquainted with the things that were being preached in Jerusalem as the word of G.o.d.

"I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright. No man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?'

Everyone turneth to his course as a horse that rusheth headlong into battle.

"Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed time; the turtle dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the law of the Lord."

"Is that so?" queried one of the Jerusalem prophets, with a sneer. In his reply, he pointed out that both the laws of the religion and the laws of the State were known to the priests and prophets, in whose charge were the Temple and the government, and were obeyed by them and the people. With sweeping gestures he emphasized the prosperity of the people and the peace of the country. "Thou art the disturber of the peace," he concluded hotly. "Leave the Temple and the State to the wise men, the scribes, the priests and prophets in Jerusalem, and all will be well."

"The same kind of argument," thought Jeremiah, as he listened attentively to the speaker. "They always fail to grasp the vital things that G.o.d demands of them." In his rejoinder, therefore, Jeremiah came back forcibly:

"How do ye say, 'We are wise and the law of the Lord is with us!' But, behold, the false pen of the scribes hath made falsehood of it. The wise men are put to shame. Lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord.

"And what manner of wisdom is in them? Every one, from the least even unto the greatest, is given to covetousness; from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

"And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace."

Instantly there came to Jeremiah's mind the story of the Kingdom of Israel with its deceitful priests and false prophets, who, at Bethel and Shiloh, taught and preached untruths about G.o.d--and the sad end of them all. They, too, had thought everything was well with them and their sanctuary and the peace of the land. So Jeremiah continued:

"Then go now to my sanctuary which is in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at first and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.

"And now because ye have done all these deeds, and although I spoke to you insistently, ye have not heeded, and although I called you, ye have not answered, therefore I will do to the house, which ye call by My name, in which ye trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh."

This speech started several commotions in different parts of the crowd. From the extreme edge, to the right of the speakers, one man began to come forward, shouting:

"Blasphemy!"

The cry was taken up all around him. From various directions men, throwing their arms in the air and yelling at the top of their voices, made their way with difficulty toward the speakers, crying:

"Blasphemy! Blasphemy!!"

Jeremiah, at first, could not understand the commotion. What had he said, what had he done, that was blasphemous? Then, as the cry became general and the surging mob became threatening, the thought came to him that the people had been taught by the priests and prophets in Jerusalem that the Temple was inviolable, that no matter what the political fortunes of Judah might be, G.o.d would never permit "the House which is called by His name" to be destroyed.

Now Jeremiah understood and he was helpless. His simile of the sanctuary at Shiloh suggested the destruction and ruin of the Temple in Jerusalem--and that was blasphemy.

He did not know, however, that his opponents had purposely planted men in various sections of the a.s.sembly to wait and watch for any blasphemous hint in his argument and to raise the cry against him.

"Blasphemy! Blasphemy!" The cry was now general. And the leader who started it, when he came within reach of Jeremiah, grasped his mantle and shouted:

"You must die!"

The Temple guard rushed to the prophet's a.s.sistance. Blasphemy was punishable by death, but the punishment must come in the regular, legal way and not by the hands of the mob.

Under protection of the guard, therefore, Jeremiah was led to the new gate, built by King Josiah, where the princes sat as judges. At his heels was the threatening, gesticulating crowd, goaded on by Jeremiah's enemies, demanding his life.

The trial was opened without delay. Here were thousands of witnesses who had heard the man and there seemed little hope for him to escape being stoned to death. One of the prophets opened the case for the prosecution, addressing himself to the judges:

"This man is worthy of death; for he hath prophesied against this city in the name of G.o.d, saying, 'This house shall be like Shiloh. This city shall be deserted, without an inhabitant.'"

Turning dramatically to the crowd, he swept his arm over their heads, adding for the purpose of affirmation:

"As ye have heard with your ears."

"Aye, aye," many responded.

"Blasphemy! Blasphemy!" shouted others.

And still others demanded, "He must die! He must die!"

When a semblance of quiet was restored, Jeremiah stepped forward from between the two guards who had him in charge, faced the accusing people, and said, very calmly and humbly:

"It was the Lord who sent me to prophesy against this Temple and against this city all the words that you have heard."

"Bah!" jeered the leaders of the opposition, and many took up the signal and joined in the jeering. Jeremiah did not permit the jeers to interrupt him: