TALISMAN
Jeremiah 7:2-10 TLB
Go over to the entrance of
the Temple of the Lord and give this message to the people: O Judah, listen to
this message from God. Listen to it, all of you who worship here. [3] The Lord,
the God of Israel says: Even yet, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you
stay in your own land. [4] But don't be fooled by those who lie to you and say
that since the Temple of the Lord is here, God will never let Jerusalem be
destroyed. [5] You may remain under these conditions only: If you stop your
wicked thoughts and deeds and are fair to others; [6] if you stop exploiting
orphans, widows, and foreigners, and stop your murdering; if you stop
worshiping idols as you do now to your hurt, [7] then, and only then, will I
let you stay in this land that I gave to your fathers to keep forever. [8] You
think that because the Temple is here, you will never suffer? Don't fool
yourselves! [9] Do you really think that you can steal, murder, commit
adultery, lie, and worship Baal and all of those new gods of yours, [10] and
then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, "We are
saved!"-only to go right back to all these evil things again?
Talisman is an object held to
and used to avert evil or bring good fortune, any object ascribed with
religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for
whom they are made that may produce magical or miraculous occurance.
Isaiah 3:18–20 mentions that
God will remove items like amulets and charms from His people during judgment,
showing His disapproval of these practices.
So many people go through
life believing in objects superstitiously giving them luck, others believe that
talisman will protect or help them. Some people carry a rabbit’s foot or wear a
lucky hat, shirt, or tie for luck. Some have a lucky coin and so many other
things they believe will give them luck or favour. Talismans are often
associated with magic, superstition, and divination, which God forbids according
to Deuteronomy 18:10–12.
Many Christians have one of
these talismans, and many others have their variations: a cross necklace, an
angel pin, or maybe a way of praying that they think has special significance
and gets their prayers answered. Using them shows lack of trust in God’s
protection and can become a form of idolatry as seen in Exodus 20:3.
Have you ever said to
yourself “It’s my lucky day!” Have you ever found a penny and recited the
adage, “Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck”?
Chances are, you may have at some point thought or said one of those things.
Several words do not appear
anywhere in the bible and one such word is “luck.”
We see Jesus tell Peter to
go catch a fish and take money out of its mouth to pay their taxes in Matthew
7:27. It wasn’t luck! But miraclous!
You might expect someone to
think they’re lucky if they find money this way but in this case, finding this
money had nothing to do with chance or good fortune. Jesus knew exactly where
the money would be and Peter did exactly what Jesus said and found the money.
When it comes to talismans,
the people of Judah were no different from us.
Jeremiah disabused the
people of the belief that the temple could guarantee their safety. Instead of
putting faith in God, like so many people today, their faith was in an object.
In verse 2 God told Jeremiah
to “Stand in the gate of God's Temple and preach a message in which, Jeremiah
exposes their misplaced dependence on a religious artefact, the Temple. Unlike
people’s talismans today, however, Judah’s charm wasn’t small enough to wear or
carry. In this passage, we see proof that objects don’t bring luck to anyone.
The people who lived in
Jerusalem depended on the ultimate good-luck charm: The Temple. They thought
that if the Temple stood in Jerusalem, they would have God’s favour and be
protected from harm in Jeremiah 7:4, 10. Meanwhile, they lived sinful lives, oppressing
immigrants, mistreating widows, neglecting orphans, and worshipping false gods
in verses 5-7. Sounds familiar?
They had misplaced their
faith, instead of trusting in the God they couldn’t see; they were trusting in
the physical Temple. Psalm 31:6 says, “I hate those who cling to worthless
idols; as for me, I trust in the Lord.” And worthless is what talismans are.
True faith never involves
superstitious belief in any object. God wants us to respond personally to Him
and His will. Whatever we do in service
to God, should all be exercises that grow out of our love for God; they don’t
gain us God’s favour or protection. Jesus is all we need; we do not need any talismans
or lucky charms.
Talismans are borderlines on
belief in the occult and this displeases God because it’s idolatry. Things like
tarot cards, Ouija boards, magic balls, witchcraft, spells, etc., are peddled
as luck but are evil and demonic.
These things should not be
anywhere near us, they are harmful and delusional and destroy our fellowship
with God. Even if you don’t believe in them, we should not come close to
dabbling in them. There is no power in talismans because all power belongs only
to God.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
-
Do I rely on physical objects, rituals, or
symbols for protection or favor instead of trusting God completely?
-
How do I respond when something good
happens—do I call it luck or acknowledge God’s hand?
-
Do I depend on church attendance, titles, or
religious artifacts for security rather than living in obedience to God?
-
What steps can I take to ensure my faith is
rooted in Christ and not in superstition
PRAYER: Lord, help me to
always put my trust in you who have guaranteed my safety and not in any physical
object in Jesus’ name. Amen.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/50BunO4mKeWAfK5P60TD8g?si=dVT1GQKNTSKO_5IwJF3pcg
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