Jeremiah 10 - The Absurdity of Idolatry

Pardon my absence from the blogosphere. I know it has been awhile and I hope that this post will be convicting and edifying.

Ever read through the book of Jeremiah before? Old Testament Israel seems to have this motif: when things are going great, they forget the Lord; when things aren't going great, they're wondering where He is. Specifically here in Jeremiah we see Israel before they were taken captive by Babylon; the Jews had once again forgotten the Lord of hosts, and clung themselves to the god Baal. Though the Lord had extended his hand toward them to repent, they neglected to do so; and consequently, God would punish them. What we find in chapter 10 of Jeremiah is a conversation between Jeremiah and the Lord concerning the spiritual adultery of Israel: in abandoning the worship of the one true God, they look to things that by nature are not divine at all.

Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: "Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. 

But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. Thus shall you say to them: "The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens." It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish." - Jeremiah 10:1-5, 10-15

Here are three things that I see permeating from this portion of Scripture: idolatry in the skies, idolatry in the land, and the God over skies and land.

1) Idolatry in the skies

Most commentators see this as mentioning the stars, Sun, and the moon, and the paths they take. They looked to the sky for signs: eclipses, appearances and disappearances of the hosts, etc. Notice, how God says that the signs of the heavens do not themselves cause panic, but rather the people placing emphasis on these signs are the ones stirring anxiety. The starry hosts have no divine power. A modern day example would be the realm of horoscopes.

2) Idolatry in the land

Not only is there foolishness in giving lordship to the things in the sky, but even more so with what you can hold in your hands. God gives the illustration of a craftsmen chopping a tree down, carving it, and dressing it with various things. Creating a statue of some kind, and then attributing divinity to it. In this context it was Baal, in which sacrifices and offerings were made. Modern day examples: Hinduism, Thai Buddhism. The things in which people worship that are not God but rather material things attempt to vivify mere objects, but they themselves are lifeless.

3) The God over the skies and land

God is true, living, and everlasting. Everything in creation will rot and pass away, but the Lord is eternal. Who made the earth? Who made the starry hosts? Who made the trees? Surely they do not exist in and of themselves. Don't be scared at the mere sighting of an eclipse, but fear the God who keeps the Sun and moon in their paths. Don't frighten yourself over the roaring of thunders, but rather the God who controls the weather.

The main point I wanted to drive home comes from verse 5: "Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good." Since idols are therefore dead, they are of no value to it's adherents.

• They cannot do evil - While in Thailand in 2008, there was a particular college freshman we got opportunities to share the Gospel and our lives with. As time went on, he realized that he wanted to make Christ his Lord, but was afraid: his mother told him that a particular spirit had chosen him when he was born, and therefore he must worship it. And he was scared to embrace God the Savior, for fear that the spirit would attack him. This still hurts to think how real Satan's blinded him. But God has said here in His word, that no idol can harm anyone. And for us here in America, while we don't physically bow down to idols, we have our own secret sins that we can't live without--and let's be honest, the reason we don't abandon them is because we fear we may lose something, and don't want that feeling of dissatisfaction; in which we must also see:
• Neither is it in them to good - the promise of release may seem to be there at the bottom of that beer bottle or with that stack of money--those things are but objects that can never be vivified. 

God is the true God of this universe, anything else is a false representation by far. God is the one who brings light and darkness, pleasure and pain, comfort and discomfort, life and death. God is not just the source from which living water comes to the one who thirsts after him, He IS that living water. Come, and drink.