Jeremiah Chapter 10

At a Glance

  • Jeremiah 10 announces a striking contrast between idols and the Lord: learn not the way of the heathen, for their “gods” are lifeless and powerless.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Jeremiah 10 belongs to the prophetic denunciation of idolatry that punctuates the book.
  • - Monotheistic sovereignty: God alone is true and mighty.
  • - The vanity of idols: crafted objects cannot compare to the living God.

Chapter Overview

Jeremiah 10 announces a striking contrast between idols and the Lord: learn not the way of the heathen, for their “gods” are lifeless and powerless. The chapter braids acute polemic against idolatry with a robust doxology of God’s unique sovereignty. The hazards of human craftsmanship—the cutting of trees, the adorning of statues with precious metals—are weighed against the living God, who alone is true creator and ruler. The chapter unfolds a grand, cosmic claim: there is none like the Lord; God’s power is displayed in creation, providence, and divine speech. The rhetoric is confident, even ceremonially poetic, as the prophet insists on distinguishing the living God from man-made images. The ending sections articulate a theological critique of human pride and the consequences of trusting in manufactured idols. The chapter thus serves as a theological corrective and a call to rededicate life to the Lord who holds all creation in divine hands.

Historical & Literary Context

Jeremiah 10 belongs to the prophetic denunciation of idolatry that punctuates the book. The genre blends prophetic address with poetic hymns that celebrate the Lord’s supremacy. The chapter uses vivid images of craftwork and the vanity of human art to displace false security with worship directed to the true God. In the broader context, this chapter reinforces the book’s core contrast: the living, personal God who acts in history versus the empty, inert idols that lure and mislead. The prophetic aim is to awaken a people entrenched in reliance on material signs rather than the God of covenant.

Key Themes

- Monotheistic sovereignty: God alone is true and mighty.

- The vanity of idols: crafted objects cannot compare to the living God.

- The call to authentic worship: reject della illusions and trust in God’s character.

- Creation and divine wisdom: God’s activity in the world demonstrates power and wisdom.

- Human pride and dependence on signs: a critique of relying on symbols instead of relationship.

Modern Application

Jeremiah 10 challenges contemporary believers to scrutinize the objects of their devotion—whether material possessions, status symbols, or cultural idols—and to re-center worship on the living God. It invites practical steps: cultivate prayerful dependence on God, build communities that value truth over iconography, and resist the commodification of faith where religious form replaces authentic relationship. The chapter also calls for discernment in media and culture, where signs and wonders may distract from a life of obedience and mercy. For individuals, it’s a prompt to examine what governs daily decisions and what takes precedence over justice, compassion, and the pursuit of righteousness.

Cross-References: Isaiah 40; Psalms 115; 1 Corinthians 8; Acts 17

Recommended Personas: Jesus (teacher of true worship and rejection of hollow idols); Paul (ethics of living in accordance with God’s revealed truth); Moses (leader who returns people to true worship)

Chapter Text

1

Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

2

Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

3

For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4

They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

5

They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

6

Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

7

Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

8

But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.

9

Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.

10

But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

11

Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

12

He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

13

When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

14

Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

15

They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

16

The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.

17

Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.

18

For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.

19

Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.

20

My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

21

For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

22

Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

23

O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

24

O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

25

Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

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