Jeremiah 10:1-5

V. GOD VS. THE IDOLS Jeremiah 10:1-25

In chapter 10 Jeremiah ridicules idolatry (Jeremiah 10:1-5) and extols the incomparable God of Israel (Jeremiah 10:6-16). He points out the folly of forsaking God (Jeremiah 10:17-22). The chapter closes with a prophetic prayer (Jeremiah 10:23-25). The Jeremian authorship of the first sixteen verses has been questioned by various scholars on the grounds that they interrupt the thought sequence of the section and on the grounds that they are written in a different style. But one author may employ more than one style of writing depending upon he subject he is treating and the audience he is addressing. As the present section of the Book of Jeremiah is in the nature of an anthology of prophetic utterances no appeal to the interruption of thought sequence would seem to be appropriate. In short there is no good reason to suspect that Jeremiah was not the author of the first sixteen verses of chapter 10.

A. The Folly of Idolatry Jeremiah 10:1-5

TRANSLATION

(1) Hear the word which the LORD spoke against you, O house of Israel. (2) Thus says the LORD: Do not learn the way of the nations and do not be dismayed because of the signs of the heavens; for the nations are dismayed because of them. (3) For the customs of the people are vanity; for it is a tree which one cuts out of the forest, the work of the hands of the carpenter with an ax. (4) With silver and gold he adorns it; with nails and hammers they secure them so that it might not be made to totter. (5) They are like a post in a cucumber patch. They cannot speak. They must even be carried about for they are immobile. Do not fear because of them for they cannot do evil nor can they even do good.

COMMENTS

Through His prophet God exhorts His people (Jeremiah 10:1) not to learn, i.e., become accustomed to, the idolatrous ways of the heathen. The people of God need not become upset by the signs of the heavenseclipses, meteors, and the likewhich other nations regarded as portents of evil (Jeremiah 10:2). Numerous tablets from the ancient Near East have been found which indicate how closely the heavens were observed and how carefully every movement of the heavenly bodies was recorded. Modern astrology had its birth in the pagan temples of Mesopotamia. Those who worship the God who created the heavens need have no superstitious fears regarding the position of the sun, moon and stars, The religious customs, practices and rituals of the heathen are utterly empty and without content (cf. Isaiah 40:19 f; Isaiah 44:12 ff.). Idols are in reality nothing more than a tree which has been cut out of the forest by the ax of a woodsman (Jeremiah 10:3). Though beautifully adorned with gold and silver overlay that idol is still nothing more than lifeless wood. An idol cannot even stand on its own two feet. It must be fastened down with hammer and nails in order to prevent it from tottering (Jeremiah 10:4).[190] The idol is as harmless as a post erected in a cucumber patch for the purpose of scaring away the birds. They cannot speak nor can they move about without being carried by someone. They cannot harm any one, nor for that matter, can they bring blessing upon anyone. For this reason there is no particular advantage in serving an idol and no harm in failing to do so.

[190] The description here is similar to that in Isaiah 40:19-20; Isaiah 41:7.