Jeremiah 10

The LORD Is the Only True God

1 People of Israel, listen to what the LORD is telling you.

2 He says, "Do not follow the practices of other nations. Do not be terrified by warnings in the sky. Do not be afraid, even though the nations are terrified by them.

3 The practices of those nations are worthless. People cut a tree out of the forest. A skilled worker shapes the wood with a sharp tool.

4 Others decorate it with silver and gold. They use a hammer to nail it to the floor. They want to keep it from falling down.

5 The statues of their gods can't speak. They are like scarecrows in a field of melons. They have to be carried around because they can't walk. So do not worship them. They can't do you any harm. And they can't do you any good either."

6 Lord, no one is like you. You are great. You are mighty and powerful.

7 King of the nations, everyone should have respect for you. That's what people should give you. Among all of the wise people in the nations there is no one like you. No one can compare with you in all of their kingdoms.

8 All of them are foolish. They don't have any sense. They think they are taught by worthless wooden gods.

9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish. Gold is brought from Uphaz. People who are skilled in working with wood and gold make a statue. Then they put blue and purple clothes on it. The whole thing is made by skilled workers.

10 But you are the only true God. You are the only living God. You are the King who rules forever. When you are angry, the earth trembles with fear. The nations can't stand up under your anger.

11 The LORD says to the Jews who are living in Babylonia, "Tell the people of the nations, 'Your gods did not make the heavens and the earth. In fact, those gods will disappear from the earth. They will vanish from under the heavens.' "

12 But God used his power to make the earth. His wisdom set the world in place. His understanding spread the heavens out.

13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar. He makes clouds rise from one end of the earth to the other. He sends lightning along with the rain. He brings the wind out from his storerooms.

14 No one has any sense. No one knows anything at all. Everyone who works with gold is put to shame by his wooden gods. The metal gods he worships are fakes. They can't even breathe.

15 They are worthless. People make fun of them. When the LORD judges them, they will be destroyed.

16 The God of Jacob is not like them. He gives his people everything they need. He made everything that exists. And that includes Israel. It's the nation that belongs to him. His name is The LORD Who Rules Over All.

The Land Will Be Destroyed

17 People of Jerusalem, your enemies have surrounded you. They are attacking you. So gather up what belongs to you. Then leave the land.

18 The LORD says, "I am about to throw out of this land everyone who lives in it. I will bring trouble on them. They will be captured."

19 How terrible it will be for me! I've been wounded! And my wound can't be healed! In spite of that, I said to myself, "I'm sick. But I'll have to put up with it."

20 Jerusalem is like a tent that has been destroyed. All of its ropes have snapped. My people have gone away from me. Now no one is left to set up my tent. I have no one to set it up for me.

21 The leaders of my people are like shepherds who don't have any sense. They don't ask the LORD for advice. That's why they don't succeed. And that's why their whole flock is scattered like sheep.

22 Listen! A message is coming! I hear the sound of a great army marching down from the north! It will turn Judah's towns into a desert. They will become a home for wild dogs.

Jeremiah Prays to the LORD

23 Lord, I know that a man doesn't control his own life. He doesn't direct his own steps.

24 Correct me, Lord. But please be fair. Don't correct me when you are angry. If you do, nothing will be left of me.

25 Pour out your burning anger on the nations. They don't pay any attention to you. They refuse to worship you. They have destroyed the people of Jacob. They've wiped them out completely. They've also destroyed the land they lived in.

Jeremiah 10 Commentary

Chapter 10

The absurdity of idolatry. (1-16) Destruction denounced against Jerusalem. (17-25)

Verses 1-16 The prophet shows the glory of Israel's God, and exposes the folly of idolaters. Charms and other attempts to obtain supernatural help, or to pry into futurity, are copied from the wicked customs of the heathen. Let us stand in awe, and not dare provoke God, by giving that glory to another which is due to him alone. He is ready to forgive, and save all who repent and believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. Faith learns these blessed truths from the word of God; but all knowledge not from that source, leads to doctrines of vanity.

Verses 17-25 The Jews who continued in their own land, felt secure. But, sooner or later, sinners will find all things as the word of God has declared, and that its threatenings are not empty terrors. Submission will support the believer under every grief allotted to him; but what can render the load of Divine vengeance easy to be borne by those who fall under it in sullen despair? Those cannot expect to prosper, who do not, by faith and prayer, take God with them in all their ways. The report of the enemy's approach was very dreadful. Yet the designs which men lay deep, and think well formed, are dashed to pieces in a moment. Events are often overruled, so as to be quite contrary to what we intended and expected. If the Lord has directed our steps into the ways of peace and righteousness, let us entreat him to enable us to walk therein. Say not, Lord, do not correct me; but, Lord, do not correct me in anger. We may bear the smart of God's rod, but we cannot bear the weight of his wrath. Those who restrain prayer, prove that they know not God; for those who know him will seek him, and seek his favour. If even severe corrections lead sinners to be convinced of wholesome truths, they will have abundant cause for gratitude. And they will then humble themselves before the Lord.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 10

This chapter shows that there is no comparison to be made between God and the idols of the Gentiles; represents the destruction of the Jews as near at hand; and is closed with some petitions of the prophet. It begins by way of preface with an exhortation to hear the word of the Lord, and a dehortation not to learn the way of the Heathens, or be dismayed at their signs, since their customs were in vain, Jer 10:1-3 which lead on to expose their idols, and set forth the greatness and glory of God. Their idols are described by the matter and makers of them, Jer 10:3,4,9 and from their impotence to speak, to stand, to move, or do either good or evil, Jer 10:4,5, but, on the other hand, God is described by the greatness of his name and power, and by the reverence that belongs unto him; in comparison of whom all the wise men of the nations are brutish, foolish, and vain, Jer 10:6-8, by the epithets of true, living, and everlasting, and by the terribleness of his wrath, Jer 10:10, by his power and wisdom, in making the heavens and the earth, in causing thunder and lightning, wind and rain, when the gods that have no share in these shall utterly perish, Jer 10:11-13 their makers being brutish, and brought to shame; and they falsehood and breathless vanity, the work of errors, and so shall come to ruin, Jer 10:14,15, but he, who is Jacob's portion, and whose inheritance Israel is, is not like them; being the former of all things, and his name the Lord of hosts, Jer 10:16 and next follows a prophecy of the destruction of the Jews; wherefore they are bid to gather up their wares, since in a very little time, and at once, the Lord would fling them out of the land, and bring them into distress, Jer 10:17,18, upon which the prophet expresses his sympathy with his people in trouble, and the part of grief he took and bore with them, Jer 10:19, the particulars of his distress, through the desolation of the land, and the captivity of the people, with the cause and authors of it, by whose means these things were brought upon them, are mentioned, Jer 10:20,21, and the Chaldean army, the instruments of their ruin, are represented as just at hand, Jer 10:22, when the prophet, directing himself to God, acknowledges the impotence of man in general to help and guide himself, deprecates correction in anger to himself in particular, and prays that the wrath of God might be poured down upon the Heathens, by whom his people were devoured, consumed, and made desolate, Jer 10:23-25.