Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 10

Verses 1-5

Jer 10:1-5

THE TRUE GOD CONTRASTED WITH IDOLS

In this chapter, we encounter a barrage of critical bias to the effect that, "This chapter presupposes a situation in which the people addressed are living among the heathen and need to be warned against idolatry." "There is an interruption of thought ... Most scholars question the authenticity of a major section of this chapter." "Most scholars wish to date this passage during the exile and consider it post-Jeremiahic." "Jeremiah 10:1-16 here interrupt the connection between Jeremiah 9:22 and Jeremiah 10:17." None of these allegations has any foundation whatever.

This whole chapter was written shortly before the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem the first time. At that time the Jews were a thoroughly idolatrous people. The horrible idolatries under Manasseh were still adored and secretly worshipped by the Jews; and the superficial reforms under Josiah had not really changed the hearts of the people. Idolatry was rampant in Judaea in the closing days of their apostasy and just before their deportation to Babylon. Any notion, therefore that the warning here regarding the "nothingness of idols" was not needed must be classified as ridiculous. Of course, the Jews desperately needed this warning; and, since this chapter mentions the near approach of the Babylonian invasion, it was especially appropriate that Jeremiah should have given the Jews another dramatic warning of the idolatry which they were sure to encounter in Babylon, as well as citing again their own idolatry which was a major cause of their divine punishment.

Of all the critical attacks upon the authenticity of Biblical books which we have encountered, the one here appears as the very weakest and unbelievable of all of them.

Green also agreed that this disputed passage, "could have been Jeremiah’s warning to Judah against falling under the spell of the Babylonian brand of idolatry." How blind are the interpreters who do not see such an obvious truth.

There is no interruption of the sequence of thought; there is no break in the intimate connection evident in every line of these chapters. How natural it was that, in the same breath, where Jeremiah hailed the advance of the destroyers (Jeremiah 10:17 ff), God’s great prophet should have warned the Jews of the Babylonian idolatry.

Another fact of the utmost importance that surfaces in this chapter is the fact that Jeremiah took this description of idols and their worthlessness almost verbatim from Isaiah’s description of the same things in chapters 40--44.

"The correspondence between Jeremiah’s description and that of Isaiah, is so manifest that no one can doubt that one is modeled upon the other. If Jeremiah, then, took the thoughts and phrases from Isaiah (which he most obviously did do), it is plain that the last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah were prior in date to the times of Jeremiah, and that they were not written at the close of the Babylonian exile. This passage is a crucial one to the pseudo-Isaiah theory.

The critics, of course, realize that they must reply to this, or lose their case for a Deutero-Isaiah altogether; but R. Payne Smith has effectively refuted their attempted answers.

(1) There is the claim that the pseudo-Isaiah copied from Jeremiah. "This is refuted by the style," which is Isaiah’s, not Jeremiah’s."

(2) An alternative answer would make an interpolation out of the whole passage (Jeremiah 10:1-16). "This is contradicted by the appearance of the passage in LXX."

Even some writers who half-heartedly cling to the out-dated critical allegations, such as Dummelow, are impressed with these answers. Dummelow, after mentioning the theories about this chapter, stated that, "It should, however, be said, on the other hand, that the LXX, although omitting much that is in the Hebrew, yet contains this chapter!

In our view, such facts as these, coupled with many others cited throughout this series of commentaries, effectively dispose of the whole multiple-Isaiah nonsense.

Jeremiah 10:1-5

THE NOTHINGNESS OF THE FALSE GODS

Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: thus saith Jehovah, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are like a palm-tree, of turned work, and speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.

Learn not the way of the nations. the nations are dismayed ... the customs of the peoples are vanity .....

(Jeremiah 10:2-3). There is absolutely no way that Jeremiah could have made it any plainer that the admonition of this chapter was designed to aid the Jews in rejecting the idolatry of the Gentiles, such as that they would encounter in Babylon.

Furthermore, this scathing denunciation of idolatry came right out of the experience of Jeremiah who was an eye-witness of the gross conduct of the Jews in that sector throughout his lifetime. "He had known it (the idolatry) first-hand, himself being held in awe only by the monotheistic faith cherished by the best of the people."

The special need for Jeremiah’s warning against idolatry was mentioned by Halley. "It seems that the threat of Babylonian invasion had spurred the people of Judah into great activity in manufacturing idols, as if idols could save them. This gave Jeremiah the occasion for these verses."

Be not dismayed at the signs of heaven...

(Jeremiah 10:2). This does not refer to the sun, moon, and stars, or signs of the zodiac, meant by God to be signs (Genesis 1:14), but to unusual phenomena like eclipses, meteorites, comets, etc. which were supposed by the ancients to portend extraordinary events. Such things struck terror into the hearts of ancient pagans. Egypt and Babylon were both addicted to this very thing.

Thus, Jeremiah could not have made it any plainer if he had cited Babylon by name as being the very people against whom the Israelites were here warned against taking up their false gods and customs.

To declare that these verses do not fit is to betray a total lack of understanding of Jeremiah’s purpose.

They cannot do evil. or do good .....

(Jeremiah 10:5). Harrison paraphrased this verse as follows: The false gods are like a scarecrow in a patch of cucumbers! ^F13

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.

The Folly of Idolatry Jeremiah 10:1-5

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 heavens—eclipses, meteors, and the like—which 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). The description here is similar to that in Isaiah 40:19-20; Isaiah 41:7. 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.

Verses 6-16

Jer 10:6-16

Jeremiah 10:6-10

There is none like unto thee, O Jehovah; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who should not fear thee, O King of the nations? for to thee doth it appertain; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is none like unto thee. But they are together brutish and foolish: the instruction of idols! it is but a stock. There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artificer and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple for their clothing; they are all the work of skilful men. But Jehovah is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King: at his wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide his indignation.

This is a contemptuous description of idols as contrasted with the eternal and almighty God. Tarshish is thought to have been in Spain. Uphaz is unknown; and Harrison thought that it might even be, "a metallurgical term meaning ’refined gold.’ " ^F14 No matter how expensive were the decorations applied to idols, they were nevertheless "essentially nothing," unable either to harm or to benefit their worshippers.

Although he missed the truth about Jeremiah 10:11, calling it "a gloss," Thompson nevertheless made a significant contribution to the proper understanding of this passage. He wrote: "In view of many attempts to rearrange Jeremiah 10:1-25, we might ask if such is really the right procedure. It may be far better to try to make sense out of what lies before us in the text ("Amen," J.B.C.). We discern a reasonable pattern in which alternating assertions are made about idols and Yahweh."

Jeremiah 10:1, introductory statement.

Jeremiah 10:2-5, a warning against idols.

Jeremiah 10:6-7, the supremacy of Yahweh.

Jeremiah 10:8-9, the futility of idols.

Jeremiah 10:10-13, the creative power of Jehovah.

Jeremiah 10:14-15, idols and their makers judged.

Jeremiah 10:16, final acknowledgment of Yahweh’s supremacy.

Seen in this way, the whole passage has coherence and order.

This is a perfect demonstration that the passage does not need any rearrangement at all. It is perfectly logical and appropriate right where it is.

Jeremiah 10:11

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

We have noted that Thompson mistakenly called this a gloss. It is no such thing. "It must not be regarded as a gloss, because it provides an immediate connection between Jeremiah 10:10; Jeremiah 10:12."

Thus shall ye say unto them...

(Jeremiah 10:11). This refers to a popular saying in those times in the Chaldee tongue (to which the Jews would soon travel); and, in effect, it gives God’s people a ready-made answer in the tongue of their captors by which they would be able to resist the inducements to participate in Babylonian idolatry. This is one of the master-strokes of the whole prophecy.

"Because this verse is in Chaldee (Aramaic) some expositors reject it as a gloss; but all versions have it. It fits the context perfectly." Furthermore, "No copyist would have interpolated a Chaldee verse into a Hebrew text!"

In the attention we have paid to the authenticity of the chapter, we should not overlook the extremely important theological teachings of these important verses: "There is none like God (Jeremiah 10:6); He is the true and living God (Jeremiah 10:10); He is the Creator of heaven and earth (Jeremiah 10:12); He is the controller of the clouds and of the rain (Jeremiah 10:13); he alone is worthy of the respect and adoration of all men (Jeremiah 10:7); He is especially the God of Israel (Jeremiah 10:16).

Before leaving Jeremiah 10:11, we shall note that many recent commentators love to parrot the old critical shibboleth that "This verse, being in Chaldee (Aramaic) is out of place." But such a remark is nothing but an eighteenth century error. As R. Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbury, stated in 1929, "The appearance of this verse, as is, in the Septuagint (LXX) version is decisive. That this verse is in Aramaic is accounted for by the supposition that the exiles (soon to be in Babylon) were to use these very words (in the Chaldean tongue) as a retort when asked by the Chaldeans to join in their idol-worship. It was probably a proverbial saying." What an advantage for the exiles that they were thus armed with a popular proverb in the very language of their captors, enabling them to resist appeals to join in Babylonian idolatry!

Jeremiah 10:12-16

He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens: when he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries. Every man is become brutish [and is] without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.

Who made. established ... stretched out .....

(Jeremiah 10:12) The three things that entered into the Creator’s preparing a home for his human creation are listed here: (1) he made the earth; (2) he prepared and fitted it to be a human dwelling place; and (3) he protected it from cosmic damage by such things as excessive radiation and falling meteorites, stretching out the heavens (the atmospheric shield) as a protection.

He maketh lightnings for the rain...

(Jeremiah 10:13). Every thunderstorm bears witness to the wise and almighty government of God.

Every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image...

(Jeremiah 10:14) Any person who can see the violent strength of a tropical thunderstorm and then bow down and worship a lifeless image, a production of his own hands, as god (!) has simply forsaken all intelligence.

Such images (notice the change from the singular "image" to the plural "them" in Jeremiah 10:14, as frequently in the Bible) are worthless, having "no breath" in them.

Jeremiah 10:15-16 stress the fact that graven images are entitled to no respect at all but are worthy only of contempt. The glorious God of Jacob, the true and almighty living God who created the heavens and the earth is contrasted with the idols in Jeremiah 10:16.

The parenthetical admonition concerning idols (Jeremiah 10:1-16) ends here; and Jeremiah returns to the approaching captivity.

The Incomparable God of Israel Jeremiah 10:6-16

None of the idols can compare to the Lord in greatness and in power (Jeremiah 10:6). He is not merely a tribal deity restricted theologically and geographically in His sphere of influence. He is worthy of reverence by all mankind. No wise man of the earth can equal Him in wisdom. No prince of mankind is His equal in majesty and power (Jeremiah 10:7). On the other hand the idols are nothing but lifeless lumber. They are stupid and foolish and are utterly unable to render intelligent counsel. From an idol of wood one can only obtain “wooden,” lifeless, worthless guidance (Jeremiah 10:8). Men go to no little trouble in producing their idols. The wooden image is covered by the finest silver and gold sheets. Silver is secured from Tarshish, generally thought to be located on the southwest coast of Spain. Gold is imported from Uphaz the location of which is unknown. Since Tarshish is in the extreme west in relation to Palestine, Uphaz is perhaps equally far in the opposite direction. Some think that Uphaz, which is also mentioned in Daniel 10:5, is to be identified with Ophir. This interpretation of Uphaz appears in the Syriac versions of the Old Testament and in the Aramaic Targum. Once the beautiful metal had been shaped and molded to fit the wooden base the image was clothed in blue and purple, the most expensive cloth in antiquity. Embellished with precious metals and adorned with costly garments an image was in reality a work of art produced by cunning and skillful men. It was no wiser and more powerful than the craftsmen who produced it (Jeremiah 10:9).

What a contrast exists between the God of Israel and the idols of the nations! They are false gods, but He is the true God; they are lifeless but He is living; they are temporal, but He is eternal; they are provincial, but He is sovereign over all the earth. All nations tremble before His indignation. (Jeremiah 10:10).

Jeremiah 10:11 is regarded as a gloss by most commentators. The verse is in the Aramaic language rather than Hebrew. It does seem strange, however, that a copyist would have inserted an Aramaic gloss into a Hebrew text either accidentally or purposely. It is best then to regard Jeremiah 10:11 as having originally been part of the text and written by Jeremiah himself. Why then is the verse in Aramaic? Probably Jeremiah is here utilizing some proverb which was current in his day in the Aramaic language. The basic idea of the verse is clear- All the gods of the nation which were in reality false gods will eventually perish.

Every man who engages in idolatry is stupid. Only when men accept the self-revelation of God through His word do they have any insight into the true meaning of life. Those who make the idols will be utterly ashamed in the day of judgment as they will be forced to admit that their images are powerless. In spite of the elaborate ceremonies in which the spirit of the god came to make its abode in the images Jeremiah declares “there is no breath in them” (Jeremiah 10:14). Those idols are utterly vain, empty, ridiculous. They, along with their worshipers, shall experience the visitation of judgment of the true God. In that time the images shall perish, unable to save themselves, let alone those who held them in esteem (Jeremiah 10:15). None of the gods so popular in the days of Jeremiah remain on the scene today. They have indeed perished. The Lord of hosts is not like the idols. He who is the Creator of everything is the “Portion of Jacob” and Israel is “the tribe of His inheritance.” Though He is God of all nations, yet He belongs to Israel in a special way (Psalms 73:26; Psalms 119:57; Psalms 142:5) and Israel belongs to Him in a special way (Jeremiah 10:16).

Verses 17-22

Jer 10:17-22

Jeremiah 10:17-18

Gather up thy wares out of the land, O thou that abidest in the siege. For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may feel [it].

Here Judah is commanded to pick up her bundle of belongings and begin the long trek to Babylon, on which journey they will be retained by a cord of some kind passed through the ear, the lip, or the nose. One may see such lines of captives upon the old murals and monuments from that era of the world’s brutal history. The near approach of the disaster is forcefully indicated in these verses.

That they may feel it...

(Jeremiah 10:18). In the Syriac version, this reads, ’That they may find me’ (God).

I will sling out the inhabitants...

(Jeremiah 10:18). There is a similar thought in Isaiah 22:18; and in both places the reference is to the violence of the expulsion. The metaphor comes from the habit of whirling a stone round and round in a sling and then releasing it.

Jeremiah 10:19-22

Woe is me because of my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is [my] grief, and I must bear it. My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth from me, and they are not: there is none to spread my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not inquired of Jehovah: therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered. The voice of tidings, behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling-place of jackals.

In the sad picture that emerges here, Jerusalem is compared to a tent-dwelling mother whose tent has been destroyed and her children carried away. Nobody is left to help her repair the tent. The blame belongs to the ignorant leaders who neglected to ask guidance from the Lord. Then the scene changes a bit. Destruction is already approaching from the north country, which was the usual entry into Palestine by invading nations. The Jewish Targum gives the general sense here, thus: "My land is desolate, and all my cities plundered: my people are gone into captivity, and are not."

Jeremiah’s sorrow over the fate of his people is so great, and he is identified with them so completely, that the lament of the plundered and destroyed nation seems to be adopted as his own.

The shepherds...

(Jeremiah 10:21). These were all of the people’s leaders, including kings, priests, scribes, false prophets, and all the rest. They had wantonly and willfully forsaken God with the inevitable consequences about to be executed upon Judah.

The voice. behold, it cometh .....

(Jeremiah 10:22). These words indicate that the captivity is still, at this time, in the future.

The Folly of Forsaking God Jeremiah 10:17-22

Idolatry has inevitable consequences as far as God is concerned. In Jeremiah 10:17 Jeremiah sadly addresses his people and urges them to gather together their possessions and prepare to go into captivity when the siege of the land has ended (Jeremiah 10:17). The inhabitants of Judah are about to be violently expelled from their land, hurled forth as a rock is hurled from a sling. Because of their idolatry God Himself becomes their antagonist. He will bring them into this distress. The last phrase of Jeremiah 10:18 is very difficult, “that they might be found.” Literally the phrase might be translated, “that they might find.” Find what? Perhaps the voice of the prophet trailed off and he never completed that sentence. On the other hand it is permissible to translate the last verb as a passive, “that they might be found.” Only when Judah has been purged of wickedness through the ordeal of captivity will God be able to find or accept His people once again.

As he contemplates the future of his people Jeremiah bursts forth into another lamentation. The knowledge of what will befall his people is compared to a hurt, a wound, a grief or sickness for which there is no cure. Jeremiah must simply live with his mental suffering (Jeremiah 10:19). The prophet compares Judah to a tent which has collapsed because the cords have been snapped or cut. Those who once occupied that tent have been taken into exile or else they are dead. No one remains to help raise up the national tent once again (Jeremiah 10:20). All of this calamity has come about because the shepherds, the political and religious leaders, have not sought the Lord. The word “seek” here is a technical word meaning to inquire of, to seek an oracle from the Lord. Spurning divine revelation these leaders were making decisions which were most unwise. Jeremiah is probably alluding to the scheming, plotting and outright revolt against Babylon the superpower. Because of the policies of the national shepherds, the flock, the people of the land, were being scattered. Innocent people often suffer when national leaders spurn divine revelation. Even as he points this finger of accusation at the national leadership Jeremiah dramatically pauses and puts his hands to his ears. “Hark!” he cries. “A report!” He seems to hear rumors or reports of the dreaded enemy from the north. The earth itself seems to rumble to the cadence of marching feet. The Chaldeans are on the march. Jerusalem and indeed all the cities of Judah would shortly be desolation, inhabited by wild creatures.

Verses 23-25

Jer 10:23-25

Jeremiah 10:23-25

O Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O Jehovah, correct me, but in measure: not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.

It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps...

(Jeremiah 10:23). This is one of the most profound statements in the Scriptures and one that needs continually to be heeded by sinful men. As long as men seek to be guided by their own counsels, and by what seems good to them, they are destined to frustration and defeat.

O Jehovah, correct me, but in measure

(Jeremiah 10:24). Jeremiah’s payer here recognized the need of Judah for correction, but he prays for God’s mercy as the blow falls.

In the Jewish view, only the Gentiles deserved divine wrath and punishment. The Jews were God’s chosen people. Thus there found a way into Jeremiah’s prayer for a plea for God to pour out his wrath and indignation upon the Gentile instruments of Judah’s chastisement. This prayer was just, "Because the heathen were devouring Jacob, not as obedient ministers of divine chastisement, but as wild beasts, gratifying their lusts, and their hatred of true religion." In the eventual history of the Chosen People, Jeremiah’s prayer was answered. In mercy, God concluded their captivity and made it possible for all who wished to do so to return to Judah; but Babylon was ruthlessly destroyed by the Medo-Persians.

A Prophetic Prayer Jeremiah 10:23-25

The solemn description of the impending desolation of Judah (Jeremiah 10:22) sent the prophet of prayer to his knees in intercession for his people. He acknowledges man’s weakness and waywardness and uses this as the grounds upon which to appeal for the mercy of God. “A man’s way is not his own;” a man belongs to God. He is under the obligation to walk in the path which God has marked out for him in the word. If a man fails to acknowledge his relationship to God, fails to submit to divine direction, he denies the fundamental reason for his existence. One who walks the path of life is not able to give moral and spiritual guidance to his own steps. He will inevitably stray from the straight and narrow (Jeremiah 10:23). He therefore requires divine discipline and correction.

Jeremiah feels himself to be one with his people. The “me” of Jeremiah 10:24 is really “us.” The prophet knows that God must chastise or discipline His people; he only prays that God will be merciful. Let God punish His people, but not in the wrath they deserve lest the nation “become small” and dwindle into insignificance. Rather let God punish Judah “in measure," i.e., with enough punishment to bring about the reformation of Judah. Jeremiah is willing to endure all that God intends to do to Judah so long as the judgment stops short of absolute and total annihilation of the nation. The Hebrew word here for "measure" is usually translated “justice” or “judgment.” That it also means “measured amounts” is indicated by 1 Kings 4:28 where the same word is used,

Israel deserves punishment and Jeremiah admits it. But the nations by whom and through whom God would bring judgment upon Judah also deserve divine judgment. These nations had gone beyond the appointed bounds (Isaiah 10:6-7; Isaiah 47:6; Zechariah 1:15). God intended for these nations to punish Israel; instead they aimed at destroying the people of God. Quoting Psalms 79:6-7, Jeremiah calls upon God to pour out His wrath upon them as well as Israel.

God and Idols - Jeremiah 10:1-25

Open It

1. What customs have either strong positive or strong negative associations for you?

2. Why do you think you respond positively or negatively to correction by an authority? a peer?

Explore It

3. Why were the customs regarding the making of idols called worthless? (Jeremiah 10:3-5)

4. What surpassing qualities of God did Jeremiah praise? (Jeremiah 10:6-7)

5. How did Jeremiah compare the idols of his day to the living God? (Jeremiah 10:8-10)

6. What future did God predict for the false gods that fascinated the people of Israel? (Jeremiah 10:11)

7. What examples of God’s power did Jeremiah list in order to make his case? (Jeremiah 10:12-13)

8. How did Jeremiah describe the people who made and worshiped idols? (Jeremiah 10:14-15)

9. In what ways did Jeremiah say God was far superior to the gods of the other nations? (Jeremiah 10:16)

10. What command did Jeremiah pass along to the people of Israel? (Jeremiah 10:17)

11. Why did God command the people to prepare to leave their land? (Jeremiah 10:18)

12. How did Jeremiah describe the suffering of Israel in very personal terms? (Jeremiah 10:19-20)

13. How did Jeremiah evaluate the leaders ("shepherds") of Israel? (Jeremiah 10:21)

14. From which direction did Jeremiah say the invaders would come? (Jeremiah 10:22)

15. What great truth is revealed to us through Jeremiah? (Jeremiah 10:23)

16. What was Jeremiah’s prayer for himself in light of God’s justice? (Jeremiah 10:24)

Get It

17. Why might we receive pressure to worship false gods?

18. What instances do you see today of people worshiping things God has made or things they have made themselves?

19. When have you ever been urged to worship or serve something other than God?

20. In Jeremiah’s day, who was partly at fault for Israel’s being scattered?

21. What important lesson did Jeremiah learn about his own life and the life of each human being?

22. Why did Israel have to endure so much suffering?

23. Why is it desirable for us to experience God’s correction but to avoid His anger?

Apply It

24. How can you improve upon your leadership in the family, at work, or in the church?

25. How can you remind yourself in the coming week that your life is not your own?

Questions On Jeremiah Chapter Ten

By Brent Kercheville

1 What is the message about idols (Jeremiah 10:1-5)? Explain the imagery.

2 What do we learn about God (Jeremiah 10:6-10)?

Why should he be worshiped?

Why is it foolish not to worship and fear him?

3 What is the message about God (Jeremiah 10:11-16)? What is the message about humanity?

4 What makes people senseless and stupid (Jeremiah 10:17-22)?

5 Jeremiah offers a prayer in 10:23-25.

Write down at least fve things Jeremiah prays about.

What great truths do we learn from this prayer?

TRANSFORMATION:

How does this relationship change your relationship with God?

What did you learn about him?

What will you do differently in your life?