Chapter 10
The third message ends with this chapter. 11-13 are the fourth message. So we get through them both today.
vss 1-5 are about not having fear of "signs" discerned in the heavens (direct rebuttal of astrology), nor of idols made from trees cut down in the jungle. This verse has an interesting way to classify idols made by hands:
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." [Jer 10:5 ESV]
Scarecrows. That's all they are. They only work about half the time even for scaring birds, so why should man fear them?
2021-The first 5 verses are a message to Israel not to fear the gods of other nations, nor the "predictions" they come up with based on astrology. Their gods are powerless.
2021- Vss 6-10 seem to be Jeremiah's prayer, reciting the true power of the true God, the God of Israel. But the point is that this seems to be Jeremiah talking and no longer "the Word of the Lord".
vss 6-10, God's true power to shake the earth and over kings and nations is contrasted with the scarecrows of the previous section.
vs 11 starts with "Thus you shall say to them:...", but this is still part of the same message that Jeremiah is delivering at the door of the Temple.
vss 12-18, The message seems to me like the way we are to reach unbelievers today. If they don't believe God to start with, then talk about creation, and how inexplicable it is without God. This message first says that God is the creator of all things. Second, it says that with His voice, God controls nature. Today. From morning mists to lightning in the storms, He controls.
Then the message continues that the idols can do none of this. Not breathe, not speak, not move. They are powerless pieces of adorned wood. God is not like these. He is creator of all, and Israel is "...the tribe of His inheritance..." This section ends with the prophesy that God is about to bring distress on these people, that they may know it is He who acts. These two verses:
14 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. 15 They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. [Jer 10:14-15 ESV]
I like "a work of delusion". Possible FB post from this.
vss 19-21, Jeremiah speaks as those conquered by the invader will speak. No one to raise their tents for them, their children gone - taken as slaves or killed by the merciless invader.
vs 22, Names the coming aggressor. He comes from the north. At that time in history, there was no doubt who this meant.
vs. 24 is a great prayer to be prayed, by each one of us. It is here:
24 Correct me, O LORD, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. [Jer 10:24 ESV]
If we are trying, and foul up, as we invariably will, then God will correct us in justice. Like we correct little children. But if we ignore that correction, and willfully continue to flaunt God's rules, then we make Him angry, and He unleashes that anger on us. Only God can do that, and we most certainly do NOT want that to happen. Good one for FB.