←Jeremiah 10→BSB

In This Chapter 3 people 2 places 32 terms

People

Israel 5 Jacob (Patriarch) 3 Jeshurun (Israel)

Places

    Key Terms

    Knowledge 4 Fear 3 Truth (Faithfulness) 3 Strength 3 Ability (Skill) 3 Understanding (Awareness) 3 Visitation 3 Possession 3 Under Siege (State) 2 Fear (State) Awe (State) Fear (Terror) Fear (Reverence) Fear (Awe) Fearful Respect Respect (Among People) Truthfulness Ability (Power) World Wisdom Universe Miracle Ability (Spiritual) Lordship Spiritually Understanding Intention (Evil) To Cause to Possess Possession Woe (Grief) Have Insight

    The Sovereignty of God

    ⓘ This poetic passage criticizes idol worship and affirms...

    This poetic passage criticizes idol worship and affirms the unity and majesty of the one true God. It is not a logical discussion of divinity in nature or a detailed statement about God's attributes. Instead, it is a poem about the foolishness of worshiping idols that the worshipers have made. It includes strong affirmations of faith that clearly declare who God is.
    ⓘ This poetic passage has three parts: A contrast...

    This poetic passage has three parts:

    1. A contrast between the Lord and pagan idols (Jeremiah 10:1–16)

    2. A reflection on the destruction awaiting idol worshipers (Jeremiah 10:17–18, 19–22)

    3. A prayer asking God to act with restraint in the coming judgment and to ensure the pagan nations do not go unpunished (Jeremiah 10:23–25).

    1Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2This is what the LORD says:

    “Do not learn the ways of the nationsor be terrified by the signs in the heavens,though the nations themselves are terrified by them.3For the customs of the peoples are worthless;they cut down a tree from the forest;it is shaped with a chiselby the hands of a craftsman.4They adorn it with silver and goldand fasten it with hammer and nails,so that it will not totter.
    5Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,their idols cannot speak.They must be carriedbecause they cannot walk.Do not fear them, for they can do no harm,and neither can they do any good.”
    6There is none like You, O LORD.You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.7Who would not fear You, O King of nations?This is Your due.For among all the wise men of the nations,and in all their kingdoms,there is none like You.
    8But they are altogether senseless and foolish,instructed by worthless idols made of wood!9Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish,and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsmanfrom the hands of a goldsmith.Their clothes are blue and purple,all fashioned by skilled workers.10But the LORD is the true God;He is the living God and eternal King.The earth quakes at His wrath,and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

    11Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”†

    ⓘ This stanza strongly affirms God's nature.

    This stanza strongly affirms God's nature.
    12The LORD made the earth by His power;He established the world by His wisdomand stretched out the heavens by His understanding.13When He thunders,the waters in the heavens roar;He causes the clouds to risefrom the ends of the earth.He generates the lightning with the rainand brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
    14Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge;every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols.For his molten images are a fraud,and there is no breath in them.15They are worthless, a work to be mocked.In the time of their punishment they will perish.
    16The Portion of Jacob is not like these,for He is the Maker of all things,and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.

    The Coming Captivity of Judah

    ⓘ This brief decree about the upcoming exile likely...

    • This brief decree about the upcoming exile likely relates to the first Babylonian invasion of Judah in 605 BC (see study note on Daniel 1:1). However, it might also refer to the invasions in 597, 586, or 581 BC, when some people of Judah were exiled (see Jeremiah 52:28–30).

    • I will sling out: This phrase may include refugees who fled to nearby countries and those taken to Babylon.
    ⓘ A judgment announcement (Jeremiah 10:17–18) is followed by...

    A judgment announcement (Jeremiah 10:17–18) is followed by a lament about its impact (10:19–22).

    17Gather up your belongings from this land, you who live under siege. 18For this is what the LORD says:

    “Behold, at this time I will sling outthe inhabitants of the landand bring distress upon themso that they may be captured.”
    19Woe to me because of my brokenness;my wound is grievous!But I said, “This is truly my sickness,and I must bear it.”20My tent is destroyed,and all its ropes are snapped.My sons have departed from meand are no more.I have no one left to pitch my tentor set up my curtains.
    21For the shepherds have become senseless;they do not seek the LORD.Therefore they have not prospered,and all their flock is scattered.22Listen! The sound of a report is coming—a great commotion from the land to the north.It will make the cities of Judah a desolation,a haunt for jackals.†
    ⓘ Jeremiah asked the Lord to unleash His anger...

    Jeremiah asked the Lord to unleash His anger not only on Judah but also on the nations that destroyed Israel. See Isaiah 26:9–11 and Habakkuk 1:17. These other kingdoms were so brutal that they turned the countryside into a barren wasteland. Jeremiah 10:25 quotes Psalm 79:6–7.
    23I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own;no one who walks directs his own steps.24Correct me, O LORD,but only with justice—not in Your anger,or You will bring me to nothing.
    25Pour out Your wrath on the nationsthat do not acknowledge You,and on the familiesthat do not call on Your name.For they have devoured Jacob;they have consumed him and finished him off;they have devastated his homeland.