Jeremiah 10 FSI - HEAR, O EARTH

> [!title|noicon] **Jeremiah 10 Notes** > [[Jeremiah 9 FSI|<Prev]]   [[Jeremiah 11 FSI|Next>]] > [[Jeremiah 10|Verse list view]] > [Jeremiah 10:1](Jeremiah%2010.md#^1) note > > This introduction is written by God Himself, it's not just an accidental statement. He is underscoring, "Listen! Listen! Listen!" ^jer10-1 > [Jeremiah 10:2](Jeremiah%2010.md#^2) note > > Again, God is repeating, "Thus saith the LORD. Listen to what I'm telling you! All of this is very, very important!" And we'll see in the next few verses that the context is speaking about the making of idols or false gods. > > "Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them" -- We might not think this really applies to us today in our sophisticated society. Are we dismayed when there's a comet or an eclipse or when there's an alignment of the planets? Generally not. We know a whole lot more about the universe today than they did in earlier days when they might have associated these things with something terrible that might happen, they instilled great fear into the hearts of people. But it is in this context that God is spiritually equating humanity with the making of idols and false gods because they know that they are accountable to God. And this kind of idol worship proliferates especially as we approach the end of the world ([Lk 21:11b](Luke%2021.md#^11), [25](Luke%2021.md#^25)), with the language of sights and signs from heaven. But soon they will know it is too late and that their idols and false gods cannot save them. ^jer10-2 > [Jeremiah 10:3](Jeremiah%2010.md#^3), [4](Jeremiah%2010.md#^4), [5](Jeremiah%2010.md#^5) note > > The translation of the word *customs* isn't the best translation here. It's a word that means "statutes" or "laws." The heathen have their own laws that they follow. And this passage is talking about the making of idols, the making of a false god that they want to worship. > > Parallel to this verse and the next 2 verses, if we really want to see the spiritual stupidity and blindness of humanity in the making of idols, look at [Isaiah 44:9](Isaiah%2044.md#^9), [10](Isaiah%2044.md#^10), [11](Isaiah%2044.md#^11). This describes the blindness and the judgment that is upon them as they create their own lifeless idols. He goes on to describe how the maker of the idol is weak with no strength ([Is 44:12](Isaiah%2044.md#^12)), emphasizing how ridiculous it all is. The idol maker fashions it using the best wood that he can find: ([Is 44:14](Isaiah%2044.md#^14)). But with half of the same wood he burns it to keep warm and to heat up his meal, while with the other half he makes his lifeless god ([Is 44:15](Isaiah%2044.md#^15), [16](Isaiah%2044.md#^16), [17](Isaiah%2044.md#^17), [18](Isaiah%2044.md#^18), [19](Isaiah%2044.md#^19), [20](Isaiah%2044.md#^20)). God is here emphasizing the utter spiritual blindness and delusion of humanity. And any false doctrine or false gospel is exactly the same thing, it is from the minds of men and women. > > First of all, this emphasizes the fact that humanity knows they must have a God. They are created in the image of God and are designed to have a relationship with the God of the Bible, yet they are spiritually dead in sin and estranged from God. Yet they know there has to be a God. So they build and design a false god after their own desire that they can reckon with, that they can control. They decide how it's going to look and how it will be decorated, they are in charge of this god. And this hunk of wood carved with their hands (or however else all the false gods in this world are designed) are what they are going to serve. But what is really happening is that they are worshiping the god of this world, Satan. They may think they are in charge of their lives but they are enslaved to Satan. And God is teaching us not to follow the ways of the unsaved. > > God emphasizes that we must only turn to Him in [verses 6](Jeremiah%2010.md#^6) and [7](Jeremiah%2010.md#^7) of this chapter. ^jer10-3 > [Jeremiah 10:6](Jeremiah%2010.md#^6) note > > God is so patient and long-suffering. That God would even take notice of the idols in the previous verses and now put Himself over against them in verses 6 and 7. It's like taking a little dirt and comparing it with Almighty God to present to us what humanity desires versus God Himself. An idol is nothing, it is futility out of the minds of people, and God is showing us that we need to look to Him and not to our own ridiculous stupidity in creating our dumb idols. He is the Creator of the world, He is Everything. So why would we spend any time with an idol? > > And yet that's exactly what is going on. People worship and trust in their idols and their high places thinking that they somehow know better in their utter blindness. > > "Forasmuch as *there is* none like unto thee, O LORD; thou *art* great, and thy name *is* great in might." -- In this chapter God is setting the record straight. He is describing Who He Is using some of the most beautiful language in the Bible about Himself. There is none like unto Him, He is great and His Name great in might. In [2 Corinthians 4:6](2%20Corinthians%204.md#^6) we see the glory of God in the Face of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is the setting in [Isaiah 55:7](Isaiah%2055.md#^7) because His mercy and abundant pardon for our wickedness and unrighteousness can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. See also [Is 55:8](Isaiah%2055.md#^8), [9](Isaiah%2055.md#^9) where we see that God is *infinitely* higher than we. In fact, God is infinitely higher than the heavens. ^jer10-6 > [Jeremiah 10:7](Jeremiah%2010.md#^7) note > > Here God is underscoring why He is great -- He is the King of nations. God is the ultimate Authority and His Word is His Lawbook. And He is to be feared, He is the One Who will bring judgment. Everyone should fear Him and will fear Him. But for now, those who have their own idols and their own gospels do not fear Him because they have a false sense of peace to salve the conscience. They fear their false gods, they fear their superstitions, and they fear Satan, ultimately, because they rule over them. But the true believers fear God. > > Among all the wise of this world, both in the physical world and in the spiritual realm, there is none, not one, like unto God. The accumulated wisdom of the entire world is nothing over against the infinite wisdom of God Himself. ^jer10-7 > [Jeremiah 10:8](Jeremiah%2010.md#^8) note > > Looking back at the idol makers, at those who have their own do-it-yourself theology and salvation plans -- they are altogether brutish (or burned, see also [v14](Jeremiah%2010.md#^14) and [21](Jeremiah%2010.md#^21)) as they are under the wrath of God, and they are foolish ([1 Co 3:19](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^19)). The stock, or the wood, that they have made into their idols -- the very substance of their false doctrines and false gods -- is a doctrine of *vanities*. That means they are empty and vain. The finest minds that they have gotten together to concoct these different doctrines, which they have twisted from the Bible so that they are pleasing to themselves and to their constituents, are complete vanity. There is nothing there, there is nothing at all that can bring salvation. It won't draw them to God whatsoever. ^jer10-8 > [Jeremiah 10:9](Jeremiah%2010.md#^9) note > > If we just read through this very quickly we might say, "Well, that's how they built an idol. They gilded it with gold and silver and dressed or painted it in a royal blue and purple, making it more glamorous." > > But when we read it more carefully there are some innuendos that we must recognize. What does it mean that the silver is brought from Tarshish and the gold from Uphaz (or, similarly, Ophir)? These are places that relate spiritually to the Gospel ([Isa 60:9](Isaiah%2060.md#^9); [Dan 10:5](Daniel%2010.md#^5), [6](Daniel%2010.md#^6)). And gold and silver have to do with the building of the eternal, spiritual temple ([1 Cor 3:12](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^12)). > > We see the blue and purple also, in the building of the tabernacle which represented the kingdom of God, in [Exodus 26:1](Exodus%2026.md#^1). So these were very royal colors along with the gold and the silver. > > So this is all language that makes this idol or this false god competitive with the true Gospel, with the true God. It looks like the Truth. So the idols being fashioned here represent a gospel that looks very closely like the true Gospel, but they are. . . > > . . . "the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder . . . they *are* all the work of cunning *men*." -- This is parallel to [verse 3](Jeremiah%2010.md#^3). These idols, these false gospels that look like the true Gospel, are created and fashioned by people, by the experts, by those who are cunning and wise, not by God Himself. Insofar as the true Gospel is concerned, Christ is the One Who has done ALL of the work on our behalf. It involves none of our work. > > The word "cunning" here means *wise*. And this can relate to the true believers who have the wisdom of God through the Word of God. But here it relates to the wisdom of the world, as we read in [1 Corinthians 1:19](1%20Corinthians%201.md#^19), [20](1%20Corinthians%201.md#^20); [3:19](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^19). The wisdom of the world is foolishness and can bring about nothing insofar as salvation and eternal life are concerned. And yet they insist that they know better than God. And, sadly, it also relates to the wise in the churches and congregations who have come up with their own wisdom, their own kind of a gospel that isn't the true Gospel of the Bible. It is the founders and the thinkers and those highly regarded as having the spiritual knowledge who put these doctrines in writing and promoted as doctrines of their denomination. And so they have gilded their idols with gold and silver and covered them with blue and purple, making them as close to Truth as possible but spawned from their own minds so that they end up with what *they* want or what they think is best. But it is a vain attempt to come to God by their own merits, by their own action. In their blindness they do not actually listen to and follow the Bible but rather their own thinking. ^jer10-9 > [Jeremiah 10:10](Jeremiah%2010.md#^10) note > > The LORD, that is, Jehovah (or some would say, Yahweh) is the true God, HE is the living God, and an everlasting King. Remember what Jesus says in [John 14:6](John%2014.md#^6), "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." And the Lord Jesus is Jehovah, He is the Savior! He is the very Essence of Truth and Life. And since the Bible is THE Word of God it is absolutely true, and Christ Himself is the Word in the flesh. This should give us enormous security. What God has written is completely true, there is no lie in it. And He brings eternal life. And when He says that we are under the wrath of God and subject to judgment for our sins, but that there is an escape unto everlasting life through the Lord Jesus Christ, we can absolutely know that it is Truth, we can depend upon it. > > Satan and humanity, on the other hand, are liars by nature ([Jh 8:44](John%208.md#^44); [Ro 3:4](Romans%203.md#^4)), and lies eventuate in eternal death. Thus all the more must we spend time in the Word of God, in the Word of Life ([Php 2:16](Philippians%202.md#^16); [1 Jn 1:1](1%20John%201.md#^1)), and in prayer for wisdom as we read it and seek for understanding. > > It is the most dangerous thing in the world to be in a position where we think we know more than God. We might be highly educated with a PhD and think we're doing so well for ourselves. But we still have peanut minds compared to the infinite Wisdom of God. And it is in our corrupt wisdom that we think we know better, and that is perilous, it is a lie. > > "He *is* the living God" -- this could be phrased "He is the God of lives" as we see in [Acts 17:28a](Acts%2017.md#^28). We cannot forget that the opposite of life is death. When God takes life away, there is eternal death. And that is what we are rescued from when we become saved through and in Christ, never to be under the wrath of God again. We can only find eternal life in Him so that forever into eternity future, if we are saved, we will never lose that life nor come into the possibility of judgment again (see [Jn 3:36](John%203.md#^36)). What a great and wonderful God He Is. > > "and an everlasting king" -- He not only rescues His people from eternal damnation and gives them eternal life but He *rules* forevermore. His Word is forever True and sure. > > "at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation." -- God's wrath is the curse that has come upon humanity from the beginning. And God is saying that the nations will not stand, He *will* make the earth to tremble. He is the everlasting King, He is beyond our comprehension in His strength, majesty, wonder and any other good attribute we might think about. And He is THE God Who MUST be answered to by each and every person for their sins if they have not become saved. And what a tragedy this will be. And the rebellion of humanity against God is so insistent that it requires that God Himself intervene to save His people from their sins by His sovereign mercy, so He is King over salvation as well as over all else. And once we are saved we desire to live unto His glory and to humbly serve in His Kingdom with thankfulness unto such a wonderful and mighty King who has given His life for our salvation. > > See [2 Corinthians 4:6](2%20Corinthians%204.md#^6): God shines the light of the Gospel of Christ ([Jn 8:12](John%208.md#^12)) into the darkness of our hearts. The more we read the Bible and contemplate the Lord Jesus we understand that He is Jehovah, the God of lives, the true, everlasting King that we serve. And as we see the trembling of the world when He comes in His indignation we are thankful that He has brought us out from under His wrath into eternal life, that we will not face His indignation. ^jer10-10 > [Jeremiah 10:11](Jeremiah%2010.md#^11) note > > Interestingly, the book of Jeremiah (as well as most of the Old Testament) was originally written in the Hebrew language. But mysteriously, this verse was written in Aramaic. (Other verses written in Aramaic include Ezra 4:8–6:18; 7:12-26 and Daniel 2:4b–7:28, as well as various proper names and isolated words and phrases throughout the Old and New Testaments.) It may be that God intended this because the contrast of this verse is so huge compared to the surrounding verses that speak about the greatness of God, and here in this verse He speaks about the false gods of this earth that will perish. So to emphasize this contrast it is perhaps declared in a different language. > > And how will all the false gods perish? We must understand that false gods are really just a figment of the imagination created in the minds of people, they are all of those things that people worship other than the true God. Since they aren't truly God, they have no life in them and thus cannot literally perish. But those who worship the false gods *will* perish, and when all of the unsaved perish they will take their false gods with them eternally to the grave. ^jer10-11 > [Jeremiah 10:12](Jeremiah%2010.md#^12) note > > We see the utter stupidity of humanity in this verse. The evolutionists may be of the highest IQ, and deep down, they know for a fact that there is a God who designed and created the world and the universe. It has all been designed by our Creator. But when they say that creation has just evolved and adapted itself of its own physical laws or by some kind of other inanimate set of rules or forces then they are just stupid. There is God and He created the world and the heavens. > > "He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom. . ." -- See [Psalm 29:3](Psalm%2029.md#^3), [4](Psalm%2029.md#^4), [5](Psalm%2029.md#^5) ... [7](Psalm%2029.md#^7), [8](Psalm%2029.md#^8), [9](Psalm%2029.md#^9) about the powerful *Voice* of God. God *spoke* and it was created ([Gen 1:3](Genesis%201.md#^3), [6](Genesis%201.md#^6), [9](Genesis%201.md#^9), [11](Genesis%201.md#^11)). > > ". . . and has stretched out the heavens by his discretion." -- With the Hubble and Webb telescopes, scientists can now see farther than ever into the universe. And have they ever reached the end of it? No, they have not. And they recognize that the universe is continually expanding, just as God says here that He has stretched out the heavens. And it no more difficult for this infinite God to create this magnificent universe with its billions of galaxies stretched out billions of light years into space than it is to create an apple or an orange. He is an infinite God. > > Now, God did not detail how He created the universe with all of its complexity. He didn't write a book that speaks about atoms and molecules and radio-magnetic waves and so on. He did allow humanity to discover some of these things according to His timing and good pleasure. But He has detailed His salvation in the Bible -- the most important thing that ever could be for humanity -- and it's the same Voice of the Lord that created the universe. So it is super, super important. ^jer10-12 > [Jeremiah 10:13](Jeremiah%2010.md#^13) note > > When we read the Bible we are hearing the Voice of God, which is the Gospel as we see in this figure of the multitude of waters ([Rev 14:2a](Revelation%2014.md#^2)) and the ascending vapors and so on. > > "When he utters his voice, *there* *is* a multitude of waters in the heavens" -- From a historical perspective, what was the real foundation of the earth? In [Genesis 1:2](Genesis%201.md#^2) we see that the world was formless and empty and darkness was upon the face of the deep -- upon the face of the *waters*. Then on the second day we read in [verse 6](Genesis%201.md#^6) about the firmament in the midst of the waters. And then the dry land appears in [verse 9](Genesis%201.md#^9) when the waters are gathered together unto one place. The waters were the very foundation of the universe. This is seen again in [Psalm 104:1](Psalm%20104.md#^1), [2](Psalm%20104.md#^2), [3a](Psalm%20104.md#^3). And then in [Revelation 14:2a](Revelation%2014.md#^2) we see the Voice of God like many waters and like great thunder. This is why a synonym for the Gospel is water ([Jn 4:10](John%204.md#^10), [7:38](John%207.md#^38)). And really the foundation of the whole universe is the Gospel because God brought this entire scenario into play in order to have a people for Himself to the glory of God when all is said and done. That is the end outcome where God has chosen His people from the foundation of the earth who will be with Him eternally ([Eph 1:4](Ephesians%201.md#^4), [5](Ephesians%201.md#^5), [6](Ephesians%201.md#^6); [1 Jn 3:2](1%20John%203.md#^2)). So everything is built upon the foundation of waters -- upon the Gospel, and this is seen even in the physical creation of the whole universe itself. > > Now waters not only have to do with salvation, but they pertain to judgment as well. Remember the flood of Noah's day. > > ". . . and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightnings with rain, and brings forth the wind out of his treasures." -- The rain comes down and then it evaporates back into the clouds where they are moved by the wind for the rain to fall again. This is a picture of how the Gospel operates. The Gospel is rain from heaven that waters the dry earth, bringing life and growth (a figure of salvation), and the wind (which is a picture of the Holy Spirit - [John 3:8](John%203.md#^8)) sends it forth to other parts of the world. And when we read about lightnings it can relate both to providing light, as well as to the judgment of God where His Voice is like the thunder ([Rev 14:2a](Revelation%2014.md#^2)). And it is the Gospel that makes us aware of our desperate need for God because we are under His wrath for our sin. > > "and brings forth the wind out of his treasures." -- Now wind, along with the lightning and thunder, can also be a picture of the wrath of God, such as when we read about the storm or the tempest or the whirlwind in the Bible ([Job 21:18](Job%2021.md#^18); [Ps 1:4](Psalm%201.md#^4); [Ps 55:8](Psalm%2055.md#^8), [83:15](Psalm%2083.md#^15); [Is 28:2](Isaiah%2028.md#^2), [29:6](Isaiah%2029.md#^6) among many other verses). But in this verse the Hebrew word translated *wind* means *spirit or breath*, "He brings forth the *spirit* out of His treasures." The Gospel has no substance, no strength, no import unless it is applied by God the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that comes out of His treasures, that is, out of God Himself -- He is THE Treasure. ^jer10-13 > [Jeremiah 10:14](Jeremiah%2010.md#^14) note > > Some commentators might say that the word brutish here means stupid, like a dumb brute. But the word translated *brutish* here, as also seen in [verse 8](Jeremiah%2010.md#^8) and [v21](Jeremiah%2010.md#^21), means *burnt or consumed*. It means every man is burnt or consumed, wasted away, in his knowledge. He is by nature under the wrath of God. And to be confounded means to be *ashamed, withered or dried up*, which is another word used in the Bible indicating they are under judgment. God is emphasizing the total bankruptcy and blindness of those who are making these idols. And it is because in their knowledge they do not acknowledge God, they are not truly listening to the Word of God, which is the setting here from verses 12-13 concerning the Voice of God. Just look at any documentary that covers the beauty of life at the bottom of the ocean, or how beautiful the rain forests are ... and wait for how long they praise God for how wonderful of a Creator God Is. Do they ever do that? No. The natural human race is not about to praise God for any of this -- talk about being brutish or under the wrath of God, it is because they will not acknowledge Him ([Ro 1:28](Romans%201.md#^28), [29](Romans%201.md#^29), [30](Romans%201.md#^30), [31](Romans%201.md#^31), [32](Romans%201.md#^32)). > > ". . . every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image *is* falsehood, and *there* *is* no breath in them." -- The graven image has to do with any philosophy, any religion, anything that one might put their trust in other than the God of the Bible. So the larger percentage of the whole human race is under the wrath of God because they are trusting in their graven images where there is no breath in them, that is, there is no life. They have rejected the waters of the Gospel and are burned up and consumed in their knowledge, water is absolutely essential for our spiritual life just as it is for our physical lives. We need the Water of Life. ^jer10-14 > [Jeremiah 10:15](Jeremiah%2010.md#^15) note > > There is going to be that time of visitation and that is judgment. Judgment day is coming, it IS coming. It's the last thing the world wants to hear about, but it is coming. And they shall perish -- forever. Those who have not been found written in the Book of Life, those not covered by the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ will be found guilty of every sin they have ever committed and will be cast into the lake of fire to perish eternally. And God is declaring that the time will come -- God has the power and the ability to accomplish what He decrees. > > Sadly, people are deluded into thinking that everything is fine, they are doing well. They are earning more and more money, they've been able to get better vitamins and minerals and have discovered new medical techniques in order to live a little longer, so they don't really have to worry about God at all, thank you. And yet it's absolutely guaranteed that likely in a few years every human being who is not saved will be standing there to answer for their sins. And at that time there will be no mercy any longer, no possibility of salvation any longer. So when God says, "in the time of their visitation they shall perish," it is not a small statement. It is a major theme of the Bible. God created humanity that out of it He might have a people for Himself, but the rest have rebelled against Him and will perish eternally. ^jer10-15 > [Jeremiah 10:16](Jeremiah%2010.md#^16) note > > "The portion of Jacob *is* not like them" -- In this instance Jacob, as a figure, points to Christ Himself. Remember Jacob came into Egypt to escape the famine in the days of Joseph, which all pointed to salvation when Joseph provided Jacob and all of his brothers with bread. He is included in the statement of [Romans 9:13](Romans%209.md#^13). And Christ is our Portion when it comes to our salvation. He is our Guaranty, He is our Everything. > > "for he *is* the former of all *things*" -- Christ is the Creator from eternity ([Col 1:14](Colossians%201.md#^14), [15](Colossians%201.md#^15), [16](Colossians%201.md#^16), [17](Colossians%201.md#^17)). And He is the One Who has chosen us and saved us if we are His, it all originates with Him. > > ". . . and Israel *is* the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts *is* his name." -- This gets back to the very beginning. The whole reason God has created this world and this universe is that He might have a body of people who are His inheritance, those who would live and reign with Him eternally in Heaven, forever and ever. And Jehovah of hosts is His Name -- Jehovah means Savior ([Is 43:11](Isaiah%2043.md#^11)). The hosts are all those He has come to save that will be His people throughout eternity future. They are the Israel that are the rod of His inheritance. ^jer10-16 > [Jeremiah 10:17](Jeremiah%2010.md#^17) note > > This word *wares* here is associated with being a merchant. And the merchandise of the true believers is the true Gospel ([Is 55:1](Isaiah%2055.md#^1)). But here God is telling those in the local congregations (v19) to gather up *their* wares, *their* merchandise, out of the land because He is going to sling them out (v18). > > The word *fortress* is has to do with a siege or a strong city ([Ps 31:21](Psalm%2031.md#^21)). It is a fortified city, a city with great strength that can resist the siege or any kind of assault. That is the kind of city that we are typically in when we're in the kingdom of God, we're in a safe place where we cannot be harmed, spiritually. But now that city is being besieged, the local congregations are being overrun by the enemy for having rejected God so that He is coming now as the Judge to bring His wrath upon it. This same word is used in [Jeremiah 19:8](Jeremiah%2019.md#^8), [9](Jeremiah%2019.md#^9) in this very context. And this idea continues into verse 18. ^jer10-17 > [Jeremiah 10:18](Jeremiah%2010.md#^18) note > > For thus saith the LORD, Jehovah, and what He says *will* come to pass without question. He will sling out the inhabitants of the land, that is, of the strong city spoken of in verse 17, the place where God had His Word and where He had His Name -- the churches and local congregations (see v19). > > In 1 Samuel 25, we see where Abigail's husband, Nabal, selfishly and stubbornly refused to do kindness to the servants of David to the point that his life was in jeopardy. And through this event, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Abigail intervened and spoke unto David ([1 Sa 25:28](1%20Samuel%2025.md#^28), [29](1%20Samuel%2025.md#^29)), declaring that the souls of his enemies would be slung out as out of the middle of a sling. > > Remember the sling that David used to slay Goliath. That was a picture of Christ as He vanquishes Satan through stoning to death, and he afterwards cut off his head with his sword. But here is a similar picture where the enemies of Christ will be slung out like a projectile, they will be forced out of the kingdom of God and cast into eternal death. There's no hesitation, there's no possibility of recall, once this decision is made they are gone like a rock slung out. > > If your trust is in your church, your pastor, your confession or in anything other than the Bible alone you will be slung out, spiritually. > > ". . . and will distress them, that they may find *it so*." -- We see similar language in [Ezekiel 6:6](Ezekiel%206.md#^6), [7](Ezekiel%206.md#^7) . . . [10](Ezekiel%206.md#^10) where the context is the same. That is, they will find out the Truth, they will *know*, they will find it so in their distress, they will *realize* they have been cast out. As God prepares the apostate churches and congregations for judgment day they are being rejected by God Himself and are cast out of His sight, He has left them. But in the meantime they continue to deceive themselves that God will not destroy them, convinced that He will rescue them, even though He has declared many times and through many warnings that He will destroy them for their wholesale rejection of His Word. It is too late and they will realize it when it's too late ([Mt 7:22](Matthew%207.md#^22), [23](Matthew%207.md#^23)). ^jer10-18 > [Jeremiah 10:19](Jeremiah%2010.md#^19) note > > God goes back to the theme we read in [Jeremiah 9:1](Jeremiah%209.md#^1). God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Remember when Jesus wept and lamented over Jerusalem that they would be destroyed and left desolate ([Mt 23:37](Matthew%2023.md#^37), [38](Matthew%2023.md#^38); [Lk 19:41](Luke%2019.md#^41), [42](Luke%2019.md#^42), [43](Luke%2019.md#^43), [44](Luke%2019.md#^44)). And so here again in Jeremiah 10:19 God picks up that grief, His agony that He must destroy His visible church made up of the local churches and congregations. And Jerusalem is a picture of what is happening today. > > Couldn't God stop this grief? Couldn't he turn those of His people who have fallen away from Him and gone their own way back to Him again? Isn't He God, the Supreme Ruler and Maker of the Law? Couldn't He maybe find some other way, to alter or minimize the situation? But He says here in this verse, "and I must bear it," -- that is, 'No, He cannot change this, it has to be.' This is God's program. God's Law is inviolate and when He decreed that the wages of sin is death, that is the eternal Law of God and it cannot be changed. So even in the churches and congregations, if they remain unsaved and under the wrath of God, He must go through with His judgments that He has decreed. He must bring them to trial, find them to guilty and sentence them to eternal damnation. He is a weeping Judge, He is weeping His eyes out (so to speak), but He must carry it through because of His perfect integrity and perfect justice for all who are not found in the Lord Jesus Christ, even for all those in the congregations who are not redeemed as well as in the world at large. And this is why we continue to pray for and weep over all of our loved ones who are still unsaved. ^jer10-19 > [Jeremiah 10:20](Jeremiah%2010.md#^20) note > > This spoiled tabernacle is again speaking of the visible kingdom of God, not the true believers. It is spoiled, it is destroyed, all of His cords are broken, His children are gone forth from Him and they are not -- they are gone, there is none left to stretch forth His tent and to set up His curtains. But notice God still calls it *His* tabernacle. God is the One who designed and created the churches and congregations and set up all the rules and so on. It is His tabernacle, even on a visible, earthly level. But the tares have been sown through the years to where Satan has overrun it, the ones who are left there are under the wrath of God and are like bundles being prepared for the fire. And, as we saw in [Jeremiah 9:1](Jeremiah%209.md#^1) and [10:19](Jeremiah%2010.md#^19) God is weeping and so should we. We should never have any kind of vindictive joy or happiness that the local congregations are under the wrath of God. It should fill us with sorrow because it was Christ's church, a divine institution established by God and this is most dreadful that finally it has come to an end. > > Now we must remember again that the tabernacle of the Old Testament represents either the visible or invisible church in context. And the context here has to do with God's wrath as it has been despoiled and emptied of those who are true believers, and God is weeping (v19). Also, the physical tabernacle was itself long gone before the days of Jeremiah when God is speaking here. It had been replaced by the temple which also was close to being destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon for the same reason -- the continuous sins of the people. And all of this is a type or figure of what is happening today. So we know God is using the destruction of the tabernacle here as a spiritual representation for what is happening to them spiritually. > > In [Isaiah 54:1](Isaiah%2054.md#^1), God speaks about Sarah who was the barren and desolate wife to Abraham compared to Hagar for a time after Hagar bore a son (Ishmael) to Abraham. But ultimately, it is through Sarah's son Isaac and ultimately Christ that there is a great inheritance of salvation in bringing many more children into the Kingdom of God ([Gal 4:27](Galatians%204.md#^27), [28](Galatians%204.md#^28)). So that's what the context is about in Isaiah 54, it has to do with the time that the Gospel is going forth. > > Then in [Isaiah 54:2](Isaiah%2054.md#^2), [3](Isaiah%2054.md#^3) God uses the opposite language from Jeremiah 10:20 of *enlarging the place of the tent, stretching forth the curtains, lengthening the cords and strengthening the stakes*. God is speaking there about the expanding the tabernacle as the Gospel goes forth into the nations, to the Gentiles, and brings many people into the tent, or into the fold. As the tent is enlarged it means the tabernacle is growing as many come in from the nations -- so it has to do with sending forth the Gospel into the world through the building of the churches and congregations during the New Testament era. > > But here in Jeremiah 10:20, God's tabernacle is demolished, it cannot grow anymore, it is void of life. His cords are broken, His children are gone forth from Him so that there's none left to set up His curtains and to stretch forth His tent anymore. It is empty of saved people sending forth the true Gospel that would bring more in. There is no one commissioned there to do any more evangelization, there is no more Gospel going forth from them. And we can see the results of this in our day as the churches and congregations have become rife with error and delusion. ^jer10-20 > [Jeremiah 10:21](Jeremiah%2010.md#^21) note > > We saw this word *brutish* in verses [8](Jeremiah%2010.md#^8) and [14](Jeremiah%2010.md#^14), and we learned that it was translated from a Hebrew word that means burnt or consumed, that is, they are under the wrath of God. And here it's specifically talking about the pastors, the shepherds of the flock! They have not sought the LORD, they have not sought Jehovah, through the Bible. They have discarded it, unbeknownst to them in their spiritual blindness, in favor of their own theology and doctrinal distinctives which cannot always be very accurate considering how many different denominations and sects there are. They critique the Bible as if it's any person's book, and they destroy the credibility of the Bible as they lose their sense of its absolute holiness. We must prayerfully go back to the Bible again and again and again, comparing Scripture with Scripture. It is a constant dwelling on God's Word and searching it out. But here God declares that they have *not* sought Him, and "therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered." This has to do with a lack of salvation, they shall not prosper but come under God's judgment and eternal damnation. ^jer10-21 > [Jeremiah 10:22](Jeremiah%2010.md#^22) note > > "Behold, the noise of the report is come" -- *Noise* here can be translated *voice or sound*, and the word *report* here means *report, tidings or news*. It is the voice or sound of the report or of the news. So God is saying there is a report going out, and it is going out here through Jeremiah as He declares what is happening. And remember that we just saw the tabernacle in the previous verses relates to the churches and congregations, and the same is true about the cities of Judah here. They have become desolate and a den of dragons. To be desolate means there is no more life of the Gospel, God has departed from them. It is the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not. > > In Isaiah 34:8-13 God gives us a description of this desolation, of being under the wrath of God, and we'll find in this context the same idea concerning the dragons. There God describes His wrath in very picturesque and ugly language. Beginning in [verse 8],(Isaiah%2034.md#^8) the controversy of Zion is the rebellion of the churches and congregations that are now subject to the wrath of God. And in [verses 9](Isaiah%2034.md#^9) and [10](Isaiah%2034.md#^10) remember that God is a consuming fire so He describes the conflagration that will burn up everything (cp [Rev 14:11](Revelation%2014.md#^11)). And when God says in verse 10 that "it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever" it means no one will get out, it is no longer a way of coming into the Gospel, they are committed forever and ever to be there because there's no more mercy for all eternity. It is everlasting damnation. > > But then we find some interesting language beginning in [verse 11](Isaiah%2034.md#^11). So here we have a situation where there is this terrible conflagration -- pitch burning and the fires that don't go out. So how can these unclean birds, these living creatures, be there? It is a figure of the fact that they have no relationship with God, there is no Water of the Life there. Then we get to verses [12](Isaiah%2034.md#^12) and [13](Isaiah%2034.md#^13) where we see thorns, nettles and brambles in the fortresses, and a habitation of *dragons* and a court for owls (see also [verse 14](Isaiah%2034.md#^14) and ). So we see these unclean animals which includes these dragons. And we know that Satan and all of the fallen angels will be cast into the lake of fire at the end of time -- with Satan being typified as a *dragon* ([Rev 18:2](Revelation%2018.md#^2), [20:2](Revelation%2020.md#^2)). So this represents that the unsaved along with all of the evil spirits and Satan will be gathered together for judgment, they have become a den of dragons, which applies also to the fallen churches and congregations at the end. ^jer10-22 > [Jeremiah 10:23](Jeremiah%2010.md#^23) note > > Humanity is absolutely not trustworthy, of ourselves we are sold out to sin. A good verse to identify with this is [Psalm 10:17](Psalm%2010.md#^17). The word *prepare* there is the same Hebrew word translated *direct* here in Jeremiah 10:23. It is God Who must prepare, direct or establish our hearts for eternity, only He can do this. Only He can give us a new heart, His Spirit and a new resurrected soul so that our way is acceptable to Him in Christ. So this verse is teaching that to walk in such a way in which we are prepared to be forever established with God is not within ourselves, we must look to God altogether. Our "good minds and good ideas" are not even close to being worthy, we cannot satisfy our egos and our self-esteem thinking that we can do it of ourselves. But when God saves us we become a new creation in Christ, we are completely different. And this is what God is drawing our attention to here through Jeremiah. How God does this is seen in the next verse, verse 24. ^jer10-23 > [Jeremiah 10:24](Jeremiah%2010.md#^24) note > > As follow-up to verse 23, we read how God establishes our hearts to follow Him. The word *judgment* here means *law, precept, statute, commandment or word*. That is, we are to be corrected with God's Law, that is, with the *Bible* ([2 Ti 3:16](2%20Timothy%203.md#^16)). This is so very important. So we plead with God to correct us with His Word so that we go His Way. > > Remember these verses are in the context of the local congregations that are under the wrath of God, they have become a den of dragons. They are not being corrected by the Word of God but have refused it, and thus they are no longer directed or established by God. In fact, they don't even believe they need any correction but believe they are doing just fine. So this verse is almost a plea that goes to the winds except for the fact there is still a remnant being saved by grace outside of the churches and congregations. > > "not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing" -- Humanity thinks they are so great. But under God's judgment they are diminished all the way down to nothing. They will not be anything great and wonderful as they think they are today. ^jer10-24 > [Jeremiah 10:25](Jeremiah%2010.md#^25) note > > This verse is an insertion where God is expressing His vengeance, what will happen to those who have rebelled against His Word. God's fury will come upon them, it is a given. It is not for us to make this cry in vengeance against those who have somehow wronged us, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves and to desire the very best for them, namely salvation. But in God's perfect justice demands that His judgment has come upon them. For anyone who has not had their sins paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ, God wrath has and will come upon them. And this includes those who have eaten up Jacob and devoured and consumed him, making his habitation desolate -- a figure of corrupting the churches and congregations where the Gospel was normally found with their own theology and ideas. > > "Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name" -- When someone calls on the Name of the LORD it indicates they are truly broken before God and have become saved ([Gen 13:4](Genesis%2013.md#^4), [Joel 2:32](Joel%202.md#^32); [Acts 2:21](Acts%202.md#^21)). They do not just mouth God's Name, saying, "Lord, Lord, have mercy" ([Mt 7:21](Matthew%207.md#^21), [22](Matthew%207.md#^22), [23](Matthew%207.md#^23)). To call upon the Name of the LORD means to call upon Him in every aspect of God's Being. We are baptized into the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. His Name embraces the totality of Who God Is. It means we are completely broken before Him and that we're looking altogether to the Triune God as our Savior, He is the only One in Whom we can put any trust. And we will not come into that position until He has saved us because by nature we are in rebellion against God. There has to be the miracle of salvation in order that we might begin to call upon His Name in Truth. > > So here in Jeremiah 10:25 where it speaks about the heathen that know Him not and the families who do *not* call on the Name of the LORD, it is speaking about those who are not saved, those who were never born again even though they might claim to have a relationship with God and believe that they are saved -- but rather they are a den of *dragons* ([v22](Jeremiah%2010.md#^22)). > > "for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate." -- And it is the unsaved who have eaten up Jacob and devoured and consumed him, making his habitation or his house desolate. They have come into and overrun the churches and congregations and corrupted them with their worldly, false gospels which have burned them up. ^jer10-25 Tags: #Old_Testament #Jeremiah #Gods_judgment_on_His_people #FSI