Jeremiah 10 Commentary
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
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KEY THOUGHT: O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. [Jeremiah 10:23 NKJV]
Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!
Jeremiah 10 NKJV
Idols and the True God
10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.
2 Thus says the Lord:
“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are [a]futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
5 They are upright, like a palm tree,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”
6 Inasmuch as there is none like You, O Lord
(You are great, and Your name is great in might),
7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
For this is Your rightful due.
For among all the wise men of the nations,
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8 But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish;
A wooden idol is a [b]worthless doctrine.
9 Silver is beaten into plates;
It is brought from Tarshish,
And gold from Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman
And of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all the work of skillful men.
10 But the Lord is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
11 Thus you shall say to them: “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
12 He has made the earth by His power,
He has established the world by His wisdom,
And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
13 When He utters His voice,
There is a [c]multitude of waters in the heavens:
“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
14 Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;
Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.
15 They are futile, a work of errors;
In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16 The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
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
17 Gather up your wares from the land,
O [d]inhabitant of the fortress!
18 For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will throw out at this time
The inhabitants of the land,
And will distress them,
That they may find it so.”
19 Woe is me for my hurt!
My wound is severe.
But I say, “Truly this is an infirmity,
And I must bear it.”
20 My tent is plundered,
And all my cords are broken;
My children have gone from me,
And they are no more.
There is no one to pitch my tent anymore,
Or set up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become dull-hearted,
And have not sought the Lord;
Therefore they shall not prosper,
And all their flocks shall be scattered.
22 Behold, the noise of the report has come,
And a great commotion out of the north country,
To make the cities of Judah desolate, a den of jackals.
23 O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
24 O Lord, correct me, but with justice;
Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.
25 Pour out Your fury on the Gentiles, who do not know You,
And on the families who do not call on Your name;
For they have eaten up Jacob,
Devoured him and consumed him,
And made his dwelling place desolate.
Footnotes
a. Jeremiah 10:3 Lit. vanity
b. Jeremiah 10:8 vain teaching
c. Jeremiah 10:13 Or noise
d. Jeremiah 10:17 Or you who dwell under siege
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 10 Commentary
“LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” Verse 23. In a statement of great importance, the prophet admits and submits to the sovereignty of the Creator God.
The LORD God retains total control over creation – His creation.
The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens. Verse 11.
And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Matthew 8:29
Of course, the Scripture points to judgment day for everything, including the gods, demons, or unholy spirits (unclean spirits).
Idols are useless and worthless – objects of mockery. Evil is the creation of people. Idols are hand-crafted by men. This is the wisdom of men.
They draw importance from humanity. They feed on our poor decisions. They are strengthened by our inability to submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Jesus.
Don’t worry about the lifeless objects. Don’t worry about signs in the heavens. Don’t be bothered by what looks like signs of potency.
Think about the Creator God, the LORD God Almighty. Marker of all things. Let the world investigate this space.
Chapter 10 is a combination of praise, petitionary prayer, and naked facts of life as we have it.
In the last section, the prophet asks the LORD to pour out His wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge the LORD. But Israel is among the nations that do not acknowledge the LORD, and so the prophet is careful. He prays for lenience on Jacob. Yes, punishment has been decreed against Jacob, but let there be lenience.
This is key to unlocking self-restoration. We are not really different. Probably the punishment I have wished for the evil-doers will be mine. I’m equally evil. But let there be lenience. Yes, lenience.
And the LORD answers Jeremiah’s prayer, but not exactly as expected. There would be no lenience. The LORD would still punish sin; otherwise, rules of justice are broken, creating a dent in the character of the LORD who is just. Isaiah’s Servant would take the punishment instead.
The first prayer the saint prays reflects acceptance that the just LORD punishes sin, always. Forgiveness is out of the question. However, the greatest news – always breaking news is that the Servant, known as the LORD Jesus Christ, is punished instead of the sinner. Ponder this fact. Accept it and let the LORD Jesus Christ rule in your life. You will have found lenience at this point.
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