Let the Idols Perish
Jeremiah 10, verse 1. O house of Israel, hear the word of the Lord, for He has spoken to you. Jeremiah 10, verse 2. Thus says the Lord: “Do not learn the ways of the Gentiles, and do not be afraid because of signs from the sky, for they themselves reverence these. Jeremiah 10, verse 3. For the customs of the peoples are vain. This vanity is a tree cut from the forest, the work of a craftsman, or it is a molten image. Jeremiah 10, verse 4. They are embellished with silver and gold with a hammer, and they strengthen them with nails so they will not move. Jeremiah 10, verse 5. They will be taken up and carried, for they cannot walk by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, because they cannot do evil, nor is there any good thing in them. Jeremiah 10, verse 6. The silver is worked in relief, and they cannot travel anywhere. The silver overlays come from Tarshish, the gold from Uphaz. All handiwork is the work of goldsmiths and craftsmen, and they will dress them in hyacinth and purple.” Jeremiah 10, verse 7. Thus you shall say to them, “Let the gods that did not make heaven and earth perish from the earth and from under this heaven.” Jeremiah 10, verse 8. The Lord—who made the earth in His strength, who restores the inhabited world in His wisdom and discernment—stretched out heaven, Jeremiah 10, verse 9. and the abundance of water in heaven; and He brings up clouds from the ends of the earth. He made lightning for the rain, and brings light out of His storehouses. Jeremiah 10, verse 10. Every man is made foolish because of this knowledge, and every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved images; because they cast false gods that have no spirit in them. Jeremiah 10, verse 11. They are vain works that are ridiculed, and in the time of His visitation they shall be destroyed. Jeremiah 10, verse 12. Such is not the portion for Jacob, for He who formed all things is Jacob's inheritance. The Lord is His name.
Desolation Is Coming to Judah
Jeremiah 10, verse 13. This inheritance resides in the elect and gathers together your existence outside the land. Jeremiah 10, verse 14. For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will overthrow those who reside in this land with affliction, that your wound might be discovered.” Jeremiah 10, verse 15. Alas for your ruin! Your wound is painful, and I say, “Indeed, this is my wound, and it overtakes me. Jeremiah 10, verse 16. My tabernacle endures hardship and is ruined, and all my skin coverings are torn apart. My sons and my sheep are no more, and there is no place left for my tent, nor for my curtains. Jeremiah 10, verse 17. For the shepherds act foolishly and no longer seek out the Lord. Therefore, the whole pasture does not understand, thus the sheep are scattered. Jeremiah 10, verse 18. Behold, there is a sound of news, and an earthquake comes from the land of the north to cause the cities of Judah to disappear, making them the nesting place of sparrows. Jeremiah 10, verse 19. I know, O Lord, that man's way is not his own, nor will a man go and prosper in his own pursuit. Jeremiah 10, verse 20. Chastise us, O Lord, but with judgment and not in anger, lest You make our numbers few. Jeremiah 10, verse 21. Pour out Your anger on the Gentiles who do not know You, and on the generations who did not call on Your name; because they devoured Jacob and utterly destroyed him, and they laid waste his pasture.