Jeremiah 10 Study Notes: Idols and the Living God
God warns Israel not to copy the nations, whose carved and gilded idols are as helpless as scarecrows, while He alone is the real, everlasting King who created everything. Exile is announced for the besieged land, and the prophet confesses that people cannot direct their own lives and asks for just correction.
General
What does the prophet confess about human life in 10:23?
Answer: A person’s course is not in his own control
With disaster approaching, the prophet prays and confesses that a person’s way does not belong to him, and no one walking can steer his own steps (10:23). Proverbs teaches the same truth: people make plans, but their steps are settled by God (Proverbs 16:9; 20:24). The Bible also shows why human beings cannot guide themselves rightly: the human heart deceives more than anything else and cannot be healed (17:9), and the fleshly mind will not and cannot submit to God’s law, so those ruled by it cannot please Him (Romans 8:7-8). This confession is a humble admission that both life’s direction and a right walk with God must come from the LORD, not from ourselves.
- Jeremiah 10:23 (BSB)“I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.”The prophet confesses that man’s way is not his own and that no one directs his own steps.
- Proverbs 16:9 (BSB)“A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”People plan their course, but the LORD determines their steps.
- Proverbs 20:24 (BSB)“A man’s steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?”A man’s steps are from the LORD, so no one fully understands his own way.
- Jeremiah 17:9 (BSB)“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”The human heart is deceitful and beyond cure, unable to guide itself rightly.
- Romans 8:7-8 (BSB)“because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.”The mind of the flesh cannot submit to God’s law or please Him.
Theological
What confession does the prophet make in 10:23 about human self-direction?
Answer: A person’s course is not in his own control
In his prayer the prophet confesses plainly that no one owns his own path and no one walking can steer his own course (10:23). This is a confession of human inability to steer one’s own life: people lay their plans, yet the LORD Himself settles where they actually go (Proverbs 16:9; 20:24). Scripture adds the moral side of the same truth: the human heart deceives more than anything else and is past healing (17:9), and the fleshly mind sets itself against God, neither submitting to His law nor able to (Romans 8:7-8). Fallen people cannot chart a righteous path for themselves; right direction must come from the LORD, and so the prophet’s next words are a plea to be corrected by Him (10:24).
- Jeremiah 10:23 (BSB)“I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.”The prophet confesses that man’s way is not his own and that no one directs his own steps.
- Proverbs 16:9 (BSB)“A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”People plan their course, but the LORD determines their steps.
- Proverbs 20:24 (BSB)“A man’s steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?”A man’s steps are from the LORD, so no one fully understands his own way.
- Jeremiah 17:9 (BSB)“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”The human heart is deceitful and beyond cure, unable to guide itself rightly.
- Romans 8:7-8 (BSB)“because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.”The mind of the flesh cannot submit to God’s law or please Him.
General
What does the prophet ask of the LORD in 10:24?
Answer: To correct him justly, not in anger
The prophet does not ask to escape correction. He asks the LORD to correct him with justice and not in anger, or he would be brought to nothing (10:24). David prayed in a similar way, asking not to be disciplined in God’s wrath (Psalm 6:1). Hebrews explains that God disciplines His children for their good, so that they share His holiness (Hebrews 12:10-11). In contrast, the prophet asks God to send His fury on the peoples who ignore Him and never pray to Him, because they have swallowed up and ruined Jacob (10:25), words repeated almost exactly in Psalm 79:6-7.
- Jeremiah 10:24-25 (BSB)“Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice—not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing. Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have consumed him and finished him off; they have devastated his homeland.”The prophet asks for just correction rather than anger, and for wrath on the nations that devoured Jacob.
- Psalm 6:1 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.”David asks not to be rebuked or disciplined in God’s wrath.
- Hebrews 12:10-11 (BSB)“Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.”God disciplines His children for their good, so they share His holiness.
- Psalm 79:6-7 (BSB)“Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, on the kingdoms that refuse to call on Your name, for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.”The psalm repeats the prayer for wrath on the nations that devoured Jacob.
Theological
What petition for himself does the prophet make in 10:24?
Answer: To correct him justly, not in anger
The petition accepts correction but asks that it be measured by justice rather than anger, lest the one corrected be reduced to nothing (10:24). David’s plea not to be disciplined in wrath is similar (Psalm 6:1), and Hebrews describes the Father’s discipline of His children as aimed at their good, a sharing of His holiness, and the righteousness and peace it later yields (Hebrews 12:10-11). Wrath is instead invoked on the peoples who refuse to know the LORD or pray to Him, since they have swallowed up and ruined Jacob (10:25), a prayer that reappears nearly verbatim in Psalm 79:6-7.
- Jeremiah 10:24-25 (BSB)“Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice—not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing. Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have consumed him and finished him off; they have devastated his homeland.”The prophet asks for just correction rather than anger, and for wrath on the nations that devoured Jacob.
- Psalm 6:1 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.”David asks not to be rebuked or disciplined in God’s wrath.
- Hebrews 12:10-11 (BSB)“Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.”God disciplines His children for their good, so they share His holiness.
- Psalm 79:6-7 (BSB)“Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, on the kingdoms that refuse to call on Your name, for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.”The psalm repeats the prayer for wrath on the nations that devoured Jacob.
General
In 10:2, what does the LORD tell the house of Israel not to be terrified of, even though the nations are?
Answer: Omens appearing in the sky
The chapter opens with a word from the LORD to the house of Israel (10:1). They must not imitate the religion of the surrounding peoples or be frightened by the omens those peoples read in the sky, even though those peoples dread such signs (10:2). Long before, God had told Israel not to walk in the customs of Egypt or Canaan (Leviticus 18:3). Isaiah taunts Babylon, daring her star-gazing astrologers, who claimed to predict the future, to come and save her (Isaiah 47:13). Israel had no reason to fear the sky, because the LORD Himself made the heavens and rules the storms (10:12-13).
- Jeremiah 10:2 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by the signs in the heavens, though the nations themselves are terrified by them.”The LORD forbids Israel to learn the nations’ ways or to dread the omens in the sky.
- Leviticus 18:3 (BSB)“You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.”God had long forbidden Israel to walk in the customs of the surrounding peoples.
- Isaiah 47:13 (BSB)“You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.”Babylon is taunted to let its star-gazing astrologers come forward and save it.
- Jeremiah 10:12-13 (BSB)“The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding. When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.”The LORD made the heavens and commands the storm, so His people need not fear the sky.
Theological
According to 10:2, what object of pagan dread is Israel forbidden to share?
Answer: Omens appearing in the sky
Addressed to the house of Israel (10:1), the oracle forbids two things: adopting the religious customs of the surrounding peoples and sharing their dread of celestial omens, which the nations themselves fear (10:2). The prohibition echoes the Mosaic command not to walk in the customs of Egypt or Canaan (Leviticus 18:3), and Isaiah mockingly dares Babylon’s astrologers to come forward and rescue her (Isaiah 47:13). The ground of Israel’s freedom from such fear is stated later in the chapter: the LORD Himself is the Creator who spread out the sky and governs the storm (10:12-13).
- Jeremiah 10:2 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by the signs in the heavens, though the nations themselves are terrified by them.”The LORD forbids Israel to learn the nations’ ways or to dread the omens in the sky.
- Leviticus 18:3 (BSB)“You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.”God had long forbidden Israel to walk in the customs of the surrounding peoples.
- Isaiah 47:13 (BSB)“You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.”Babylon is taunted to let its star-gazing astrologers come forward and save it.
- Jeremiah 10:12-13 (BSB)“The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding. When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.”The LORD made the heavens and commands the storm, so His people need not fear the sky.
General
According to 10:11-12, what sets the LORD apart from the gods the nations serve?
Answer: He formed the earth and the heavens
Israel is given a message to tell the nations: the gods who did not make the heavens and the earth will vanish from the earth (10:11). The LORD, on the other hand, used His might to form the earth, His wisdom to set the world in place, and His insight to spread out the sky; He sends the thunder, rain, lightning, and wind (10:12-13). A psalm makes the same contrast: the gods other peoples worship are mere idols, while the LORD created the sky (Psalm 96:5). Barnabas and Paul preached the same message to pagans, calling them away from empty idols to the God who lives and who created everything (Acts 14:15).
- Jeremiah 10:11-13 (BSB)“Thus 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.” The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding. When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.”The gods who made nothing will perish, while the LORD made the earth and the heavens and rules the storm.
- Psalm 96:5 (BSB)“For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.”The gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
- Acts 14:15 (BSB)““Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.”Barnabas and Paul call idolaters to turn to the living God who made heaven and earth.
- Isaiah 44:24 (BSB)“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,”The LORD alone made all things and spread out the heavens and the earth.
Theological
What is the decisive contrast drawn in 10:11-12 between the LORD and the nations’ gods?
Answer: He formed the earth and the heavens
Israel is handed a sentence to pronounce to the nations: gods that did not create heaven and earth are doomed to vanish from both (10:11). The LORD’s claim to deity rests on creation: by power, wisdom, and understanding He formed the earth, founded the world, and spread out the sky, and He still governs thunder, rain, lightning, and wind (10:12-13). The same argument appears in Psalm 96:5 and in the apostles’ preaching at Lystra, where Barnabas and Paul summon idolaters to the God who lives and created heaven, earth, and sea (Acts 14:15); God alone made all things (Isaiah 44:24).
- Jeremiah 10:11-13 (BSB)“Thus 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.” The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding. When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.”The gods who made nothing will perish, while the LORD made the earth and the heavens and rules the storm.
- Psalm 96:5 (BSB)“For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens.”The gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
- Acts 14:15 (BSB)““Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.”Barnabas and Paul call idolaters to turn to the living God who made heaven and earth.
- Isaiah 44:24 (BSB)“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,”The LORD alone made all things and spread out the heavens and the earth.
General
In 10:3-5, what does the LORD compare the nations’ idols to?
Answer: A scarecrow in a cucumber field
The LORD describes how an idol is made: a tree is cut from the forest, carved by a craftsman, overlaid with precious metal, and nailed down so it will not fall over (10:3-4). Such an idol is like a scarecrow standing in a field of cucumbers. It cannot talk, it cannot walk, and it has to be carried, so there is no reason to fear it, because it can do neither harm nor good (10:5). Other Scriptures make the same point: idols have mouths that cannot speak and feet that cannot walk (Psalm 115:4-7), they must be lifted and carried and cannot save (Isaiah 46:7), and Paul says an idol has no real existence in the world (1 Corinthians 8:4).
- Jeremiah 10:3-5 (BSB)“For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman. They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter. Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.””The LORD describes the making of an idol and compares it to a scarecrow that cannot speak or walk.
- Psalm 115:4-7 (BSB)“Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats.”Idols made by human hands have mouths and feet but cannot speak or walk.
- Isaiah 46:7 (BSB)“They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.”An idol has to be carried and set in place, and it cannot save anyone.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4 (BSB)“So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.”Paul states that an idol is nothing and there is only one God.
Theological
What image does the LORD use in 10:5 for the idols that craftsmen produce?
Answer: A scarecrow in a cucumber field
The LORD exposes the idol by tracing its manufacture: timber from the forest, shaped by a craftsman’s tool, plated with precious metal, and fastened with nails so it will not topple (10:3-4). The result is a scarecrow among the cucumbers, mute, immobile, carried about, and impotent either to harm or to help, so it is not to be feared (10:5). The polemic matches Psalm 115:4-7 and Isaiah 46:7, and Paul concludes that idols have no real existence, since there is but one God (1 Corinthians 8:4).
- Jeremiah 10:3-5 (BSB)“For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman. They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter. Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.””The LORD describes the making of an idol and compares it to a scarecrow that cannot speak or walk.
- Psalm 115:4-7 (BSB)“Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats.”Idols made by human hands have mouths and feet but cannot speak or walk.
- Isaiah 46:7 (BSB)“They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.”An idol has to be carried and set in place, and it cannot save anyone.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4 (BSB)“So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.”Paul states that an idol is nothing and there is only one God.
General
True or False: In 10:6-7 the LORD is praised as the King of the nations, whom everyone ought to fear, with no one like Him among the wise men or kingdoms of the earth.
Answer: True
This is true. Right after mocking the idols, the prophet turns to praise: no one is like the LORD, His name is great in power, and He is the King of the nations, so all should fear Him, since that is what He deserves (10:6-7). No wise man and no kingdom anywhere on earth compares with Him (10:7). A psalm says the same thing, that no god is like the Lord (Psalm 86:8), and another says that He reigns over every people (Psalm 22:28). The book of Revelation records the redeemed singing that every nation will gather to worship Him (Revelation 15:4).
- Jeremiah 10:6-7 (BSB)“There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power. Who 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.”The prophet praises the LORD as incomparable and as King over the nations.
- Psalm 86:8 (BSB)“O Lord, there is none like You among the gods, nor any works like Yours.”The psalmist confesses that there is none like the Lord among the gods.
- Psalm 22:28 (BSB)“For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.”Dominion belongs to the LORD, and He rules the nations.
- Revelation 15:4 (BSB)“Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.””The redeemed sing that all nations will worship the Lord, who alone is holy.
Theological
True or False: The praise of 10:6-7 confesses the LORD as King over the nations, whose fear is His due, and declares Him without equal among all the sages and realms of the nations.
Answer: True
This is true. The satire on idols gives way to praise: the LORD is incomparable, His name great in might, and as King of the nations He is rightly feared by all (10:6-7); no sage or kingdom among the nations has His equal (10:7). His incomparability is a recurring confession (Psalm 86:8), and His kingship is universal, not tribal (Psalm 22:28). The song of the redeemed in Revelation 15:4 takes up the same theme, confessing that every nation will gather to worship Him.
- Jeremiah 10:6-7 (BSB)“There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power. Who 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.”The prophet praises the LORD as incomparable and as King over the nations.
- Psalm 86:8 (BSB)“O Lord, there is none like You among the gods, nor any works like Yours.”The psalmist confesses that there is none like the Lord among the gods.
- Psalm 22:28 (BSB)“For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.”Dominion belongs to the LORD, and He rules the nations.
- Revelation 15:4 (BSB)“Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.””The redeemed sing that all nations will worship the Lord, who alone is holy.
General
According to 10:16, why is the Portion of Jacob not like the idols?
Answer: He formed everything that exists
Every idol-maker ends up ashamed, because his images are a lie and lifeless; they are empty and will perish when judgment comes (10:14-15). The LORD, who bears the title Portion of Jacob, differs completely, because He made everything, and Israel is His own inherited people (10:16). A portion is a person’s share or inheritance. A psalm and Lamentations both rejoice that the LORD Himself is the portion of those who trust Him (Psalm 16:5; Lamentations 3:24), and Moses said that the LORD’s own share is the people of Jacob, His allotted possession (Deuteronomy 32:9). God belongs to His people and they belong to Him.
- Jeremiah 10:14-16 (BSB)“Every 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. They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish. The 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.”Idols are breathless frauds, but the Portion of Jacob is the Maker of all, and Israel is His inheritance.
- Psalm 16:5 (BSB)“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.”The psalmist calls the LORD his chosen portion.
- Lamentations 3:24 (BSB)““The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.””Having the LORD as one’s portion is the ground of hope in Him.
- Deuteronomy 32:9 (BSB)“But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.”The LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His inheritance, the other side of the same bond.
Theological
On what ground does 10:16 distinguish the Portion of Jacob from the idols of 10:14-15?
Answer: He formed everything that exists
The goldsmith is shamed by his own handiwork: lifeless, fraudulent images destined to perish when they are punished (10:14-15). Jacob’s Portion is categorically other, for He is Creator of everything, and Israel is a people He holds as His own possession (10:16). The covenant bond runs both ways: the LORD belongs to His people as their portion (Psalm 16:5; Lamentations 3:24), and His people are His portion and allotted inheritance (Deuteronomy 32:9).
- Jeremiah 10:14-16 (BSB)“Every 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. They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish. The 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.”Idols are breathless frauds, but the Portion of Jacob is the Maker of all, and Israel is His inheritance.
- Psalm 16:5 (BSB)“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.”The psalmist calls the LORD his chosen portion.
- Lamentations 3:24 (BSB)““The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.””Having the LORD as one’s portion is the ground of hope in Him.
- Deuteronomy 32:9 (BSB)“But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.”The LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His inheritance, the other side of the same bond.
General
According to 10:21, why is the flock scattered?
Answer: Its leaders turned foolish and did not seek God
The people living under siege are told to pack their belongings, because the LORD is about to hurl the inhabitants out of the land (10:17-18). A voice mourns a crushing wound, a torn-down tent, and children who are gone (10:19-20). The cause is given: the shepherds, meaning the people’s leaders, have become senseless and have not sought the LORD, so they have not succeeded and the people in their care are driven apart (10:21). News of an uproar from the north is already on its way (10:22), the northern disaster announced at Jeremiah’s call (1:14). Later the LORD pronounces woe on the shepherds who scatter His flock (23:1-2).
- Jeremiah 10:21 (BSB)“For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.”The shepherds have become senseless and have not sought the LORD, so the flock is scattered.
- Jeremiah 1:14 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land.”At Jeremiah’s call the LORD announced disaster coming from the north.
- Jeremiah 23:1-2 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.”The LORD pronounces woe on the shepherds who have scattered His flock.
- Ezekiel 34:5-6 (BSB)“They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’”The flock was scattered for lack of a true shepherd.
Theological
What cause does 10:21 assign to the scattering of the flock?
Answer: Its leaders turned foolish and did not seek God
Judah, besieged, is told to gather its goods for exile, since the LORD will hurl the land’s inhabitants away (10:17-18). A lament follows over a grievous wound, a collapsed tent, and departed sons (10:19-20). The diagnosis falls on the leaders: the shepherds have turned foolish and have not sought the LORD, and so they have failed and the flock is scattered (10:21). The report from the north (10:22) is the disaster announced at Jeremiah’s commissioning (1:14), and the indictment of the shepherds returns in 23:1-2 and in Ezekiel 34:5-6.
- Jeremiah 10:21 (BSB)“For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.”The shepherds have become senseless and have not sought the LORD, so the flock is scattered.
- Jeremiah 1:14 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land.”At Jeremiah’s call the LORD announced disaster coming from the north.
- Jeremiah 23:1-2 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.”The LORD pronounces woe on the shepherds who have scattered His flock.
- Ezekiel 34:5-6 (BSB)“They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’”The flock was scattered for lack of a true shepherd.
General
In contrast to the idols dressed in blue and purple, how is the LORD described in 10:10?
Answer: The true God, who lives and reigns forever
The idolaters are called senseless, taught by wooden idols, and their idols are decorated with imported precious metals and dressed in blue and purple cloth (10:8-9). By contrast, the LORD alone is the one real God, who lives and reigns as King forever; the earth shakes at His anger, and no people can withstand it (10:10). The New Testament uses the same language when it describes believers who left their idols in order to serve the God who is living and real (1 Thessalonians 1:9). Jesus says the Father alone is truly God (John 17:3), and a psalm says the LORD reigns as King without end (Psalm 10:16).
- Jeremiah 10:10 (BSB)“But 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.”The LORD is set against the idols as the true and living God and eternal King.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:9 (BSB)“For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God”Believers turned from idols to serve the living and true God.
- John 17:3 (BSB)“Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”Jesus calls the Father the only true God.
- Psalm 10:16 (BSB)“The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land.”The psalm confesses that the LORD is King forever and ever.
Theological
Over against the decorated idols of 10:8-9, what does 10:10 confess about the LORD?
Answer: The true God, who lives and reigns forever
The idolaters are senseless and instructed by worthless wood, their gods merely the craftsman’s and goldsmith’s work clothed in blue and purple (10:8-9). Against them stands the LORD: the true God, the living God, the eternal King, before whose wrath the earth trembles and no people can stand (10:10). The pairing of living and true recurs in Paul’s description of the Thessalonians’ conversion from idols (1 Thessalonians 1:9); Jesus confesses the Father as alone truly God (John 17:3); and the LORD’s everlasting kingship is confessed in Psalm 10:16.
- Jeremiah 10:10 (BSB)“But 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.”The LORD is set against the idols as the true and living God and eternal King.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:9 (BSB)“For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God”Believers turned from idols to serve the living and true God.
- John 17:3 (BSB)“Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”Jesus calls the Father the only true God.
- Psalm 10:16 (BSB)“The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land.”The psalm confesses that the LORD is King forever and ever.