Jeremiah 10

Verses 1-10, “Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 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. For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. 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.” Inasmuch as there is none like You, O Lord (You are great, and Your name is great in might), 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. But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine. 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. 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.”

The Jews were supposed to be different from the nations that God dispossessed, not become just like them.  II Kings 17:9‭-‬12 , “Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city. They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, for they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”  One such practice or custom was to cut down and decorate a tree from the forest, fasten it so it would stand upright, and then worship it. Even a child would read this and make the connection to the Christmas tree. Evergreens were thought to be special which is why the pagans worshipped under every green tree. It was common to use them to worship false gods during the winter solstice. God made it clear that He did not want to be worshipped in the same way.

Verses 11-25, “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.” 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. When He utters His voice, There is a 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.” 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. They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish. 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. Gather up your wares from the land, O inhabitant of the fortress! 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.” Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is severe. But I say, “Truly this is an infirmity, And I must bear it.” 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. 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. 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. O Lord , I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. O Lord, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing. 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.”

The God we serve is so much better than a worthless idol made by man's hands. No matter how much faith people place in them, they will all perish. In comparison, the Lord is actually alive and the Creator of all things. He warned the Jews that judgement would come to those who would play the harlot with other gods, but they would not listen.  Exodus 34:13‭-‬17, “But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one  of  them  invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods. “You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.”  God is the one who directs the steps of man. In this case, He would direct the Babylonian army in order to bring harm or judgement upon the Jews. He will direct us in the right ways, if we put our trust in Him.  Proverbs 3:5‭-‬8, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.”