Idols and the Living God
“Their idols are like scarecrows
in a cucumber field,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”
-Jeremiah 10:5
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 due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you.
-Jeremiah 10:6-7
But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
-Jeremiah 10:10
Thus shall you say to them:
“The gods who did not make
the heavens and the earth
shall perish from the earth
and from under the heavens.”
-Jeremiah 10:11
It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
When he utters his voice,
there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
-Jeremiah 10:12-13
Woe is me because of my hurt!
My wound is grievous.
But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
and I must bear it.”
My tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
and they are not;
there is no one to spread my tent again
and to set up my curtains.
For the shepherds are stupid
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flock is scattered.
-Jeremiah 10:19-21
I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
Correct me, O Lord, but in justice;
not in anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
-Jeremiah 10:23-24
Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,
and on the peoples that call not on your name.
-Jeremiah 10:25
The Broken Covenant
Then, the word of the Lord went to Jeremiah and told him to speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He was told to tell them,
“Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.”
Then, Jeremiah answered, “So be it, Lord.”
Jeremiah was to proclaim all those words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and the people were to hear the words of the covenant and do them. The Lord had warned their fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt, warned them persistently, to obey His voice.
Yet they did not obey or incline their ears, but everyone walked in stubbornness of their evil hearts. The Lord sent upon them all the words of the covenant, which they were commanded to do, but they did not.
The Lord continued that there was a conspiracy among men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and they had turned their backs to the iniquities of their forefathers, and refused to hear God’s words. They had gone after other gods and served them, and that was one of the biggest problems.
Because of that, the house of Israel and the house of Judah had broken their covenant that was made with their forefathers, resulting in the Lord bringing disaster upon them that they could not escape. No matter how they cried out for help, the Lord refused to listen to them.
Then they would go and cry to the gods whom they had made offerings to, but they could not save them in their times of trouble. Their “gods” had become as many as their cities, and their altars set up were shame.
The Lord said, “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile things?”
The Lord once called them ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit,’ but with the roar of a great tempest he set fire to it, and its branches were consumed.
The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that was done and provocation of anger.
The Lord made it known to me and I knew;
then you showed me their deeds.
But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.
I did not know it was against me
they devised schemes, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
that his name be remembered no more.”
But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,
who tests the heart and the mind,
let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
-Jeremiah 11:18-20
Jeremiah’s Complaint
Righteous are you, O Lord,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
you are near in their mouth
and far from their heart.
But you, O Lord, know me;
you see me, and test my heart toward you.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
-Jeremiah 12:1-3
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
“If you have raced with men on foot,
and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
For even your brothers and the house of your father,
even they have dealt treacherously with you;
they are in full cry after you;
do not believe them,
though they speak friendly words to you.”
“I have forsaken my house;
I have abandoned my heritage;
I have given the beloved of my soul
into the hands of her enemies.
My heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
therefore I hate her.
Is my heritage to me like a hyena’s lair?
Are the birds of prey against her all around?
Go, assemble all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.”
“Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
they have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.
They have made it a desolation;
desolate, it mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
but no man lays it to heart.
Upon all the bare heights in the desert
destroyers have come,
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other,
no flesh has peace.”
“They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their harvests
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
-Jeremiah 12:5-13
The Lord continued concerning all the evil neighbors who touched the heritage that was given to His people Israel to inherit, saying,
“Behold, I will pluck them up from their land,
and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them.
And after I have plucked them up,
I will again have compassion on them,
and I will bring them again each to his heritage
and each to his land.
And it shall come to pass,
if they will diligently learn the ways of my people,
to swear by my name,
‘As the Lord lives,’
even as they taught my people to swear by Baal,
then they shall be built up in the midst of my people.
But if any nation will not listen,
then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it,
declares the Lord.”
-Jeremiah 12:15-17
Reading this last part really makes it clear how much God loves his people. Even with all the disobedience and betrayal they continue to do, the Lord will still give them a chance to “come home” to Him and would be forgiven. His people are the “beloved of His soul,” and that love is shown throughout all the repetitive cycles I’ve read.