Jeremiah 10:1-5
The idols people fear and trust are powerless creations of human craftsmanship, while the Lord alone is living and sovereign.
1 Hear the word which Yahweh speaks to you, house of Israel!
2 Yahweh says, “Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don’t be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that it can’t move.
5 They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak. They must be carried, because they can’t move. Don’t be afraid of them; for they can’t do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”
The idols people fear and trust are powerless creations of human craftsmanship, while the LORD alone is living and sovereign.
To warn Judah not to learn the idolatrous practices of the nations and to expose the utter powerlessness and absurdity of man-made idols.
After concluding Jeremiah 9 by emphasizing true knowledge of the LORD over religious pride, chapter 10 contrasts the living God with the lifeless idols worshiped by the nations.
Jeremiah confronts the widespread practice of idol worship and astrology in the ancient Near East.
The Living God and the Worthless Idols of the Nations
The living LORD alone is Creator, King, and Portion of his people, while idols are breathless frauds; therefore Judah must abandon pagan fear, submit to the LORD's correction, and confess that human beings cannot direct their own steps.