Idol Worship - Jeremiah 7-11

Jeremiah 10:9-10 (ESV)

9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,

and gold from Uphaz.

They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is violet and purple;

they are all the work of skilled men.

10 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.

There is a contrast in the above two verses that cannot be overlooked.  In verse nine, above, we read about the resources used to make the false idols that Israel and Judah worshipped.  In verse ten we read about God and who He is.   Jeremiah is writing to the nations because they followed hard after the gods of this world; the idols that were crafted out of gold and silver and violet and purple.  Notice what is written in the next chapter:

Jeremiah 11:6-8 (ESV)

And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

Their stubborn hearts lead them to worship dumb idols.   Could that happen today, to our society and community?  Of course it does.  We worship gold and sliver.   Our bank accounts and our shinny possessions are at the center of our hearts.   We worship wood and drywall and plumbing and electricity in our houses we build.   We worship fiberglass in the boats we crave.   We worship knowledge and information in the tech we hold in our hands.   We worship (show something worth) anything we can see, touch and feel.   Yet God, who made the heavens, is the one we are to worship.  The God, who can and will bring His wrath and indignation upon those who worship false gods, is deserving of our praise and worship.   Jeremiah is writing to call the people back to worshiping their true God.   Instead they turn to sticks covered in gold and purple cloth.