Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 10-12.

Today’s passage begins with Jeremiah comparing false gods to scarecrows. He writes something very similar to what is written in Isaiah 44.  Most importantly, Jeremiah tells us not to fear false gods because they can do no harm, nor any good.  Jeremiah goes on to point out that everything other than God which we might worship came into existence after the creation of the universe.  If you study the holy writings of every other religion, its gods came into being after something already existed.  Only the God of Abraham existed before anything else.  Even today, everything other than God which is worshiped came into being after the universe began.  There are those who worship the Sun or the Moon, and those who worship the Earth, and, of course, those who worship themselves, but all of these things did not exist before time.  None of these things can provide us with a basis for doing good because they exist only within time.  Only by listening to God can we learn what is truly good.

Ahhh! this seems so clear in my head, but I cannot type the words to make the point clear here.

Jeremiah tells us that the shepherds, those who should provide us guidance, are senseless because they fail to inquire of God before telling us what course of action to follow.  The prophet Isaiah largely prophesied against those who blatantly turned their backs on God and embraced the sins which God had proscribed.   Jeremiah, on the other hand, prophesied primarily against those who maintained the semblance of worshiping God, while embracing the sins which God had proscribed.   Jeremiah speaks out against those who use a veneer of godliness to hide their moral corruption, who come up with ways to justify their self-indulgence, or that of others.  And Jeremiah warns that God will uproot all such peoples.

However, today’s passage ends with a note of hope.  God promises that He will embrace and make part of His people all of those, from whatever nation or heritage, who learn His ways and choose to be identified as His.  Those He will establish and protect.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.