Can we really be that stupid?

We pick Jeremiah back up with chapters 10 & 11. God is still not happy with Israel. Having dealt with their unwillingness to repent He now turns His attention to a different offense.

Israel had fallen into worshipping idols. They had let the pagan religions of the surrounding nations infiltrate their culture and turn them from worshipping the one true God. They had begun worshipping false gods or "idols" made of wood and precious metals.

God articulates the problem in Jeremiah 10:2-5

Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the people are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. 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.

Israel had obviously been listening to their neighbors' philosophies on religion (learn not the way of the nations), fallen into astrology (nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens), and engaged in the worship of wooden statues.

But what is interesting is that God doesn't head immediately into a rebuke. He doesn't start with a chastisement of Israel for being evil or being adulterous.

Instead, God points out the stupidity of Israel's worshipping things made by men. He starts by pointing out the weaknesses of the pagan gods.

He lists several weaknesses--

1) They are man made. Think about it. Can something made by a human really be god?

2) They are made from elements of the earth. I thought a god was supposed to be the creator of trees and metal and not created from trees and metal?

3) They derive their beauty from the skill of others. The pagan gods had not beauty until a craftsman skillfully adorned them with materials.

4) They are physically limited. Is there handicap parking for these gods? They can't even move or speak.

5) They are incapable of making any difference. These gods can't do any evil or any good. They are utterly worthless.

God's point is simple--Does these attributes sound like they belong to anything worthy of worship?

God continues in verses 6 through 10 by comparing Himself to these false gods--

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 the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are both stupid and foolish the instruction of idols is but wood! 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 the work of skilled men. 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.

God must have a sense of humor because He shows in these verses how He is the exact opposite of those worthless idols.

1) God is not man-made. He has no beginning or end. He has always been. He is the "living God" and the "everlasting King."

2) God controls the elements of the earth. So much so, that even the earth quakes at His wrath.

3) God's beauty is intrinsic. Jeremiah exclaims "There is none like you, O Lord; you are great."

4) God is not limited in any way. Jeremiah says, "You are great, and your name is great in might." Even God's name is mighty. Yikes!

5) God is to be both feared and praised. Jeremiah points asks "Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due. Fear, in this context, is used a dual term representing both genuine fear (in response to God's power) and respect (in response to Gods wisdom and goodness).

God's point is simple. If this was a boxing match the announcer would say, "In the red corner we have the "challenger" made by men, having no intrinsic worth, having created nothing, incapable of moving and incapable of making any real difference." And then the announcer would turn to God and say, "In the blue corner we have the "champion" eternal, having endless intrinsic beauty, the Creator of everything, capable of making the earth tremble at His voice, and able to both destroy and save."

Who do you think is winning that fight?

Here is the point: You and I may not have a wooden statue that we are praying too, but we are guilty of worshipping false idols. We worship at the altar of money, career, boyfriend/girlfriend, self, etc... We trust these things to save us. We trust these things to provide our happiness and purpose.

But how stupid are we?

God is the Creator of everything we see. He is the eternal everlasting King of the universe. He is the One who has reached down and rescued us through the work of Jesus Christ.

So, why do we go elsewhere in our worship? Why are we that stupid?