20150902 Wednesday, September 2 2015
Jeremiah 10: The Saturnalia Tree

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Learn not the way of the heathen ... For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not"

An excerpt from the authoritative Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Edition. Note carefully that the custom of cutting down an evergreen tree, setting it up in the home, covered with decorations and lighting at a time of gift-giving in December began long before the birth of the Messiah. It was a pagan winter custom that the Romans carried over into their nationalized version of Christianity.

"In the Roman world, the Saturnalia (mid December) was a time of merry making and exchange of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the "Sun of Righteousness." On the Roman New Year (January 1) houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to children and the poor. To these observances were added the German and Celtic rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain and central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different aspects of this festive season. Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been associated with the winter festival, both pagan and Christian. Since the Middle Ages, evergreens, as symbols of survival, have been associated with Christmas."

Millions of people have fond memories of being brought up, albeit well-meaning, generation after generation, with a custom that came to be blindly regarded as Christian. But it isn't - and no amount of defiant declarations of "It's Christian to me," or "It's Christian if we say it is," can turn a lie into a truth.

What does the LORD (see The LORD God Our Saviour) Himself actually say about the pagan custom of decorated evergreen trees - that already existed centuries before the Birth of Messiah? (see also The Tree Huggers Of Israel And Judah)

The prophet Jeremiah was given to record the answer: "Learn not the way of the heathen."

What specifically was He talking about when He said it in that particular verse? "For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not."

Tree worship, or the use of trees in idolatry, is foolish, "Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might." Learn not the way of the heathen.

"10:1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: 10:2 Thus saith the LORD,

Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 10:3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 10:4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 10:5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

10:6 Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 10:7 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. 10:8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. 10:9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men. 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

10:11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

10:12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. 10:13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

10:14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 10:15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 10:16 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.

10:17 Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress. 10:18 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.

10:19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it. 10:20 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. 10:21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered. 10:22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 10:24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. 10:25 Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate." (Jeremiah 10:1-25 KJV)

Fact Finder: There really was a "Saint Nicholas." How was he used as the basis of the mythical "Santa Claus"?
See Could Santa Claus Have Become The Pope?