20151011 Sunday, October 11 2015
Jeremiah 45: Trash Day For Idols

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin"

The First and Second Commandments (see When Did The Ten Commandments Begin? and The Ten Commandments) plainly state that there is only one true LORD (see The Identity Of The LORD God and The LORD God Our Saviour) and that making an idol of anything, whether for the purposes of a heathen religion, or for the purpose of worshipping the true God in a heathen manner, is foolish and evil.

"20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:2-6 KJV)

Humanity has suffered greatly from its attraction to, and obsession with, idols - things that can take many forms, whether religious, political or behavioral. Idolatry can be a powerful addiction, so much so that even after their idols have brought disaster upon them, they cling to their images and hand-gods even more. The attitude of a remnant of the people of Judah, after their fall to Babylon because of their idolatry, is a prime example. They became more defiant in their self-proclaimed "right" to self-destructive worship of the non-existent "Queen of Heaven" (see The Queen Of Heaven).

"44:15 Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, 44:16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee." (Isaiah 44:15-16 KJV)

The good news is that humanity is going to one day cast away all of their idols, physical and psychological. Many of the prophets were given to see and write about that day, including Isaiah, Ezekiel and the apostle John in the Book of Revelation.

"2:17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 2:18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish. 2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 2:20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 2:21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." (Isaiah 2:17-21 KJV)

"31:7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin." (Isaiah 317 KJV)

"7:16 But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. 7:17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. 7:18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. 7:19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity. 7:20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them. 7:21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it." (Ezekiel 7:16-21 KJV)

"9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." (Revelation 9:20-21 KJV)

Baruch was the scribe who recorded the Book of Jeremiah. After Jeremiah and Baruch had been abducted by the remnant rebels (see The Flight To Tahpanhes), Jeremiah made a prophecy to him as well - that the LORD will always deliver the faithful from fools.

"45:1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

45:2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; 45:3 Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. 45:4 Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. 45:5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest." (Jeremiah 45:1-5 KJV)

Fact Finder: How and when will the confusion that causes idolatry be cured?
See The Cure For Confusion