Jeremiah 10: 1-5: Don’t be a chameleon!(click here for todays passage)

This chapter sees the conclusion of the series of messages that Jeremiah delivered at the gate of the temple (7:1, 2). It contains a warning against idolatry (1-16).

In Romans 12:2 Paul writes: ‘’Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world…’’ He says, in effect, ‘Don’t be a chameleon, taking on your moral colouring from the environment.’ (I heard recently, by the way, that the way to kill a chameleon is to place it on tartan!!)

‘’Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.’’ The Message.

This passage in Jeremiah reminded me of Romans: ‘’Do not learn the ways of the nations…For the customs of the peoples are worthless…’’ (2, 3)

Idolatry was one of the ‘’ways of the nations’’. The people of Judah were about to go into exile in Babylon. There they might be tempted to worship Babylonian gods. They might conclude, incorrectly, that these gods were responsible for their downfall. God’s people were not to go down the ‘way’ of idolatry. They must not let the world of their day squeeze them into its mould. They shouldn’t be like jelly. (Notice these words were addressed to the ‘’house of Israel’’, verse 1, and not only to Judah). Through Jeremiah, God warned the exiles not to learn these idolatrous ‘’ways of the nations’’ – and especially not the ways of Babylon.

Pagan people worshipped the heavenly bodies as gods (2b). They put great stress on comets, meteors, eclipses and the like. God’s people were not to do that.

This is another of those great Old Testament passages that shows how ludicrous it is to worship idols (3-5).

‘’They trim it with tinsel and balls, use hammer and nails to keep it upright. It’s like a scarecrow in a cabbage patch – can’t talk! Dead wood that has to be carried – can’t walk!’’ The Message

It brings a smile to your face. An idol is like something to frighten off the birds, and not a holy power to subdue the sinful inclinations in the human heart (5). It leaves you scratching your head, asking, ‘Why would anyone be an idolater?’ (See also Psalm 115:2-8; Isaiah 40:18-20; 44:9-20; 46:5-7).Yet we know how easy it is to slip into idolatry – even without bowing down before statues: 1 John 5:21. We can easily adopt substitutes for God. An idol is anything or anyone taking His rightful place in our hearts.

The last part of (5) spoke to me as I prepared for a prayer meeting this morning: ‘’…they can do no harm nor can they do any good.’’ I thought, ‘Yes, but our God, the ‘’living God’’ (10) is good and He does good. He does good in answer to our prayers.’

So let us pray…and worship Him alone.

Prayer: Lord, you alone are deserving of all my worship. Help me to stay true to you.