WORTHLESS CUSTOMS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them. For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”

Jeremiah 10:1-5

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What customs do you have?

Or maybe the better question might be:

What would be customary for you in any one given day?

In other words, if someone was to look at what you do on a day-to-day basis, what would they see you routinely do?

As we look at the opening verses of Jeremiah 10 today, we find that nations in Old Testament times were engaging in customs that could only be called worthless, not by me but rather by the Lord Himself. Look again at these words here:

Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them. For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”  Jeremiah 10:1-5

The Lord paints a vivid picture of the sinful idol-producing practices that pagan nations as well as His own people of Israel had engaged in.

First, a tree was cut out of the forest, an act that rendered the tree as dead and lifeless as anything that would be produced from it.

Then, a craftsman would shape the tree with his chisel. You see, an instrument used for wicked worship did not create itself. Instead, sinful man produced the sinful object.

After the idol was shaped from the tree, it would be adorned with silver and gold as well as fastened with hammer and nails so it would not totter. But despite any attempts to beautify the idol up, it could not change the ugly, root evil purpose it was designed for.

Note how the Lord frames the uselessness of the man-made idol. He first likens it to a scarecrow which hangs to frighten off the birds but has no speech but rather just presence. Indeed, the idol had no mobility either. It could not walk and would only be present where it was carried.

Lifeless and useless. That was the essence of the idols the people were worshipping and so it’s little wonder why the Lord referred to the practice as worthless. The idols were certainly not to be feared because there was nothing about them that was fearful. They were neither harmful or good.

They were just insignificant pieces of wood fashioned into something only a person’s depraved mind could believe was significant.

Let’s go back to my opening questions now.

What does the Lord see when He looks at your customs, the things you customarily or routinely do?

Does He see your actions wasted on lifeless and useless things of life, things that make your customs worthless?

Or does He see that you are focusing on Him fully in all that you do, making Him the center of your attention and affection, a custom that always has worth and bears great riches and treasures of heaven?

My prayer is that you are doing the latter but if not, my prayer is that today’s devotion will lead to a shift in of your customs from worthless to worthy and worthwhile.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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