BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

As you may have learned while reading through Isaiah, Yahweh’s prophets love to talk trash about idols. Jeremiah is no exception. Today’s reading features one of Jeremiah’s particularly colorful tirades against idolatrous statues and those who worship them.

Jeremiah first argues that idolatry is just plain dumb. Something along the lines of, “You’re telling me you cut down a tree, slapped some shiny metal on it, and are now trusting that material to rescue you and provide a good life? Wood chunks cannot see or speak. How do you expect it to save you, especially from a superpower like the Babylonian army? Are you going to lay your idol down in the road and hope their horses trip over it? That might work … but probably not.”

What’s more, idolatry is treacherous. By bowing down to idols, the Israelites are violating their agreement with Yahweh and their commitment to uphold it. This adultery is not a minor issue in need of a little tweak; this willful disregard of their agreement with Yahweh will result in experiencing all the curses that Moses warned them about in Deuteronomy 28. Disaster is coming—a disaster so humiliating that Yahweh has Jeremiah play it out through a prophetic sign act. Judah will become so corrupted and useless that it will be like a piece of clothing left to decay in the dirt.

This ruinous fate, Jeremiah says, is conditional and not guaranteed. They can still change course, and choosing to change course will lead to goodness, not corruption. Jeremiah pleads with them to repent of their foolish and faithless idolatry before it is too late. Will they listen?

Reflection Questions

• Compare today’s reading to Paul’s anti-idolatry trash talk in Romans 1. What common themes do you notice?
• Look back over Exodus 28:39-43. Who did God assign to wear linen? What does this show you about God’s choice of material for the object lesson in today’s reading?