Jeremiah 10
The Stick Gods
1-5 Listen to the Message that God is sending your way, House of Israel. Listen most carefully:
"Don't take the godless nations as your models.
Don't be impressed by their glamour and glitz,
no matter how much they're impressed.
The religion of these peoples
is nothing but smoke.
An idol is nothing but a tree chopped down,
then shaped by a woodsman's ax.
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!
Don't be impressed by such stuff.
It's useless for either good or evil."
6-9All this is nothing compared to you, O God.
You're wondrously great, famously great.
Who can fail to be impressed by you, King of the nations?
It's your very nature to be worshiped!
Look far and wide among the elite of the nations.
The best they can come up with is nothing compared to you.
Stupidly, they line them up—a lineup of sticks,
good for nothing but making smoke.
Gilded with silver foil from Tarshish,
covered with gold from Uphaz,
Hung with violet and purple fabrics—
no matter how fancy the sticks, they're still sticks.
10But God is the real thing—
the living God, the eternal King.
When he's angry, Earth shakes.
Yes, and the godless nations quake.
11-15"Tell them this, 'The stick gods
who made nothing, neither sky nor earth,
Will come to nothing
on the earth and under the sky.'"
But it is God whose power made the earth,
whose wisdom gave shape to the world,
who crafted the cosmos.
He thunders, and rain pours down.
He sends the clouds soaring.
He embellishes the storm with lightnings,
launches wind from his warehouse.
Stick-god worshipers looking mighty foolish,
god-makers embarrassed by their handmade gods!
Their gods are frauds—dead sticks,
deadwood gods, tasteless jokes.
When the fires of judgment come, they'll be ashes.
16But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing.
He put the whole universe together
And pays special attention to Israel.
His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
draw your own conclusions.
peace,
4 comments:
I may be missing your point....but I don't think either of these politicans think they are gods or idols....large egos, yes...
yeah, my point is not that the canidates are putting themselves up as gods, its my critque on Chrisitan America looking for their hope in people less than God. whether it be from the Christian left or right, their rhetoric and passion for their canidates goes beyond "rendering unto Caesar what is Caesars" and seems to go right to idol worship. As you know, I'll vote, undecided as of now, but if my vote loses I'll just move on, my foundational hope is not in the winner. Not sure others feel the same. Its not the canidates, its the mass hysteria I'm critiquing.
Well said Marsh!
Two elections ago I was amazed at Christian people and their rhetoric regarding the "good -vs- evil". I was an assistant pastor at the time and asked in a leaders meeting "So, if Al Gore wins, then Satan beat God? Is that what you are all saying?". I then basically said what you did, that whoever was elected wouldn't shake my faith or cause me to fear. My God is in control and, in fact, whoever is in charge is there at HIS auspices anyway.
Still praying that you find perfect elpida and am glad you are blogging again.
Peace!
Timothy
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