The Living God
7/13/26 Bible Thought (Jeremiah 10-11)
Main Idea: In contrast to dead idols, Yahweh is the living God who sovereignly oversees nations and enters into covenant with human beings.
A Look at the Text:
After God calls the wise and mighty to boast in Him (Jer. 9:23-24), He next showcases His incomparability (Jer. 10:1-16). The living God makes a mockery of idols that are merely the byproduct of men’s hands (Jer. 10:3-4). In contrast, Yahweh is the true God, the living God, the everlasting King (Jer. 10:10).
Unlike the idols that cannot do either good or evil (Jer. 10:5), He acts in accordance with His sovereign purpose. He brings evil [calamity] upon the rebellious (Jer. 10:17-22). He brings good through covenant (Jer. 11:1-6). A covenant that was sadly broken by His people again and again (Jer. 11:7-8).
In utter folly, His people went after idols. As such, God warned that during the coming siege he would not help them; the people could pray to their idols for deliverance instead (Jer. 11:11-13). They would see that the same God who planted them in the Promised Land could uproot them, and that He was bringing disaster (Jer. 11:17).
Bringing it Home:
The story of the Bible is the story of a God who is both sovereign and good. He created all things and presently governs the world by providence. Yet He also invites human beings into a relationship with Himself.
This God is worthy of our worship. As Jeremiah extolled:
“There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might” (Jer. 11:6).
Sadly, the people of Judah rejected God’s covenant in favor of idols that wouldn’t satisfy. Idols that supposedly made promises and never kept them. They went after their own hearts and walked in their own ways, rather than submitting to the King.
If we have the privilege to know the living God, why would we allow ourselves to be devoted to lesser things? If we can know the Creator and have the hope of a new creation, why would we give worship to that which is created?
In a world that is increasingly distracted by things of this earth, let us set our minds on things that are above (Col. 3:2). Firstly, on the altogether worthy, transcendent God, and then secondly, that we would be devoted to what He has us here to do—that we might obey.
Challenge:
How does the contrast between the Creator and the created help to show where value ought to lie in my life’s affections?