What other scriptures caution against idolatry similar to Jeremiah 10:3? Jeremiah’s Charge Against Idolatry “For the customs of the peoples are worthless. They cut down a tree from the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.” (Jeremiah 10:3) Other Old Testament Warnings • Exodus 20:3–5 — “You shall have no other gods before Me… You shall not make for yourself an idol… You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” • Leviticus 19:4 — “Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.” • Deuteronomy 5:8–9 — “You shall not make for yourself an idol… you shall not bow down to them or worship them.” • Deuteronomy 27:15 — “Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image… and sets it up in secret.” • Psalm 115:4–8 — “Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men… Those who make them become like them.” • Psalm 135:15–18 — Idols have mouths but cannot speak; makers become like them. • Isaiah 40:18–20 — “To whom will you liken God…? A craftsman casts an idol.” • Isaiah 44:9–11, 17 — “All who fashion idols are nothing… He falls down before it and worships.” • Isaiah 46:5–7 — “Though one cries out to it, it cannot answer or save him from his trouble.” • Habakkuk 2:18–19 — “Of what value is an idol…? It teaches lies.” • Ezekiel 14:3–8 — Idols set up in the heart estrange a person from God. • Hosea 8:4–6 — “They made idols for themselves… ‘Let Samaria throw out her calf-idol!’” New Testament Echoes • Acts 17:29 — “Since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone—an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.” • 1 Corinthians 10:14 — “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” • Galatians 5:19–21 — Idolatry listed among works of the flesh that bar inheriting God’s kingdom. • Colossians 3:5 — “Put to death… greed, which is idolatry.” • 1 Thessalonians 1:9 — “[You] turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” • 1 John 5:21 — “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” • Revelation 9:20 — “Mankind did not repent of the works of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood.” • Revelation 21:8 — Idolaters named among those consigned to the lake of fire. Shared Themes Across the Passages • Idols are manufactured by human hands; only the Lord is the living Creator. • Worshiping what is made diminishes both the worshiper and the Creator’s glory. • Idolatry provokes divine jealousy and judgment. • Turning from idols is foundational to genuine faith and obedience. Takeaway for Today Scripture, from the Law through the Prophets and into the New Testament, consistently exposes idolatry as futile, deceptive, and destructive. The Lord alone deserves worship; anything—whether statue, possession, desire, or ideology—that rivals His rightful place in our hearts must be cast aside. |
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