What does Jeremiah 10:11 mean?
What is the meaning of Jeremiah 10:11?

Thus you are to tell them

- Jeremiah is instructed to deliver God’s word plainly, not as his own opinion.

- Similar commissions appear in Ezekiel 2:7 and 2 Timothy 4:2, underscoring the duty to speak truth regardless of audience reaction.

- The verse affirms that God’s message, once spoken, carries divine authority (Isaiah 55:11).


These gods,

- The phrase points to the idols worshiped in Judah and the surrounding nations (Jeremiah 10:2–5).

- Scripture consistently contrasts idols with the living God (Psalm 115:4–8; 1 Corinthians 8:4).

- By calling them “gods” in quotation marks, so to speak, the text highlights their false claim to deity.


who have made neither the heavens nor the earth,

- Creation is the ultimate litmus test of true deity (Genesis 1:1; John 1:3).

- Only the Lord declares, “I am the LORD, who made all things” (Isaiah 44:24).

- Idols fail this test completely: they are fashioned by human hands (Acts 17:24–29).

- The argument is simple and logical: if a supposed god did not create, it cannot sustain or save.


will perish

- The destiny of idols is destruction, not endurance (Isaiah 2:18; Revelation 19:20).

- Perish here is literal: the carved images will break, the temples crumble, the myths fade.

- God alone is eternal (Psalm 102:25–27). Every rival will meet an end, confirming His supremacy.


from this earth

- Judgment occurs in real history: idols were toppled in Babylon, Nineveh, and eventually in Judah itself (2 Kings 23:24).

- Their fall serves as visible proof to all peoples that they were never divine (Daniel 5:4, 23–30).

- The earthbound scope underscores that these so-called gods cannot escape God’s hand even in their own “territory.”


and from under these heavens.

- The phrase widens the stage: not one corner of heaven’s canopy will shelter an idol from God’s verdict (Deuteronomy 4:39).

- The heavens declare God’s glory (Psalm 19:1), exposing every false rival beneath them.

- Total removal anticipates the future when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:10).


summary

Jeremiah 10:11 delivers a concise, forceful declaration: idols did not create; therefore, they cannot endure. God commands His people to announce this truth, exposing false gods and confirming His unmatched power as Creator and Judge. Their inevitable demise, both on earth and under heaven, highlights the eternal sovereignty of the Lord who made all things and whose word stands forever.

How does Jeremiah 10:10 challenge the belief in multiple deities?
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