Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Some fears we are born with and some fears we learn. There are some things we are intrinsically afraid of, but some fears are learned behaviors. For instance, something happens and a child instantly looks at father or mother to see what the expression is on their face. The child wants to see if he should fear what happened. We live in a world where many times we learn to fear what the world fears and that is not the way it should be.
In Jeremiah 10:2, Jeremiah says to God’s people, “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.” Babylon was a world power at this time and they were obsessed with astrology, trying to discern the future and times by looking at the skies. Jeremiah says, “Don’t learn to be afraid of such things. Don’t learn that from the people you feel know the most.”
In verse 11 he says, “Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” Then, verse 12 says, “He [God] hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom.” So, instead of being afraid of the heavens God made, they were to be fearful and have a reverence of God.
Verse 5 says, “Be not afraid of them,” speaking of false gods. These idols were made of wood chopped from a tree in the forest and covered with gold to add value to it. They had to carry their gods around because their legs didn’t work. They had to nail their gods down so they wouldn’t blow over. God said, “They are empty, vain. There is nothing to them.” He said, “Be not afraid of them.” Then verse 7 says, “Who would not fear thee, O King of nations?” Jeremiah was saying, “Don’t fear what the heathen fear. Don’t worship what the heathen worship. Instead have fear and reverence of God.”
The truth is, those who fear God need fear nothing else. That is the point that Jeremiah is making. I can either fear the skies and some idols or I can have a reverential fear of the God Who made the skies. There is man who makes gods, but it is God Who has made mankind. So, those who fear God need fear nothing else. God is singular. He is not created. He is the Creator.
There are two reasons we can have courage for life and a reverence for God. First, God creates. The Bible basically says, “He is the former of all things. He formed everything.” On the other hand, the craftsman is confounded by the graven image. The craftsman makes the graven image and the molten image to be gods, but they were confused. They were fearful of life.
There are a number of things we can be fearful of, but all of them are in the future, things that we do not know and do not control. So, we try to outsource to things like money, influence, or power, and we think, “If I could just control more of my future, then I wouldn’t worry.” That is exactly where idols come from, trying to control things that cannot be controlled by mere mortals. When I realize Who God is and therefore who I am, it gives me a peace with life that I would not otherwise have. God is the Creator and because He is He knows me, knows what I can handle, and knows my future. God creates.
Second, God controls. Jeremiah, looking at the Babylonian invasion to come, says, “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” In other words, the Babylonians might have been powerful, but they were not just coming out of a vacuum. God is the One Who controls. God says later, “Nebuchadnezzar, my servant.” In Isaiah, God had said that the mighty tyrant of the world power at that time was nothing but an axe in His hand. He was just a tool. So, Jeremiah says, “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.” He is saying, “God, I know that the Babylonians, the power that now is, is simply a tool and that You are in control.
It changes my perspective of life when I realize that God creates and God controls. There might be a number of things we can be fearful of today and certainly if a truck is barreling down the highway and I am standing in the middle of it, it would be wise to take a step out of the way. There are things I can do and God gives me decisions and choices to make, but ultimately those who fear God need not fear life because He creates and He controls.