Please explain Jeremiah 10:1-5. Can this Scripture be interpreted as being against the custom of our Christmas tree?
Let’s review Jeremiah 10:1-5 and 8-10 (KJV):
Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: 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.
For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good….
But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; a wooden idol is a worthless doctrine. Silver is beaten into plates; it is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the metalsmith; blue and purple are their clothing; they are all the work of skillful men.
But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to abide His indignation.
(Jer. 10:1-5, 8-10 KJV)
This is not referring to a tree being cut down and erected. It is referring to a tree being crafted into an object for idol worship.
This Scripture is not against our custom of decorating a Christmas tree, but it is coming against the worship of idols, rather than the one, true God.
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Joe Cameneti Sr. is the lead pastor of Believers Church, located in his hometown of Warren, Ohio. Pastor Joe, along with his wife Gina, pioneered Believers Church in 1983 following his graduation from Bible School.
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