The sermon that Jeremiah, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, gave in the tenth chapter of his prophecy is a most wonderfully strong and clear presentation of the absurdity of idolatry. It is also quite as powerful a presentation of the claims of the true God. A portion of the chapter is as follows:—
“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 can not go. Be not afraid of them; for they can not do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto Thee, O Lord; Thou art great, and Thy name is great in might. Who would not fear Thee, O King of nations? for to Thee doth it appertain; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto Thee. But they are altogether brutish and foolish; the stock is a doctrine of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder; blue and purple is their clothing; they are all the work of cunning men. But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King; at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation. 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. He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion. When he uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures. Every man is brutish in his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of His inheritance: The Lord of hosts is His name.” Verses 1-16.
The Five Idols in the Holy of Holies in the Joss Temple of Lung Gong, Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal.
The reason and sense that the Creator has given to man ought to enable him to see the absurdity of idolatry. He ought to see the clear force of the words quoted from the prophet Jeremiah. But the force of mere words is not so powerful on the mind of the unenlightened as the actions that flow from a powerful life. Hence the Lord not only sent His Word into the world to enlighten men, but He sent His own Son, so that men might see the meaning of His living Word in real life.
A hundred years ago the missionary societies became much interested in sending missionaries to China, and the work still goes on. This work has resulted in breaking up the exclusiveness of the Chinese, and whole communities of her people have come to these shores, as well as to other parts of the globe, to engage in mercantile and industrial life. But it is a notable fact that they have brought their gods with them. The illustration on this page is a representation of some of the gods of the Chinese that are in one of their numerous temples in San Francisco. Why is it that a poor heathen right in the heart of a “Christian nation” can not see the inconsistency of fashioning gods with his own hands and worshiping them according to the superstitions of his benighted mind? Why is it that the inconsistencies and foolishness of the thing, so clearly pointed out in the words quoted from Jeremiah, do not strike him with such force that he will promptly abandon it?
The Chinaman comes to this country to better his condition, and he finds that the professing Christian is just as grasping in his deal, and just as unkind in his actions, as the heathen are. The Chinaman in his own land meets the merchants and others who go there from Christian lands for trade and traffic. He finds that he has to watch them quite as closely as he does his own countrymen that do not make so high a profession. Indeed, it is often the case that when the heathen trusts the professing Christian, he finds to his sorrow that his confidence is betrayed through crooked dealing or something of that sort.
Then is it not clear that the small results from mission work are largely due to the fact that so few who go among these heathen really possess the Christianity they profess? And should not these facts appeal to every lover of Christ to do all that is in his power, by his life as well as his words, to help these benighted souls? The Lord is loudly calling to-day for volunteers to represent Him in real life, not in profession merely. Who will respond?
