My tent is destroyed, and all its ropes are snapped. My sons have departed from me and are no more. I have no one left to pitch my tent or set up my curtains. My tent is destroyedThe imagery of a tent in ancient Israelite culture often symbolizes a dwelling place or a temporary abode. The Hebrew word for "tent" is "אֹהֶל" (ohel), which can also represent the tabernacle, a sacred place of meeting with God. The destruction of the tent signifies a profound loss and vulnerability, reflecting the dismantling of the people's spiritual and communal life. Historically, this can be seen as a metaphor for the impending Babylonian exile, where the Israelites would lose their homeland and the center of their worship. all its ropes are snapped
Ropes, or "מֵיתָר" (meitar) in Hebrew, are essential for holding a tent together, providing stability and structure. The snapping of the ropes indicates a complete breakdown of order and security. This phrase suggests the fragility of human constructs when they are not anchored in God. It serves as a reminder of the consequences of turning away from divine guidance, leading to the unraveling of societal and spiritual cohesion. My children have departed from me and are no more
The departure of children, "בָּנַי" (banai), is a poignant expression of loss and desolation. In the context of Jeremiah, this can be understood as the scattering of the people of Judah due to conquest and exile. Children represent the future and continuity of a family or nation. Their absence underscores the severing of generational ties and the interruption of God's covenantal promises. This phrase evokes a deep sense of mourning and the consequences of collective disobedience to God's commands. No one is left to pitch my tent
The act of pitching a tent, "לִנְטוֹת" (lintot), involves establishing a place of dwelling and security. The absence of anyone to perform this task highlights the complete desolation and abandonment faced by the people. It reflects the spiritual desolation where there is no one left to restore the relationship with God or to rebuild the community. This serves as a call to repentance and the need for divine intervention to restore what has been lost. or set up my curtains
Curtains, or "יְרִיעוֹת" (yeriot), in the context of a tent, provide privacy and protection. In the tabernacle, curtains also held significant religious symbolism, representing the separation between the holy and the common. The inability to set up these curtains signifies a loss of sacred space and the protective presence of God. Historically, this reflects the destruction of the temple and the loss of a central place of worship. Spiritually, it calls believers to seek restoration and renewal in their relationship with God, emphasizing the need for a return to holiness and divine fellowship. Persons / Places / Events 1. JeremiahThe prophet who conveyed God's messages to the people of Judah, warning them of impending judgment due to their idolatry and disobedience. 2. JudahThe southern kingdom of Israel, which was facing destruction and exile due to its persistent sin and rebellion against God. 3. Babylonian ExileThe event that Jeremiah prophesied, where the Babylonians would conquer Judah, leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and the exile of its people. Teaching Points The Consequences of DisobedienceJeremiah 10:20 serves as a vivid reminder of the consequences of turning away from God. The destruction of the tent symbolizes the loss of security and stability that comes from disobedience. The Pain of SeparationThe imagery of children departing highlights the deep pain and loss that sin can bring into our lives, affecting not just individuals but entire communities and families. The Call to RepentanceThis verse calls believers to examine their lives and turn back to God, seeking His forgiveness and restoration before facing similar desolation. Hope Beyond DesolationWhile the immediate context is one of loss, believers are reminded of God's promises of restoration and hope, encouraging them to trust in His ultimate plan for redemption. The Importance of Spiritual LeadershipThe absence of anyone to pitch the tent or set up the curtains underscores the need for strong spiritual leadership to guide and support the community in times of crisis. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of a destroyed tent in Jeremiah 10:20 reflect the spiritual state of Judah at the time? 2. In what ways can we see the consequences of disobedience to God in our own lives or communities today? 3. How can the pain of separation from God, as depicted in this verse, motivate us to seek reconciliation with Him? 4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure we are under strong spiritual leadership and guidance? 5. How can the hope of restoration found in other scriptures encourage us when we face times of desolation or loss? Connections to Other Scriptures Lamentations 1:1-3This passage echoes the desolation and abandonment felt by Jerusalem, similar to the imagery of a destroyed tent and absent children in Jeremiah 10:20. Isaiah 54:2-3While Jeremiah speaks of destruction, Isaiah offers a future hope of expansion and restoration, contrasting the current desolation with future blessings. Psalm 137:1-4Reflects the sorrow and longing of the exiled Israelites, paralleling the lament of loss and absence in Jeremiah 10:20. People Jacob, Jeremiah, TarshishPlaces Tarshish, Uphaz, ZionTopics Anyone, Broken, Cords, Curtains, Despoiled, Destroyed, Forth, Hanging, Laid, Longer, None, Pitch, Pulled, Raising, Ropes, Shelter, Snapped, Sons, Spoiled, Spread, Stretch, Stretching, Tabernacle, Tent, WasteDictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 10:20 5507 rope and cord
5578 tents Library May 16. "It is not in Man that Walketh to Direct his Steps" (Jer. x. 23).
"It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. x. 23). United to Jesus Christ as your Redeemer, you are accepted in the Beloved. He does not merely take my place as a man and settle my debts. He does that and more. He comes to give a perfect ideal of what a man should be. He is the model man, not for us to copy, for that would only bring discouragement and utter failure; but He will come and copy Himself in us. If Christ lives in me, I am another Christ. I am not like Him, but I have the …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth Possessing and Possessed
'The portion of Jacob is not like them--for He is the former of all things: and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The Lord of Hosts is His name.'--JER. x. 16, R.V. Here we have set forth a reciprocal possession. We possess God, He possesses us. We are His inheritance, He is our portion. I am His; He is mine. This mutual ownership is the very living centre of all religion. Without it there is no relation of any depth between God and us. How much profounder such a conception is than the shallow …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture An Instructive Truth
"O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."--Jeremiah 10:23. This declaration follows after Jeremiah's lamentation over the Lord's ancient people, who were about to be carried captive into Babylon. The prophet speaks of a fact that was well known to him. It is always well, brethren, to know the truth, and to know it so certainly that you are able to remember it just when you most need it. There are some people, who are very much like …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 50: 1904 Dwight -- the Sovereignty of God
Timothy Dwight was born at Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1752. He graduated from Yale in 1769, served as chaplain in the army during the Revolutionary War and was chosen president of his university in 1795. He died, after holding that office for twelve years, in 1817. Lyman Beecher, who attributed his conversion to him, says: "He was of noble form, with a noble head and body, and had one of the sweetest smiles that ever you saw. When I heard him preach on 'the harvest is passed, the summer is ended, …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3 Of the Exercises of a Religious Man
The life of a Christian ought to be adorned with all virtues, that he may be inwardly what he outwardly appeareth unto men. And verily it should be yet better within than without, for God is a discerner of our heart, Whom we must reverence with all our hearts wheresoever we are, and walk pure in His presence as do the angels. We ought daily to renew our vows, and to kindle our hearts to zeal, as if each day were the first day of our conversion, and to say, "Help me, O God, in my good resolutions, …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ Of Hiding Our Grace under the Guard of Humility
"My Son, it is better and safer for thee to hide the grace of devotion, and not to lift thyself up on high, nor to speak much thereof, nor to value it greatly; but rather to despise thyself, and to fear as though this grace were given to one unworthy thereof. Nor must thou depend too much upon this feeling, for it can very quickly be turned into its opposite. Think when thou art in a state of grace how miserable and poor thou art wont to be without grace. Nor is there advance in spiritual life …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ A Wise Desire
I remember once going to a chapel where this happened to be the text, and the good man who occupied the pulpit was more than a little of an Arminian. Therefore, when he commenced, he said, "This passage refers entirely to our temporal inheritance. It has nothing whatever to do with our everlasting destiny: for," said he, "We do not want Christ to choose for us in the matter of heaven or hell. It is so plain and easy that every man who has a grain of common sense will choose heaven; and any person …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855 "And Hereby we do Know that we Know Him, if we Keep his Commandments. "
1 John ii. 3.--"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." This age pretends to much knowledge beyond former ages, knowledge, I say, not only in other natural arts and sciences, but especially in religion. Whether there be any great advancement in other knowledge, and improvement of that which was, to a further extent and clearness, I cannot judge, but I believe there is not much of it in this nation, nor do we so much pretend to it. But, we talk of the enlargements of …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning "Hear the Word of the Lord, Ye Rulers of Sodom, Give Ear unto the Law of Our God, Ye People of Gomorrah,"
Isaiah i. 10, 11, &c.--"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah," &c. It is strange to think what mercy is mixed with the most wrath like strokes and threatenings. There is no prophet whose office and commission is only for judgment, nay, to speak the truth, it is mercy that premises threatenings. The entering of the law, both in the commands and curses, is to make sin abound, that grace may superabound, so that both rods and threatenings …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Meditations for Household Piety.
1. If thou be called to the government of a family, thou must not hold it sufficient to serve God and live uprightly in thy own person, unless thou cause all under thy charge to do the same with thee. For the performance of this duty God was so well pleased with Abraham, that he would not hide from him his counsel: "For," saith God, "I know him that he will command his sons and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety "For if Ye Live after the Flesh, Ye Shall Die; but if Ye through the Spirit do Mortify the Deeds of the Body, Ye Shall Live.
Rom. viii. s 13, 14.--"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." The life and being of many things consists in union,--separate them, and they remain not the same, or they lose their virtue. It is much more thus in Christianity, the power and life of it consists in the union of these things that God hath conjoined, so that if any man pretend to …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning The Creation
Q-7: WHAT ARE THE DECREES OF GOD? A: The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he has foreordained whatsoever shall come to pass. I have already spoken something concerning the decrees of God under the attribute of his immutability. God is unchangeable in his essence, and he-is unchangeable in his decrees; his counsel shall stand. He decrees the issue of all things, and carries them on to their accomplishment by his providence; I …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity God's Sovereignty and Prayer
"If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (1 John 5:14). Throughout this book it has been our chief aim to exalt the Creator and abase the creature. The well-nigh universal tendency now, is to magnify man and dishonour and degrade God. On every hand it will be found that, when spiritual things are under discussion, the human side and element is pressed and stressed, and the Divine side, if not altogether ignored, is relegated to the background. This holds true of very much of the …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Jeremiah 10:20 NIVJeremiah 10:20 NLTJeremiah 10:20 ESVJeremiah 10:20 NASBJeremiah 10:20 KJV
Jeremiah 10:20 Commentaries
Bible Hub |
