Jeremiah 10:7 Study Bible: Who should not fear you, King of the nations? For it appertains to you; because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is none like you.

◄ Jeremiah 10:7 ►

Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.

Study Bible

Who would not fear You
The phrase "Who would not fear You" is a rhetorical question emphasizing the reverence and awe due to God. The Hebrew word for "fear" here is "yare," which encompasses a profound respect and reverence, not merely terror. In the context of ancient Israel, fear of the Lord was foundational to wisdom and understanding (Proverbs 9:10). This fear acknowledges God's supreme authority and power, contrasting the impotence of idols mentioned earlier in Jeremiah 10. Historically, this reverence was a central tenet of Israelite worship, setting them apart from surrounding nations.

O King of nations
The title "O King of nations" ascribes to God a universal sovereignty. The Hebrew word for "king" is "melek," denoting a ruler with authority and power. This title affirms God's dominion not just over Israel but over all nations, highlighting His role as the ultimate ruler of the world. In the ancient Near Eastern context, kings were seen as divine representatives, but Jeremiah elevates God above all earthly kings, emphasizing His unmatched sovereignty and the futility of idol worship.

For it is Your due
The phrase "For it is Your due" acknowledges that reverence and worship are rightfully God's. The Hebrew word "ra'uy" implies something that is fitting or appropriate. This reflects the biblical understanding that worship is not merely a duty but a rightful response to God's nature and deeds. Historically, this aligns with the covenantal relationship between God and Israel, where worship was both a privilege and an obligation.

For among all the wise men of the nations
"Among all the wise men of the nations" refers to the sages and philosophers of other cultures. The Hebrew word for "wise men" is "chakamim," indicating those esteemed for their knowledge and insight. In the ancient world, wisdom was highly valued, and nations prided themselves on their wise men. However, Jeremiah asserts that even the collective wisdom of these men cannot compare to God's wisdom, underscoring the limitations of human understanding without divine revelation.

and in all their kingdoms
The phrase "and in all their kingdoms" expands the scope of God's incomparability to every political and social structure. The Hebrew word for "kingdoms" is "mamlakhot," referring to realms or dominions. This highlights the universal reach of God's authority, transcending geographical and political boundaries. Historically, kingdoms were often seen as the ultimate power structures, but Jeremiah reminds the audience that God's kingdom surpasses all earthly realms.

there is none like You
"There is none like You" is a declaration of God's uniqueness and incomparability. The Hebrew phrase "ein kamocha" emphasizes that no entity, divine or human, can match God's attributes and deeds. This assertion is a central theme in the Hebrew Scriptures, reinforcing the monotheistic belief that sets Israel apart from polytheistic cultures. It serves as a reminder of God's unparalleled nature and the futility of idol worship, encouraging believers to place their trust solely in Him.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Jeremiah
A major prophet in the Old Testament, known for his prophecies concerning the judgment and restoration of Israel. He is the author of the Book of Jeremiah.

2. King of Nations
A title for God, emphasizing His sovereignty and authority over all nations and peoples.

3. Wise Men of the Nations
Refers to the sages or learned individuals from various nations who are considered knowledgeable and insightful.

4. Kingdoms
Represents the various political and social entities of the world, each with its own rulers and systems of governance.

5. Israel
The chosen people of God, often the primary audience of Jeremiah's prophecies, who were called to be a light to the nations.

Teaching Points

Reverence for God
Recognize that God is the ultimate authority over all nations and deserves our deepest respect and awe.

God's Uniqueness
Understand that no human wisdom or power can compare to God's infinite wisdom and might.

Sovereignty of God
Trust in God's control over world events and nations, knowing that He is the King above all kings.

Call to Worship
Encourage believers to worship God not only for His power but also for His unique and unmatched nature.

Witness to the Nations
As followers of Christ, we are called to reflect God's greatness and sovereignty to the world around us.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does recognizing God as the "King of nations" influence your perspective on current world events?

2. In what ways can you demonstrate reverence for God in your daily life?

3. How does understanding God's uniqueness and sovereignty provide comfort in times of uncertainty?

4. What are some practical ways you can be a witness to God's greatness in your community?

5. How do the themes in Jeremiah 10:7 connect with the call to worship found in other parts of Scripture, such as the Psalms or Revelation?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Psalm 89:6-7
This passage also speaks of God's unparalleled greatness and the reverence due to Him, similar to the theme in Jeremiah 10:7.

Revelation 15:4
This verse echoes the call for all nations to fear and glorify God, recognizing His holiness and sovereignty.

Isaiah 40:18-25
These verses highlight the incomparability of God, reinforcing the idea that there is none like Him among the nations.

Sermons

A Royal Confession of Faith		Jeremiah 10:7
Jeremiah's Study of Providence	J. Parker, D. D.	Jeremiah 10:7
To Fear God is Generally Used in Three Senses in Scripture	J. Saurin.	Jeremiah 10:7
What Men Fear and What They Ought to Fear	D. Young	Jeremiah 10:1-12
Hearing the Word of the Lord	W. Stevens.	Jeremiah 10:1-16
Idolatry	S. Conway	Jeremiah 10:1-17
The Uniqueness of Jehovah	A.F. Muir	Jeremiah 10:6, 7

People

Jacob, Jeremiah, Tarshish

Places

Tarshish, Uphaz, Zion

Topics

Appertain, Appertains, Becoming, Befitteth, Due, Estate, Fear, Forasmuch, Indeed, Kingdom, Kingdoms, Nations, None, O, Ones, Royal, Royalty, Wise

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Jeremiah 10:7

     1130   God, sovereignty
     1180   God, wisdom of
     8334   reverence, and God's nature

Jeremiah 10:3-10

5272 craftsmen
8771 idolatry, objections

Jeremiah 10:6-8

1150 God, truth of
4552 wood

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

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