Learn Not the Way of the Nations
Jeremiah 10:2–4
“This is what the LORD says: Do not learn the way of the nations…For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree from the forest, a craftsman shapes it with a chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not fall over.”
God confronts the mixture head-on.
The Pagan Tree Ritual
Jeremiah is describing an ancient practice connected to:
✔ the Asherah poles
✔ winter solstice fertility rituals
✔ decorated evergreen poles used in worship
✔ symbols of “resurrected sun gods” celebrated in mid-winter
This custom involved:
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cutting a tree
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carving or shaping it
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decorating it with metals
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fastening it upright
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honoring it during winter religious festivals
Jeremiah exposes the ritual in detail so there is no confusion about what God is forbidding.
It is not about lumber.
It is not about construction.
It is a religious act tied to pagan worship cycles.
Hidden Truth — God Doesn’t Just Say “Don’t Worship It.”
He says: “Don’t Learn It.”
This is critical.
Jeremiah 10:2 doesn’t say:
✘ “Don’t bow to it.”
✘ “Don’t honor it.”
✘ “Don’t participate in their rituals.”
It says:
“Do NOT LEARN the way of the nations.”
Meaning:
✔ Don’t adopt their customs
✔ Don’t copy their symbols
✔ Don’t bring their traditions into your worship
✔ Don’t try to “redeem” their rituals
✔ Don’t dress up their practices in God’s language
God forbids the learning, not just the worship.
This is the heart of December’s message.
Israel was called to come out of her and Jesus gave the same warning to the disciples when he walked with them and even in the Book of Revelation, Jesus again confirmed the warning to the Church. The question is are we listening or doing what history has shown by ignoring God's direction.
They Knew Jeremiah 10 Was About Pagan Rituals
Every early church writer referencing Jeremiah 10 understood it this way:
Tertullian (AD 160–220)
“We must not adopt the heathen practices of the nations in their winter customs.”
Lactantius (AD 250–325)
“They decorate their idols and trees with gold and silver—but they are nothing.”
Origen (AD 185–253)
“The nations bring trees into their worship; we are forbidden to follow them.”
There was zero confusion for the early church:
Jeremiah 10 = forbidden pagan ritual involving decorated trees.
Did you catch that? God said, “Do NOT learn their ways.”
That alone should stop us in our tracks. Yet in today’s church, not only do we misrepresent the true birth of Jesus with staged “Christmas Plays,” but we fill God’s house with decorations drawn straight from the customs of the nations. If Jesus overturned tables because merchants distorted worship, how much more would His heart grieve to see His people reshape His sanctuary with rituals He explicitly forbade?
And here is the part we do not want to face:
The same children we raise in these traditions will grow up, study history, and discover the truth, and the result is always the same.
They begin to question everything, because the church taught them a mixture rather than Scripture.
When God’s people refuse to step out of the world, they lose the authority to speak against it.
So those inside the church use the church’s compromise as their justification:
“If the church does it, then it must be fine.”
But be careful—you can decorate the halls and simultaneously excuse yourself from the Presence.
Not because God abandons you…
but because you step into practices He warned you not to learn.
I know my tone is strong here. But the elephant in the room must be acknowledged.
We cannot keep blending holy and pagan and then wonder why the power is missing.
We cannot walk with one foot in God’s ways and one foot in the nations’ ways and expect intimacy with Him.
And let me be clear: Putting up a tree does not send anyone to Hell. But ignoring God’s warnings always limits the closeness He invites us into.
Mixture doesn’t destroy your salvation, it destroys your effectiveness, your clarity, your authority, and your ability to function in the Kingdom the way you were created to.
“What Have I Learned Without Realizing It?”
Ask yourself:
● Have I adopted cultural rituals because “everyone does it”?
● Do any of my December practices come from Scripture—or culture?
● What have I decorated, kept, or celebrated without testing its roots?
● Have I assumed something is harmless simply because it feels normal?
● Have I inherited traditions that God clearly told His people to avoid?
Jeremiah 10 cuts through the confusion.
Unlearning What the Nations Taught
Pray: “Lord, show me what I have learned that You never taught.”
Then evaluate:
✔ What do I practice because of nostalgia?
✔ What do I do because of culture, not Scripture?
✔ What symbols or rituals have roots in pagan worship?
✔ Where have I tried to merge truth with imitation?
Let God reveal and simplify.
| Spiritual Connections | Verse |
|---|---|
| Deuteronomy 12:30–31 | Don’t ask, “How do they serve their gods?” |
| Exodus 34:14 | God guards His worship jealously |
| 2 Corinthians 6:17 | "Come out from among them” |
| Romans 12:2 | Don’t conform to cultural patterns |
| Galatians 4:8–10 | Don’t return to pagan festival calendars |
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