Lesson 177
The True And Living God
Jeremiah 10:1-16
MEMORY VERSE
J EREMIAH 10:10
“But the LORD is the true God; He is the liv ing God and the
ev erlasting King.”
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
Two packages of unsweetened Kool-Aid (any flavor), sugar, water
and two pitchers.
Two paper plates for each child, scissors, a ruler, pencils, magazine
pictures (especially of nature), glue paper fastener, hole punch,
marker or crayon.
ATTENTION GETTER!
Idols Cannot Move
Have everyone in your class try this fun exercise. Have them face a
wall and stand arms length from it with their feet close together.
They should carefully lean against the wall so that only their
forehead is touching it and their body is stiff and straight. Have
them cross their arms in front of them. When everyone is in this
position tell them that on the count of three to try to stand
upright. They must keep their body stiff and their arms crossed.
Count to three and let them go.
The children will struggle to stand upright without bending at their
waist or using their arms. Allow them a few seconds to try. Begin
to go around to students and help them to stand up straight. After
you have helped them all to stand straight gather your class in a
circle and introduce today’s lesson. We are going to learn about
idols. Idols in the Bible were made out of wood, stone or metal.
They couldn’t breathe, move, create or help anyone. The people
who made them had to help them, just like your teacher had to
help you! Sounds pretty crazy, huh?
Well people are still
worshipping other things besides the true and the living God
today. We are going to learn about Him and how that He is the one
we need to worship, not anything else. Our God is the true a n d
the living God.
LESSON TIME!
In our lesson today we will see God’s warning against worshipping
false gods. We will see that false gods are really nothing, especially
as we see the true God, the God we serve. He is the almighty and
everlasting God who cares for everyone in this world. It may seem
funny to think that people would worship a statue or a piece of
wood back in those days; we may even see it as foolish. Yet, we
must always make sure that in our heart we are not putting
anything or anyone in God’s place in our hearts. Nothing or no one
should be more important than Him. Our God is the true a n d
the living God.
J E R E M I AH 1 0 : 1 - 5
Hear t he w ord w hic h
hou se of Israel.
the
LOR D
sp eak s
to
you,
O
Thu s says t he LOR D : "D o not learn t he w ay of t he
G en t i l es ; D o n o t be d i s m ay ed at t h e s i gn s o f h eav en ,
For t he Gent iles are d ism ayed at t hem .
For t he c u st om s of t he p eop les are f u t ile; For one
c u t s a t ree f rom t he f orest , The w ork of t he hand s of
t he w ork m an, w it h t he ax.
T h ey d ec o r at e i t w i t h s i l v er an d go l d ; T h ey f as t en i t
w it h nails and ham m ers S o t hat it w ill not t op p le.
T h e y a r e u p r i g h t , l i k e a p a l m t r e e , An d t h e y c a n n o t
s p eak ; T h ey m u s t be c ar r i ed , Bec au s e t h ey c an n o t go
by t h em s el v es . D o n ot be af r ai d of t h em , For t h ey
c an n o t d o ev i l , N o r c an t h ey d o an y go o d ."
Here we see that God is talking to His people, Israel. They had
taken on the ways of the ungodly nations around them and they
began to worship their gods. God did not approve of his people
acting like the people who don’t know Him. Nor does He want His
people to think that the non-believer’s way of life is all right. And
He especially doesn’t want His people worshipping the same false
gods as all the other nations.
The unbelieving nations would worship the sun, moon and stars in
heaven. They expected signs from their false gods in the sky, such
as the eclipses of the sun and moon, and other things that might
happen in the heavens. God did not want His people to be troubled
by signs in the heavens, or to think of the stars as gods. He wanted
them to fear (have reverence for) the God of heaven, for if they are
at peace with Him they need not be afraid. Those without the Lord
have no peace, because they do not have a relationship with their
creator.
The reason for the warning from God is in verse 3. The religious
ideas and customs of the non-believers are empty, which is proved
by their gods. The gods are from a tree cut with an ax, then plated
with silver and gold to hide the wood. When the images were
finished they were hammered into place with nails so they would
not fall over. It stands tall, like a pillar, yet it is lifeless and cannot
move. It cannot speak, walk, do good or evil; it cannot hurt or help,
or do anything but stand there.
Who would want to serve a god that you had to make yourself, or
wasn’t able to stand on its own? That god could never help you
when you were in trouble and needed help. Isn’t it wonderful that
our God does not have to be held in place, but He holds everything
in place? Our God is the true and the living God.
We need to receive God’s warning. Let’s think about what is the
most important thing in our lives. Is it the Lord or something else?
If it is something else then we have to ask ourselves, “What will
stand strong when problems come in my life?” Only God can
deliver us and help us. He needs to be the most important person
in our life!
Crazy Kool-Aid
For this activity you will need two unsweetened packages of any
flavor of Kool-Aid. In a pitcher, mix up one package of Kool-Aid
WITHOUT using any sugar. In another pitcher mix the Kool-Aid using
sugar. Pass out a small cup for Kool-Aid (small 3 oz. cups are
available). Pour the unsweetened Kool-Aid for all of the students
but don’t tell them it is unsweetened. See what the reaction is and
act surprised.
After having some fun with the children, let your secret out that
they received unsweetened Kool-Aid. Go ahead and pour them the
regular sweetened Kool-Aid. Use this as an object lesson that
worshipping anything other than God will always leave a sour taste
in anyone’s mouth. We need the Lord for our lives to be right just
like we need sugar for Kool-Aid to be right. There are NO
substitutes.
J E R E M I AH 1 0 : 6 - 1 1
Inasm u c h as t here is none lik e You , O LOR D (You are
gr eat , an d Yo u r n am e i s gr eat i n m i gh t ),
Wh o w o u l d n o t f ear Yo u , O Ki n g o f t h e n at i o n s ? Fo r
t h i s i s Yo u r r i gh t f u l d u e. Fo r am o n g al l t h e w i s e m en
o f t h e n a t i o n s , An d i n a l l t h e i r k i n g d o m s , T h e r e i s
none like You.
Bu t t h ey ar e al t o get h er d u l l -h ear t ed an d f o o l i s h ; A
wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.
S i l v er i s beat en i n t o p l at es ; It i s br o u gh t f r o m
T a r s h i s h , An d g o l d f r o m U p h a z , T h e w o r k o f t h e
c r a f t s m a n An d o f t h e h a n d s o f t h e m e t a l s m i t h ; B l u e
an d p u r p l e ar e t h ei r c l o t h i n g; T h ey ar e al l t h e w o r k
of skillful m en.
Bu t the LOR D is the tru e God ; He is the liv ing God
a n d t h e e v e r l a s t i n g K i n g . At H i s w r a t h t h e e a r t h w i l l
t r e m b l e , An d t h e n a t i o n s w i l l n o t b e a b l e t o e n d u r e
Hi s i n d i gn at i o n .
T h u s y o u s h al l s ay t o t h em : "T h e go d s t h at h av e n o t
m ad e t he heav ens and t he eart h shall p erish f rom
t he eart h and f rom u nd er t hese heav ens."
Now we see the true and living God contrasted, as the only true
God and Lord of the world, with the lifeless gods. They do not have
to fear the false gods, but it is wise to fear (reverence) the almighty
God. Jeremiah declares that there is none like God. No not one.
He is almighty God, creator of heaven and earth. Great is His name.
Everyone must fear God, he says.
There is no one even among the wise men who should not fear God,
or who could do anything against God. Nor is there anyone in any
nation like God in His might. Not only earthly kings, but also the
world’s gods are not like the true and the living God. There is no
power in any worldly kingdom to be compared to God’s power.
Our God is the true and the living God.
In verse 8 we see how God’s wisdom and power are contrasted with
the foolishness and emptiness of the false gods. The world, even
with all of its wise men, is still foolish because it relies on gods that
are really nothing. In the days of Jeremiah, people actually knelt
down and prayed to these pieces of wood and stone in order to get
wisdom. That sounds kind of silly doesn’t it, trying to get wisdom
from wood or stone?
In verse 9 we see that no matter how much the wood is covered
with silver, gold, and purple raiment, it is still the product of men’s
hands. No matter how much you may wish it were a god or had
power, by no such process does the wood become a god.
In verse 10 we see God is really and truly God. We see in this verse
that God is the true God, “truth” being strongly contrasted with
“emptiness,” and “living God” with the “dead” gods. He is also the
everlasting King of the whole world before whose anger the earth
trembles and the people quake with terror. They cannot endure
His indignation. For those who reject God there will only be
judgment. But God so loved the world that He gave His only son so
that we can escape His wrath. When we know Jesus we have no fear
of God’s wrath.
In Verse 11 we see what the nation of Israel is instructed to say to
the nations around them. This verse continues the exhortation not
to fear the dead gods of the heathen, but they are to tell
unbelievers that their gods will perish from the earth and from
under the heavens. We need to take heed to the exhortation also to
tell people that Jesus is the true and living God, and is the only one
who can give them everlasting life. Many people today worship
empty things; we must tell people about the true and living God.
He can and will save them if they will ask Him into their hearts.
Our God is the true and the living God.
J E R E M I AH 1 0 : 1 2 - 1 6
He h as m ad e t h e ear t h by Hi s p ow er , He
e s t a b l i s h e d t h e w o r l d b y H i s w i s d o m , An d
st ret c hed ou t t he heav ens at His d isc ret ion.
has
has
Wh en He u t t er s Hi s v o i c e, T h er e i s a m u l t i t u d e o f
w a t e r s i n t h e h e a v e n s : " An d H e c a u s e s t h e v a p o r s t o
asc end f rom t he end s of t he eart h. He m ak es
l i gh t n i n g f o r t h e r ai n , He br i n gs t h e w i n d o u t o f Hi s
t reasu ries."
Ev e r y o n e i s d u l l -h e ar t e d , w i t h o u t k n o w l e d ge ; Ev e r y
m et al s m i t h i s p u t t o s h am e by an i m age; Fo r h i s
m o l d e d i m a g e i s f a l s e h o o d , An d t h e r e i s n o b r e a t h i n
them .
They are f u t ile, a w ork of errors; In t he t im e of t heir
p u nishm ent t hey shall p erish.
T h e Po r t i o n o f J ac o b i s n o t l i k e t h e m , Fo r He i s t h e
M a k e r o f a l l t h i n g s , An d I s r a e l i s t h e t r i b e o f H i s
inherit anc e; The LOR D of host s is His nam e.
In this section of scripture we see the almighty power of the living
God as shown from His control over nature, the overthrow of the
false gods in the time of judgment, and finally the Creator of the
universe as set forth as the God of Israel. What a glorious message!
The true God is the one who made the earth by His power. O u r
God is the true and the living God.
The stretching out of the heavens over the earth like a tent is a
work of intelligent design. Every thunderstorm bears witness to
the wise and almighty government of God. The voice or noise, with
which God gives the roar or the fullness of waters in the heaven, is
the sound of thunder. Lightning with the rain; and thunderstorms
are usually accompanied with strong wind to go from His
storehouse, where He controls it and sends it to blow over the
earth.
In the midst of such incredible marvels of God’s power and
wisdom, all men seem foolish and ignorant (without any
knowledge). All makers of idols are put to shame “because of the
image” which they make for a god, and which is but a deception,
for it has no life whatsoever. It is all vanity (emptiness) that these
idols made by goldsmiths represent. It clearly is a manifestation of
man’s foolishness. They are shown as ridiculous when proven that
they do nothing. The idols themselves make a mockery of those
who worship them and delude their thinking.
God has something else for the “portion of Jacob,” that is the
people of Israel. He does not want them to follow the idolaters and
have the same end as them. They are His chosen people, the
people that belong to Him as a peculiar possession. They are His
treasures; with whom He dwells and by whom He is served and
honored. He is the “Lord of hosts,” the God whom the hosts of
heaven, angels, and stars serve, the Lord and Ruler of the whole
world.
We have seen the warning against worshipping false gods and we
saw that they are dead and worthless. Why would anyone pray to
anything that cannot hear him or her or answer them? Yet again
many people do; some not realizing what they are doing. We must
tell people about the true and living God, the one who framed the
universe, and the one who created each and every one of us. He is
the one who loves us, and wants to meet all of our needs. He
always listens to us when we pray, if our hearts are right with Him.
Let us remember the exhortation in this passage, to tell others of
the wonderful love of the true and living God. Our God is t h e
true and the living God.
Creation Game
For each child you will need two paper plates, scissors, a ruler,
pencils, magazine pictures (especially of nature), glue, paper
fasteners (or brads), hole punch, marker or crayon. Cut off the
rim9from one paper plate. Use the ruler and pencils to divide the
inside circle of the plate into six equal pie-shaped wedges. Cut out
and glue on magazine pictures onto each pie shape to illustrate
each day of creation (the six days of creation). Don’t put them on
in any particular order. Each wedge should be illustrated as one
day of creation. Use the paper fastener to attach the circle with the
pictures to the center of the other plate. On the rim of the outside
plate, draw an arrow at the top of the plate pointing down towards
its center. This arrow will indicate which pie shape that is
indicated.
Have your children turn to Genesis chapter 1 and read the creation
account. Then take turns asking your children what God made on
a specific day of creation; the person answering the question
should turn the arrow to the right picture on their craft. In the
verses we are studying this week we see how that God’s creation is a
demonstration of His power and might. The idols that Israel
desired to worship could never create a single thing. This game
helps us to remember who our powerful God is, the true and the
living God.
PRAYER
Lead the children in a prayer of commitment to serve the true and
the living God. If there are any children who have not yet
responded to the gospel, give them opportunity to do so.