What does a Christmas tree have to do with a prophet called to proclaim the word of God to the rebellious people of Judah in the days leading up to the Babylonian Captivity? Some would say – a lot; someone like me would say – not so much. The issue in question is whether the opening verses of Jeremiah 10 condemn the use of Christmas trees. Now while you will not find me singing, ‘O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches’ during the holiday season, I nonetheless cannot say that an accurate interpretation and application of the text before us is – never put up a Christmas tree. Whether someone puts one up or doesn’t put one up is up to them. I think the subject would much sooner fall under things disputed by Christians in terms of their own conscience (cf. Rom. 14:1-22; 1 Cor. 10:23-25) versus things prohibited by Scripture. The issue in Jeremiah 10 is not, as some have suggested tree-decoration; the issue is idolatry and its folly (Jer. 10:8). Let’s jump into the text and see how the passage develops so that we can hear what the text has to say versus the misapplied chatter that surrounds it.

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