In a World of Manure, You Might as Well Make Fertilizer

Setting the Agenda: Reflections on Jeremiah 10:1–16

Part of the problem we have is an agenda — who sets the agenda, and how we live with the agenda we’ve chosen. I think that is part of what’s going on in Jeremiah 10:1–16.

You cannot read Jeremiah in chronological order because it is not compiled that way. It is a very thematic book, written in a historical setting. But in this case, the dialogue is one I want to enter into.

This is not a Bible study, because we are not going to handle every verse and every word. This is not a sermon, because I am not driving home a single point. This is a dialogue. I will offer some insights, but I will not attempt to capture every insight here.

What Is Your Agenda?

The opening of the passage speaks to the issue of agendas. What is your agenda?

We live in a world where people have their own agendas — or where someone is trying to impose their agenda on you: telling you what you should think about, how you should think about it, and how you should respond. That is at the heart of what drives the body politic — whether it is righteous, unrighteous, or somewhere in between.

God’s Word to His People

The text begins: “Here is what Yahweh says to you…” In the Hebrew, the divine name appears as YHWH signaling the voice of the Lord.

God speaks to His people, Israel, during the transition between the era of the kingdoms and the era of the exile. This was less than 600 years before Christ, but centuries after the Exodus. The history of God working with His people is long and laborious.

Israel was always in the midst of the nations, always trying to understand: How do we function as a righteous people in the middle of it all?

The Relevance of History

This passage is timely. In the Jewish calendar, it comes during Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year — a great time to ask: Where are we in history?

God’s people then, as now, faced the temptation to be absorbed by the agendas of others. Jeremiah’s words challenge them, and us, to remember the distinction between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world.

A Call to Align with God’s Agenda

The message of Jeremiah 10:1–16 is not simply about ancient idols. It is about agendas — whose agenda we follow, and whether we allow false ones to direct our lives.

The call is clear: we are to live aligned solely with God’s agenda. All other agendas, all false idols, must be rejected. Only then can we be faithful in the midst of competing voices.