I thoroughly enjoyed Will Shetterly's post on Christmas trees, and thank him for referring me to Jeremiah 10:1-5. In The Message Remix translation (thanks, James), this passage is even easier to follow:
Listen to the Message that GOD is sending your way, House of Israel. Listen most carefully.
Don't take the godless nations as your models.
Don't be impressed by their glamour and glitz . . . .An idol is nothing but a tree chopped down,
then shaped by a woodsman's ax.
They trim it with tinsel and balls,
use hammer and nails to keep it upright.
It's like a scarecrow in a cabbage patch--can't talk!
Dead wood that has to be carried--can't walk!
Don't be impressed by such stuff.
It's useless for either good or evil.
Not that I have any objection to Christmas trees or Christians who value them. I just never knew Christmas trees were even mentioned in the Old Testament.
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