Jeremiah 10:3-4, The Christmas Tree

For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

//Jeremiah, quoting the commandment of God, seems to say “quit cutting down my trees and adorning them with jewels.” As I write this, I’m sitting six feet from my own Christmas tree. Have I joined the ranks of the heathen?

I see this verse trotted out every other year by someone criticizing the Christmas tree tradition, but they fail to read the context of the verse. Puritans wishing to avoid all semblance of pagan influence on their celebration of Christ’s birth may indeed have their arguments against Christmas trees, but the Bible isn’t one of them.

Jeremiah’s concern was not with the tree, but with what the nations around Israel were making out of them. They were chiseling them into gods and overlaying them with gold and silver. They were nailing them down so they didn’t topple over while they worshipped them.

Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.