1. Jeremiah 10:7 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why is there none like the Lord among all “the wise ones of the nations”?

Jeremiah 10:7 (ESV)

7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you.

There are two possible ways of understanding what Jeremiah means by the wise ones. The context suggests that it may be referring to the gods, whom the nations claim are wise.1 It may also be referring to the greatest of human wisdom of the nations.2 In the end, these two things are not that different. Any wisdom these man-made gods are credited with is simply the wisdom of humans, and it is in their great wisdom that the wise people of the nations chose to create idols, to ascribe wisdom to them. The point is that this wisdom is no wisdom at all and neither the gods nor the wisdom that created them can compare to the Lord.