Scarecrows

By Al Behel   “Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field” (Jeremiah 10:5)     Those of us who grew up on farms are familiar with scarecrows. They were made to look like real people, standing in the fields to scare away the crows and other birds that might destroy the crops. Jeremiah compared the idols of his day to scarecrows. They were impotent, yet men bowed before them in fear.     Their idols were made by men, cut from trees, hammered into place, and decorated by the goldsmith. Isaiah added his commentary, “They lift it upon their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move…” (Isaiah 46:7). It doesn’t speak or walk. It does no evil or good, because it has no more life than a scarecrow in a cucumber field.     All the idols of men perish. Where are the gods of the ancient world? Apollo, Jupiter, Neptune, Juno, Nisroch, Chemosh, Dagon, Zeus, or Tammuz? Although men swarmed their temples and observed their ceremonies, they are gone forever. But the living God remains. He abides forever. He has no beginning, or end. He is not a dead block of wood. He is Creator. We are created in His image.     Anything man-made will perish. Even churches and temples erected by men will perish. Modern man is little different from our ancestors who believed they could invent their own gods or temples of worship. When Christ promised to build his church he promised that the gates of hell would not destroy it. It is eternal. It is indestructible. Daniel said it would stand “forever”. The reason? It is of God’s doing.

- Al Behel served the Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ in Pigeon Forge, TN, for many years prior to this death in April 2022. The congregation may be contacted through their website - https://gsmchurchofchrist.com/