The Creature's Confession Text: Jeremiah 10:23-25
Introduction: The Myth of the Self-Made Man
We live in an age that is drunk on the myth of autonomy. Our entire culture is a monument to the rebellious notion that man is the master of his own fate, the captain of his own soul. From the playground to the halls of government, the central creed is that of self-determination, self-definition, and self-worship. Modern man believes that his way is in himself, that he is the one who directs his own steps. He struts about on God's earth, breathing God's air, using God's logic, all while declaring his radical independence from the very God who holds his atoms together.
This is not just a philosophical blunder; it is a form of spiritual insanity. It is the original lie of the serpent, whispered again in ten thousand different cultural forms: "You will be like God." You get to define good and evil. You get to determine your own path. You are your own lawgiver. And the result of this grand delusion is the chaos, the confusion, and the cultural rot we see all around us. When man refuses to be a creature, he does not become a god; he becomes a grotesque parody of one, a tyrant in a sandbox, making decrees that the ocean of reality simply ignores.
Into this asylum of proud autonomy, the prophet Jeremiah speaks a word of profound and bracing sanity. He makes a threefold confession that is the necessary foundation for any right thinking about God, the world, and ourselves. It is a confession of creaturely dependence, a plea for covenantal discipline, and a cry for divine justice. This is not the prayer of a man trying to flatter God. This is the prayer of a man who has had his face pressed against the hard pavement of reality and has come to understand his true place in the world. This is the creature's confession, and it is the only path to true freedom.
The Text
I know, O Yahweh, that a man's way is not in himself,
Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.
Discipline me, O Yahweh, but with justice;
Not with Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.
Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You
And on the families that do not call Your name,
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have devoured him and consumed him
And have made desolate his abode.
(Jeremiah 10:23-25 LSB)
The Foundation of Sanity (v. 23)
Jeremiah begins with the fundamental axiom of a God-centered reality.
"I know, O Yahweh, that a man's way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps." (Jeremiah 10:23)
This is the great anti-Invictus. This is the absolute repudiation of all secular humanism. Jeremiah says, "I know." This is not a guess, not a pious hope, but a settled conviction based on revelation and experience. What does he know? He knows that man is not in charge. A man's "way," his life, his path, his destiny, is not a product of his own internal genius or willpower. It is not "in himself."
The second clause reinforces the first. It is not in a man, even as he is actively "walking," to direct his own steps. Think about that. Even in the very act of moving, planning, and executing, we are not the ultimate directors. We are more like arrows than archers. An arrow can be flying, but it did not determine its own trajectory. The heart of man plans his way, but it is Yahweh who establishes his steps (Prov. 16:9). This truth does not negate human responsibility; it establishes the framework in which that responsibility operates. We make real choices, but our choices are made within the unshakeable, sovereign decree of God.
To deny this is to claim to be God. It is to say that you are a first cause, an unmoved mover. But you are not. You are a creature. You are an artifact. You were made by another, for purposes determined by another. To confess this is not to embrace a grim fatalism, but rather to enter into a glorious liberty. The pressure is off. You don't have to invent the meaning of the universe before breakfast. You don't have to bear the weight of directing your own path through a world you did not create and do not understand. Your job is to trust and obey the one who does. This confession is the bedrock of sanity. All that is built on the lie of human autonomy is a house built on sand, and the storm is coming.
The Child's Plea (v. 24)
Because Jeremiah knows his place as a creature, he can now pray as a son. He understands the difference between God's fatherly discipline and His judicial wrath.
"Discipline me, O Yahweh, but with justice; Not with Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing." (Jeremiah 10:24 LSB)
Notice what he does not pray. He does not say, "Leave me alone, I'm a good person." He does not say, "Don't punish me, I don't deserve it." No, he invites correction. "Discipline me." This is the heart of a true believer. A wise son desires his father's instruction and correction because he knows it is for his good. The unbeliever hates correction and despises wisdom. Jeremiah knows that he and the people of Judah are sinful and that correction is necessary. He is not running from the woodshed.
But he makes a crucial distinction. He asks for discipline "with justice" (mishpat). This refers to restorative, measured, covenantal correction. It is the kind of judgment a father renders to restore his household. He pleads for it not to be "with Your anger" (aph). This is the word for the hot, consuming wrath of God reserved for His implacable enemies. The goal of discipline is restoration. The goal of wrath is annihilation, to be "brought to nothing."
This is a glorious covenantal prayer. Jeremiah is appealing to God on the basis of His relationship with His people. He is saying, "Deal with us as your children, not as your enemies." For the Christian, this prayer is answered definitively at the cross. All the wrath, all the consuming anger of God against our sin was poured out upon Jesus Christ. He was brought to nothing so that we would never be. Therefore, when we suffer in this life, it is never God's wrath. It is always His fatherly, loving, restorative discipline. He disciplines those He loves (Heb. 12:6). This verse teaches us to pray rightly in our afflictions: "Father, correct me, teach me, sanctify me through this trial. Do not let me waste this pain. Discipline me, but do it in your fatherly love, according to your promise."
The Warrior's Prayer (v. 25)
Having confessed his dependence and pleaded for discipline, Jeremiah now turns his attention outward. His prayer for justice for himself naturally leads to a prayer for justice upon God's enemies.
"Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You And on the families that do not call Your name, For they have devoured Jacob..." (Jeremiah 10:25 LSB)
This is an imprecatory prayer. It makes the modern, sentimental Christian nervous. We have been taught a soft, syrupy version of love that has no room for this kind of righteous zeal. But this is not sinful vindictiveness. This is a prayer for the kingdom of God to come. It is a prayer that takes God's side in the cosmic conflict. Jeremiah has just asked for discipline for God's people; now he asks for wrath for God's enemies. This is simple justice.
Who are these enemies? They are described in covenantal terms. They are "the nations that do not know You" and "the families that do not call Your name." Their fundamental sin is their refusal to acknowledge and worship the one true God. They are covenant-breakers, rebels against the King of heaven and earth. And what is their crime against God's people? "They have devoured Jacob." This is what the world does to the church. It persecutes, it slanders, it seeks to consume and destroy the people of God.
To pray for God to pour out His wrath on them is to pray for the vindication of His own name. It is to pray for the rescue of His bride. It is to say, "O Lord, how long?" just as the martyrs do under the altar in Revelation (Rev. 6:10). We should not be ashamed of such prayers. When we see wicked ideologies devouring our culture, when we see the unborn slaughtered, when we see the church persecuted, we are to pray that God would arise and scatter His enemies. This is not a prayer of hate, but a prayer of love, a love for God's glory, God's people, and God's justice.
Conclusion: Knowing Your Place
Jeremiah's prayer provides us with a perfect model for a sane and righteous life before God. It is a life that begins with the fundamental confession that we are not our own. Our way is not in ourselves. We are creatures, utterly dependent on our Creator for every breath and every step. To know this is to be sane.
From this foundation of sanity, we can then relate to God as His children. When we sin and stray, we know that He will correct us. And so we invite His discipline, knowing that it is driven by love, not wrath, because the wrath we deserved was exhausted on our substitute, Jesus Christ. To know this is to be secure.
And finally, knowing our place as dependent creatures and secure children, we can stand as bold warriors in prayer. We can look out at a world in rebellion against our King and pray for His justice to be done. We can call on Him to defend His people and to overthrow the wicked systems that devour them. To know this is to be faithful.
So then, abandon the myth of the self-made man. Confess your utter dependence on God. Embrace His fatherly discipline as a sign of His love. And pray with righteous zeal for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is the creature's confession, and it is the only way to live.