Jeremiah 10:2
“Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.”
A banker once explained to me how they were trained to spot a counterfeit. He told me that the bank did not show them counterfeit money, but they were taught how to spot a counterfeit by being very familiar with real money. He said that the familiarity with the real thing would cause them to easily spot a counterfeit.
That is exactly what the LORD is teaching us in the verse above when He says, “Learn not the way of the heathen…” Many today teach that you need to learn about the wrong way so that you will be better at debating those who practice the wrong way. Yet, the LORD commands the opposite. The LORD says not to learn their way. Instead, He teaches us in Romans 16:19 to be “wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.” God would rather you learn how to do good than He would for you to become knowledgeable of the evil.
The way that Satan destroyed Eve in the Garden of Eden was that he got her to become knowledgeable about evil. Satan deceived Eve in Genesis 3:5 by saying, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Eve already had a knowledge of good, but Satan deceived her by saying that if she had a knowledge of evil that she would better be able to avoid it. The knowledge of evil is exactly what caused her to sin. The knowledge of the way of the heathen is what got her to live in that way.
Friend, instead of spending your time trying to learn what is wrong, you would be better off learning about good. The best way to dispute what is wrong is simply by learning what is good. The more you know about good the easier it is to spot what is wrong. The best way to defeat false doctrine is to learn good doctrine. The best way to defeat a lie is to learn truth. The best way to resist sin is to learn about righteousness. The Devil has destroyed many people with the knowledge of wrong.
When you learn the way of the heathen, you open yourself up to the temptation of wrong. If you don't know the way of the heathen, you can’t be tempted to walk in their ways. If you don't read the books of compromising spiritual leaders, you will never be tempted to compromise. Many preachers and Christians alike have turned away from the old paths because they read or became too familiar with compromising ways. What they thought would help them to better avoid those ways was the very thing that lured them into those ways.
Christian, spend your time learning the right way. The more you learn about right, the easier it will be to spot what is wrong. The more you learn the Scriptures, the easier it will be to spot false doctrine. There is so much to learn about truth and the right way that you shouldn't have time to learn the ways of the heathen. Let this devotional stir you to lay aside the desire to learn the ways of the heathen and inspire you to learn the ways of the LORD. The best way to combat wrong is to learn right. Don't fall for the Devil’s lie that you need to learn the way of the heathen. Follow the LORD’s advice when He commands you not to learn their ways.