Survive Or Thrive

God had called Jeremiah to preach the truth and prophesy to Israel and Judah at a time when people were abandoning the Lord God, His Word & His precepts. God’s people had been engaged in pagan religions and practices, idol worship (which speaks of worshiping an image or fantasy) and this turned their hearts away from the one true God. Throughout the Old Testament we see the different cycles of discipline and repentance and this time God raised up the Assyrians and Babylonians to judge His people by taking over the land. God sent Jeremiah to warn them about the impending judgment but instead of turning back to God in repentance they looked to human strength for deliverance. Yet Jeremiah spoke a promise to any who would turn back to God. Let’s look at Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NLT):

This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”

Biblical scholars bring out different possibilities of the interpretation of this text. When Jeremiah was teaching this principle was he...

1. Teaching it as a future warning/promise to those who would listen?

2. Teaching this out of what he observed from others in history or was he speaking about Israel’s current situation?

3. Speaking out of his own personal experience that he learned with God?

It was probably all three. How would you interpret what Jeremiah said: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans?” How would you apply this principle today?

Are we cursed for trusting that the postman or woman will deliver our mail during the week, or for trusting in the skill of a repair person, engineer, or doctor? Are we cursed for trusting our friends to help us in difficult times or to give us good advice? Of course not, we all have a measure of trust in people. OT scholar Kimhi said: trusting in other people is “legitimate and allowed” as long as human help is understood as coming from God. The kind of trust spoken about here is: the trust that is placed exclusively in people when it ought to be in God. It is a misdirected trust that takes our hearts away from God.

Can you think of any other places of misdirected trust?

[i.e., in wealth, family heritage or background, in intellectual prowess, in powerful people, military, or governments, trusting my own wisdom or decision-making abilities over the wisdom of God (I know better)]

Jeremiah says cursed is the one who relies on human strength. This word for strength is the same word used for God’s strength. If we think that our strength or the strength of people can accomplish the same things that only an almighty God can, we will be cursed. What does this mean?

Cursed here is in the passive voice. Cursed was the outcome or result of placing trust in the wrong object. Instead of abundance and life, they starved themselves of the spiritual nutrients necessary for spiritual health and strength. They ended up with scarcity, isolation, and defeat.

None of us are immune to this tendency. The troubles of life are constant, and our natural inclination is to look to self and/or others for immediate solutions when we face problems. It isn’t wrong to look to others in times of trouble but there are areas God clearly calls us to look to Him for by faith, such as seeking His will over our own or someone else’s (Hebr 10:36-39), in matters of life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3-8), and eternal salvation (Eph 2:8-9). The religious Jews in Jesus’ day were trusting in Moses (Jn 5:45), in their good works, in their righteousness, and in their Abrahamic lineage for their salvation. Though Abraham and Moses were models of the faith, these men were never meant to be objects of our trust. They couldn’t save anyone nor can our good works or self-righteousness save us. Only the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses could bring salvation. But in every area of life, we should go to God first as He has all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding on every subject. It’s just a matter of waiting on Him for the answers.

In Jeremiah’s day, Judah’s leaders wanted to form an alliance with Egypt to defend themselves against the attack of the Babylonians. They were depending on Egypt to deliver them and, sadly, found out that their hope and trust was misplaced. Jeremiah’s message to Judah and its leaders was to trust in the Lord, not in political and military alliances.