Epiphany 6 (4)

Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NIV) 5  This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6  He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7  "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

To understand what Jeremiah is saying here, you must have an understanding of the relationship between the Lord and his chosen people of Israel and here more specifically Judah. Otherwise, you may draw the wrong conclusion and think that you can’t ever trust in anyone for anything. (Examples?)

Around 2000 BC the Lord came to Abraham and called him to move to the land of Canaan and made some very precious promises to him. (list)

Genesis 12:3 (NIV) 3  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 15:18 (NIV) 18  On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- Genesis 17:2 (NIV) 2  I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."

Several generations later, Abraham’s descendants moved to the land of Goshen in Egypt during the famine in order to be provided for. The Lord prophesied that this displacement would last about 400 years.

Acts 7:4-6 (NIV) 4  "So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5  He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6  God spoke to him in this way: 'Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

Around 1450 BC the descendants of Abraham (now numbering about two million) had become enslaved and longed to leave Egypt and to inhabit the promised land. The Lord heard their prayers and called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt which is recorded for us in the book of Exodus. After Pharaoh finally let God’s people go, the Lord led them to Mt Sinai in the wilderness. While Moses was conversing with the Lord on the top of the mountain, the Lord established the Sinaitic covenant (Explain).

Exodus 34:10–15 NIV

10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. 11 Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.

Deuteronomy 7:7–13 NIV

7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. 10 But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. 11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today. 12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors. 13 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and olive oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

In this solemn agreement, the Lord promised to provide for, protect, and bless his people as long as they were faithful to him. But he also warned that if they forsook him to follow other gods, he would punish them. He warned them not to trust in anyone or anything else than him or to depend on the strength of man or his own flesh. Many are the warnings not to turn away from the Lord.

But what happened?

Jeremiah 2:13–19 NIV84

13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. 14 Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder? 15 Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted. 16 Also, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head. 17 Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the Lord your God when he led you in the way? 18 Now why go to Egypt to drink water from the Shihor? And why go to Assyria to drink water from the River? 19 Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

And so over the centuries we have a sort of ebb and flow as Israel would at times follow the Lord and be blessed and at other times would forsake the Lord and be warned and if they did not repent, the Lord would punish men. (

What was the historical timeline of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 1:1–3 NIV

1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volumes 1–5 2. Life of Jeremiah

2. Life of Jeremiah

J. was called by the Lord to the office of a prophet while still a youth (1:6) about 20 years of age, in the 13th year of King Josiah (1:2; 25:3), in the year 627 BC, and was active in this capacity from this time on to the destruction of Jerus, 586 BC, under kings Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Even after the fall of the capital city he prophesied in Egypt at least for several years, so that his work extended over a period of about 50 years in all. At first he probably lived in Anathoth, and put in his appearance publicly in Jerus only on the occasion of the great festivals; later he lived in Jerus, and was there during the terrible times of the siege and the destruction of the city.

In our study of Isaiah, we see the same thing emphasized as Isaiah was active about 100 years before Jeremiah.

The over riding theme in the Lord’s relationship with Israel was this: Trust in me and you will be blessed. Turn away from me and you will be cursed.

This is illustrated in our text by references to natural vegetation and whether or not they are able to thrive based on the habitat they live in.

How does this apply to us today?

There are some who attempt to apply this to the United States as though we are now God’s chosen people. I find a hard time swallowing this.

It certainly applies to gatherings of Christians regardless of what country they live in.

God has made a covenant with us. Unlike the Old Testament covenant which was “Do this good thing and I will bless you. Sin and I will curse you.” The covenant the Lord has with us is based on what Jesus has done for us and we trust that God blesses us based on his grace and not our works. Nevertheless, God does expect and encourage us to respond in a certain way. We are believe and do what God teaches us in his word. As redeemed children of God, we are to rely on our God for eternal salvation and also for his guidance day in and day out. Just as a plant finds its vitality in proper soil and favorable climate, we find our fruitfulness by staying connect to Jesus in Word and Sacrament.

A church body or congregation that doubts the power of God’s word and looks to human wisdom or wordly ways will not thrive.

It applies to us as individuals in regard to our relationship with the Lord. Here in regard to in whom or what we trust.

Psalm 118:9 (NIV) 9  It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. Isaiah 2:22 (NIV) 22  Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he? Jeremiah 17:5 (NIV) 5  This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. Psalm 52:7 (NIV) 7  "Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!" Luke 12:19 (NIV) 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' 1 Timothy 6:17 (NIV) 17  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

The Lord is not saying we should never trust in anyone else at any time for any reason.

That would be like saying that children shouldn’t trust their parents, adults their spouses, consumers those who produce goods, or patients their doctors. It would be saying that we should have no regard for what God has led other people to do to help us. There are many legitimate times when we do well to trust in others .

We must be careful not to look at the promises of God to help us and foolishly throw caution to the wind. Remember when Jesus was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Jesus was taken to a high place on the temple and Saten said “Jump.” He then insidiously quoted a passage from the Bible which teaches us to trust in God.

Luke 4:9–12 NIV

9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Satan was saying that if the Lord really protects his people, you can jump and not be harmed. Jesus responded correctly by saying “Don’t take unnecessary risks by testing God’s goodness.”

A soldier may trust in the Lord to protect him in battle, but he still uses cover, relies on the teamwork of his platoon, and brings a weapon or two and ammunition. Even David who trusted in the Lord to defeat Goliath chose more than one stone when he went into battle.

Or when we give attention to our personal health. Do we not consult medical professionals and make informed decisions about how to protect ourselves and others.

You have your blood pressure checked regularly and it is high. Do you just ignore that or pray to the Lord to lower it but do nothing at all to lower it? Would that not show that we are testing the Lord instead of trusting in the natural means he provides?

Or when we travel, don’t we take special care and drive attentively and defensively instead of careening down the highway?

We do well to strike a balance as we trust in the Lord completely but also realize the value of how he cares for us through natural means.

If we completely ignore the Lord, he warns how that will make us unfruitful and may even bring calamity upon us. But he also promises rich blessings to those who rely on him.

Warning for those who turn away from the Lord.

Blessings for those who trust in him.

Psalm 31:19 (NIV) 19  How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. Proverbs 29:25 (NIV) 25  Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV) 3  You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Nahum 1:7 (NIV) 7  The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, 1 Timothy 5:5 (NIV) 5  The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.

Life Application Bible Notes Chapter 17

17:5–8 Two kinds of people are contrasted here: those who trust in human beings and those who trust in the Lord. The people of Judah were trusting in false gods and military alliances instead of God, and thus they were barren and unfruitful. In contrast, those who trust in the Lord flourish like trees planted along a riverbank (see Psalm 1). In times of trouble, those who trust in human beings will be impoverished and spiritually weak, so they will have no strength to draw on. But those who trust in the Lord will have abundant strength, not only for their own needs, but even for the needs of others. Are you satisfied with being unfruitful, or do you, like a well-watered tree, have strength for times of crisis and even some to share as you bear fruit for the Lord?