TRUST IN THE LORD

Jeremiah 17:1-27 / Keywords 17:7

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

 

17:1 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,

    inscribed with a flint point,

on the tablets of their hearts

    and on the horns of their altars.

2 Even their children remember

    their altars and Asherah poles[a]

beside the spreading trees

    and on the high hills.

3 My mountain in the land

    and your[b] wealth and all your treasures

I will give away as plunder,

    together with your high places,

    because of sin throughout your country.

4 Through your own fault you will lose

    the inheritance I gave you.

I will enslave you to your enemies

    in a land you do not know,

for you have kindled my anger,

    and it will burn forever.”

5 This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

    who draws strength from mere flesh

    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;

    they will not see prosperity when it comes.

They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

    in a salt land where no one lives.

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

    whose confidence is in him.

8 They 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.”

9 The heart is deceitful above all things

    and beyond cure.

    Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart

    and examine the mind,

to reward each person according to their conduct,

    according to what their deeds deserve.”

11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay

    are those who gain riches by unjust means.

When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,

    and in the end they will prove to be fools.

12 A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning,

    is the place of our sanctuary.

13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel;

    all who forsake you will be put to shame.

Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust

    because they have forsaken the Lord,

    the spring of living water.

14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;

    save me and I will be saved,

    for you are the one I praise.

15 They keep saying to me,

    “Where is the word of the Lord?

    Let it now be fulfilled!”

16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;

    you know I have not desired the day of despair.

    What passes my lips is open before you.

17 Do not be a terror to me;

    you are my refuge in the day of disaster.

18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,

    but keep me from shame;

let them be terrified,

    but keep me from terror.

Bring on them the day of disaster;

    destroy them with double destruction.

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem. 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who come through these gates. 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline. 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah

b. Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / 3 and the mountains of the land. / Your

c. Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army

1. This passage offers two ways to live: by putting our trust and hope in people, or by depending on God. Putting our hope in people is the definition of a cursed life (5) because people cannot provide what our soul really needs. A life depending on people soon becomes like a spiritual desert (6). But God’s abundant blessing is on those who trust in him, and they bear good fruit even when the world is troubled (7-8).

 

2. Our heart often deceives us with false sources of hope (9) because it’s easier to rely on what we can see and touch. But God knows us inside and out (10), so we should pray to God and ask him to heal us from our sin-sickness, as Jeremiah did (14). Jeremiah was not perfect, and more than once he became seriously discouraged. But he was willing to be used as a shepherd by God (16), and God was faithful to him, delivered him from trouble, and used his life greatly. Through Jesus, we can have the same relationship with God that Jeremiah did. When we come to Jesus with faith, he heals us spiritually, forgiving all our sins, and he sets us apart for his good purpose.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for showing me how deceitful my heart is, so I might come to you for grace and healing. May I also be used as your shepherd so others can receive healing in Jesus.

One Word Heal me, Lord