Faithless cursed, Faithful blessed
Text: Jer 17:5-11 Date: 26/08/04 Place: Childs Hill Baptist
We began last week by saying that one of the great features of the Bible is that it is a book of blessings or beatitudes, blessings from God that really do mean something. We then went on to look at one of these great blessings – in fact a double blessing – found at the beginning of Psalm 119 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. Blessings are promised to those who are blameless in Christ, who seek God with all their heart and whose lives are regulated by the Law of God.
Now what I want us to do this week is to look at another of these beatitudes. This time one found in the Prophecy of Jeremiah. It is found in Chapter 17 verse 7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. Verse 8 goes on to describe the blessing, 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. The presence of the word But alerts us to the fact that the blessing is preceded by a curse. This is in verses 5 and 6 and follows a similar pattern to what follows. Verse 5 reads 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. Verse 6 then says 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.
It is not that unusual to find a curse next to a blessing in Scripture. On one famous occasion the Israelites were directed by God to stand on two mountains in the Promised Land and ceremonially declare to one another God’s curses and God’s blessings antiphonally, in order to impress upon them the seriousness of his law and what a wonderful thing it is to be blessed by God and what a terrible thing it is to be cursed by him.
Jeremiah prophesied during a time of great declension in the religious life of the professed people of God. Living as we do too in this country in a time when the gospel is generally despised and when the truth is largely forgotten, we can easily identify with Jeremiah and what he says. This chapter begins with a word of condemnation from Jeremiah as he describes how things were. He describes how ingrained their sinful ways were. 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. Their sinful ways were deeply etched into their thinking and their way of life. It was having an effect on the rising generation (2) Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles beside the spreading trees and on the high hills. If you spoke to the children in Judah at that time they could tell you all about pagan worship. They had seen it done – probably been involved themselves in many cases. You can find a lot out about people by talking to their children. I have seen a TV programme where they do that and quite often the child will say something that leaves the parents embarrassed at the truth. What might your children or children who know you say about you, if asked by a stranger?
With this charge of sin Jeremiah once again gives a word of warning about the judgement that is about to come on Judah. 3, 4 My mountain in the land and your wealth and all your treasures I will give away as plunder, together with your high places, because of sin throughout your country. 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 for ever. The Babylonians were soon going to carry them out of the Promised Land and into exile in a far away place. The Temple treasures and all their wealth was going to be taken from them. All their places of worship and superstition were going to be lost. They were going to lose the Promised Land and its blessings and they were going to be enslaved in Babylon. God is full of anger with them. Why? Because of their sin. It would be their own fault.
We began last week by saying that one of the great features of the Bible is that it is a book of blessings or beatitudes, blessings from God that really do mean something. We then went on to look at one of these great blessings – in fact a double blessing – found at the beginning of Psalm 119 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. Blessings are promised to those who are blameless in Christ, who seek God with all their heart and whose lives are regulated by the Law of God.
Now what I want us to do this week is to look at another of these beatitudes. This time one found in the Prophecy of Jeremiah. It is found in Chapter 17 verse 7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. Verse 8 goes on to describe the blessing, 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. The presence of the word But alerts us to the fact that the blessing is preceded by a curse. This is in verses 5 and 6 and follows a similar pattern to what follows. Verse 5 reads 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. Verse 6 then says 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.
It is not that unusual to find a curse next to a blessing in Scripture. On one famous occasion the Israelites were directed by God to stand on two mountains in the Promised Land and ceremonially declare to one another God’s curses and God’s blessings antiphonally, in order to impress upon them the seriousness of his law and what a wonderful thing it is to be blessed by God and what a terrible thing it is to be cursed by him.
Jeremiah prophesied during a time of great declension in the religious life of the professed people of God. Living as we do too in this country in a time when the gospel is generally despised and when the truth is largely forgotten, we can easily identify with Jeremiah and what he says. This chapter begins with a word of condemnation from Jeremiah as he describes how things were. He describes how ingrained their sinful ways were. 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. Their sinful ways were deeply etched into their thinking and their way of life. It was having an effect on the rising generation (2) Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles beside the spreading trees and on the high hills. If you spoke to the children in Judah at that time they could tell you all about pagan worship. They had seen it done – probably been involved themselves in many cases. You can find a lot out about people by talking to their children. I have seen a TV programme where they do that and quite often the child will say something that leaves the parents embarrassed at the truth. What might your children or children who know you say about you, if asked by a stranger?
With this charge of sin Jeremiah once again gives a word of warning about the judgement that is about to come on Judah. 3, 4 My mountain in the land and your wealth and all your treasures I will give away as plunder, together with your high places, because of sin throughout your country. 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 for ever. The Babylonians were soon going to carry them out of the Promised Land and into exile in a far away place. The Temple treasures and all their wealth was going to be taken from them. All their places of worship and superstition were going to be lost. They were going to lose the Promised Land and its blessings and they were going to be enslaved in Babylon. God is full of anger with them. Why? Because of their sin. It would be their own fault.
Doesn’t it make you tremble to think what might happen to this country because of our sins? Twice in the last century there were wars that could have meant the end to our way of life. Who knows what may lay ahead in the century only just begun if there is no general repentance. It is good for us to consider what God’s blessings and God’s curses mean – as a nation, as a church, as families and as individuals.
Here in Jeremiah 17:5-11 the choice we face is presented to us very graphically. Before we look at the curse and the blessing do note who it is who speaks here 5 This is what the LORD says
Here in Jeremiah 17:5-11 the choice we face is presented to us very graphically. Before we look at the curse and the blessing do note who it is who speaks here 5 This is what the LORD says
1. Consider the curse here and learn not to depend on man
1. Consider the sort of person who can expect God’s curse
1. Consider the sort of person who can expect God’s curse
There are three things that are said about the person who is under God’s curse. The phrases are parallel and each serves to illuminate the meaning of the other. Cursed is
1. The one who trusts in man. There are various ways of putting your trust in man. It can be a member of the family or a politician or a religious leader or some hero we have. Sometimes we are not really aware that is what we are doing but if we assume that there is some person who can save us, if we say ‘As long as I listen to what he says I’ll be okay’ then we are in trouble. We are under God’s curse. Yes, children must obey their parents, wives must submit to their husbands. We take care who we vote for and we hope they will do us good. If a man teaches what the Word of God say we ought to listen to him – that far and know further. The moment we start looking to any man for salvation. If we ever find ourselves thinking ‘I’m okay I’m doing what he says’ then we are in trouble. We are under God’s curse. Do you see that?
2. Who depends on flesh for his strength The man we trust in may be our own self, of course, and this further line shows us that to trust in any man is folly and evil. We sang this morning ‘The arm of flesh will fail you, You dare not trust your own.’ What a temptation it is though. We are always tempted to rely on ourselves or on some other person, on some human organisation or some human philosophy. That is why the cults are so evil – they positively encourage this sort of mentality. This is fundamentally wrong – the way to a curse not to a blessing. Cf Psalm 146:3, 4 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Isaiah 2:22 Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
3. And whose heart turns away from the LORD. If you are wondering what can be so bad about depending on the flesh for strength then this phrase brings it out. Here is the other side of the coin, if you like. When we depend on the flesh, when we trust in man, inevitably we turn away from the LORD; we reject him. Back in 2:13 God says through Jeremiah 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. These two always go together. If you are looking to man you cannot be looking to the Lord. If you are trusting in the flesh, you cannot be trusting I the Lord.
2. Consider the vivid picture brought before us to illustrate what such a curse is like
1. The one who trusts in man. There are various ways of putting your trust in man. It can be a member of the family or a politician or a religious leader or some hero we have. Sometimes we are not really aware that is what we are doing but if we assume that there is some person who can save us, if we say ‘As long as I listen to what he says I’ll be okay’ then we are in trouble. We are under God’s curse. Yes, children must obey their parents, wives must submit to their husbands. We take care who we vote for and we hope they will do us good. If a man teaches what the Word of God say we ought to listen to him – that far and know further. The moment we start looking to any man for salvation. If we ever find ourselves thinking ‘I’m okay I’m doing what he says’ then we are in trouble. We are under God’s curse. Do you see that?
2. Who depends on flesh for his strength The man we trust in may be our own self, of course, and this further line shows us that to trust in any man is folly and evil. We sang this morning ‘The arm of flesh will fail you, You dare not trust your own.’ What a temptation it is though. We are always tempted to rely on ourselves or on some other person, on some human organisation or some human philosophy. That is why the cults are so evil – they positively encourage this sort of mentality. This is fundamentally wrong – the way to a curse not to a blessing. Cf Psalm 146:3, 4 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Isaiah 2:22 Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
3. And whose heart turns away from the LORD. If you are wondering what can be so bad about depending on the flesh for strength then this phrase brings it out. Here is the other side of the coin, if you like. When we depend on the flesh, when we trust in man, inevitably we turn away from the LORD; we reject him. Back in 2:13 God says through Jeremiah 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. These two always go together. If you are looking to man you cannot be looking to the Lord. If you are trusting in the flesh, you cannot be trusting I the Lord.
2. Consider the vivid picture brought before us to illustrate what such a curse is like
To draw out what it is like to trust in man and to trust in the flesh and the curse that comes on such a person, Jeremiah uses a picture to sum it up. 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. Can you picture it – a bush, not a tree, a little bush. It is there in the wastelands where very little grows, a windswept, forsaken land. Even should things improve, it has no hope of prosperity. Such a man is confined to the dry, parched places of the desert, the salt flats where no-one lives.
This description then speaks of smallness, feebleness, weakness, obscurity, insignificance, poverty, dryness, death, suffering, shortage, loneliness, failure. That is where putting your trust in man leads. You will shrivel up to nothing. You will weaken and die. There is no hope for you. Surely that is the lesson if history. Don’t put your trust in politicians, in philosophers, in the so called healers, in religious quacks and gurus, in the superiority of the ruling classes or the in the solidarity of the masses. It never works. Don’t turn your back on the Lord or you will be cursed.
2. Consider the blessing here and learn to trust in the Lord
This description then speaks of smallness, feebleness, weakness, obscurity, insignificance, poverty, dryness, death, suffering, shortage, loneliness, failure. That is where putting your trust in man leads. You will shrivel up to nothing. You will weaken and die. There is no hope for you. Surely that is the lesson if history. Don’t put your trust in politicians, in philosophers, in the so called healers, in religious quacks and gurus, in the superiority of the ruling classes or the in the solidarity of the masses. It never works. Don’t turn your back on the Lord or you will be cursed.
2. Consider the blessing here and learn to trust in the Lord
Now let’s come more positively to the blessing that is promised here in 7.
1. Consider the sort of person who can expect God’s blessing
1. Consider the sort of person who can expect God’s blessing
Again there is more than one parallel phrase used to help us to understand fully what is being spoken about. 7 But blessed is the man
1. Who trusts in the LORD. That is where to put your faith. He is the one to trust. He is the one who is revealed to us in Scripture as the Creator of the earth, the one who sustains it from day to day. It is God the Father who sent the Lord Jesus Christ to save his people and who has poured out his Holy Spirit on mankind. Look to the Lord. Believe in him. Go to him. Look to him. Feed on him. Find your strength there. Can you say with the psalmist (Ps 20:7) Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
2. Whose confidence is in him. This is really saying almost the same thing. Be confident in him. Rely on the Lord. Depend on him. Look to him for mercy and for hope.
1. Who trusts in the LORD. That is where to put your faith. He is the one to trust. He is the one who is revealed to us in Scripture as the Creator of the earth, the one who sustains it from day to day. It is God the Father who sent the Lord Jesus Christ to save his people and who has poured out his Holy Spirit on mankind. Look to the Lord. Believe in him. Go to him. Look to him. Feed on him. Find your strength there. Can you say with the psalmist (Ps 20:7) Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
2. Whose confidence is in him. This is really saying almost the same thing. Be confident in him. Rely on the Lord. Depend on him. Look to him for mercy and for hope.
Is that what you are doing today? Is that how your life is shaped? That is the way to blessing, the only way to blessing.
The Bible is full of this
Pss 84:12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Prov 16:20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
Isaiah 26:3, 4 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD for ever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.
John 6:28, 29 Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
Acts 16:30, 31 He then brought them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household.
Rom 10:9 If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Gal 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus
2 Tim 3:15 The holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
1 John 3:23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
There can be no doubt about the way to God’s blessing. It is as clear as anything can be.
Hebrews 11 is one of the great chapters about faith. Remember what the writer says in 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
2. Consider the vivid picture brought before us to illustrate what such a blessing is like
The Bible is full of this
Pss 84:12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Prov 16:20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
Isaiah 26:3, 4 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD for ever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.
John 6:28, 29 Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
Acts 16:30, 31 He then brought them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household.
Rom 10:9 If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Gal 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus
2 Tim 3:15 The holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
1 John 3:23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
There can be no doubt about the way to God’s blessing. It is as clear as anything can be.
Hebrews 11 is one of the great chapters about faith. Remember what the writer says in 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
2. Consider the vivid picture brought before us to illustrate what such a blessing is like
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. It is very similar to Psalm 1, of course, Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Imagine the picture. We are talking about a large, strong, healthy tree. Because it is near a stream it is able to draw on great reservoirs of water. Even in the hottest times it is okay because it is an evergreen. Luscious green leaves are there all the time. Even in a period of drought it will be okay. It is a fruit tree too producing endless amounts of fruit every season. It is a perfect tree.
Such a description speaks of expansiveness, strength, potency, vigour, growth, depth, confidence, poise, certainty, nourishment, life, fruitfulness, prosperity, abundance. Such are the characteristics of the person who is putting his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Such a description speaks of expansiveness, strength, potency, vigour, growth, depth, confidence, poise, certainty, nourishment, life, fruitfulness, prosperity, abundance. Such are the characteristics of the person who is putting his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is that you? Are you knowing the joy and peace that faith in the Lord brings? Oh, trust in the Lord today and know the blessings that he alone can give.
3. Consider the warning here and learn how to respond to these facts
If we left it there it would seem like this is a straight choice. Who could go wrong? Who would not trust in the Lord? Who could fail to look to him? But see the warning in 9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? The fact is that we cannot trust ourselves to get it right. We dare not even for a moment. If you know your own heart you know this is true. How easily we deceive ourselves. ‘I’m not trusting in myself’ we say ‘I’m not trusting in man’ yet all the time that is exactly what we are doing. You’ve seen others deceiving themselves – addicts to gambling or alcohol who say ‘I’ve no problem’; people with dangerous habits who say ‘I’m going to change one day’.
It deceives him with respect to sin - it proposes it to him under the notion of pleasure; promises much but gives little. Even what it gives is not worth having.
It persuades a man he is wise whereas in fact he is a fool.
It deceives in the matter of religion - it makes a man believe that he is very holy and righteous and on the way to heaven, when he is far from it.
It suggests that sin is only something outward and suggests that some of the worst sins a man is guilty of are of no great consequence.
It presents other sins in a false light as virtues not sins.
It persuades a person to think he is better than others and that when he does wrong he will have plenty of time to repent.
It gives a false impression of God’s mercy suggesting that repenting is easy and can be done at any time.
It persuades a man he is wise whereas in fact he is a fool.
It deceives in the matter of religion - it makes a man believe that he is very holy and righteous and on the way to heaven, when he is far from it.
It suggests that sin is only something outward and suggests that some of the worst sins a man is guilty of are of no great consequence.
It presents other sins in a false light as virtues not sins.
It persuades a person to think he is better than others and that when he does wrong he will have plenty of time to repent.
It gives a false impression of God’s mercy suggesting that repenting is easy and can be done at any time.
It makes some trust in mere outward religion, as if going to church, etc, can save a person.
It encourages all forms of hypocrisy.
As to the question Who can understand it?
10 I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. Only the LORD really knows our hearts. We must try and see them a best we can as he sees them. What does the Lord see when he looks at your heart? He sees your sin, yes, but does he also see faith in Jesus Christ? That is what we need.
Finally, one more warning in 11. It is a proverb. Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means. When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool. It is difficult to be sure if the NIV gives the right sense or whether the AV is correct As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. The latter seems to make more sense and seems to fit in with what partridges actually do – especially when they are stolen. Whichever is correct the person who relies on ill-gotten gain is on a loser When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool. Don’t trust in riches, especially ill-gained ones. Trust only in the Lord!
10 I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. Only the LORD really knows our hearts. We must try and see them a best we can as he sees them. What does the Lord see when he looks at your heart? He sees your sin, yes, but does he also see faith in Jesus Christ? That is what we need.
Finally, one more warning in 11. It is a proverb. Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means. When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool. It is difficult to be sure if the NIV gives the right sense or whether the AV is correct As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. The latter seems to make more sense and seems to fit in with what partridges actually do – especially when they are stolen. Whichever is correct the person who relies on ill-gotten gain is on a loser When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool. Don’t trust in riches, especially ill-gained ones. Trust only in the Lord!
