By: Dale Weckbacher
Text: Jeremiah
17:1-18
Jeremiah 17:5-6
Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,[a]
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
(ESV)
In 2008 when my family and I
visited Israel, we visited Masada, located around the Dead Sea. The ruins of the fortress at Masada are located
on the top of a mesa or flat-topped mountain.
To make visiting the site convenient, they have installed a tram so
visitors to the site can comfortably ride in a cable car to the top. However, for the more adventurous, the hiking
trail to the top still exists. When at
the top of the mountain, I took pictures of the dead sea and the surrounding desert
from Masada, and when I viewed the pictures later noticed the lack of any vegetation
in the desert. There is also a lack of
life in the Dead Sea due to the saltiness of the water. This is the area referred to by the prophet
Jeremiah in Jeremiah
17:6
The sin of Judah has gone on for
a while and reached a point where it is permanently engraved in their hearts
like carvings in a tablet of stone (Jeremiah
17:1). Their sin has also become
generational with the children remembering the pagan altars to Baal and the
Asherim beside every green tree (Jeremiah
2:20-23; 17:2-3). As a consequence
of their sin, Judah will suffer the loss of wealth and exile to a foreign land because
of the Lord’s anger with their sin (Jeremiah
17:4).
Jeremiah then issues a proclamation
from the Lord in which he reprimands their placing their trust in man and gods
crafted by man, turning from the Lord (Jeremiah
17:5). God then uses the image of
the barren land of the Dead Sea, providing a visual picture of the emptiness of
life in the hearts of the people (Jeremiah
17:6). In contrast, the Lord then
calls those who decide to trust in the Lord as blessed, using the imagery of a tree
planted by the water that is full of life and fruitful (Jeremiah
17:7-8). This is the imagery the people
of Judah and Israel would know from the area in northern Israel by the Sea of
Galilee where there is plenty of fresh water and vibrant communities full of
life.
The Lord then reminds them of the
deceitfulness of the hearts of fallen humanity that are full of sin, in need of
a savior (Jeremiah
17:9). Instead of seeking answers
from the deceitfulness of fallen hearts seeking after other gods, Judah should
have repented, allowing God to search their hearts and test their minds (Jeremiah
17:10). Judah has become wealthy through
the worship of the pagan gods of the land and will soon lose this foolishly
acquired wealth (Jeremiah
17:11-13).
Jeremiah has not participated in
the sin of Judah and now prays for deliverance beginning with stating his
position of the Lord as his praise (Jeremiah
17:14). Jeremiah then presents his
case of persecution from those choosing to follow pagan gods, reminding the
Lord that while persecuted, he never stopped declaring the Word of the Lord
even when the people chose to ignore it (Jeremiah
17:15-16). Jeremiah then makes his
request to the Lord that He not be a terror to him and that those persecuting
him who have decided not to follow the Lord to shame, dismay, disaster, and
destruction (Jeremiah
17:17-18).
God has been gracious and patient
with Judah and Israel but has now reached a point where the sin of Judah has
gone on for so long that it is etched on their hearts and become the normal way
of life (Jeremiah
17:1). The sin of rebelling against
God by the worship of pagan gods has also gone on for so long that the children
remember the numerous altars to the pagan gods with little or no remembrance of
the Temple of God in Jerusalem (Jeremiah
17:2-3). As a consequence, Judah is
about to become as barren of life as the desert surrounding the Dead Sea
instead of vibrant with life like the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee (Jeremiah
17:5-13). However, God promises deliverance
for Jeremiah who has remained steadfast in his praise of God, refusing to
participate in the worship of pagan gods (Jeremiah
17:14-18).
Proverbs
3:5-6 reminds us that we are to place our trust in the Lord and not the
deceitfulness of our hearts and understanding.
In this time of rebellion and sin against God, we must be like Jeremiah
making God the object of our praise and worship despite the persecution of
those following the deceitfulness of their hearts. Like Jeremiah, we can also rest assured that
God will take care of those promising to follow Him for when we follow Jesus,
we are following the overcomer who overcame sin and death (John
16:33). I pray this post will bless
and challenge those reading it to remain steadfast in their praise and worship
of God who sent his Son to die for our sins, overcoming sin and death on the
cross (John
3:16; 16:33; Romans 5:8; 8:11).
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