According to Jeremiah 17, a person who trusts in the Lord can be compared to a tree planted by the river, which is strong and yielding fruit, even in adversity.
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Yielding Fruit
Jeremiah 17:5-10
- We jump right into the prophecies of Jeremiah in today’s passage
- In a section often labelled “The Sin of Judah,” we find many potential applications for ourselves
- After describing their idolatry and providing warnings about the anger of the Lord
- There are a more general set of principles and statements that remind us of New Testament counterparts
- Words that could have encouraged those under persecution in the early church to trust God, rather than men
- Words that may lift the eyes of any new Christian to the Lord, who provides essential nutrients for long-term growth
- There is also a key warning about the heart of man found here
- And a reminder of our accountability to God in everything
- It has all the necessary ingredients for an enlightening period of study about “Yielding Fruit”
- Which is today’s theme from Jeremiah 17:5-10
- Jeremiah is often referred to as “the weeping prophet”
- He was a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah
- Beginning just before Judah fell to Bablyon and was led away into captivity
- He is a prophet that provides the modern reader with key thoughts about idolatry
- Man’s responsibility to the One True God
- The human heart
- And God’s judgement
- In today’s text, we’ll focus on the health and growth of those who trust God
- And review a critical insight that helps us understand who we are
- The whole passage first, then a verse-by-verse review…
Jeremiah 17:5-10
5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
- Jeremiah begins the way every good prophet or teacher should
- With “thus saith the Lord…”
- Which will likely be the primary concern of any listener
- Is this one man’s opinion or God’s truth?
- We’re assured Jeremiah brings the truth
- And each phrase deserves a closer look…
Jeremiah 17:5
5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
- Men, created by God, are worthy of love
- Deserving of kindness
- And God gives every man, including His declared enemies, mercy
- But men are far from perfect
- Every man is faulty and prone to failure
- Very likely to let us down
- Or even to deceive us for their own gain
- And while we care for and minister to people
- We don’t set people up as gods
- Or trust them in the way we would trust the Lord
- We certainly don’t depend on human strength
- And turn from the Lord
- This kind of a person is cursed, it says here
- This is what will happen to those who trust men…
Jeremiah 17:6
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
- They will be like a bush in the desert, where no one lives
- Residing in a hot and dry place with bad soil
- A place uninhabited because it is parched and salty
- Nothing can grow and flourish there
- Trusting men means life in a land without blessing
- Relying upon men for our security
- Placing our confidence in men
- Means unfruitfulness
- The opposite can be said of those who trust the Lord…
Jeremiah 17:7
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
- This is a very different commitment with a very different outcome
- We look beyond our equals, those who a fallible, to the Perfect One
- The One who is faithful, trustworthy, all-powerful, and full of grace
- If He has our confidence and becomes our hope
- We are blessed
- The place of our dwelling is vibrant
- And far from that dry and withered bush, we become something else entirely…
Jeremiah 17:8
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
- Trust in the Lord brings strength
- Like the strength of a tree that is well-watered and has deep roots
- This is not a tree in the desert
- It is a tree planted by the river
- With a constant and abundant supply of water
- No one is concerned for this tree when the heat comes
- Its leaves shall remain green
- Times of drought will not kill this tree
- Its health, provided by a supply of life-giving water, will keep it fruitful
- When the plants in the nearby fields wither
- The contrast couldn’t be more plain
- Men who place their faith in God enjoy all the benefits and advantages
- And are prepared well against the day of adversity
- We transition from this picture to another as the text continues
- Jeremiah says this about our hearts…
Jeremiah 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
- The heart may convince us to turn from God
- It may deceive us into believing we can have confidence in self
- Or in some other person
- We may come to believe that we can escape the desert-places by our own strength
- By following the wicked desires within us
- None of this is true
- Our hearts lead us astray
- Left unchanged by Christ it will take us far from the safe and fertile riverside
- But God knows and understands this…
Jeremiah 17:10
10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
- We have a just judge
- He sees and knows everything
- The secrets inside lay open to Him
- And He has an unhindered view of our actions
- Those who trust men are judged accordingly
- And those who trust Him are given mercy
- The man-centered are barren of fruit
- But the God-centered are full of fruit
- Never because they produced it on their own
- Rather, because He supplied the living water needed to make it grow
- Today is best day to examine our hearts
- Has it deceived us into trusting self?
- Or have we rejected self and placed our confidence in God?