“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord,” (17:7).
The verdict is in. The nation has become so marked by their sin that it has become embedded into their very heart, and their condition is compared with “the method used to inscribe the most permanent of records,” NIV Study Bible.
The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart
And on the horns of their altars, (17:1).
Sin. It had become a permanent fixture in their lives. Their idolatry had become so much a part of who they were that when God looked upon their worship sacrifices brought to the temple, all He saw was the sin; a sin they cherished with the kind of doting love one would have for their own children.
As they remember their children,
So they remember their altars and their Asherim
By green trees on the high hills, (17:2).
And this devotion to their blatant blasphemy against Holy God ushers in more pronouncements of coming curses; curses incurred and deserved because they have turned away from His Empowering Spirit and turned to their feckless flesh as their trust.
Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord,” (17:5).
But still there is hope, for those who turn to Him in faith, for those who Trust in Him, for those who realize the Only Trust we can ever have is Him.
But, Jeremiah understood all too well the plight of man, and what the real problem was. How can we even be sure we are trusting Him with all our heart, when our heart is so desperately corrupt?
“The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?” (17:9).
But the Lord will search and test our heart, and our ways will prove where our trust truly lies.
“I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds,” (17:10).
And today is a day that we cannot consider Him unless we consider our ways and deeds; ways and deeds that demonstrate what He alone can do; ways and deeds that are the result of His wonderful work when He Is Our Only Trust.
As I read “Thus says the Lord…” (17:5-8), I was relieved by the reprieve from His pronounced curses. The Lord paints another picture for the hearers of His Word, this time depicting unfettered beauty and life and blessings in seven pronouncements for the one whose Only Trust is the Lord. And I was reminded of the seven statements Jesus made about Himself recorded in the gospel of John, and I wondered if perhaps there could be any connection made.
Numbers often have symbolic significance in Scripture, and the number seven represents perfection and completion. Today, we will consider Jesus, Our Only Trust, Who perfectly and completely accomplished our redemption; Jesus, Who will perfectly and completely achieve our ultimate restoration; Jesus, the perfect and complete fulfillment of God’s promises for all who would turn from sin to believe in Him as Our Only Trust.
“In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also announced these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring. 26 God raised up His Servant and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways,” (Acts 3:24-26)
Consider Him, Our Only Trust
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit, (17:7-8)
- Jesus, Our Only Trust: the Door, granting access to enter into His blessings
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.- “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture,” (John 10:9).
- Jesus, Our Only Trust: the Bread of Life, meeting our every need for sustenance
For he will be like a tree planted by the water,- Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst,” (John 6:35).
- Jesus, Our Only Trust: the Way and the Truth and the Life, rooting us in His Way and Truth and Life
That extends its roots by a stream- Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,” (John 14:6).
- Jesus, Our Only Trust: the Good Shepherd, protecting us from the heat of desperation and death
And will not fear when the heat comes- “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep… 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand,” (John 10:11, 27-28).
- Jesus, Our Only Trust: the Light of the World, leading us to flourishing and radiant life
But its leaves will be green,- Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life,” (John 8:12).
- Jesus, Our Only Trust: the Resurrection and the Life, reassuring us in His Eternal Life
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought- Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).
- Jesus, Our Only Trust: the Vine enabling us to bear much fruit in Him
Nor cease to yield fruit.- “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5).
How do we respond to Him, Our Trust?
Jeremiah is a continual reminder that sin is serious to God, deadly serious. And this book is also a never-ending invitation to turn to Him, that we would not only be spared, but that we would be brought to His place of lavish blessings when He Is Our Only Trust.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord,” (17:7).
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us… (Ephesians 1:3-8).
These lavish blessings are gifts we cannot earn. They are generously bestowed when we turn to Jesus in faith as Our Only Trust Who empowers and enables us to follow Him in obedience. But being saved by His grace is never an invitation to a lax attitude towards sin. Sin is deadly serious to Holy God, and holy fear should be a natural response. But, while fear may be a strong motivation to do right, love is far greater.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us, (1 John 4:18).
But our hearts are so utterly deceitful and so desperately sick. How can we know if we are walking in fear of punishment or following Him in love because He first loved us?
God answered this concern through His prophet, Jeremiah. The Lord will test our heart and mind through our ways and deeds that prove the state of our heart’s love.
“I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deed,” (17:10)
And a primary way in which He tests and proves our hearts is in our tribulations.
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us, (Romans 5:3-5).
Oh, that we would exult in every test, for His love has lavishly been poured out within our hearts that we would persevere in His Word, believing He will grow our character and establish us in His hope that will never disappoint as we daily depend on Him, the Door, the Bread of Life, the Way and the Truth and the Life, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, and the Vine Who perfectly and completely fulfills every good promise to grant us access to His blessings, to root us in His Way and Truth and Life, to protect us from the heat of desperation and death, to lead us to flourishing and radiant life, and to enable us to bear much fruit as we live by faith in Him, Our Only Trust.
For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us, (1 Corinthian 1:20).