Jeremiah 17:1

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:1-2, “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.” The symbolism here seems to be the permanency of sin, and the permanent effect that sin has if it is not repented of. If something is written with a pen of iron and the point of a diamond, then it is not going away. It cannot be washed away. There is nothing that a human being can do to fix this problem: the problem of sin and its consequences. Thank God that Jesus has done something to fix the problem. But concerning the permanency of the effects of the sins of the Israelites, Jeremiah 17:2 tells us about the children. It says, “their children remember.” There are many things that can corrupt children, and one of those happens to be the bad influence of the parents. Parents will give an answer as to how they influenced their own children. How terrible it will be to find out that your children were corrupt, and it was simply because they followed your example.

It says in Jeremiah 17:3-4, “O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.” There is one phrase that we should notice in Jeremiah 17:4. God said to the Israelites, “And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee.” It is a great privilege to be given a ministry from Christ to do for His glory. It is therefore also a great sorrow to have such a ministry taken away and given to another. God’s work shall be accomplished. If you will not do it, then someone else will. You cannot lose your salvation, but you can lose your ministry. It says in Second Peter 1:10, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” It says in Acts 1:20 concerning Judas losing his ministry as an apostle, “For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.” It also says in Revelation 3:11, “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:5-6, “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 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.” These verses tell us in whom we should not trust, why we should not trust in them, and the result of trusting in them. We should not trust in man. Man is limited in knowledge and ability. Instead of trusting in man, we should trust in God. If you trust in man, it says that your “heart departeth from the LORD.” God wants our heart because He wants us to love Him. He loves us, and He wants us to return that love. Whatever takes the place of God in your heart is the same as idolatry, and that includes other human beings. One of the problems with politics is that some people put their trust in man. No person and no political party can solve the problems that you have the way you need to have them solved.

The result of trusting in man will not be good. Jeremiah 17:6 tells us four things about the result of trusting in man instead of trusting in God. 1. Whoever trusts in man will be “like the heath in the desert.” 2. Whoever trusts in man “not see when good cometh.” 3. Whoever trusts in man “shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness.” 4. Whoever trusts in man shall end up “in a salt land and not inhabited.” Of course, all of these statements mean that things are not going to work out well for whoever does not trust in the Lord. The heath in the desert is not very healthy because it gets little moisture. The only thing worse for plant-life than trying to survive in the desert is to be in a “salt land” where nothing at all can survive. Three of the four statements use the imagery of plant life being parched and unable to survive in certain desert-like circumstances, but the second statement is interesting because it states directly without using imagery that whoever trusts in man “not see when good cometh.” This speaks of someone’s understanding of what is happening to him or her. If you do not understand what is happening to you, you have nothing. You will not be able to make proper decisions, and you will not be able to enjoy what you do have. God is good, and His goodness is everywhere in the earth. He is blessing you every day in many ways. Think about how much Jesus did for you when He died on the cross of Calvary. A very miserable person indeed will be someone who does “not see when good cometh.” The New Testament tells Christians to avoid such a fate by learning to be thankful. It says in Ephesians 5:20, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:7-8, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 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.” To trust in the Lord means to rely upon Him and to depend upon Him. If you are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are not trusting in man, or in money, or anything else. If the Lord is your “hope,” then make sure that the words that you use in conversation reflect that. Of course, we make plans and we make decisions about the details of our lives. Just make sure that you do not stop your conversation by saying things like, “I hope such and such comes to pass,” or “I hope this and that works out.” It is ok to say those things, but make sure that you also say something like, “The Lord is my hope, and so we will see how the Lord works things out.” We try to do the best that we can, and we make the most practical decision that we can, but we rely upon what the Lord will do to work things out according to His will.

Notice the two good results of trusting in the Lord instead of trusting in man. Jeremiah 17:7 speaks of being “blessed,” and Jeremiah 17:8 speaks of being fruitful. The word “blessed” means happy. The person who trusts in the Lord will receive all the good spiritual blessings that are God’s will for that person’s life. The happiest person in the world is the person who most faithfully trusts in the Lord because the Lord will be constantly giving that person exactly what that person needs according to God’s will and God’s view of all things. That is the best that you can get in life.

Being fruitful in life is very important for every human being. At the end of your life you will want to know that you accomplished something good and something meaningful. That is one of the primary purposes of life: to accomplish that for which you were placed upon this earth. Since God put you upon this earth, you will only be able to fulfill that purpose by trusting in Him. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” He also said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

It is interesting to read Psalms chapter one because of its similarity to Jeremiah 17:7-8. It says in Psalms 1:1-6, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The spiritual principles involved are evidently very important. The same spiritual principles are found in Psalm chapter 1 that are found in Jeremiah chapter 17, so it is interesting to compare the two passages of scripture. 1. The principle of godly separation. 2. The need for the Word of God and loving it and enjoying it. 3. The word “blessed” is used to describe the results in the believer. 4. The tree planted by a river of water is used for symbolism and to emphasize the fact that this is the path to bearing fruit for the Lord.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 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.” These verses tell us exactly why we need to be saved by grace through faith. One reason that we are saved by faith and faith alone is because we are all so wicked already that there is no way we can do anything by good works to take away this wickedness. Only Jesus can do that through His forgiveness. Also, the fact that the heart of man “is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” is one of the reasons that it would be fool-hearty indeed to trust in man instead of trusting in God.

Jeremiah 17:10 is a very revealing verse in the Bible. The Lord says, “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.” God is watching our thoughts, as well as our actions. Thoughts and actions are closely connected. Actions proceed from thoughts. That is why it says in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Be careful what you think about because thoughts become actions. One of the benefits of reading and meditating on the Word of God is that it puts God’s thoughts into your mind instead of you having your own wicked thoughts proceed further and further down the wrong direction.

On this truth that God knows both our thoughts and our actions, it is important to remember that human beings only know actions. We see other people’s actions, but we do not know other people’s thoughts. Many mistakes are made by people when they assume that they know what someone else is thinking. Only God knows that. Stop thinking that you know what someone else is thinking. Give them the benefit of the doubt. God is watching their thoughts, but you are not capable of doing so.

There is at least one more important truth to mention about Jeremiah 17:10, and that is about the judgment of God. Because God sees our thoughts and our actions, He is going to do something about what He sees and what He knows. In this life some of the consequences that come our way have to do with God’s involvement in our lives as a result of what He sees in our actions and in our thoughts. Other consequences will come at the end, at the judgment of Christ, when we all stand before Jesus to be judged. As it says in Revelation 20:12-15, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Make sure that your name is in the book of life by turning to Jesus while there is time.

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