Jeremiah 17:5–8

A curse is pronounced on the one who trusts in man, who departs from the Lord. For such a person there is no hope; he shall not see good; he must be an outcast, like the shrub in the desert. And this is the natural condition of man. His heart has departed from the Lord. He trusts in himself, making flesh his arm to defend and uphold him... He had called them to this place of blessing... He had shown His glory and His power among them. But they turned away from Him, and leaned not on Him but on the arm of flesh, on Egypt.

The Jews were only men like the nations, but more guilty; for they turned away from Him whom the others had never known.

Let him not confide in man; let him not make flesh his arm, whether it claims scholarship or anything else; for to do so is to depart in heart from the Lord. Cursed is the man who does this. Faith works by love. The heart is the seat of affection and faith. Where the heart trusts the Lord, that soul will be kept from handing its confidence to man and the arm of flesh. And so it will be kept from the consequences that must follow such a course.

True, He may and does use men as instruments. But if we lean on men instead of God — if we lean on instruments instead of on the hand that uses them — we bring down a curse on ourselves. For it is written: "Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord." The Lord used the ravens to feed Elijah; but Elijah never thought of trusting in the ravens.

"Blessed are all they that put their trust in him" (Ps. 2:12), but "cursed be the man that trusts in man" (Jer. 17:5). He and the Father are one: can any creature say that?

Adam failed in his headship in Eden. Noah failed to govern himself when God entrusted the government of the earth to him. Moses failed and could not enter the land of promise... The divine verdict is, "Cursed be the man that trusts in a man, and makes flesh his arm."

He trusted in man and made flesh his arm, and his heart departed from the Lord. So he brought on himself and his kingdom the resulting curse and barrenness (Jer. 17:5).

Our God, in real faithfulness to us, will cause our fellow-man to fail us, so that we may learn the folly of leaning on an arm of flesh.

God never leaves us in a negative position, simply telling us what we are not to do. Too many dwell only on that side. The blessed man is the one marked by positive confidence in the Lord Himself. Here, then, is the secret of soul prosperity at all times... If Israel fails, if the churches fail, then the blessed Lord is to be exalted all the more clearly before the faith of the true believer.

These words are thought to refer to the Arabic Arar, a juniper (Juniperus sabina). It grows on the rocks right up to their summits in the most barren soil. So it stands as a fitting emblem of the man who "makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord." Jer. 17:6. Moab, too, under God's judgement, is compared to "the heath in the wilderness." Jer. 48:6.

The Jews were only men like the nations, but more guilty; for they turned away from Him whom the others never knew.

Here we have both sides of this most weighty subject put before us in language that is forceful, clear and beautiful. Creature confidence brings a certain curse; it can only end in barrenness and desolation. God, in real kindness, will cause every human stream to dry up and every human prop to give way, so that we may learn the utter folly of turning away from Him. What figure could be more striking than those used in this passage? "A heath in the desert" — "parched places in the wilderness" — "a salt land not inhabited."

Let him not confide in man; let him not make flesh his arm, whether the man claims scholarship or anything else; for to do so is to depart in heart from the Lord. Cursed is the man who does this (v. 5). Faith works by love. The heart is the seat of affection and faith. Where the heart trusts in the Lord, that soul will be kept from transferring its confidence to man and the arm of flesh. It will be kept from the consequences that must follow such a course. May God speak to us about this, so that none may take the path of the cursed man. It leads to places that are parched and sapless. The soul that is there will see no good coming, even though good is coming for others. He is moved away from the hope of the Gospel, and in his own experience lives among destitution and desolation, as in a desert (v. 6).

Of each of them it is said, he "shall not see." Both are blind to something! Yet how great the contrast is! The cursed man is blind to the coming good; the blessed man is blind to the coming evil. The cursed man, whose heart is away from the Lord, trusting in man and in the arm of flesh, has no power to lift up his eyes and see the abundant blessing that Christ's coming will bring. The blessed man, whose confidence is the Lord Himself, lives by faith and in the Spirit's power among scenes of plenty. He does not see the parching heat that comes with withering force, because his living fountains never fail.

So it is with the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. He is nourished by those eternal springs that flow from the heart of God. He drinks at the Fountain, life-giving and free. He finds all his resources in the living God. There may be "heat," but he does not see it. "The year of drought" may come, but he is not anxious. Ten thousand creature streams may dry up, but he does not notice, because he is not dependent on them.

Of each of these two men it is said, he "shall not see." Both are blind to something! How great the contrast is, though! The cursed man is blind to the coming good; the blessed man is blind to the coming evil. The cursed man's heart is away from the Lord, and he trusts in man and in human strength. So he has no power to lift up his eyes and see the abundant blessedness that Christ's coming will bring. The blessed man, on the other hand, has the Lord Himself as his confidence. He lives in faith and in the Spirit's power surrounded by plenty. He does not see the parching heat that comes with withering force, because his living fountains never fail. This precious portion of the blessed man is open to every one of us today in Christ Jesus.

But what will be the result for the individual who has the Lord as his confidence? Instead of being in parched places, he will find himself where the living waters never stop flowing. Like a tree planted where moisture never fails, he will always be fresh and fragrant. He keeps his greenness and fruitfulness at all times, because his wide-spreading roots take in the plentiful supplies of God. Today the Holy Spirit strengthens him in "the inner man," so that Christ dwells in his heart through faith. He is rooted in God's unchanging and unfailing love, and there he finds divine abundance, despite all the outward failure.

This is how it is with the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. He is nourished by those eternal springs that flow from the heart of God. He drinks at the Fountain, life-giving and free. He finds all his resources in the living God. There may be "heat," but he does not see it. "The year of drought" may come, but he is not anxious. Ten thousand creature streams may dry up, but he does not notice it, because he is not dependent on them. He stays close by the ever-gushing Fountain. He can never lack any good thing. He lives by faith.

In Jeremiah 17:5-8 the man who trusts in the Lord is not taken up with the barrenness, but with God — the fountain of living waters. He spreads out his roots by the river, and so he does not stop yielding fruit. See also Psalm 1, where we see separation from evil men and meditation on the word of God day and night!

There was One of whom all this was true in perfection, and it is that One we are to consider well, our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. He lived by the Father; His love was the joy and rejoicing of His heart, as He trusted in Him alone every day. And, oh! what rich fruit in immeasurable bounty comes from this for eternal ages.

And we may notice here that the remnant have the same character of blessing, though He alone has it in its fullness. Indeed they receive their blessing for an altogether different reason, as Jeremiah declares in this very passage. This looks onward to millennial peace and joy. Israel restored will enter into the joy of their King; their prosperity will take its colour from His joy.