Jeremiah 17:5 - Cursed Is The One Who Trusts In Man More Than God.

Jer 17:5: Cursed Is The One Who Trusts In Man More Than God.

CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word 
Study:  

Jer 17:5 (NIV)  This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one 
who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose 
heart turns away from the LORD. 

Jeremiah 17:5 (NLT)  This is what the LORD says: "Cursed are 
those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away 
from the LORD.  

Trusteth in man. The Hebrew word for "man" here is adam, "man 
[in the generic sense]," that is, "a person," "one belonging to the 
human race." Here "man" signifies one who is merely a human being, 
thus aptly signifying that the nations upon whom the Israelites 
relied for help were after all but human, having the weaknesses common 
to all mankind. The prophet's message has significance for our day. 
How easy it is for men to seek human sources of help and guidance 
rather than to rely upon what God has promised! [SDA Commentary] 

CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:

Overview
In view of the coming disaster, Jeremiah was forbidden to live a 
normal human life (16:1-21). Three causes of Judah's failure were 
identified (17:1-13), leading Jeremiah to cry out for personal healing (vv. 
14-18). Judah was then challenged to put God first by honoring the 
Sabbath (vv. 19-27). At the house of a potter God announced again the 
certain disaster He was preparing against Judah (18:1-23). Jeremiah 
smashed a clay jar to symbolize the devastation destined for Jerusalem 
(19:1-15). Pashhur had the prophet beaten (20:1-6), leading to another 
anguished complaint by a weary and bitter Jeremiah (vv. 7-18). [The 
365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

SECTION HEADINGS

Judah's Sin and Punishment
Wisdom from the LORD
A group of wisdom sayings  (17:5-11)
Trusting in Humans or God
The Deceitful Heart

CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.

Psalm 62:9 (KJV)  Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men 
of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are 
altogether lighter than vanity.  

Psalm 118:8 (KJV)  It is better to trust in the Lord than to put 
confidence in man.  

Isaiah 30:1 (KJV)  Woe to the rebellious children, saith the 
Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a 
covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:  

Isaiah 31:1 (KJV)  Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; 
and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; 
and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not 
unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!  

Hebrews 3:12 (KJV)  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of 
you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.  

COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?

Dependence on World Is Fatal. -- Under David's rule, the people 
of Israel gained strength and uprightness through obedience to 
God's law. But the kings that followed strove for self-exaltation. 
They took to themselves glory for the greatness of the kingdom, 
forgetting how utterly dependent they were upon God. They regarded 
themselves as wise and independent, because of the honor showed them by 
fallible, erring man. They became corrupt, immoral, and rebelled against 
the Lord, turning from Him to the worship of idols.  
God bore long with them, calling them often to repentance. But 
they refused to hear, and at last God spoke in judgment, showing them 
how weak they were without Him. He saw that they were determined to 
have their own way, and He gave them into the hands of their enemies, 
who spoiled their land, and took the people captive.  
The alliances made by the Israelites with their heathen 
neighbors resulted in the loss of their identity as God's peculiar people. 
They became leavened by the evil practises of those with whom they 
formed forbidden alliances. Affiliation with worldlings caused them to 
lose their first love, and their zeal for God's service. The 
advantages they sold themselves to gain, brought only disappointment, and 
caused the loss of many souls.  
The experience of Israel will be the experience of all who go to 
the world for strength, turning away from the living God. Those who 
forsake the mighty One, the source of all strength, and affiliate with 
worldlings, placing on them their dependence, become weak in moral power, as 
are those in whom they trust.  4BC1155-6   

The follies of Israel in the days of Samuel will be repeated 
among the people of God today unless there is greater humility, less 
confidence in self, and more trust in the Lord God of Israel, the Ruler of 
the people. It is only as divine power is combined with human effort 
that the work will abide the test. When men lean no longer on men or 
on their own judgment, but make God their trust, it will be made 
manifest in every instance by meekness of spirit, by less talking and 
much more praying, by the exercise of caution in their plans and 
movements. Such men will reveal the fact that their dependence is in God, 
that they have the mind of Christ. TM464 

Two kinds of people are contrasted here: those who trust in 
human beings and those who trust in the Lord. The people of Judah were 
trusting in false gods and military alliances instead of God, and thus 
they were barren and unfruitful. In contrast, those who trust in the 
Lord flourish like trees planted by water (see Psalm 1). In times of 
trouble, those who trust in human beings will be impoverished and 
spiritually weak, so they will have no strength to draw on. But those who 
trust in the Lord will have abundant strength, not only for their own 
needs, but even for the needs of others. Are you satisfied with being 
unfruitful, or do you, like a well-watered tree, have strength for the time 
of crisis and even some to share as you bear fruit for the Lord? 
[Life Application SB] 

HOPE Jeremiah 17:1-14
We may have learned a long time ago that hoping only brings 
disappointment. Our hopes were dashed. The promises we believed were broken. We 
were left feeling like fools for ever hoping in the first place. But 
perhaps we were devastated because we put our hope in the wrong place. 
"The Lord says: Cursed is the man who puts his trust in mortal 
man and turns his heart away from God. He is like a stunted shrub in 
the desert, with no hope for the future; he lives on the 
salt-encrusted plains in the barren wilderness; good times pass him by forever. 
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and has made the Lord 
his hope and confidence. He is like a tree planted along a 
riverbank, with its roots reaching deep into the water-a tree not bothered 
by the heat nor worried by long months of drought. Its leaves stay 
green, and it goes right on producing all its luscious fruit" (Jeremiah 
17:5-8). 
Turning our life over to God includes placing our hope in him, 
even if people have disappointed us. When we place all of our hope in 
other people, it's like expecting a tree to flourish in a barren 
desert. Our thirst continues, and they are unable to satisfy our deepest 
needs. Placing our hope in God changes everything. Jesus said, "The 
water I give ... becomes a perpetual spring within them, watering them 
forever with eternal life" (John 4:14). When our hope is in God, and our 
life is in his care, we are sustained when we otherwise would be 
devastated. [Life Recovery SB] 

In recovery, it is often tempting to trust someone who claims to 
speak for God, but here we are reminded that God alone is worthy of 
our trust. Many contemporary recovery programs do not assume our 
need to trust and obey God and his Word. Such a program can be 
dangerous, causing us to place our trust in people or activities that have 
no real power to deliver. We need to be sure we adhere to godly 
wisdom, not one individual's distortion of it. The analogy of the 
stunted shrub accurately describes what it feels like for us to live 
without nourishment from God. [Life Recovery SB] 

Blessings in Troubled Times
After being battered all day by a hot south wind, the squash 
vines and tomato plants in our garden drooped in the fading light. 
They practically cried out for water from the sprinkler. But the 
trees in the yard were green and flourishing, though they required far 
more water than the squash and tomatoes. The deep roots of the trees 
found a hidden source of water far below the surface where the garden 
plants struggled. Like those trees, people who trust in the Lord are 
not at the mercy of surface circumstances because we have deep roots 
to our eternal Source. [Quiet Time SB] 

It costs to follow Jesus Christ, but it costs more not to. [Your 
Daily Walk SB]