Take Note Podcast

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
• Have they deceived us into trusting self?
• Or have we rejected self and placed our confidence in God?