Jeremiah 17:5-8

B. The Desert Shrub and the Flourishing Tree Jeremiah 17:5-8

TRANSLATION

(5) Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart departs from the LORD. (6) For he shall be like a tamarisk in the wilderness, and he shall not see when good comes; but he shall dwell in the parched areas of the wilderness, in a land of salt which is not inhabited. (7) Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose object of trust is the LORD. (8) He shall be as a tree planted alongside of waters and alongside of the river he puts forth his roots. He shall not fear when heat comes. His leaf shall be green. In the year of drought he will not be anxious nor shall he cease from producing fruit.

COMMENTS

In Jeremiah 17:5-8 Jeremiah draws a picture of contrast between the unbeliever and the believer. Jeremiah 17:5 mentions two characteristics of the unbeliever. The unbeliever continuously (Hebrew imperfect) puts his trust in flesh i.e., he puts his trust in what is weak, sinful, mortal and temporal. While he may give lip service to the Almighty he has departed from the Lord in his own heart. It is interesting that two Hebrew words for man are used in Jeremiah 17:5. The first word is gever which refers to man in his strength, man as he was intended to be. The second word is adam which signifies man in his creaturely weakness. Thus, cursed is the man (gever) who trusts in man (adam). After indicating the characteristics of the unbeliever Jeremiah describes in Jeremiah 17:6 the conditions of such a man. He is like the tamarisk, a twisted, gnarled, dwarfed little tree which grows in the most barren and rocky parts of the desert. The roots of the tamarisk constantly grope for water but find precious little. That starved and stunted shrub just hangs on to a miserable existence. So it is with the unbeliever. He shall not see when good comes. He is always groping, searching for the good life, the more abundant life, but alas he never finds it. In spite of the riches he might possess he is not living, he is only existing. His life is a parched wilderness, a land of salt, i.e., a land absolutely barren (cf. Deuteronomy 29:23).

In contrast to the life of the unbeliever the one who puts his trust in God is blessed (Jeremiah 17:7). In terminology reminiscent of Psalms 1:3 Jeremiah describes the life of the believer. He is like a tree which puts its roots down alongside a perennial stream. That tree will flourish and be fruitful because the supply of water is never exhausted. So the believer has put down his roots beside the inexhaustible stream of divine grace. Even during the drought period of life, the times of severe testing and trial, he does not wilt, he does not fear. On the contrary he continues to flourish and bear fruit.