Altars of self-worship

Jeremiah 17:1-13

An iron stylus was a tool used by engravers at the time of Jeremiah, but God is talking about altars of self-worship, of objects of the heart.  These idols do not hear or see, nor can they give any hope for a future.  They cannot promise what Jesus has promised in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  So the engraving is to expose their hearts and sins, to show the depth that sin will take one.

Listen to what God is saying and remember these words were for us as much as for them.  God is exposing two men, or two groups of people the ones who put trust in men and the ones who put confidence in the Lord.  “Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.  He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come.  He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.”  (Jeremiah 17:5-6)  A foolish person or nation that chooses curses, I often wonder are we walking down that path as a people as a Nation?   Have we not learned anything from a leader who promised “Hope and Change” and now a different group are putting trust in a mere man, who is saying not repent and turn, but how to be great?

Maybe we would be wise to listen to what God has to say, the kind of man, the kind of people, the kind of nation He will bless; “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.  He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”  (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Both men, both people, the one who trusts in man or self and the ones who trusts in the Lord have this in common: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?  “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”  Often even those who follow Jesus get conned into believing God is not paying attention, but that is foolishness and will bring about many hurts, and most of all our actions bring shame on the name of our Lord.  God is comparing us to a bird who hatches eggs it did not lay, a man who gets wealth but not from the work of his hands or by evil means will have it fly away and in the end will be seen as very foolish.  I saw this happen when a young man went through 1200 acres of debt free land in a matter of two years and ended up with not one thing, but he made a banker richer, and yes, all who watched saw him as a very foolish young man.

My prayer is that you and I will not be like Judah, who turned his back on a throne of glory, the Lord and the temple where He ruled.  The Lord was their hope, and He is our hope, for He is the only source of Living water.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice