This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who trust in mortals,
who depend on flesh for their strength
and whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
They will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward everyone according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”
Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
and in the end they will prove to be fools.
My thoughts -
The Lord is angry. God's people have worshipped other gods. They have made idols and sacrificed to them. They have bowed down and worshipped gods they made with their own hands. They have forgotten God's law. They have not cared for the poor. They have not observed the Sabbath. They have just done whatever they please. And God is not pleased.
God has sent a drought and the people are suffering. And the people's suffering is about to get worse. They no longer have God's favor. They didn't fulfill their end of the covenant so God no longer favors them. They no longer have God's protection. They didn't fulfill their end of the covenant so God is no longer protecting them. They no longer have God's love. They have forsaken God so they have been forsaken.
In this passage God curses those who trust in their own strength, those who have used their own strength to unjustly enrich themselves. Those riches are gone. The desert awaits. God has judged them, has seen their hearts, has seen their injustice, their wealth acquired "like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay", and they don't get to keep it. They are deserted. Abandoned. Forsaken. They have turned from God so God has turned from them.
To those who have trusted in their own strength, that strength has failed them. Their economy has crashed. They are under siege. This is a hopeless situation. All is lost. But it doesn't have to be this way. God offers hope to those who trust in the Lord. Look at the words of encouragement the Lord has for them:
“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord,However bad things may appear, God is still in control. The world may seem like it is turning upside down. Everything that we have relied on and held dear may abandon us. Our own strength may fail us. Everything in the world may be set against us, but God is still in control. This is good news for those who trust in the Lord. Those who trust in the Lord have hope even in the midst of hopelessness.
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
For those who trust in themselves and their own strength, however, it may not be so comforting.
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