Epiphany 6 (2)
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8 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.”
(NIV)
5 This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 That person 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. 7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 8 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.”
Introduction
The last several weeks have been a good reminder of what Winter in Wisconsin can be like. Subzero temperatures, record low wind chills, record amounts of snow for the month of February. If we had our choice, most of us would prefer to live in a climate where it is 72 and sunny with light breezes during the day, low humidity, and what rain came would be at night when we are sleeping in our comfortable beds. No wonder so many people travel to locations that have such weather during this time of year.
What other good things do we want?
Meaningful jobs.
Healthy bodies.
Equipment that doesn’t break down.
A good selection of entertainment.
Financial success.
Championship teams.
We want to be healthy, wealthy, and wise and where everything is going our way.
And that is God’s promise to us. Note how he promises wonderful future blessings to us.
1 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. 2 You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. 3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. 4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled. 6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Sometimes, we think that we are entitled to all of those blessings while still on earth.
(passages on the blessings of heaven)
Sometimes, we think that we are entitled to all of those blessings while still on earth.
True. God does indeed bless us in rich and abundant ways. One of the hymn texts that I disagree with is . . .
“Earth is a dessert drear, heaven is my home.
Danger and sorrow stand, Round me on ev’ry hand.”
Earth is not devoid of beauty and grandeur. We aren’t in danger all the time. I would say we live in one of the safest places in the country.
Last October a friend of mine, former missionary Mark Wendland preached at the joint mission festival in Marshfield. He spent some of his young life in Africa and served there as a missionary as well. He lived in a gated compound with armed security guards. He told the story of how he was carjacked and the people who did had murdered others. I’ve lived in Milwaukee and if your doors weren’t locked even though you were home in the daytime, you could have (and many did) have unwelcome visitors who just walked in and took items from your home. Sometimes I get a call from ADT offering an alarm system for the parsonage. I don’t think it is necessary. (But I do keep the doors locked even when home.)
And so we have a contrast. We can see in our world some very good things, but we are also aware of things that are not so good. And although we look forward to the blessings of heaven and are blessed by the Lord while on earth, we must also realize that bad things do happen to good people.
In our text the Lord says that even for those who trust in him, the heat will come and so will the year of drought. The book of Job overplays this. We can think of many difficulties God’s people faced historically as well as individually. Recall St. Paul’s summary of his missionary work.
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
The point is not whether or not we will experience trouble, the point is in whom or what do we trust when that trouble comes.
The point is not whether or not we will experience trouble, the point is in whom or what do we trust when that trouble comes.
Choice.
Trust in Man (cursed)
5 This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 That person 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.
Our text begins with a condemnation of those who trust in man. The Israelites are cursed for not putting their trust in the Lord during a time of impending national turmoil. Israel was a relatively small country sandwiched between the superpower of Egypt to the west and Assyria (later Babylon, Greece, Rome) to the east. Even today those who live in Israel do not have the military strength to stand alone against her enemies but rely on outside forces to protect them. But even though Israel was small, they had a special relationship with God and he promised them that if they obeyed his commands (feared, loved, and trusted in him above all things), he would grant them success. The bible history teaches us that when Israel did trust in the Lord, she was successful. This is emphasize their conflict with Egypt during Moses, the period of the Judges, and during the reigns of the Kings. But when they turned away from the Lord to other God, disaster came to Israel in many ways.
At this time, the Lord was about to bring disaster on them for forsaking him. This would come at the hands of the Babylonians. The northern tribes had already succumbed to Assyria. But instead of returning to the Lord, the leaders in Judah trusted in Egypt. The Lord warns what would happen to them. History tells us that this did happen.
In contrast, Jeremiah promises blessings if they do trust in the Lord.
Trust in Lord (blessed)
7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 8 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.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? 11 Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? 12 Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. 13 With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.
12 The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled), 13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan, 14 for all the towering mountains and all the high hills, 15 for every lofty tower and every fortified wall, 16 for every trading ship and every stately vessel. 17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, 18 and the idols will totally disappear. 19 People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. 20 In that day people will throw away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship. 21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. 22 Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
Application: Trouble will come into your life. When it does, trust in the Lord.
Application: Trouble will come into your life. When it does, trust in the Lord.
And if that trouble is a discipline from the Lord for sinful activity on your part, don’t be like the people of Judah who continued in sin and looked for a different way out. Repent and turn to the Lord and trust in him for forgiveness and deliverance from trouble.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
“He who did not spare his own son, how will he not along with him graciously give us all thing?”