Jeremiah Chapter 17
Jeremiah 17
The Folly of Misplaced Trust
Jeremiah 17:1-4, Pen and Paper for Judah’s Sin
Jeremiah 17:1-4, “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond, it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars, Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee, and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not, for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.”
Jeremiah 17 begins by describing the depth and permanence of Judah’s sin. Their sin is not written lightly, as with ink that may fade. It is written with a pen of iron and engraved with the point of a diamond. The image speaks of something deeply cut, fixed, and difficult to erase. Judah’s rebellion had become hardened into the life of the nation.
The sin is engraved “upon the table of their heart.” This means their inward life was marked by rebellion. The heart, which should have been devoted to the LORD, had become a tablet of guilt. Their problem was not merely outward behavior. It was inward corruption.
Their sin was also engraved “upon the horns of your altars.” The altar should have been a place of sacrifice, confession, worship, and reconciliation with God. But Judah’s altars testified against them. Their religion itself had been polluted. Sin had marked both heart and worship.
This prepares for the later promise of the New Covenant, where God would write His law on the heart instead of sin being engraved there.
Jeremiah 31:33, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Judah’s children remembered the altars and groves by the green trees and high hills. This means idolatry had become generational. The children grew up familiar with pagan worship sites. Sin was being passed down as memory, habit, and culture.
God calls Judah “my mountain in the field,” likely referring to Jerusalem and Zion as His chosen place. Yet He says He will give their substance, treasures, and high places to spoil. The wealth they trusted and the sinful worship sites they loved would be taken.
The consequence is exile. Judah would “discontinue” from the heritage God gave her. She would lose enjoyment of the land and serve enemies in a land she did not know. They had kindled a fire in God’s anger, and that fire would burn. The judgment came because they had defiled the land and hardened themselves in sin.
Jeremiah 17:5-8, The Folly of Trusting in Man
Jeremiah 17:5-8, “Thus saith the LORD, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 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. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 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.”
The LORD now contrasts two kinds of men, the cursed man and the blessed man. The cursed man trusts in man, makes flesh his arm, and his heart departs from the LORD. Misplaced trust is not harmless. To make flesh one’s strength is to turn the heart away from God.
This applies to trusting human power, political alliances, military strength, personal ability, wealth, intelligence, family name, religious status, or any created thing as the source of ultimate security. Judah had repeatedly trusted in human help instead of the LORD. But flesh is weak, temporary, and unreliable.
The cursed man is like “the heath in the desert.” He is like a dry shrub in a barren place. He does not see when good comes. Even when blessing is near, he cannot receive it properly because his heart is disconnected from the LORD. He inhabits parched places, wilderness, and salt land. This is a picture of spiritual barrenness.
By contrast, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” The blessed man does not merely trust the LORD occasionally. The LORD Himself is his hope. His confidence, expectation, and security are rooted in God.
This man is like a tree planted by waters, spreading roots by the river. When heat comes, he does not fear. When drought comes, he remains fruitful. The difference is not that the blessed man avoids heat and drought. The difference is that his roots are in the right place. He is sustained by the LORD when circumstances are hard.
This echoes Psalm 1.
Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Trusting the LORD and delighting in His word belong together. The man who trusts God sends his roots into the word of God, and because of that, he bears fruit even in drought.
Jeremiah 17:9-10, The Folly of Trusting One’s Own Heart
Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? 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 now moves from the folly of trusting man in general to the folly of trusting one’s own heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things.” This is one of the clearest biblical warnings against the modern idea of “follow your heart.” The heart is not neutral. It is not naturally wise. It deceives.
In Scripture, the heart refers to the inner man, including thoughts, desires, motives, will, affections, and moral direction. The heart is not merely emotion. It is the control center of the inner life. When the heart is corrupt, the whole life is misdirected.
The heart is also “desperately wicked.” The phrase carries the sense of being incurably sick, morally diseased, and beyond self repair. Judah’s history had proven this. They followed the imagination of their evil hearts, listened to false prophets who spoke from the deceit of their hearts, and refused to hear the LORD.
Jeremiah 11:8, “Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart, therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did them not.”
Jeremiah 14:14, “Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name, I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them, they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”
Jeremiah 16:12, “And ye have done worse than your fathers, for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.”
The question is, “who can know it?” Man cannot fully know his own heart. He can deceive himself about motives, desires, intentions, and spiritual condition. Others cannot fully know it either. But God can.
“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins.” The “reins” refer to the hidden inward depths, the seat of deep motives and affections. Nothing inward is hidden from the LORD. He searches, tests, examines, and judges perfectly.
God gives every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. His judgment is righteous because His knowledge is complete. He sees not only what men do, but why they do it. He knows the heart behind the action.
Under the New Covenant, God gives His people a new heart. This is the only real answer to the problem Jeremiah exposes.
Ezekiel 36:26-27, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out your flesh, and I will give you an heart flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
The heart cannot cure itself. It must be changed by God.
Jeremiah 17:11, The Folly of Trusting in Riches
Jeremiah 17:11, “As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not, so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst his days, and at his end shall be a fool.”
Jeremiah next warns against trusting in wealth, especially wealth gained unjustly. The image is of a partridge sitting on eggs that do not truly belong to it or that will not hatch for it. It labors over what it cannot finally keep.
So it is with the man who gains riches “not by right.” The issue is not wealth itself, but unjust gain. Wealth acquired through fraud, oppression, theft, exploitation, bribery, corruption, or dishonest advantage will not provide lasting security.
The riches will leave him “in the midst his days.” Wealth gained wrongly often departs suddenly. Even if it remains until death, it cannot cross into judgment with him. At the end he will be exposed as a fool because he trusted in what could not save.
Luke 12:19-21, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required thee, then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Riches can be useful as stewardship, but they are deadly as trust. The man who gains them unjustly and rests in them will end as a fool.
Jeremiah 17:12-13, The Folly of Failing to Trust in the God of All Glory
Jeremiah 17:12-13, “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.”
After exposing the folly of trusting man, the heart, and riches, Jeremiah turns to the glory of trusting the LORD. “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” God’s throne is the true sanctuary. Safety is found under His sovereign rule.
This is a powerful truth. Men often think sanctuary means escape from authority, but true refuge is found in God’s authority. His throne is glorious, high, and eternal. Because He reigns, His people have a place of safety.
The LORD is “the hope of Israel.” Not idols, not Egypt, not human alliances, not wealth, not the temple as an empty symbol, and not the heart. The LORD Himself is the hope of Israel.
All who forsake Him shall be ashamed. Those who depart from Him shall be written in the earth. This image contrasts with something permanent and heavenly. To be written in the earth is to be temporary, unstable, and destined to be erased. Those who forsake the LORD lose lasting honor.
The reason is clear, “because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.” This recalls Jeremiah 2.
Jeremiah 2:13, “For my people have committed two evils, they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”
To forsake the LORD is to walk away from the only source of life. Every misplaced trust is a broken cistern. The LORD alone is living water.
Jeremiah 17:14-17, A Prayer for Deliverance and Defense
Jeremiah 17:14-17, “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed, save me, and I shall be saved, for thou art my praise. Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now. As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee, neither have I desired the woeful day, thou knowest, that which came out of my lips was right before thee. Be not a terror unto me, thou art my hope in the day of evil.”
Jeremiah now prays in personal dependence. “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed, save me, and I shall be saved.” He knows that if God heals, the healing is real. If God saves, the salvation is secure. This is the opposite of trusting man, the heart, or riches. Jeremiah trusts the LORD alone.
“For thou art my praise.” God is not merely the giver of Jeremiah’s praise. God Himself is Jeremiah’s praise. His confidence, worship, and joy are in the LORD.
Jeremiah’s enemies mock him, saying, “Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.” They challenge the prophecy because judgment has not yet fallen. Delay makes them bold in unbelief. They treat God’s patience as proof that His word is false.
Jeremiah defends his ministry before God. He has not hastened away from being a shepherd who follows the LORD. He has not abandoned his calling. He has not desired the woeful day. This matters because Jeremiah preached judgment, but he did not delight in it. He was not a man eager for destruction. He spoke what God gave him, with grief.
“Thou knowest, that which came out of my lips was right before thee.” Jeremiah appeals to God as the witness of his words. He has been faithful to the message. He asks God not to become a terror to him, because the LORD is his hope in the day of evil.
This prayer is the heart of a faithful servant under pressure. Jeremiah does not trust the people’s approval. He does not trust his own heart. He trusts the LORD to heal, save, defend, and vindicate.
Jeremiah 17:18, A Prayer for the Justification of God’s Prophet
Jeremiah 17:18, “Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded, let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed, bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.”
Jeremiah prays that his persecutors be confounded and dismayed, but that he not be put to shame. This is a prayer for vindication. Jeremiah has spoken the word of the LORD, and his enemies have mocked and persecuted him. If his word fails, he will be confounded. But if God confirms His word, the persecutors will be confounded.
This is not Jeremiah taking vengeance with his own hands. He leaves the matter to God. He asks the LORD to bring the day of evil upon those who resist His word. The phrase “double destruction” speaks of full and fitting judgment.
The prophet’s cause is tied to God’s word. Jeremiah’s vindication matters because the truth of the message matters. The enemies were not merely attacking Jeremiah personally. They were rejecting the word of the LORD.
Jeremiah 17:19-23, Jeremiah Delivers a Message about the Sabbath
Jeremiah 17:19-23, “Thus said the LORD unto me, Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates Jerusalem, And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates, Thus saith the LORD, Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates Jerusalem, Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.”
The chapter now gives a concrete example of Judah’s disobedience, their violation of the Sabbath. Jeremiah is commanded to stand in the gates of Jerusalem, including the gate used by the kings of Judah. This message is for rulers and common people alike. Everyone entering the gates must hear the word of the LORD.
The Sabbath command was part of the Mosaic covenant. Israel was commanded to rest on the seventh day and keep it holy unto the LORD.
Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work, But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates, For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
Jeremiah tells them not to bear burdens on the Sabbath, not to bring burdens through the gates, not to carry burdens out of their houses, and not to do work. They must hallow the Sabbath as God commanded their fathers.
This was not because Sabbath keeping was the only command that mattered. It functioned as a test case of covenant submission. If Judah would obey God in this clear command, it would show a heart willing to hear and submit. If they refused even this, it exposed their stubbornness.
God says their fathers did not obey or incline their ear. They made their neck stiff so they would not hear or receive instruction. The issue again is the refusal to hear. Sabbath breaking was not merely a scheduling problem. It was a visible sign of covenant rebellion.
Jeremiah 17:24-27, Promised Blessing for Obedience and Curse for Disobedience
Jeremiah 17:24-27, “And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein, Then shall there enter into the gates this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men Judah, and the inhabitants Jerusalem, and this city shall remain for ever. And they shall come from the cities Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices praise, unto the house of the LORD. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”
God gives a promise of blessing if Judah will diligently hearken. If they honor the Sabbath and obey His command, kings and princes will continue entering the gates of Jerusalem, sitting on David’s throne, riding in chariots and on horses. The city will remain. Worshipers will come from Judah, Benjamin, the plain, the mountains, and the south, bringing offerings, sacrifices, incense, and sacrifices of praise to the house of the LORD.
The promise shows what obedience would preserve, Davidic rule, Jerusalem’s stability, regional unity, temple worship, and covenant blessing. Sabbath obedience here stands as a visible sign of renewed submission to the LORD.
But if they refuse to hearken, God will kindle a fire in the gates of Jerusalem. That fire will devour the palaces and will not be quenched. The gates where burdens were carried in disobedience would become the place where judgment entered. The palaces that symbolized power would be consumed.
For Israel under the Mosaic covenant, Sabbath observance was a covenant sign.
Exodus 31:16-17, “Wherefore the children Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children Israel for ever, for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”
Under the New Covenant, believers are not placed under Israel’s Sabbath law as a covenant obligation. The Sabbath pointed forward to the rest fulfilled in Christ.
Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days, Which are a shadow things to come, but the body is of Christ.”
Hebrews 4:9-10, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”
The Sabbath command in Jeremiah 17 belongs directly to Judah under the Mosaic covenant, but its principle still teaches that God’s people must hear, trust, rest, and obey. The shadow points to Christ, who is the true rest of His people.
Doctrinal and Practical Notes
Jeremiah 17 teaches that sin can become deeply engraved into the heart. Judah’s rebellion was not superficial. It was cut into the inward life of the people and marked their worship.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that sin becomes generational when children are trained to remember idols. Judah’s children remembered the altars and groves, showing that idolatry had become family memory and culture.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that trusting man brings curse. Flesh is not strong enough to be the arm of God’s people. Trusting man turns the heart away from the LORD.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that trusting the LORD brings stability in drought. The blessed man is not spared from heat, but he remains fruitful because his roots are by the waters.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that the heart is not a reliable guide. It is deceitful and desperately wicked. The heart must be judged by God’s word, not obeyed as final authority.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that God alone knows the heart. He searches the heart, tries the reins, and judges every man according to his ways and fruit.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that unjust riches cannot save. Wealth gained not by right will leave a man, and he will be exposed as a fool.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that the LORD is the only true sanctuary. His glorious throne is the place of refuge, and He is the hope of Israel.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that those who forsake the LORD forsake the fountain of living waters. Every alternative trust is dry, temporary, and shameful.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that God’s servant must pray for healing, salvation, and vindication from the LORD. Jeremiah trusted God to heal, save, defend, and remain his hope in the day of evil.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that obedience in one clear area can reveal the true condition of the heart. The Sabbath command became a test of whether Judah would hear the LORD.
Jeremiah 17 teaches that the Sabbath under Moses pointed forward to rest in Christ. Judah was accountable under the covenant sign, and believers now find the substance of rest in the finished work of Christ.
Summary
Jeremiah 17 begins by exposing the depth of Judah’s sin. Their rebellion is engraved with a pen of iron and the point of a diamond on the tablet of their heart and the horns of their altars. Their children remember their idolatrous altars and groves. Because of this, God will give their treasures and high places to spoil and cause them to serve enemies in a foreign land.
The chapter then contrasts misplaced trust with true trust. The cursed man trusts in man, makes flesh his arm, and departs from the LORD. He is like a dry shrub in the desert. The blessed man trusts in the LORD and has the LORD as his hope. He is like a tree planted by waters, fruitful even in drought.
Jeremiah then warns that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Man cannot fully know his own heart, but the LORD searches the heart and tries the reins. He judges every man according to his ways and fruit. The chapter also warns against unjust riches, comparing them to a partridge that sits on eggs it does not hatch.
Jeremiah then confesses the LORD as the glorious high throne, the sanctuary, the hope of Israel, and the fountain of living waters. He prays for healing, salvation, and defense, declaring that God is his praise and his hope in the day of evil. He asks God to vindicate him against persecutors.
The chapter closes with a concrete test of obedience, the Sabbath. Jeremiah is sent to the gates of Jerusalem to command kings and people not to carry burdens on the Sabbath, but to hallow the day as God commanded their fathers. If they obey, Davidic kings will continue, Jerusalem will remain, and worship will continue. If they refuse, God will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates that will devour Jerusalem’s palaces.
