Jeremiah 17:7-8
by Martha E. Stortz
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Blessed are those who trust in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of the drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
Most
of the time the prophet Jeremiah felt more cursed than blessed. He
didn’t want to be a prophet in the first place, protesting that he was
too young and too inarticulate (1:5-8). He struggled for a lifetime with
God’s call, even accusing God of overpowering him (20:7). Yet God
continued to call Jeremiah, and this is how: “Blessed are those who
trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.” Jeremiah trusts in the
Lord. He trusts that there is Someone to get angry with. He trusts that
there is Someone to notice that he’s a laughingstock. Over time that
trust in the Lord becomes a trust that is the Lord. God is with this
reluctant prophet. Again and again, Jeremiah speaks of his sense of
God’s abiding presence: “...for I am with you to save you and deliver
you, says the Lord” (15:20); “...the Lord is with me like a dread
warrior” (20:11).
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In addition to questions found in this
study, here are some general questions that can
be used:
1. What is God saying to us through this
passage?
2. What does this passage tell us about
God?
3. How does this passage speak to us as a
community?
4. What does this passage teach us about
our neighbors and our world? |
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Disciples learn two things from Jeremiah’s struggle. First, the
prophet tunes our ears to the frequency of blessing. God calls us b
y
blessing. We usually think God calls us by command: “Go and do this....”
“Go and be that....” Jeremiah’s calling is ours, and once we hear the
biblical refrain of blessing, it’s like a song we can’t forget. Hear it
in Elizabeth’s greeting to her kinswoman Mary: “Blessed are you among
women...” (Luke 1:42). Hear it Jesus’ first sermon, as he calls out his
disciples: “Blessed are the poor in spirit....; blessed are those who
mourn...; blessed are the meek....” (Matthew 5:3-5). And we call God by
blessing as well. Blessing is the psalmist’s way of getting God’s
attention: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless
God’s holy name” (Psalm 108:1). In the world according to God, blessings
rule.
Second, the prophet shows us how deep blessing anchors us. Whatever
storms cross the surface, blessings let us cast a deep anchor in the
heart of God. The prophet and the psalmist conspire to remind us: “They
are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in
its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they
prosper” (Psalm 1:3).
Martha E. Stortz teaches at Pacific Lutheran
Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California.
Questions on 1 Jeremiah 17:7-8
- Do we sometimes feel more cursed than blessed? How are these
feelings related one to another?
- How are we called by the blessings of God?
- How are we anchored by the blessings of God?