Verse 5

Individuals Are Challenged to Put Their Trust in the Lord The LORD says,“I will put a curse on people who trust in mere human beings, who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength, and whose hearts have turned away from the LORD.

Referenced Verses

  • Ps 118:8-9 : 8 It is better to take shelter in the LORD than to trust in people. 9 It is better to take shelter in the LORD than to trust in princes.
  • Ps 146:3-4 : 3 Do not trust in princes, or in human beings, who cannot deliver! 4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground; on that day their plans die.
  • Isa 2:22 : 22 Stop trusting in human beings, whose life’s breath is in their nostrils. For why should they be given special consideration?
  • 2 Chr 32:8 : 8 He has with him mere human strength, but the LORD our God is with us to help us and fight our battles!” The army was encouraged by the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.
  • Isa 31:1-9 : 1 Egypt Will Disappoint Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, those who rely on war horses, and trust in Egypt’s many chariots and in their many, many horsemen. But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel and do not seek help from the LORD. 2 Yet he too is wise and he will bring disaster; he does not retract his decree. He will attack the wicked nation, and the nation that helps those who commit sin. 3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God; their horses are made of flesh, not spirit. The LORD will strike with his hand; the one who helps will stumble and the one being helped will fall. Together they will perish. 4 The Lord Will Defend Zion Indeed, this is what the LORD has said to me:“The LORD will be like a growling lion, like a young lion growling over its prey. Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it, it is not afraid of their shouts or intimidated by their yelling. In this same way the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will descend to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 5 Just as birds hover over a nest, so the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; as he passes over he will rescue it. 6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! 7 For at that time everyone will get rid of the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made. 8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. They will run away from this sword and their young men will be forced to do hard labor. 9 They will surrender their stronghold because of fear; their officers will be afraid of the LORD’s battle flag.” This is what the LORD says– the one whose fire is in Zion, whose firepot is in Jerusalem.
  • Isa 36:6 : 6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him!
  • Isa 30:1-7 : 1 Egypt Will Prove Unreliable“The rebellious children are as good as dead,” says the LORD,“those who make plans without consulting me, who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, and thereby compound their sin. 2 They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, seeking Pharaoh’s protection, and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 3 But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame, and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation. 4 Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes, 5 all will be put to shame because of a nation that cannot help them, who cannot give them aid or help, but only shame and disgrace.” 6 This is an oracle about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, by snakes and darting adders, they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them. 7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping. For this reason I call her‘Proud one who is silenced.’”
  • Ps 62:9 : 9 Men are nothing but a mere breath; human beings are unreliable. When they are weighed in the scales, all of them together are lighter than air.
  • Ps 18:21 : 21 For I have obeyed the LORD’s commands; I have not rebelled against my God.
  • Isa 59:15 : 15 Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The LORD watches and is displeased, for there is no justice.
  • Ezek 6:9 : 9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize how I was crushed by their unfaithful heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices.
  • Ezek 29:6-7 : 6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the LORD because they were a reed staff for the house of Israel; 7 when they grasped you with their hand, you broke and tore their shoulders, and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady.
  • Hos 1:2 : 2 Symbols of Sin and Judgment: The Prostitute and Her Children When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, he said to him,“Go marry a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, because the nation continually commits spiritual prostitution by turning away from the LORD.”