What is the meaning of Jeremiah 17:11? Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay Jeremiah paints a vivid picture: a bird confidently brooding over eggs that will never truly be hers. • The partridge thinks the nest is full of life, yet the moment the chicks hear the call of their real mother they leave (cf. Psalm 39:6; Job 27:16-17). • Unjust wealth feels secure in the hands of its collector, but it never really belongs to him. It is borrowed, not owned. • Scripture repeats the futility of ill-gotten gain: “Dishonest wealth diminishes, but whoever gathers by labor increases it” (Proverbs 13:11). Is the man who makes a fortune unjustly God links the bird’s misplaced confidence to anyone who builds wealth through fraud, oppression, or corruption. • Proverbs 10:2 warns that “ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.” • Micah 6:11-12 indicts those whose “riches are unjust” and whose “tongues speak deceitfully.” • The issue is not money itself but its unrighteous acquisition and the heart that craves it (1 Timothy 6:9-10). In the middle of his days his riches will desert him Judgment is often swifter than expected. Halfway through life—when plans seem to be blossoming—wealth slips away. • Proverbs 23:4-5 observes how riches “sprout wings and fly off to the sky.” • Psalm 37:35-36 portrays the wicked flourishing briefly, only to vanish like a withered tree. • Jesus echoes the warning: “This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have prepared?” (Luke 12:20). And in the end he will be the fool Temporal loss is only part of the story; final humiliation awaits. • Psalm 73:18-20 describes the ungodly as “swept away by terrors” when God rouses Himself. • James 5:1-3 pictures hoarded wealth corroding and testifying against its owner “in the last days.” • Eternal perspective exposes earthly scheming: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Consequences of unjust riches: – Sudden financial collapse – Public shame and ruined reputation – Spiritual bankruptcy and eternal loss summary Jeremiah 17:11 warns that unjust wealth is an illusion. Like a partridge sitting on another bird’s eggs, the cheat feels secure, but the riches never truly belong to him, vanish when least expected, and leave him exposed as a fool before God and people. Honest labor, contentment, and trust in the Lord endure; deceitful gain never does. |
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