Which other scriptures warn against trusting in riches over God? Riches Can Deceive: The Message of Jeremiah 49:4 “Why do you boast in your valleys—your fruitful valleys, O faithless daughter? You trust in your treasures and say, ‘Who can come against me?’” (Jeremiah 49:4) Echoes in the Wisdom Books • Proverbs 11:28 – “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.” • Proverbs 23:4-5 – “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. When you gaze upon riches, they are gone…” • Psalm 52:7 – “Behold the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth…” • Psalm 62:10 – “…if your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” • Ecclesiastes 5:10 – “Whoever loves money is never satisfied with money…” Prophetic Warnings Beyond Jeremiah • Hosea 12:8 – “Ephraim boasts, ‘I am very rich; I have become wealthy.’ Yet none of his profits will atone for the guilt…” • Zephaniah 1:18 – “Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD’s wrath.” • Isaiah 2:7-11 – “Their land is full of silver and gold… The haughtiness of man will be humbled…” • Ezekiel 7:19 – “They will throw their silver into the streets… their gold will not deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD.” Jesus Puts the Issue Front and Center • Matthew 6:19-21 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” • Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and money.” • Luke 12:15 – “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” • Luke 12:16-21 – Parable of the rich fool: “This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.” • Mark 10:23-25 – “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” New-Testament Letters Continue the Caution • 1 Timothy 6:9-10 – “Those who want to be rich fall into temptation… the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” • 1 Timothy 6:17-19 – “Instruct those who are rich… not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain.” • James 1:9-11 – “The rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.” • James 5:1-3 – “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you… your gold and silver are corroded.” • Revelation 3:17-18 – “You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy…’ yet you do not realize that you are wretched… Buy from Me gold refined by fire.” Putting It All Together Scripture speaks with one voice: wealth offers no real security, and trusting it crowds out reliance on God. The warning of Jeremiah 49:4 echoes from Genesis to Revelation, inviting every generation to shift confidence from treasure that can vanish to the Lord who never fails. |
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