Forsaking God and relying on other objects of dependence. This is futile and it provokes God's anger. Failure to trust others may be the result of a betrayal of trust in the past.
Failure to trust God
The nature of failure to trust God
Jeremiah 2:13 See also Deuteronomy 31:16; Isaiah 8:6, Isaiah 65:11
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns — broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Examples of failure to trust God
Deuteronomy 1:32–33 See also Deuteronomy 9:23; Psalm 78:21–22; Numbers 20:12 Moses and Aaron; 1 Kings 11:4 Solomon; 2 Chronicles 16:7 Asa; Revelation 3:17 the church at Laodicea
But in spite of all this, you did not trust the LORD your God, who went before you on the journey, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, to seek out a place for you to camp and to show you the road to travel.
The consequences of failure to trust God
Hebrews 10:38–39 See also Habakkuk 2:4; Leviticus 26:14–20; Jeremiah 13:24–25, Jeremiah 46:25; Hosea 10:13–14
But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Objects of misplaced trust
Trust in false gods
Psalm 40:4 See also Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 4:2; Isaiah 42:17, Isaiah 47:9–10
Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
Trust in alliances, real or metaphorical
Isaiah 31:1 See also Isaiah 28:15, Isaiah 30:1–2; Jeremiah 2:18
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
Trust in human strength and resources
Jeremiah 17:5 See also Psalm 44:6–7, Psalm 146:3; Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 28:26; Isaiah 2:22, Isaiah 22:8–11, Isaiah 30:15–16; Ezekiel 16:15
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
Trust in the outward form of religion
Micah 6:6–8 See also Jeremiah 7:14 trust in the temple; Jeremiah 28:15 trust in false prophecy; John 8:33 trust in descent from Abraham; Romans 2:17 trust in possession of the law
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Trust in one's own righteousness
Romans 3:19–20 See also Ezekiel 33:13; Luke 18:9
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.
Trust in wealth
1 Timothy 6:17 See also Job 31:24–25; Psalm 49:5–6, Psalm 52:7, Psalm 62:10; Proverbs 11:28; Jeremiah 48:7, Jeremiah 49:4; Luke 12:18–20
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
The futility of misplaced trust
Job 15:31 See also Job 8:13–15
Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.
Futility of trust in false gods
Deuteronomy 32:37–38; 1 Kings 18:26–29; Psalm 115:5–8; Isaiah 37:19; Habakkuk 2:18
Futility of trust in human resources
Isaiah 64:6 human righteousness; Matthew 6:19–20 wealth and possessions; Colossians 2:8 human philosophy; James 4:13–14 human planning
Futility of trust in others
Failure to trust others
Judges 11:20; Jeremiah 12:6 See also Numbers 21:23; Jeremiah 9:4; Micah 7:5–6; Matthew 10:36; Mark 13:12; Acts 15:37–38; 2 Timothy 4:14–15
But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.
Even your brothers— your own father’s household— even they have betrayed you; even they have cried aloud against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.