You asked

where do we see similar claims of self sufficiency in powerful nations or groups today?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Jeremiah 17:5

“Yahweh says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart departs from Yahweh.””

The prophet Jeremiah delivered messages from God to the people of Judah before their exile to Babylon, urging them to trust in God rather than human alliances or their own perceived strength. This verse is part of a larger section contrasting those who trust in human power with those who trust in God.

What does it look like for a nation or group to put its trust in human strength, and what might be the consequences of that choice?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Psalm 20:7
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God.
Proverbs 28:26
One who trusts in his own heart is a fool; but one who walks in wisdom is kept safe.
Isaiah 31:1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, and they do not seek Yahweh!

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