Jeremiah 12 reminds me of a phrase used to
describe a top athlete that is shocked by failure; “They started
reading their own press”. Public relations stories are
written, accolades are repeated, success is assumed and proper
preparation is abandoned. This can happen to anyone in
authority, or following exceptional achievement. In today’s
chapter, Jeremiah comes dangerously close to blaming God for
mankind’s failures. He begins, “You
are always righteous, Lord…
Yet…”
YET? That little word means Jeremiah feels qualified to correct
God. We cringe as he continues his questioning, “Why
does the way of the wicked prosper? …faithless live at ease?
…they grow and bear fruit…
You are…
on their lips but far from their
hearts“. To validate his
words, Jeremiah says that he is sincere, “You
know me… You see me… test
my thoughts“. What does
Jeremiah propose God do with those that don’t honor God?
“Drag them off like sheep to be
butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!”
Maybe you have felt that way about the wicked people in your life?
Thankfully God is perfect in judgment, but He is also rich in Mercy
and Patient beyond our understanding. The apostle Paul
explains, “But for that very
reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ
Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who
would believe in Him and receive eternal life”
(1 Timothy 1:16). How do you reacts when “the
people are saying, ‘He will not see what happens to us’“?
God
answers Jeremiah and any of us that start believing we deserve God’s
blessings. Do you really think you have endured so much?
“You have raced with men on
foot and they have worn you out“,
in other words, the spiritual battles going on around us make our
trials look like a walk in the park. “If
you stumble in
safe country, how will you manage in the thickets?”
You aint seen nothing’ yet! God warns the prophet, about
anyone, even “Your relatives”
that try to tell you that you are righteous on your own. “Do
not trust them, though they speak well of you“.
Have you been thinking you would like to teach God a thing or two?
God
hints at the costly way of redemption. “I
will forsake My house, abandon My inheritance; I will give the one I
love into the hands of her enemies“.
Jesus took on the sin of each of us and the sin we inherited from
Adam and Eve. His blood covers it all. How do we treat
God? “Like a lion in the
forest. She roars at Me“.
Have you been roaring at God?
God made the world perfect but
man’s sin has polluted His perfection. God wanted the nation
Israel to honor Him as King, but they wanted to be like the other
nations. Now, Israel is “like
a speckled bird of prey”
surrounded and attacked. The holy land is the center of
tension, “Many shepherds will
ruin My vineyard… the whole land will be laid waste because there
is no one who cares… destroyers will swarm… no one will be safe…
They will bear the shame of their harvest… I will uproot them“.
The chapter ends with two promises. “But
after I uproot them, I will again have compassion… back to their
own inheritance and their own country“.
Today Israel is a nation once again. What about the other
nations? “If they learn
well the ways of My people and swear by My name… they will be
established… But if any nation does not listen, I will completely
uproot and destroy it“.
We each have a choice to honor God as God, or trust in our own
excellence. Be careful
what you read.