Jeremiah 12:1-17
1 Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You;
Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?
2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;
They grow, yes, they bear fruit.
You are near in their mouth
But far from their mind.
3 But You, O LORD, know me;
You have seen me,
And You have tested my heart toward You.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
And prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4 How long will the land mourn,
And the herbs of every field wither?
The beasts and birds are consumed,
For the wickedness of those who dwell there,
Because they said, "He will not see our final end."
5 "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,
Then how can you contend with horses?
And if in the land of peace,
In which you trusted, they wearied you,
Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?
6 For even your brothers, the house of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you;
Yes, they have called a multitude after you.
Do not believe them,
Even though they speak smooth words to you.
7 "I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage;
I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.
8 My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;
It cries out against Me;
Therefore I have hated it.
9 My heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture;
The vultures all around are against her.
Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,
Bring them to devour!
10 "Many rulers have destroyed My vineyard,
They have trodden My portion underfoot;
They have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it desolate;
Desolate, it mourns to Me;
The whole land is made desolate,
Because no one takes it to heart.
12 The plunderers have come
On all the desolate heights in the wilderness,
For the sword of the LORD shall devour
From one end of the land to the other end of the land;
No flesh shall have peace.
13 They have sown wheat but reaped thorns;
They have put themselves to pain but do not profit.
But be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce anger of the LORD."
14 Thus says the LORD: "Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, 'As the LORD lives,' as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people. 17 But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation," says the LORD.
The question and answer concerning God’s people was asked by the prophet and answered by God. The question was, why do the wicked prosper and seem to be so happy ? The answer is also seen in Psalm 73:3 when the Psalmist understood God’s revealed will in His providence. Here Jeremiah observed how they were God’s creation yet they did not even allow a single thought of Him enter their minds. Jeremiah knew the LORD and thought often of Him and so knew he was being tested and refined while the wicked were being gathered for the slaughter of judgment (Psalm 73:17-19) while imagining that nobody would see their end. God answered him by first putting the issue into perspective using the comparison of running with former versus dealing with faster and more powerful horses. This pointed out how his own countrymen treacherously talked nice with him to his face before sending others after him behind his back. God’s answer was to leave them to their own devices outside of His protection as they continued to make a desolation of their inheritance. They had not taken God’s words to heart and had stopped hearing what He was saying to them, so they were left with the consequences, plundered and without peace. They reaped what they had sown (Haggai 1:6, Galatians 6:7-9) and ended up ashamed of their harvest. God would answer also by taking vengeance on those who led ahis people astray (Zechariah 2:8) because they were His inheritance. He would also pull His people out of the land but then show them compassion in loving grace for His glory. They were given the condition, however, that they should not return to idol worship like the nations around them but should learn to hear His words and live in willing obedience. The nations who disobeyed would be destroyed along with all who worshiped what are not gods but imaginations and works of men who rejected Him and His word. How much more severe the judgment of those rejecting Him by rejecting Christ! And what will our accountability bring for we who have not rejected but received Him yet still continue to live contrary instead of in righteousness and holiness (Romans 6:19, 22, Ephesians 4:23-24, 1 Peter 1:15)? As we ask the questions, let us remember God’s answers of mercy and grace when we daily admit and turn from sin (1 John 1:9).
No comments:
Post a Comment