Jeremiah 12:1-4 A Familiar Woe
Jeremiah voices a familiar woe that we have heard before. “Why do the wicked prosper? Why don’t You just do away with them?”
We have heard this same cry before. David and Elijah immediately come to mind for me. David’s cry was uttered during the time he was on the run from Saul. Elijah was when he was running from Jezebel. Both had been doing the work God had called them to do, but things were NOT going as expected. Jeremiah has now joined their ranks of the disillusioned. He too was facing adversaries when bringing God’s own words to the people.
I would bet that Noah had this same problem as he was building the ark. He no doubt was sharing God’s word about what was to come and his reason for building the ark. No one wanted to hear his warning either.
God will answer Jeremiah in our next reading, but for today, let’s sit with him and feel his confusion, frustration, and determination. Let’s hear what it is he is really saying.
The first words out of his mouth are the MOST important. He starts by recognizing and acknowledging that God knows what He is doing and is ALWAYS right in it. “Righteous are you, O Lord,…” Then he calls on the relationship he has with God to voice his concerns. “…when I complain to you;…” (verse 1a).
He is setting up his respectful attitude before launching into his complaint. He let God know that he has a complaint and humbly asks to bring his concern before God. He is not ‘shaking a finger in God’s face’ or covering his head in fear of being struck dead. He is coming to the God he KNOWS. The One who loves him. The One who called him from before he was even born. The One who speaks directly to him with the words to say to His people. His Father who loves him.
Jeremiah “pleads [his] case” before His God. “The people are wicked! They are not listening to Your words. They are trying to kill me for even speaking for You! Why haven’t You plucked them up already? Their evil is long standing. And You just let it keep growing! They are pretending to love You, but we both know that it’s not true.”
Ok. So this is his case for those he has been sent to speak to. But what about himself? How is this impacting him?
“You KNOW me. You know how much I love You and how I HATE seeing them treat You this way. And now they are treating me with contempt too! They even want me dead. Not for my own sake but for YOURS! I will NEVER stop loving or following You but this is NOT right!!!”
What does Jeremiah think will solve this whole mess? RIPPING up the roots of evil throughout the land. Not in five years but NOW. But he recognizes that it’s not today. There WILL be a day though. “Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter” (verse 3b).
Jeremiah is resigned to wait, KNOWING that God is dealing with this. Yet, he still asks, “Is it time yet? They are making a MESS of even the land in the meantime!”
“How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, ‘He will not see our latter end’” (verse 4).
Can you feel Jeremiah’s frustration? Wanting SO MUCH for the work he has been given to do some good. Watching the people laugh at him and threaten him too if he continues to speak against what they are doing. He KNOWS right from wrong and believed his people did too; until now. “How can they be so blind? Do they really not know? Are that deluded? Don’t they care about the very God who gave them this home in the first place? Do they REALLY think God is going to ignore their behavior? Their end has been so long in coming, do they think they will escape God’s judgment too? Don’t they hear the URGENCY in His voice?”
And Jeremiah’s despair. “It’s already too late. Even if they do cry out to Him when disaster comes, He said He won’t listen to them. He won’t even let me pray for them.”
“I don’t understand why You have me beating my head against a wall, but I will CONTINUE to do as You have asked.” Resolve wins in the end.
How many of us feel just like Jeremiah? The frustration of seeing evil continue to grow, despair at knowing where they are headed, and resolve to still walk the path God has laid out for you and me; personally, and corporately. As individuals and as part of His voice calling to the lost. “Is it time yet? Is it too late? Is there time for one more to be reached? What would You have me do during this time?” I think these are the questions we ALL need to be asking. And listening for the answer so we can walk it out, just as Jeremiah did.
Father God, I do feel Jeremiah’s heart. There is SO MUCH evil in my world today. I don’t know how to address it. I know I can’t stop it. But I will do whatever it is You want me to do to stand against it.
How do I deal with the members of my own family who have fallen into parts of this mess? I LOVE them but HATE what they are doing. I pray that You send the person who can reach them where they are at. Or give me the words of love that can. I honestly don’t know what to do.
“Put them back in MY hands.”
Yes Father. I do; again. Help me stop trying to fix them on my own. I can’t. Only YOU can.
