In this chapter, the Lord challenges Jeremiah’s resolve, and teaches us all to push through the small challenges in our lives. Here’s the chapter in its entirety: “Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. Now let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy? (Those are questions we have all asked?) You have planted them, and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but in their hearts they give you no credit at all. But as for me, Lord, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. Drag these people away like helpless sheep to be butchered! Set them aside to be slaughtered!
How long must this land weep? Even the grass in the fields has withered. The wild animals and birds have disappeared because of the evil in the land. Yet the people say, “The Lord won’t do anything!” (Even today, people share this same sentiment.)
The Lord’s Reply to Jeremiah
Then the Lord replied to me, “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fail on open ground what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan? Even your own brothers, members of our own family have turned on you. They have plotted raising a cry against you. Do not trust them, no matter how pleasantly they speak.” (The Lord’s response is like…”And! Do you have something else, because what you are complaining about is nothing compared to what the evil could be. The Lord is saying, “How are you going to handle much greater challenges, if you are struggling with these small challenges?” Yes, Lord! Thank you for your Word!)
“I have abandoned my people, my special possession. I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies. My chosen people have roared at me like a lion of the forest, so I have treated them as though I hated them. My chosen people have become as disgusting to me as a vulture. And indeed, they are surrounded by vultures. Bring on the wild beasts to pick their corpses clean!” (Yes, Lord! Their evil acts will be dealt with!)
“Many rulers have ravaged my vineyard, trampling down the vines and turning all its beauty into a barren wilderness. They have made it an empty wasteland; I hear its mournful cry. The whole land is desolate, and no one even cares. Destroying armies plunder the land. The sword of the Lord kills people from one end of the nation to the other. No one will escape! My people have planted wheat but are harvesting thorns. They have worked hard, but it has done them no good. They will harvest a crop of shame, for the fierce anger of the lord is upon them.” (Yes, Lord! Help us serve you completely, so our hard work is not in vain.)
A Message for Israel's Neighbors
Now this is what the Lord says: “As for all the evil nations reaching out for the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands just as Judah will be uprooted from hers. But afterward I will return and have compassion on all of them. I will bring them home to their own lands again, each nation to its own inheritance. And if these nations quickly learn the ways of my people, and if they learn to swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’ (just as they taught my people to swear by the name of Baal), then they will be given a place among my people. But any nation who refuses to obey me will be uprooted and destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 12) (Wow! Notice the compassion the Lord has for ALL people, not just His chosen people of Israel.)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Help us get it together! Help us honor and serve you, completely, so you will continually bless us and not uproot us! And when life is challenging and difficult, help us push through those difficult times, in preparation for much greater challenges…knowing that whatever the trial, we will be victorious, for you are by our side! Lord, we love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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