Have you ever just wanted to argue with God? Take him to court? Ask him why? Of course we do this all the time and so did the writers in the Bible.
Jeremiah has a why question. He acknowledges that God is righteous.
“You will be righteous, LORD, even if I bring a case against You. Yet I wish to content with You” (v. 1)
What is it that Jeremiah is struggling with?
That the evil people prosper!
Where is the fire? Where is the brimstone? Where is the judgment against them? Instead they seem to grow richer, happier, more fruitful.
Jeremiah’s advice to God?
“Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter and set them apart for the day of killing” (v. 3).
The LORD responds in not the way Jeremiah probably wanted.
“If you have raced with runners and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?” (v. 5).
God sees the root of the problem. Jeremiah is tired from dealing with evil people all the time and just wants them blasted away.
And it is true. His own town, friends and family were out to kill him (v. 6). That had to be emotionally draining.
But God basically says to toughen up. There’s much harder things to come. It’s going to get worse. How bad?
God says, “I have given the love of My life into the hands of her enemies” (v. 7).
He is the heartbroke lover who says to his bride, ‘If it’s the other one you want, then I give you to them so that you will find out for yourself.’
It’s a horrible, heart-wrenching thing for God. Those whom he loved committed adultery on him over and over again. God called them back to himself “again and again” yet they still would not return.
“She has roared against Me. Therefore, I hate” (v. 8).
Whoa. Hates? Isn’t that a little strong? For us in contemporary culture this would seem beyond reasonable. But in Hebrew culture it was a word used for comparison. One that we see several times in Scripture
* “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated” – Rom 9:13,
* “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. (Lk 14:26)
It is an expression of intense feeling and comparison. Here in Jeremiah it is an expression of total heartbreak and necessary rejection.
But there is hope. God says he will one day bring back his people (v. 14). He will restore them and love them once again.
And there is also a message for Babylon, the “neighbors” who attacked his inheritance. He says that if they will reject Baal and come to serve and worship Him, he will establish them among His own people. They too will receive the blessings of God as an overflow. But if they would not, he would destroy them for their sins (v. 16-17).
My Thoughts
- Tired, but there’s More? When I read this on a heart level I again think of our days and times. Honestly I think we are all tired. Tired from the pandemic, tired of the inflation, tired of trying to make it, tired trying to battle the flood of evil. We are tired.
And yet what we see is nothing yet. Would God say to us to brace ourselves because what is to come is much more intense? - The Wicked Prosper? It is frustrating often to see those who are doing wicked prosper. The laws just don’t seem to apply to them but the law is applied heavy handed to those who are innocent or have committed small misdemeanors. I think it is important to remember Psalm 73 which I think Jeremiah was also recalling. It is a psalm that yes, evil will prosper, but in time their destruction will come swiftly. And it’s true. We all die and face God.
- Calling evil as such? We have such an aversion to call evil and wickedness as it is. We don’t want to do it as that would be unkind. But last night I was thinking of something I experienced. It wasn’t right. At some point I was able to call it what it is–wickedness. Evil. Wrong-doing. We are so careful to not hurt anyone’s feelings that we tend to avoid calling sin for what it is.
- Grace for All – This truly is a chapter of grace. No matter how bad Israel sinned against the LORD, there was going to be a day when they would wake up to their sin and call upon the name of the LORD again. After their time of discipline and punishment, the LORD would receive them back, his covenant people.
There was also grace for Babylon. They had done evil in many ways and had touched the apple of God’s eyes. But God offered to them grace as well. If they would reject the Baals and follow the LORD God, God would allow them to be established with Israel and built up. They too would get his blessing. (But if they didn’t he would have to destroy them for their many sins).
I’m sure Israel wasn’t too happy reading these verses. In fact, I’m sure they didn’t. Who would want grace to go to your enemies? But God is way bigger than we understand. - My Love – I’m touched that God calls Israel “the love of My life” (v. 7). His people are the love of his life, the center of his affection, the focus of his love. That truly is beautiful.
