Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Jeremiah 12:1-6 (NIV)
Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? 2 You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. 3 Yet you know me, Lord;
you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! 4 How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us.”
God’s Answer
5 “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? 6 Your relatives, members of your own family— even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.
What is Jeremiah’s complaint to God? How does God answer? What do you learn from this?
Jeremiah questioned the justice of why wicked and faithless people prosper and live at ease. Instead of comforting him, You warned him, that even worse was to come. Society today proves that to be true. It is disheartening to see people with evil hearts to succeed and to excel at the expense of honest people and live as if You don’t exist. But that activity didn’t surprise You in Jeremiah’s time and it doesn’t surprise You now. You are well aware of both the deceit in the hearts of the hypocrite and the sincerity of those who honor You. Help me stay focused on serving You and to not compare my situation with others. Help me to continue to follow You confident that You are in charge and trust in Your eternal faithfulness. In Your Name, Amen