Jeremiah is in the midst of questioning God. In Jeremiah 12:1-4 he has questioned what God is doing regarding the wicked. Jeremiah understands God’s righteous character which is why the flourishing of the wicked does not make any sense to him. Jeremiah’s questions are coming from a place of personal crisis. He has just found out that his own hometown has conspired to kill him (cf. Jeremiah 11:19-21). So why does God plant the wicked and let them flourish? How long will God allow these spiritual frauds to continue on against the righteous? These are things that Jeremiah wants answers to. God’s first response was recorded in Jeremiah 12:5-6. God’s answer to Jeremiah was challenging. Rather than answering all of Jeremiah’s why and how long questions, God tells Jeremiah that he needs endurance. God asks Jeremiah what he is going to do when things get worse in his life, rather than better? In our last lesson we talked about the need for endurance and how God gives us this endurance through the trials we experience. But we only looked at God’s first response to Jeremiah’s questions. The whole rest of chapter 12 continues God’s answer to Jeremiah’s questions. Please open your copies of God’s word to Jeremiah 12 and we will continue to look at God’s answers to our questions about our suffering and wickedness in the world.
Table of Contents
ToggleGod’s Sorrow (Jeremiah 12:7-11)
Keep in mind that this is God’s response to Jeremiah’s questions about the wickedness he is experiencing. Notice in verses 7-11 that God makes some important points. First, he sees the wickedness. God is not asleep. It is not that God does not see what is happening on the earth. It is not that God does not see what is happening to us. It is not that God does not know what we are going through. All of the descriptions are God’s confirmation that he sees what is going on.
Second, he sees that the wickedness is against him. God says that his people have behaved like a lion roaring against him. Jeremiah, you are feeling the pain of your hometown turning against you. Now imagine all of your people turning against you, because that is what Israel has done to the Lord. Sometimes we can forget this important reality. When someone sins, it is a sin against God. We often only think about what someone has done against us. But every sin is against God. Remember David proclaiming how he had sinned against God alone even though he had sinned against many people when he sinned against Bathsheba (cf. Psalm 51:4). Of course God sees what is happening. But even more so, God is impacted by what is happening. You see God say this in verse 11 where the land is pictured as crying out to God but no one but God cares. In verse 7 God describes his people as “the beloved of my soul” (ESV) or “the love of my life” (CSB). So we do not have to wonder about suffering because we know that God loves his people and loves his creation more than anyone. So notice again that God does not answer why or how long still. Rather, God is going to work on changing Jeremiah’s perspective. Look at things from how this is affecting God, not just us.
God’s Justice (Jeremiah 12:12-13)
This leads to God’s second response that he will act with justice. We read this in verses 12-13 as well as in verses 7-8. The fierce anger of the Lord is coming in justice. This is a promise that God always make. God will bring justice. This is Jeremiah’s hope when we return to the first four verses of chapter 12. Jeremiah began his complaint by noting that God is righteous. Since God is righteous, then why do I see all of the wickedness that I see? Why are things going the way they are going if you are righteous?
Please think about how God never gives the answer that he will never do something about it. God never says that he will not act with justice. God never says that he will withhold judgment and let the wicked go free. Please listen to how God himself proclaimed his character to Israel.
The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:5-7 ESV)
Please hear what the Lord said about himself. He will by no means clear the guilty. No one is getting away with what they are doing. No wickedness will go unpunished. God will not ignore the evil that happens. The reason we can love our enemies and not repay evil with evil is because God has promised that he will not clear the guilty but will repay every evil deed that has been committed (cf. Romans 12:19).
This answer starts approaching what Jeremiah is asking. Jeremiah is asking why are the wicked prospering and how long will this continue. God is now giving one answer to that question. The wicked will not always prosper. The wicked are not always going to be fruitful and without care. God is going to bring about justice. God will bring about his wrath to vindicate the righteous and the innocent. The time is coming. We should hear these words because they are not empty words. God will bring justice. The apostle Paul proclaimed that every person must stand before the judgment seat of Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10). But sometimes the question really boils down to this: What is God waiting for? This is the essence of asking, “How long?” What are you waiting for? Why don’t you do something now? Why will things continue this way with the wicked? Let’s look at the rest of God’s answer in verses 14-17.
God’s Plan (Jeremiah 12:14-17)
Notice that God’s answer is full of purpose. In verse 14 God proclaims that his judgment will come against the worldly nations that have come up against his people. God will judge the nations and give another opportunity for Israel to come back to their land to be his people. We see God doing this after the Babylonian exile. God did put the people back on the land and gave them the chance to serve him again. Now what is going doing with all of this? Look carefully at verse 16. If the nations will learn the ways of God’s people and live their lives according to God’s name and not by the ways of the idols of the world, then they also will belong as God’s people. But if they do not listen, then they will be plucked up and destroyed.
Now I want us to think about the bigger message of what God is saying he will do. Why are the wicked prospering? Why doesn’t God do something immediately? How long is God going to wait before doing something? In short, God’s answer is that he is giving people second chances. To be more precise, God is giving people multiple, repeated chances to repent and become God’s people before the judgment comes. Israel is going to have another opportunity. Rather than receiving the wrath they ultimately deserve, God is going to put the people through a time of suffering with the purpose of purging their sinful ways so that they can return to the land and be God’s true people again who will be a light to the nations that the world can learn from. Also, the nations will be allowed to continue in their evil ways so that they can have more chances to repent and become part of God’s people. In fact, God is purging Israel so that he can use them to bring in the nations so that they can learn the ways of the Lord. This does not mean that judgment will not come, as verse 17 makes clear. Rather, the delay is necessary because God is working his purpose to try to bring into relationship with him as many people as possible. Is it any wonder that the apostle Paul broke into praising the Lord when seeing God’s sovereign plans? Listen to what he extolled:
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36 NLT)
Friends, God’s goal in the world is restoration. The trials and the suffering are opportunities for others to be restored. Jeremiah wants to know what God is waiting for. Act with justice! But God’s response shows his character. Yes, he will act with justice but he also is still trying rescue as many people as possible through the process. This is what this great scripture means in Romans 8:28.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 ESV)
This scripture does not say that you are going to have fun life that is free from suffering and pain. Rather, Paul is telling us that we know God is working in our lives and in the world for our greatest good. Our great good before God is not to be comfortable and happy. Our great good that God is working is our salvation and restoration to him.
Our Message
So when we want to know what is going on and why is God doing what he is doing or allowing what he is allowing, we are being given a few of the answers. First, God is asking us to wait. Wait for God to act. Wait for his judgment. Wait for his justice. God is not asleep or inactive. Second, God is asking us to strengthen our faith. We looked at this point in more detail in the prior lesson. We do not pray for a lighter load but a stronger back. Third, God wants us to know that he is grieved by what is happening. He is grieved by injustice. He is pained by evil. He has a whole creation that has turned his back on him and he is grieved and will respond. Finally, God wants us to trust in his greater plan to save. We simply do not see how God is using trials and suffering to save souls. But God is at work to restore relationships with his people. Trials are the tool to draw us back to him. Perhaps we need to remember the words of the hymn that asks the question, “Does Jesus care?” The chorus then responds, “Oh yes, he cares, I know he cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares.”