Jeremiah’s complaint against God
Jeremiah 12:1-4
12 You will be in the right, O Lord, when I lay charges against you;
but let me put my case to you.
Why does the way of the guilty prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root; they grow and bring forth fruit;
you are near in their mouths yet far from their hearts.
3 But you, O Lord, know me;
You see me and test me—my heart is with you.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4 How long will the land mourn, and the grass of every field wither?
For the wickedness of those who live in it
the animals and the birds are swept away,
and because people said, ‘He is blind to our ways.’
The prophets faced persecution and they expressed their anger against the people with whom they lived. At times, they also spoke their complaints against God expressing their frustration at how they were treated both by human beings and by God. The short passage from Jeremiah 12 is one of those complaints against God.
As Jeremiah begins his complaint, he acknowledges that God will be proved right, and that Jeremiah’s complaint will be proved without merit – nonetheless Jeremiah is going to put his case before God.
Jeremiah’s case (see vs. 1 for the word “case”) is quite simple – the wicked prosper. In fact, it appears that God plays a role in the success of the wicked – planting them (vs. 2). The wicked may speak God’s name, but their actions are far from God (vs. 2) (In the Old Testament a reference to the heart is not so much about the emotion of love as it is about a commitment of the will. When Jeremiah says the hearts of the wicked are far from God – he is saying that they do not have a will to serve God.) Jeremiah on the other hand has a heart – a will – for God. Because of this will for God Jeremiah’s life is more difficult than the lives he sees the wicked living.
Further, the land and trees, the animals and birds, are all suffering because of the destruction that the wicked are bringing on the creation (vs. 4). The wrong that human beings do impacts not just themselves but all of creation.
Two things for us to hear in this passage. First, it is okay for us to express to God our frustration that the wicked seem to prosper and the followers of God face challenge and opposition. Second, the impact of human beings’ wrongdoing is evident throughout creation as creation suffers for the wrong human beings do.
PRAYER:
O Lord God, you are right in all your ways, but we sometimes wonder what you are doing. We admit that at times we want to yell at you, and we do. We thank you that you hear our cry and promise to be with us even when we are frustrated with you. Hold us in your strong arms of love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.