Jeremiah 12:1-17
When the Wicked Live at Ease
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1Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.
3But You know me, O LORD; You see me and test my heart toward You. Drag away the wicked like sheep to the slaughter and set them apart for the day of carnage.
4How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”
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 a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
6Even your brothers—your own father’s household—even they have betrayed you; even they have cried aloud against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.
7I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance. I have given the beloved of My soul into the hands of her enemies.
8My inheritance has become to Me like a lion in the forest. She has roared against Me; therefore I hate her.
9Is not My inheritance to Me like a speckled bird of prey with other birds of prey circling against her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour her.
10Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard; they have trampled My plot of ground. They have turned My pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.
11They have made it a desolation; desolate before Me, it mourns. All the land is laid waste, but no man takes it to heart.
12Over all the barren heights in the wilderness the destroyers have come, for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the earth to the other. No flesh has peace.
13They have sown wheat but harvested thorns. They have exhausted themselves to no avail. Bear the shame of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”
14This is what the LORD says: “As for all My evil neighbors who attack the inheritance that I bequeathed to My people Israel, I am about to uproot them from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.
15But after I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassion on them and return each one to his inheritance and to his land.
16And if they will diligently learn the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—just as they once taught My people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among My people.
17But if they will not obey, then I will uproot that nation; I will uproot it and destroy it, declares the LORD.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jeremiah begins with a question that faithful people still ask: why does the way of the wicked prosper? The treacherous live securely, and God seems to be on their lips while far from their hearts. Jeremiah knows the LORD has tested him, but he wants to understand the reason for the injustice.
The LORD answers that Jeremiah has raced with men and grown tired; how will he run with horses? Even his own family has dealt treacherously with him. God tells him not to trust them when they speak well of him, because danger is already close.
The LORD says He has given His beloved inheritance into enemy hands. Like a lion, His people have roared against Him. Now they resemble a bird of prey surrounded by other birds. Shepherds trample His vineyard, the land mourns in desolation, and no one takes it to heart.
The LORD will uproot the evil neighbors who attack Israel’s inheritance, and uproot Judah from among them. Afterward He will have compassion and return each to its land. If these nations learn His people’s ways and swear by His name, as they once taught His people to swear by Baal, they will be established among His people. Refusal to obey will bring destruction.
Questions
1 What question troubles Jeremiah?
AnswerHe asks why the wicked prosper and why treacherous people live securely while speaking of God.
2 What does the LORD say about Jeremiah's endurance?
AnswerHe says that if Jeremiah has grown tired running with men, greater trials will require even more endurance.
3 How is God's inheritance pictured?
AnswerIt is pictured as a speckled bird attacked by other birds and as a trampled vineyard.
4 What hope is offered to the nations?
AnswerAfter uprooting them, the LORD will return them to their lands. If they learn His people’s ways and swear by His name, they will be established among His people.
What This Means for Us
The LORD’s answer prepares Jeremiah for a harder road rather than explaining why each wicked person prospers. It also widens his view of mercy to include nations that have harmed Judah.
Bring difficult questions to God without assuming the first answer will be an explanation. Let honest lament deepen endurance and keep your household from deciding that only insiders can receive mercy.
Prayer
LORD, hear us when injustice troubles us. Strengthen us for difficult faithfulness, guard us from betrayal, and teach us to hope for mercy beyond the boundaries we draw. Amen.