Wednesday: A Lament
In the earliest chapters of Jeremiah, the Lord had warned his servant that his work as a prophet was not going to be easy. At the time of his calling, Jeremiah was told that Judah’s princes, kings, priests, and people would fight against [him]
(Jer. 1:19). Although he was told that the Lord would sustain him and that his opponents would not prevail against [him]
(Jer. 1:19), no doubt the warning that most of his own people were going to fight him wasn’t welcome news.
Image © Krieg Barrie from GoodSalt.com
Jeremiah, though, didn’t yet know the half of it, and when trials came, he was understandably angry and hurt.
What universal issue is the prophet struggling with in Jeremiah 12:1-4? What is the prophet’s attitude toward those who have hurt him? What does this tell us about the humanity of even God’s most faithful servants?
Jeremiah 12:1 is filled with Old Testament legal language: the Hebrew words for righteous,
bring a case,
and justice
(NIV) all appear in legal settings. The prophet, so upset over what he has been facing, is bringing a lawsuit
(see Deut. 25:1) against the Lord. His complaint, of course, is a common one: why do the evil seem to prosper while he, Jeremiah, seeking only to do God’s will, faces such trials?
We can see, too, Jeremiah’s humanity exhibited. He wants those who have done evil to him to be punished. He’s not speaking here as a theologian; he’s speaking as a fallen human being in need of grace who, like Job and like many of God’s faithful people, doesn’t understand why these things are happening to him. Why should Jeremiah, God’s servant, called to declare God’s truth to a rebellious people, be subjected to the treacherous plots of his own village? Jeremiah trusted in the Lord, but he surely didn’t understand why things were happening as they were.
How can we learn to trust in the Lord despite all the things that happen that just don’t seem to make sense to us?
(39)
We need to have faith and always ask God to give us strength and understanding of His will and purpose to our callings, i know sometimes it's easier said than done but we much have faith...
One of the tests found in scripture to determine a true prophet is “You shall know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-20) This certainly does not mean all the actions of the prophet will be perfect, if only for the reason the prophet may not have the right understanding of the actions to take in a particular instance. Besides these human agencies may fail in a moment of weakness.
Considered by many to be one of the greatest prophets, Moses stumbled under pressure (Numbers 20:11-12). Jeremiah appeared to falter under duress (Jeremiah 38:24-28) and revealed strong feelings of bitterness at times (Jeremiah 12:1-4).
Such accounts of human weakness might easily have been kept out of the Bible to make the prophets appear more perfect, but it seems the Holy Spirit wanted believers to hold a realistic view of the messengers they will have to deal with. God uses imperfect instruments, and requires these agencies to walk righteously and grow in grace, not necessarily to be spotless at the beginning.
While some may seek to unearth specks of dust or use information of occasional slips to smear a prophet or messenger with whom they disagree, the standard of measurement is not spotlessness. Rather the fruit to observe is a right attitude of humility, faith and consistency. True prophets depending on grace ever seek to please God and are repentant when they realize they err.
Hugh, thank you, I never connected the two like that - you shall know them by their fruits - the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peacean patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control - firstly attitude then actions.
we have seen Jeremiah doing God's work and the will of God but instead he is facing trials and seems not things are not all the okay with him, the very puzzling thing to Jeremiah is those evil people seems to prospers in there endeavor. The lesson i see here is that when we are serving the true God it is not an obvious things that in all our way life will not be easy we should expect trials and more temptations. we should always put God first and pray earnestly God will see us through in any situations.
You are near in their mouth But far from their mind. In Jeremiah 12:2 is the very same case Jesus had when he came on earth he found a people "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" Matthew 15:8. We are all likely to have the very same problem because it's prophesied that in the last days people will have the form of Godliness but denying his power. So we can never have the form if we are not praising with our lips. Let's be watchful and prayful and most of all ready to repent when need be.
God is once more revealing His character of love for the sinner and hatred for sin, His says that He the LORD takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked(Ezekiel 33:11) By being slow in executing His judgment on the wicked He proofs being slow of anger, infinite of love and plenty in mercy.. Let's respond to God's grace while probation still counts.
For me I believe the Lord allows the trials to increase to see if I will really trust him when it comes down to it. My life is in his hand.
Muscle and bone become stronger only when they are stressed (astronauts lose muscle and bone mass/strength the longer time they spend in zero gravity). Moreover, our immune system becomes progressively stronger and more effective as it is challenged and assaulted by germs and bacteria and as it overcomes these constant assaults. So, perhaps God realizes that unless we are challenged, unless our faith and trust in Him become stronger by virtue of these challenges, we will be unable to stand the tests that are yet to come.
"Those who exercise but little faith now are in the greatest danger of falling under the power of satanic delusions and the decree to compel the conscience. And even if they endure the test they will be plunged into deeper distress and anguish in the time of trouble, because they have never made it a habit to trust in God. The lessons of faith which they have neglected they will be forced to learn under a terrible pressure of discouragement." - The Great Controversy, 621, 622.
Jeremiah, like each of us, was growing in grace (Prov 4:18) His advancement in holiness was made more effective by facing trials that would often perplex, as do we. Our failures are often the best means of learning a valuable lesson that might otherwise never be learned. God is refining the "sons of Levi" as silver and gold, that He might see His perfect reflection when all the dross is removed at last.
I went through a similar situation as Jeremiah, and until I personally experienced it I didn't know what it felt like. I too was very angry because I could not understand why as a child of God I had to feel the effects of hate and hurt from others who did not know God. I wanted God to destroy them! Something strange happened: 1) God led me to Jeremiah's experience and 2) He instructed me to pray for my enemies. You cannot pray for a person if you have anger, hatred, discontent or unforgiveness in your heart. By praying for them I was led to a place of peace. By reading Jeremiah's experience I didn't feel alone anymore. In the end the lesson that I took away is trust God!
Glory be to God in the highest!
Certain things have happen to me but am glad God was behind the scene and working for my good. I was in prison, I suffered a broken leg, my dad died, my bro. suffered a broken neck, my sister was running mad, our utility bills were inflated, life was a real mess.
God was always hard hit in all these situations. His holy name, His power, love, grace, mercy, truth; His nature, was under serious atttack.
It was the fruits that led me to realise that all was part of God's plan of salvation for His people. Not that God wanted them to happen to me but He allowed them to happen in order to vindicate His holy plan and His holy nature and in the process exposing the subtle nature of father of all evil.