February 13, Jeremiah 12
"But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD." - Jeremiah 12:17
We start young and most of us never stop. A budding verbalist (a child learning to talk) begins to ask questions early in his speaking career. And the question he asks annoyingly often is, "Why?" He’s on a quest to understand.
Rational people want to understand. It's a healthy sign of an inquisitive mind when a little child wants to know why.
We continue to ask it long after we're grown. We hear of a tragic situation and wonder why it happened. We hurt someone's feelings and apologize. The person we hurt may still want an explanation, "Why did you do that?"
You may have heard that we should never question God, and I think I know what people mean when they say it. But serious people of deep faith have asked God "Why?" for a long time. Jeremiah asked a question that several other godly people in the Bible asked: "Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?" Job, David, Asaph and Habakkuk all asked the same question. It's not disrespectful to ask why. We can acknowledge that God is wise and perfect in his ways, and still ask our questions or plead our case. We must take care to make humble pleas, not haughty demands to our Father.
The basic answer from Scripture is that we can't see all the way to the end of the story when it appears that the ungodly prosper while the righteous suffer. Asaph said he was worried about it until he "discerned their end." It seems ironic that the ungodly of Jeremiah's day said, "He will not see our latter end." The "he" is ambiguous in their statement. Were they talking about God not knowing or seeing what they did? If so, they were fatally wrong. Did they mean that they would outlive the righteous one asking why they were prospering? It's tragic that the wicked themselves would not see the "latter end" of their sinful ways. They refused pleas and
opportunities to turn back to God. They ignored stern warnings about what would happen if they didn't obey. They persisted and God did as he promised and threatened. He forsook their temple and abandoned his people to fall to their enemies.
In the New Testament, considering the end means looking beyond the trials and difficulties of this life to the joy of the eternal rewards. Those rewards will outweigh and outlast the temporary prosperity and mirth the wicked enjoy. Even after their land was desolate, the ungodly people still would not take it to heart and learn.
Jeremiah's question about why the wicked prospered is answered by the fact that harvest time always comes. God is not mocked. People reap what they sow. The wicked reap a harvest of shame and destruction, but the righteous reap blessings and glory. We have to learn to look to the end of the story to see who really prospered.
God didn't want that bitter end for the people who forsook him and worshiped idols. He still offered to restore those Israelites who would return to him. He even wanted to bless and not curse people from nations around Israel who formerly taught Israel to worship Baal, if they would come to know him and swear by his name.
God was Israel's only hope. He was the only hope of the nations around them, too. And he is the only hope of our nation and others today as well. He wants to bless, but he warned us all, "If any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD." We may wonder why God does certain things the way he does. But the only wise and safe course is to listen to him, trust him and obey him. That's the only way to a blessed outcome that will never end.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—February 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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