Jeremiah 12 - Exclusive

Introduction

What idea or concept comes to mind when you hear the word, “Exclusive”

Exclusive interview

Exclusive offer - limited time!

Exclusive membership - a club

Exclusive offer (anyone who can pay!) - “LTD” (limited)

Exclusive relationship - dating, marriage

What happened in Anathoth?

Jeremiah’s home town in Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem

Jer 11:21 - the people of Anathoth wanted to take Jeremiah’s life; they warned him against prophesying in the name of the Lord. Hmmm - why?? This was likely a town of priests. What had Jeremiah been saying about the priests?

Jer 5:31 “31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it like this. But what will you do at the end of it?”

Jer 6:13 “13 For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is making profit dishonestly. From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.”

His own family had turned against him

1. Just?

Jeremiah 12:1–4 CSB

1 You will be righteous, Lord, even if I bring a case against you. Yet, I wish to contend with you: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the treacherous live at ease? 2 You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their conscience. 3 As for you, Lord, you know me; you see me. You test whether my heart is with you. Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter and set them apart for the day of killing. 4 How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? Because of the evil of its residents, animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”

v.1 What is Jeremiah saying? “There must be an answer, Lord - but I sure don’t understand it” Have you ever had those thoughts?

The way of the wicked prospers; they live at ease!

You (God) planted them and allowed them to produce fruit, in spite of their hypocrisy (“ever on their lips but far from their conscience”)

Wrong answer #1 - God is not in control

Wrong answer #2 - God is not good

v.3 If God knows Jeremiah, how does he not know the hearts of the wicked?

v.4 “How long will the land mourn?”

The evil of the residents causes God’s judgment on the land (e.g., drought)

No vegetation grows

There is no food for animals and birds, so they either die or move away

“He cannot see what our end will be” - they were denying the possibility of punishment from a God they believed did not know or did not care what was happening (F. B. Huey)

2. Capable?

Jeremiah 12:5–6 CSB

5 If you have raced with runners and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan? 6 Even your brothers—your own father’s family— even they were treacherous to you; even they have cried out loudly after you. Do not have confidence in them, though they speak well of you.

v.5 Man vs horse - who wins? A horse, hands down!

“thickets of the Jordan” - jungle-like thickets which grew on the banks of the Jordan after heavy rains

You would expect that if any town would support you, it would be your own town.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 6: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel a. The Prosperity of the Wicked (12:1–6)

God now challenges him to greater courage and faith for greater trials in the future. In spite of his problems up to this point his situation has been like that of a dweller in a peaceful land.

So…what it the answer to Jeremiah’s question?

God’s judgment is coming

It will get worse before it gets better!

3. Abandoned

Jeremiah 12:7–13 CSB

7 I have abandoned my house; I have deserted my inheritance. I have handed the love of my life over to her enemies. 8 My inheritance has behaved toward me like a lion in the forest. She has roared against me. Therefore, I hate her. 9 Is my inheritance like a hyena to me? Are birds of prey circling her? Go, gather all the wild animals; bring them to devour her. 10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled my plot of land. They have turned my desirable plot into a desolate wasteland. 11 They have made it a desolation. It mourns, desolate, before me. All the land is desolate, but no one takes it to heart. 12 Over all the barren heights in the wilderness the destroyers have come, for the Lord has a sword that devours from one end of the earth to the other. No one has peace. 13 They have sown wheat but harvested thorns. They have exhausted themselves but have no profit. Be put to shame by your harvests because of the Lord’s burning anger.

v.7 The Lord is speaking; the timing may be when Jehoiakim revolted against Babylon after three years of submission

Much imagery is here: my house, my inheritance, the love of my life - demonstrates God’s affection for His people

A lion in the forest, roaring - Judah had become openly defiant, opposing God like a wild animal. Will a lion back down?

v.9 Hyena (“speckled bird) - Speckled birds are unusually colored birds, which are attacked by other birds, who will not allow a strange bird among them. As birds attack unfamiliar birds, so the Lord’s people, who are different from other nations, will be attacked by them.

v.10 “Many shepherds” - Babylon and her allies

v.12 “The Lord has a sword”

v.13 “The Lord’s burning anger” - Though the immediate cause of this destruction was Babylon, the ultimate cause was the Lord.

Applications

God expects our absolute faithfulness - We must view all of our priorities in life in light of our relationship with God. Our loyalty to Him must take precedence above anything else. Our relationship with the Lord is the one relationship that informs all others.

2. As with Jeremiah, serving the Lord may not be easy

3. God gives us the power to walk in obedience - 2 Pet 1:3 “3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

4. God will never abandon us - Rom 8:38-39 “38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”