Jeremiah 12
That’s God’s Job!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 29.
The prophet cried out to God for justice against the evil nations, asking God why their wicked neighbors were prospering and living at ease. Jeremiah acknowledged that it was God who planted them and allowed them to bear fruit, but wanted to know how long He was going to allow them to remain. After lamenting the current crisis, God responded with an oracle of salvation in Jeremiah 12:14-17, referencing the agricultural imagery of Jeremiah’s observation that it was He who planted them:
Thus says the Lord concerning all My wicked neighbors who strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, “Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them. And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. Then if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people. But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord.
This oracle of salvation reminds me of Jesus’ Parable of the Wheat and Tares in Matthew 13:24-30. While God promised to uproot evil from our midst one day, He was also very clear that we should trust Him for His ultimate justice in how we live our lives today. The only way of lasting peace with God is to swear by His name (Acts 4:12), so walk in the way of God’s justice by loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40).
Seize the moment and trust God for justice; it’s His job to uproot, not yours!
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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