Part 1: Faith Under Fire
Day 6: Another lament of Jeremiah
Jeremiah 12:1-4
We are finishing the idea of “standing strong in faith” by looking at how Jeremiah laments where he is. Standing strong does not mean taking hardship stoically, it means staying faithful to your calling in those hardships. Jeremiah is doing what God has asked him to do and he is suffering for it. He suffers what his fellow Israelites suffer as the Babylonians invade, and he suffers punishments from the Israelites for telling them what God asks him to say. And all along he lets God know that it makes him sad.
The content of Jeremiah’s laments is important. Look at the beginning of the text, he begins with an acclamation of God’s character, calling him righteous. Then he talks about his own sadness. Most of us at some point have looked in the direction of wicked people and wondered how it is they are able to get away with their wicked deeds, or we wonder why they seem to prosper financially and with good health. Jeremiah’s grief is so shaped by his understanding of God that he begs God for justice against the wicked and not for personal gain.
Psalm 73 is a similar lament. The Psalmist looks at the prosperity of the wicked and is grieved. But then the Psalmist remembers what happens to the wicked at the end and is suddenly comforted that they will have justice in the next life. If these 85 years on planet earth is all there is and then we die, the prospering of the wicked should bring despair. Instead, if the justice of God is the infinite reality of heaven, it should help inform our hope when we consider our current hardships and lack of justice in the world around us.
A prayer of confession: Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and apart from your grace, there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare all those who confess their faults. Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.
The content of Jeremiah’s laments is important. Look at the beginning of the text, he begins with an acclamation of God’s character, calling him righteous. Then he talks about his own sadness. Most of us at some point have looked in the direction of wicked people and wondered how it is they are able to get away with their wicked deeds, or we wonder why they seem to prosper financially and with good health. Jeremiah’s grief is so shaped by his understanding of God that he begs God for justice against the wicked and not for personal gain.
Psalm 73 is a similar lament. The Psalmist looks at the prosperity of the wicked and is grieved. But then the Psalmist remembers what happens to the wicked at the end and is suddenly comforted that they will have justice in the next life. If these 85 years on planet earth is all there is and then we die, the prospering of the wicked should bring despair. Instead, if the justice of God is the infinite reality of heaven, it should help inform our hope when we consider our current hardships and lack of justice in the world around us.
- If the world were separated into good people and bad people, what category would you be in?
- For those of us who know we were once among the wicked, are you able to find compassion for wrongdoers?
- Do you ever feel jealous of wicked people who prosper?
- How does the cross of Jesus Christ display God’s justice for sinners and his mercy at the same time?
A prayer of confession: Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and apart from your grace, there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare all those who confess their faults. Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.