Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 12

Verses 1-4

Jer 12:1-4

Jeremiah 12:1-4

JEREMIAH’S COMPLAINT

There are three divisions in this chapter: (Jeremiah 12:1-6) which register’s Jeremiah’s complaint, (Jeremiah 12:7-13) which recounts God’s judgment upon Judah and her enemies, and (Jeremiah 12:14-17) that promises the return of Israel from captivity and the conversion of Gentiles, both of which events are conditional.

Jeremiah 12:1-4

Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee; yet would I reason the cause with thee: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root; they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their heart. But thou, O Jehovah, knowest me; thou seest me, and triest my heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our latter end.

Wherefore... doth the wicked prosper...

(Jeremiah 12:1)? Jeremiah got to the point at once; and the problem here presented before the Lord in faith and humility was indeed an old one. Habakkuk had struggled with it; the patriarch Job (Job 21:7) was perplexed by it; and the Book of Psalms devotes at least two chapters to a discussion of it (Psalms 37 and Psalms 73).

Men of every generation, even the most devoted and faithful of Christians, have found this same question to be a perplexing and difficult problem. As Dummelow noted, however, "It was a question that especially exercised men of the pre-Christian dispensations; because they had no clear understanding of the eternal and spiritual rewards promised to Christians, thinking principally of physical and material rewards to be received in the service of God."

The Christian religion does indeed give complete and satisfactory answers to this question; and the reason that many in the current era have difficulty with the problem derives from a failure to study the Scriptures. We shall explore the answer a little later; but, first, we shall note the answer that God made available to Jeremiah.

Wherefore are they at ease who deal treacherously...

(Jeremiah 12:1)? Evidently, Jeremiah here had in mind the treacherous plans of his fellow-countrymen to murder him. On the other hand, Jeremiah, as God certainly knew, was an honorable and faithful believer.

Thou hast planted them...

(Jeremiah 12:2). A complicating factor in the problem for Jeremiah was the fact that God’s blessings were evidently being enjoyed by those evil men. They were flourishing and prospering, as the Psalmist put it, like the green bay tree!

Pull them out...

(Jeremiah 12:3). Pleading their wickedness and his own faithfulness, as reasons for his request, Jeremiah pleaded with God to Pull them out ... The original here is very strong; it is, literally, ’tear them out.’ Smith paraphrased Jeremiah’s words thus, Lord, drag these fat scoundrels out of the flock and sacrifice them, and make examples of them.

The indignation of Jeremiah is evident in his words here. Green has a paraphrase, thus: "Why do the wicked prosper? Why is crookedness a prime prerequisite for success in this world? Lord, you plant these scoundrels, and they grow. Why? They are pious frauds who mouth words of religion but have no real love for you in their hearts."

He shall not see our latter end...

(Jeremiah 12:4). This is a disputed text, but we believe it refers to the attitude of wicked men who were flaunting their rebellion against God in the boast that God would have nothing to do with their end, or taunting Jeremiah with the brag that they would last longer than Jeremiah would, or that Jeremiah would die before they did.

Jeremiah’s Complaint Jeremiah 12:1-4

Some time has elapsed since Jeremiah has committed his case confidently to God (Jeremiah 11:20). The verdict had been rendered in favor of the prophet (Jeremiah 11:22-23) but the sentence had been delayed. The enemies of the prophet continue to prosper and live a life of ease while the circumstances of the prophet become ever more difficult. Jeremiah reopens his case in the heavenly courtroom. He admits that God is just and righteous yet he is perplexed and wishes to inquire concerning His judgments, i.e., His dealings with the sons of men. Even those who have received divine revelation and who have experienced the most intimate communion with the Almighty are not immune from moments of doubt and spiritual distress. And so the prophet asks: “Why do wicked men like those in Anathoth prosper? Why do men who commit treacherous deeds (lit., treacherous committees of treachery) live in peace?” (Jeremiah 12:1). Jeremiah can only conclude that they prosper because God blesses them. God has planted them and they have taken root; they continue to grow (Hebrew imperfect) ever expanding into new areas of influence. They have produced fruit, i.e., their plans and schemes seem to be successful. While it is true that these men are outwardly pious, God is far distant from their hearts (Jeremiah 12:2).

Jeremiah not only disparages his foes as he stands before the bar of divine justice, he also defends himself. God knows his prophet; He observes him continuously (Hebrew imperfect). God knows that Jeremiah is not hypocritical when he speaks for and about God. How then can God allow His faithful servant to continue to be harassed by his adversaries? There is no doubt in the mind of the prophet what he would do if he were the judge: “Drag them away as sheep to the slaughter!” he cries (Jeremiah 12:3). Is Jeremiah here simply giving vent to the spirit of retaliation and vengeance? Is it crimes committed against Jeremiah personally that produce this imprecation? It should be noted that God has already pronounced sentence against these wicked men (Jeremiah 11:22-23). Jeremiah then is simply asking that the sentence be executed speedily. Nature itself—the land, the vegetation, the cattle and the birds—suffer because of the wicked inhabitants of the land. The reference here is probably to some disciplinary drought which God has sent upon the land in order to cause the people to realize the folly of sin and turn from it. But if the land suffers, so do the few righteous ones who still live in it. As Jeremiah views the matter this is unjust. Furthermore the more vocal opposition had been taunting God’s messenger by saying “he shall not see our end” (Jeremiah 12:4). They are confident that they will outlive Jeremiah. The predictions of this prophet of doom are mere delusions. Since Jeremiah was but a mouthpiece for God these ungodly men were in reality mocking the message of the Lord. Such a state of affairs calls for an immediate execution of the sentence of judgment against them. With these words Jeremiah has presented his case once again before God.

Verses 5-6

Jer 12:5-6

Jeremiah 12:5-6

GOD’S ANSWER TO JEREMIAH

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and though in a land of peace thou art secure, yet how wilt thou do in the pride of the Jordan? For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; even they have cried aloud after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.

God’s answer to Jeremiah is somewhat shocking. The Lord rebuked him, and we might paraphrase the meaning of this paragraph in this manner:

Look, Jeremiah, why should you be bothered about the prosperity of wicked men? If, in your race for me, you have been worn out by men, what are you going to do when you have to run against horses? If you have trouble feeling secure on level ground, what is going to happen to you when you have to pass through the "pride of the Jordan?" You have hardly seen anything at all yet. Buckle your seat belt, the worst is yet to come!

This might not be all that God said to Jeremiah, because, in Jeremiah 12:4, it appears that God also might have mentioned the "latter end" of the wicked. Certainly, in the Old Testament, this was the inspired answer to the problem Jeremiah was having with the prosperity of the wicked. The Psalmist was tempted to stumble on the problem that troubled Jeremiah; but he confessed that the truth appeared to him, "When I went into the sanctuary of God, and considered their latter end." (Psalms 73:17). The ultimate fate of the wicked nullifies and cancels out all of the earthly joys and prosperities of evil men; and that sublime truth was surely available to all of God’s children living in that dispensation.

The pride of Jordan...

(Jeremiah 12:5). The ’pride of Jordan’ referred to the rank growth of trees, shrubs and vegetation that grew on both sides of the Jordan river, especially between the Sea of Tiberias and Lake Merom, and which afforded a shelter for wild boars, lions, bears and tigers.

These two verses stress the fact that, after all, prosperous wickedness is a very ordinary problem that should not discourage any one.

Today, lions are almost never seen west of the Euphrates river, having disappeared from the ’pride of Jordan’; but, "The bones of lions have been found in the gravel of the bed of the Jordan." It is always a mistake to understand conditions as they exit now as an indication of what the conditions were thousands of years ago. The critics did when they questioned the account in Acts that relates Paul’s shaking off a poisonous snake into the fire. Of course, the snakes have indeed disappeared from Malta; but they have also disappeared from Manhattan Island, and for exactly the same reason, namely, the vast increase in the population.

The Answer of God Jeremiah 12:5-6

In Jeremiah 12:5-6 God replies to His prophet but not in the way which Jeremiah anticipated. God does not explain the delay in the execution of the sentence against the ungodly nor does He promise any cessation of hostilities against His servant. The divine reply is designed to correct the impatience of the prophet. “If you have become weary running with foot racers how will you be able to compete against horses?” God does not deny that Jeremiah has been having a time of it. Things have been bad; but they are going to get worse. If Jeremiah is not able to triumphantly face the relatively minor hostility of the present, how will he endure the severe trials of the future? Jeremiah is currently passing through a “land of peace” i.e., a land in which one is safe and secure; but shortly he will be forced to fight his way through the tangled brush of the “pride of Jordan.” The “pride of Jordan” is that ribbon of lush vegetation which grows on either side of the twisting, winding Jordan river. This area was infested with vicious wild animals and dangerous outlaws. Days are coming in comparison with which the present troubles of the prophet will appear as days of peace. If Jeremiah was counting on, hoping for, confidently expecting to. traverse a peaceful and safe land what would he do when faced with the dangers of the pride of Jordan? As one example of what lay ahead for the prophet, God reveals to him that even the members of his own family cannot be trusted. These relatives have plotted against him. They have “cried aloud” after Jeremiah as one cries after a criminal who is being hunted down. Even though they speak kind words to the prophet he should not be deceived. Such outward manifestations of cordiality are but a cloak for their nefarious schemes.

THE CHRISTIAN ANSWER

We have already noted that much more satisfactory answers to the problem of the prosperity of evil men which somewhat perplexed Jeremiah are available in the teaching of Christianity in addition to the answers available under the Old Covenant.

A. The values focused upon in Christianity are not temporal and physical at all, but eternal. People who suffer persecution, defeat, frustration, hardship, or even physical suffering and death are commanded to remember, "Great is your reward in heaven!" (Matthew 5:12).

B. The favor and prosperity enjoyed by wicked men are not marks of God’s approval but an indication of his mercy; for God "Is longsuffering ... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Peter 3:9).

C. God’s world is an orderly world; and there are certain rewards and penalties that derive from that order. It happens that in many instances wicked men are more skilled in adjusting to God’s order than are righteous persons. Jesus noted that, "The sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light." (Luke 16:8). No doubt this fact sometimes contributes to the prosperity of evil men.

D. The great fact is that the rewards of eternal life are so great, surpassing even the utmost limits of human imagination, that whatever the sufferings, sorrows, and limitations may fall upon our earth-life, all such things shall be canceled and nullified by the glories of eternal life. As Paul put it: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed" (Romans 8:18).

E. It all turns on the difference in time and eternity. When the two are compared, an entire earthly life is less than a fraction of a second compared to a billion years. To win the great prize of Eternal Glory with Christ is more than worth bearing the burdens of whatever disasters our earth-life is capable of bringing upon us. No recipient of such a blessing should be troubled by whatever pleasures and prosperities may be enjoyed by the wicked for the brief season of earthly life.

Verses 7-13

Jer 12:7-13

Jeremiah 12:7-9

GOD’S REJECTION OF THE CHOSEN PEOPLE

I have forsaken my house, I have cast off my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. My heritage is become unto me as a lion in the forest: she hath uttered her voice against me; therefore I have hated her. Is my heritage unto me as a speckled bird of prey? are the birds of prey against her round about? go ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, bring them to devour.

I have forsaken my house...

(Jeremiah 12:7). The word house in the Old Testament is almost invariably used of the temple; and we believe that is what it means here. R. Payne Smith declared the meaning here to be, Not the temple, but Israel and Judah; and since then, many scholars have followed his lead. Thompson attempted to justify the interpretation by pointing out that it is parallel to ’my heritage’ in the next clause; and while it is true enough that adjacent clauses are indeed often parallel in the Bible, they are not always so. Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields (Jeremiah 51:11) is one of many examples; and we believe the parallelism here is another. Matthew Henry agreed with this and gave the meaning of forsaken my house as, A reference to the temple, which had been his palace; but they had polluted it and forced God out of it.

It is certainly true that God did indeed forsake the temple; and God gives an account of his doing so in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 10:17). Furthermore, God never more returned to any earthly temple; but he did come with the rushing sound of a mighty wind on the day of Pentecost to dwell in his true temple, the Church of our Lord.

Thus the two teachings in Jeremiah 12:7 are (1) the Lord removed his presence, or Spirit, from the Jewish temple, and (2) he forsook the apostate nation, the "righteous remnant" alone being excepted.

She hath uttered her voice against me...

(Jeremiah 12:8). In context, this means that the Chosen People had roared like a lion against God Himself! Judah had not merely become disobedient, but had become intractable and fierce like an untamed lion. She had uttered vicious blasphemies against him and had preferred the reprobate worship of the Baalim to the way of the Lord.

Is my heritage unto me as a speckled bird of prey? are the birds of prey against her round about...

(Jeremiah 12:9)? The Hebrew word here rendered ’bird of prey’ in both places means ’a carrion bird,’ ... probably some kind of vulture is meant. Birds attack other birds of unfamiliar plumage; so Israel, differing from other nations, is attacked by them. At any rate, the total destruction of the Once Chosen nation is prophetically announced in the figure of the beasts of the field being called in to eat her remains.

Jeremiah 12:10-13

Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it a desolation; it mourneth unto me, being desolate; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. Destroyers are come upon all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh hath peace. They have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns; they have put themselves to pain, and profit nothing: and ye shall be ashamed of your fruits, because of the fierce anger of Jehovah.

Desolate... desolation... Desolate. (Jeremiah 12:10-11). This is the prophetic picture of the result of God’s punishment of his Once Beloved Israel. The destruction is so thorough that the very land itself is depicted as mourning over it.

Because no man layeth it to heart...

(Jeremiah 12:11). This actually should be translated, ’Because no man laid it to heart’; had the people laid it to heart this sad state of things would have been averted. It was the indifference and unconcern of the Chosen People that led to their ruin.

THE PAIN OF GOD Jeremiah 12:7-13

Most commentators have failed to note how Jeremiah 12:7-13 is related to its context. The passage is usually wrenched from its connection with the preceding prayer and treated as a separate unit from a much later period of the prophet’s ministry. Cheyne, for example, feels that the passage is descriptive and not predictive and assigns it to the period of the guerrilla warfare against Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:1-2). The present writer believes that Jeremiah 12:7-13 is part of God’s answer to the prayer of Jeremiah and therefore is to be assigned to the early years of Jehoiakim. This, of course, means that the passage is predictive. God is describing the destruction and desolation which will shortly befall His people. The future is known to God and therefore He can describe in the past tense what to man is yet future.

One of the basic ways in which God deals with self-pity in the Scriptures is to place His heaviness of heart in contrast to the sometimes petty and inappropriate depression of His servants. By learning that God suffers because of the sin and consequent destruction of His people, the man of God comes to realize that the persecution and trial which he experiences is really nothing compared to what God must bear. In Jeremiah 12:7-13 one can feel the pain of God as He speaks of the ruination of “My house,” “My inheritance,” “My pleasant portion,” and “the beloved of My soul.” Jeremiah, wallowing in self-pity because his family and friends were opposing him, needed to learn how much God suffers when His beloved people rise up in open rebellion against Him. Jeremiah, who had called for the hasty execution of divine judgment upon his enemies, needed to realize how much it grieves God to pour out His wrath. Brash young preachers and discouraged old saints would do well to meditate long on this paragraph.

Only with great reluctance did God give His beloved nation over into the hands of their enemies (Jeremiah 12:7). As the lion in the woods challenges those who come near, so Judah has raised up her voice in open defiance against God. God therefore “hates” Judah, i.e., He treats Judah as though she were an object of His hatred. To interpret “hate” here in the absolute sense would be to contradict what has just been said, viz., that Judah is the beloved of God (Jeremiah 12:7). “I hate her” is the strongest possible way of saying that God withdrew His love for Judah when He gave her into the power of her enemies. In astonishment God asks if Judah has become in respect to Him a many-colored bird of prey. Other birds of prey would gather about such a queer looking bird and pluck it to pieces. All the scavenger beasts of the field are bidden to come and join in devouring the strange looking bird (Jeremiah 12:9). In Isaiah 56:9 the wild beasts are symbolic of the heathen powers employed by God to chastise His people (cf. Ezekiel 34:5).

One can sense the pathos as God continues to describe what has and will befall the nation of Judah. Human shepherds, political rulers both foreign and native, have destroyed the vineyard of the Lord, Israel and Judah. By their actions they have made the pleasant portion of God, the land of Judah, a desolate wilderness (Jeremiah 12:10). Because he, i.e., the enemy, has made the land a desolation, the land mourns, unable to produce its fruit. The land mourns “before Me,” literally, upon me. Freedman suggests that this phrase be rendered “to My grief." God is grieved over the condition of His land. Yet none of the leaders of the nation are concerned about the impending disaster for “there were none who took it to heart” (Jeremiah 12:11). Even in the most remote areas of the land the sword of divine judgment wielded by the enemy will do its deadly work. No one is safe from the spoiler (Jeremiah 12:12). Why will all of this tragedy befall Judah? By use of a common proverb Jeremiah gives the answer: “They have sown wheat, but they have reaped thorns.” The leaders of Judah have plotted, schemed, planned, worked and invested in formulating what they believed to be an adequate national policy. Unfortunately they had planted their “wheat” without divine direction and consequently their harvest would be one of thorns, i.e., humiliation, ruin, destruction and death. Of such a harvest they would be ashamed for it clearly indicates that they are under the wrath of God (Jeremiah 12:13).

Verses 14-17

Jer 12:14-17

Jeremiah 12:14-17

THE RETURN OF CAPTIVES, JUDGMENT OF NEIGHBORS

Thus saith Jehovah against all mine evil neighbors, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit: behold, I will pluck them up from off their land, and will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them up, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, As Jehovah liveth; even as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the midst of my people. But if they will not hear, then will I pluck up that nation, plucking up and destroying it, saith Jehovah.

God’s neighbors mentioned in Jeremiah 12:1 were identified by Dummelow as "The Syrians, Edomites, and Moabites." The promise that upon the condition of their repentance and conversion that they would be built up in the midst of God’s people (Jeremiah 12:16) was, in fact, to be the privilege of all pagan nations under the reign of the Messiah, an event definitely foreshadowed here by this mention of Gentiles becoming God’s children in the midst of his people, which under the New Israel would be composed of people of "every nation and tribe and tongue and people" (Revelation 14:6).

The promise of this last paragraph "is Messianic"; but it should be noted that all of the promised blessings of God, whether to the "righteous remnant" destined to return from Babylon, or to the Gentiles who in the future will be "in the midst of" God’s people, are absolutely conditional.

If they will diligently learn the ways of God’s people... then shall they be built up in the midst of my people. if they will not hear ... then will I pluck up, etc...

(Jeremiah 12:16-17) Thus it is stated both negatively and positively. There is no such thing, nor has there ever been, nor shall there ever be any such as the blessing of God which does not meet the condition set forth here.

THE PREDICTION CONCERNING THE NATIONS Jeremiah 12:14-17

At the time of his call Jeremiah had been appointed a prophet to the nations. He was commissioned through his preaching to “pluck up and . to build” (Jeremiah 1:10). To Jeremiah God was no respecter of persons, He would bring destruction on Judah as well as on the foreign nations; he would show compassion to the foreign nations as well as to Judah, In the present passage God speaks of the deportation (Jeremiah 12:14) and restoration of the foreign nations (Jeremiah 12:15). He then sets forth the alternative of conversion or condemnation which these nations will face (Jeremiah 12:16-17). The main thrust of this brief paragraph is that one day in the future foreign peoples will have the opportunity of being incorporated into the Covenant people.

What is the relationship of Jeremiah 12:14-17 to its context? Once again most commentators see no connection whatsoever between these words about foreign nations and what precedes. However it would seem that Jeremiah 12:14-17 is in fact a continuation of God’s answer to the prayer of Jeremiah. The prophet had called for God’s wrath to be poured out on the wicked (Jeremiah 12:1-4). God had revealed that He would punish the wicked, but only with much personal sadness and suffering (Jeremiah 12:7-13). In Jeremiah 12:14-17 God goes a step further. Jeremiah was greatly concerned about justice and judgment. God wants him to see the ultimate objective of that judgment. God wants Jeremiah to realize that judgment is not an end in itself but a means to an end. The judgment will cleanse the nation of Judah. They will again be the people of God. Even the heathen, the most wicked, will have an opportunity to become part of the community of faith. Jeremiah wants the wicked destroyed immediately, permanently; God wants them cleansed, restored, redeemed. Thus in response to Jeremiah’s bitter prayer of complaint the prophet came to learn much of God’s judgment, the pain of it and the purpose of it.

God’s neighbors who border on the land of Judah will not escape divine judgment. Judah’s land belongs to God and therefore Judah’s neighbors are God’s neighbors. The various states of Syria-Palestine—Edom, Moab, Philistia and the rest—time and again had made encroachments upon the territory of God. For this they will be “plucked up” i.e., deported, carried away into captivity. Judah too shall experience this deportation at the hands of the Babylonian armies (Jeremiah 12:14). But God’s purpose in bringing this judgment upon both Judah and the nations is that they might experience His salvation. After the judgment God will have compassion upon these displaced peoples and will restore them to their native lands. Specific prophecies of the restoration of Moab and Ammon are found in Jeremiah 48:47 and Jeremiah 49:6. When Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. it was his policy to allow all the captive peoples to return to their native lands. The Jews were just one of the beneficiaries of his generosity (cf. Ezra 1:2-4). A great deal is said today about the restoration of Israel to the Holy Land. Here neighboring nations are included in a restoration passage.

Not only does the Lord promise the nations restoration, but He also holds out to them the prospects of conversion. If these heathen people completely and thoroughly learn the right ways of God’s people, if they are truly converted to the worship of the living God, they will be recognized and blessed by Him. They will dwell “in the midst of My people” for by their conversion they actually become part of the people of God. One specific criteria of their conversion is named: They must swear by the name of the Lord. To use the name of a deity in an oath implied recognition of the claims of that deity. These heathen must be as zealous for the claims of the Lord as they once were for their god Baal (Jeremiah 12:16). On the other hand, if these nations refuse to hear, i.e., obey the Lord then God will uproot and continually bring destruction upon them (Jeremiah 12:17).

Jeremiah Prophesies Destruction - Jeremiah 11:1 to Jeremiah 13:27

Open It

1. What is an issue of fairness that has direct impact on your life?

2. If you knew that someone was trying to kill you, what would you do?

Explore It

3. Of what important era in their history did God want Jeremiah to remind Israel? (Jeremiah 11:1-5)

4. Why was God punishing His people? (Jeremiah 11:9-11)

5. What did God say the people would discover when they sought help from the gods they had been worshiping? (Jeremiah 11:12-13)

6. How did Jeremiah find out about the plot on his life, and where did he turn for help? (Jeremiah 11:18-20)

7. What did the Lord promise to do to the people of Anathoth who had threatened Jeremiah? (Jeremiah 11:21-23)

8. What questions did Jeremiah pose to God concerning His justice? (Jeremiah 12:1-4)

9. What did God reveal that He intended to do to His unfaithful people? (Jeremiah 12:7-13)

10. How would the response of the nations to God’s judgment on Israel affect those nations? (Jeremiah 12:14-17)

11. What physical demonstration did God require of Isaiah as a lesson to the people? (Jeremiah 13:1-7)

12. How was Israel like Jeremiah’s belt? (Jeremiah 13:8-11)

13. How did Jeremiah know that God was not going to change His mind about punishing Israel? (Jeremiah 13:12-14)

14. If Israel refused to listen to God, what would happen to them and to Jeremiah? (Jeremiah 13:15-17)

15. What future did God predict for all Judah? (Jeremiah 13:18-19)

16. What had it become impossible for Israel to do in her hardheartedness? (Jeremiah 13:20-23)

17. What sins caused God to declare the destruction of Jerusalem? (Jeremiah 13:24-27)

Get It

18. What has God promised to us, and what does this require of us as believers?

19. What idols (false gods) are worshiped in society today that pose a temptation even to believers?

20. Why do people try to silence people who speak for God or those who remind us of God’s commands?

21. Where do you see instances around you of wicked people seeming to prosper?

22. Why is it sometimes tempting to give up living God’s way if you see no immediate results?

23. Why is it unwise to claim to be "religious" if God does not reside in your heart?

24. What determines whether a person is useful to God?

25. If we cannot change our natural tendency toward sin, what hope is there for us?

26. Why are people who do not trust in God for their righteousness destined to shame?

Apply It

27. What do you want to remember the next time you see an unrighteous person prosper or get undeserved rewards?

28. In what area of your life do you need to be on guard against pride standing in the way of God’s blessing?

Questions On Jeremiah Chapter Twelve

Brent Kercheville

1 What is Jeremiah’s question and lament (Jeremiah 12:1-4)?

2 What is God’s answer (Jeremiah 12:5-6)?

3 What is God’s message (Jeremiah 12:7-13)?

4 What does God promise after judgment (Jeremiah 12:14-17)? What do we learn about God?

TRANSFORMATION:

How does this relationship change your relationship with God?

What did you learn about him?

What will you do differently in your life?