Tuesday - Jeremiah 12 - The Same Old Question

A

BEL was righteous, but ended up dead.  Cain was unrighteous, but lived on and prospered, even receiving God's protection (Genesis 4:15). Asaph wrote a whole song about this conundrum (Psalm 73). Job, that great old trophy of patience, also queried concerning this issue (Job 21:7-16). And, then here in Jeremiah we find that this young prophet was also puzzled by the apparent inconsistencies and injustices of this life (Jeremiah 12:1).

Jeremiah recognized that the prosperity of wicked men was attributable to God's goodness (Jeremiah 12:2).  Despite the incongruity of their language and their lives, Jeremiah perceived that God was willing to be patient, longsuffering, even uniquely generous to the evil men around him. Why?

God is nice to His enemies because it is His nature to be generous. No other reason is needed. Now, if equal success was seen all around us, we could end with that first answer, but equality is not all around us. Solomon noticed this and was exasperated by it (Ecclesiastes 7:15). So, why are some especially ungodly people in especially invulnerable positions? The second answer is found in Luke 16:25. Whatever kind things that God wants to do to those whom will always oppose Him, He has to do it for them in this life.

Also, God's goodness is aimed at wooing evil men away from their evil (Romans 2:4). God has an agenda of fairness and justice as well. No man will ever be able to legitimately point an accusing finger at God. Consider also the impact that His actions have on His children.  Surely, He is trying to teach us many lessons in this.