top of page
Search

May 30, 2021 – Jeremiah 12-15

Jeremiah endured so much! And, at times, he complained to the Lord, pleading with him, calling for judgment of his enemies, and even accusing God of deceiving him (11:18-20; 12:1-4; 15:10-21; 17:12-18; 18:18-23, 20:7-18). Here is an honest prophet! A prophet without guile! We can think of others who have complained and pushed back against God: Abraham and Moses and the Psalmist and Job and Habakkuk, in particular, come to my mind.


I use the term “complain,” here, because it is so often used in commentaries to speak about “Jeremiah’s complaints.” One might think of Paul’s instruction, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God” (Philippians 2:14-15), a good and wise word of counsel promoting peace within the congregation. But Jeremiah is not causing disruption in the family of God, but honestly wrestling with God and trying to understand his instructions or to understand what he is doing. In other words, he poses questions, not at God, but to God. Honest wrestling with God in prayer. I think that’s a good thing.


There’s another who “wrestled” with his Father in prayer. Aren’t you glad, even as he faced terrible suffering and even death, that he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)!

4 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

The psalmist declares, “[The Lord’s] delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his ste

David wrote, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I

The extreme positions so many in our country take on abortion is heartbreaking. Our culture certainly has moved away from any pretense of a biblical worldview and biblical ideals. I always think of

bottom of page