Jeremiah 11-15 "What To Do When Life Doesn't Seem Fair"

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Life doesn't seem fair...does it?  

It doesn't seem fair that some people are born wealthy while others can't afford to eat. It doesn't seem fair that some can sleep comfortably in their air-conditioned homes while others don't have a place to call home. Life just doesn't seem fair. But God is! In fact, He's more than fair. He's merciful, gracious, kind, gentle, and forgiving. He's actually more than fair. If we were to receive what we truly deserved in life (in terms of how God wants us to live), it wouldn't be pretty!

While Israel and Judah didn't think God was fair in sending them into captivity, the truth is, they deserved it. As we begin reading in chapter 11, God reminds them of the covenant He made with them when He delivered them out of slavery from Egypt. He recounts the discussion and the terms of the covenant. The people were to follow one simple rule - follow God. But they chose to follow their own wicked ways. And like our parents who've had it up to here with our moaning and groaning over their discipline, God was full of fury and rage by this time. He had had enough!

In fact, He tells Jeremiah in 11:14 - "Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, for I will not listen to them when they cry out to me in distress."  God had come to the end of His rope with them. In 15:6, God says, "I am tired of always giving them another chance." God's patience had run dry.

By now, Jeremiah is getting concerned as God reveals a plot by the men of Anathoth to kill him. Jeremiah's message was starting to strike a cord. Instead of the people repenting, they wanted to shut him up. They hated to hear about their sins, and especially about what God what going to do if they didn't repent.

Even today, most people hate to be corrected...even if they know they're wrong. That's exactly what was going on. They knew they were sinning against God, but they just didn't care...at least until the invading armies started to come.

Jeremiah Questions God's Fairness

We can see in the following chapters how weary Jeremiah is becoming. In fact, Jeremiah is starting to complain about the "unfair" things in life. He's beginning to think God isn't quite fair about things in life. Notice what Jeremiah says in 12:1- "Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. So let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy? You have planted them, and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but you are far from their hearts. But as for me, Lord, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts." But, Jeremiah isn't the only one who's asked this question of God. Others like King David have asked the same thing. 

God's Sense of Humor

Someone asked me the other day if I thought God had a sense of humor. I told him that the Bible offers several good passages where I find God's sense of humor. I think God's response to Jeremiah's question above is a funny response!  Notice how God responds to Jeremiah's complaint - "If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses. If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?"  

God's response is very interesting. In essence, God says, Jeremiah, what are you going to do when it gets worse? If these kinds of things throw you, if your faith is challenged and you are upset and you cry out to me and ask these questions, what are you going to do when it gets very much worse? Then where are you going to turn? What are you going to stand on then? If you have been running with the men on foot and have gotten tired, then what are you going to do when you have to run against horses? And if in running through the open prairie you fall down, what are you going to do when you have to struggle through a hot, sweaty jungle, whose thick growth impedes your progress in every way? These are searching questions, are they not?

What Did The Linen Belt Represent?

It seems strange that God would have Jeremiah buy a brand new, white linen belt only to wad it up, take it down next to the Euphrates River and hide it in a hole in the rocks. But God has a visual lesson He wanted Jeremiah to understand. That linen belt was silky smooth and beautifully white. It was a glorious thing to look at. But, as the story goes, Jeremiah was commanded to go and retrieve that beautiful linen belt several months or years later. By this time, it was filthy, stained, torn, and useless. It had no redeeming qualities at all. 

God was trying to show Jeremiah the truth about His people, If you'll notice in 13:11, God explains the purpose of the linen belt - "As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the Lord. They were to be my people, my pride, my glory—an honor to my name. But they would not listen to me."  Now, just like the linen belt, they had become stained with sin, filthy with wickedness, and from God's perspective they had no redeeming value!

God is a longsuffering God, but His patience can wear out!  Don't let it wear out on you!

Why Israel Is Condemned By The World

Sadly, God was so angry with Israel and Judah that He basically put gave up on them and cursed them. Notice 15:4 - "Because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth." 

To this day, Israel hasn't truly repented. Even though God promised them a Savior within the next 500 years, they rejected Jesus as their Messiah and encouraged the Romans to nail Him to a cross. And throughout the years, the Jews have had it rough. Nation after nation has tried to destroy them. Adolf Hitler tried to annihilate them in the Holocaust. Yet, they still refuse to accept Jesus as their Messiah.

Jeremiah's Additional Complaints

Jeremiah had a few more complaints he had to share with God. Jeremiah began to complain about the awfulness of his ministry. Notice what he says to God, "What sorrow is mine, my mother. Oh, that I had died at birth! I am hated everywhere I go. I am neither a lender who threatens to foreclose nor a borrower who refuses to pay—yet they all curse me.” 

Jeremiah constantly wept over the sins of the people. He was hated by the people. He had a death-threat on his life, and was often the object of curse words. 

It was so bad that he cried out to God, "Lord, you know what’s happening to me. Please step in and help me. Punish my persecutors. Please give me time; don’t let me die young. It’s for your sake that I am suffering."  And in 15:18 - "Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry.”

Honestly, I can't blame Jeremiah. He did have it rough! In fact, for a period of time Jeremiah just quit.  He couldn't take the rejection and death threats any longer. However, God's word was shut up in him like a fire so that he couldn't stop. So, he begs God to help him to continue the work. God tells him the following, "If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you! They will fight against you like an attacking army, but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall of bronze. They will not conquer you, for I am with you to protect and rescue you."

Have you ever complained to God about how life (or God) hasn't been fair to you?  What do you think God would say to you right now? Pray about it. Spends some time with Him in prayer and seek His guidance. If you will, He will encourage you too!