Why do the wicked often seem to prosper in the short term? Do we believe that God’s justice will come in His perfect time? Let’s look at Jeremiah 12.
What question did Jeremiah put to God regarding the wicked?
You will be righteous, Lord, even if I bring a case against You. Yet, I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the treacherous live at ease? You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their conscience. (Jer 12:1-2 HCSB)
Did Jeremiah ask how long God would wait before giving justice to the wicked?
You know me, Lord. You see me and test my thoughts toward you. Pull the wicked out like sheep for slaughter; set them apart for the day of butchering. How long will the land mourn and the vegetation of every field dry up? Because of the wickedness of those who live in it, animals and birds are swept away. For they say, “He does not see our future.” (Jer 12:3-4 ISV)
Did God tell Jeremiah that his trials were only beginning, that he would soon run against horses, suffering worse persecution?
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee. (Jer 12:5-6 KJV)
Is God like a husband delivering his beloved but unfaithful wife to her punishment?
“I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance; I have given the beloved of My soul Into the hand of her enemies. My inheritance has become to Me Like a lion in the forest; She has given forth its voice against Me; Therefore I have come to hate her. Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me? Are the birds of prey against her on every side? Go, gather all the beasts of the field, Bring them to devour!” (Jer 12:7-9 LSB)
How have the country’s shepherds or leaders contributed to its downfall?
Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, They have trampled down My field; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness. It has been made a desolation; Desolate, it mourns before Me; The whole land has been made desolate, Because no one takes it to heart.
On all the bare heights in the wilderness Destroyers have come, For the sword of the Lord is devouring From one end of the land even to the other; There is no peace for anyone. They have sown wheat but have harvested thorns, They have strained themselves to no profit. So be ashamed of your produce Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.” (Jer 12:10-13 NASB)
What does God plan for His nation and those nations willing to obey Him?
This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the people of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord. (Jer 12:14-17 NIV)
Will Christians suffer hardship at times? Are Christians persecuted in some countries?
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. (2 Tim 2:3-4 NKJV)
Why do the wicked often seem to prosper in the short term? Do we believe that God’s justice will come in His perfect time? You decide!
