Jeremiah 12b. Judah's punishment cost God.

 When we left the first half of Chapter 12 last week, we could see that Jeremiah was disgusted with the practices of his family, neighbors, and the people and leaders of the Kingdom of Judah. At that moment, he wondered why God had not destroyed them before now. It is not the only emotion that he has had, for we know that he also wept over the coming but deserved destruction of his nation.

 God commiserated with Jeremiah, but warned him that it was going to get worse before it got better. Then God reveals to Jeremiah his own feelings of misery and anger for the people of Judah.

7-9. I have forsaken my house;   

I have abandoned my heritage;

I have given the beloved of my heart   

into the hands of her enemies.

My heritage has become to me   

like a lion in the forest;

she has lifted up her voice against me—   

therefore I hate her.

Is the hawk hungry for my heritage?   

Are the vultures all around her?

Go, assemble all the wild animals;   

bring them to devour her.

There is a parallel here between the situation of Jeremiah and God. In Jeremiah’s case, his own family has turned against him and told him not to preach these things that he has been prophesying. They backed this up by telling Jeremiah not to preach disaster or they will bring disaster on him. Now God tells Jeremiah that he knows how that feels. ‘Of all things’, God says, ‘I have had to take the people that I chose and I love and abandon them to their enemies. Here they are, come and get them’.

Doesn’t God care anymore? He does care and shows great emotion here; he mourns a great loss. Notice the phrases “my house,” “my heritage,” and “my heart.” The word for house here is bet or beth as in Bet or Beit Israel, a common name for a synagogue or hospital, or even the Ethiopian people who claim Jewish ancestry (Beta-Israel). And remember, Bethlehem where Jesus was born. 

The second word is naḥălātî which is a legal term from Leviticus. It refers to the ‘family allotment’ that was made to the people of Israel as they entered the Promised Land. The family allotment was a gift from God and so could not be sold. If it was posted as collateral for a loan, then it could be redeemed by someone else in the family. If not, it would still come back. Every 50 years, on the Year of Jubilee, all ‘family allotments’ were returned to the original holders. This land was near and dear to the heart of every Israelite. It was the great sin of King Ahab that he took such a piece of land from Nebat and killed him in the process.

The third word is napsi from the word nepesh which means ‘a living breathing being’, but more specifically a ‘soul’ in today’s terms. In a love song, the singer may call his beloved ‘my soul’, and here God refers to the people of Judah that way. Very affectionate. This is what Judah’s waywardness and punishment has cost God.

10-13. Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion; they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness. They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me. The whole land is made desolate,    but no one lays it to heart. Upon all the bare heights (or the trails) in the desert,    spoilers have come, for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no one shall be safe. They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing. They shall be ashamed of their harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

 Notice again the close tie between YHWH and Judah: ‘my vineyard’, ‘my portion’, and ‘my pleasant portion’. YHWH’s land has become desolate.

 Don’t let the word ‘shepherds’ deceive you; here it refers to the leaders of other countries, that is, ‘kings’. It is the kings of other countries, not just Babylon, but Babylon’s local allies who joined in the feast like vultures: the Arameans from the north and the Moabites and Ammonites who came up from the south. They are the proximate spoilers who wield the sword, but whose sword is it? It is the sword of YHWH who is the power behind the plan.

 Is this a blood-thirsty war-mongering God? No, that is not his character and not his desire. But God has been pushed to the limit by those whom he would love and care for but who have rejected him over and over again. There will come a time when once again, when this generation is gone, when God will have compassion on the nation. And, surprisingly, not only them. 

14-17.   Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: I am about to pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again to their heritage and to their land, every one of them. And then, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, “As the LORD lives,” as they taught my people to swear by Ba’al, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. But if any nation will not listen, then I will completely uproot it and destroy it, says the LORD.

 Calling in the surrounding nations to mete out punishment on Judah can be a lesson for the nations, if they will learn from what is happening. This is odd, isn’t it? 

 Those nations, now parts of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, are encouraged to see the bigger picture beyond their plunder of Judah which, after all, God allowed. This is a prophecy for “all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit.” Today, Jesus would say, “Love your neighbors and do good to those who persecute you.” What will the grouchy old man who is the God of the Old Testament say?

 First: Yes, I am going to have you destroy them as a nation because they have sinned against me and abandoned our relationship (Which happened in 586 BC).

 Second: However, you watch and see; after their time of punishment, I will again have compassion on these people and bring them back to settle in this same land (which God did 70 years later).

 Third: Now, I am inviting you to come and learn about my long-term plan for building up people who make a commitment to me and keep that commitment. Think about it; you taught Israel and Judah to worship your Ba’al, who was no god at all. With false gods, your end will come and no one will rescue you. However, I offer to teach you about the gracious salvation that I offer not just to Israelites but to all nations. I am committed to justice, right behavior, and steadfast love. Are you in?