Jeremiah 9:12 Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?
When I was first driving, I was afraid to back out of our driveway. On the driver’s side there was a little hill that went down to the neighbor’s yard and I feared I’d end up there. So instead, I pulled forward into our yard and did a u-turn. Problem solved. Until one time when it had been raining. A lot. Dad told me not to go there or I’d get stuck. I backed up, but got afraid. I thought if I just kept moving it would be ok to do my usual. It wasn’t! I didn’t drive to school that day! If I’d only listened!
Jeremiah asks what seems a silly question. He is referring to the terrible consequences of Judah being conquered by the Babylonians. I wouldn’t have thought it a clear sign of wis-dom to know why all this happened. God had sent prophet after prophet, going all the way back to Moses to tell the people that the promise of the Promised Land was conditional. They had to stay true to God and reject idolatry. The prophets, one after another, clearly laid out the problem and definitely told them what would happen if they didn’t change their ways. So why is Jeremiah asking who is wise enough to understand this?
Well, much like today, they had come to a place where they felt comfortable disregard-ing God’s Word. For them it was the spoken word of the prophet. For us, His written Word: the Bible. They had come to either believe that God would not do what He said, or was powerless to accomplish what He said. Or possibly, they thought that they could order things as they felt best. In other words, that God would follow their word instead of the other way around.
If they had just remembered what King Solomon had taught them in Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
God has clearly spoken. His written Word is His Word. When we ignore it, we ignore Him. We ignore Him at our peril. We have so many problems in our world that could easily be improved or just solved if we were following God’s Word. How many of the interpersonal problems we face would evaporate if we followed God’s Word?
Dad didn’t cause my car to get stuck as a punishment. He didn’t have to. The punishment was a natural result. How much better our lives would be if we learned to heed His Word!
Who is wise enough to understand this?
Blessings
Pastor Russ
