Jeremiah 12:5,6

D. The Answer of God Jeremiah 12:5-6

TRANSLATION

(5) If with foot racers You have run and they have made you weary, then how shall you hotly contend (in a race) with horses? And if you are trusting in a peaceful land then what will you do in the pride of Jordan? (6) For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously against you; even they have cried aloud after you. Do not trust them when they speak good words to you.

COMMENTS

In Jeremiah 12:5-6 God replies to His prophet but not in the way which Jeremiah anticipated. God does not explain the delay in the execution of the sentence against the ungodly nor does He promise any cessation of hostilities against His servant. The divine reply is designed to correct the impatience of the prophet. If you have become weary running with foot racers how will you be able to compete against horses? God does not deny that Jeremiah has been having a time of it. Things have been bad; but they are going to get worse. If Jeremiah is not able to triumphantly face the relatively minor hostility of the present, how will he endure the severe trials of the future? Jeremiah is currently passing through a land of peace i.e., a land in which one is safe and secure; but shortly he will be forced to fight his way through the tangled brush of the pride of Jordan. The pride of Jordan is that ribbon of lush vegetation which grows on either side of the twisting, winding Jordan river. This area was infested with vicious wild animals and dangerous outlaws. Days are coming in comparison with which the present troubles of the prophet will appear as days of peace. If Jeremiah was counting on, hoping for, confidently expecting to. traverse a peaceful and safe land what would he do when faced with the dangers of the pride of Jordan? As one example of what lay ahead for the prophet, God reveals to him that even the members of his own family cannot be trusted. These relatives have plotted against him. They have cried aloud after Jeremiah as one cries after a criminal who is being hunted down. Even though they speak kind words to the prophet he should not be deceived. Such outward manifestations of cordiality are but a cloak for their nefarious schemes.