Jeremiah Chapter 12
Jeremiah 12
Running with Footmen and Horses
Jeremiah 12:1-4, Jeremiah’s Question to God
Jeremiah 12:1-4, “Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee, yet let me talk with thee thy judgments, Wherefore doth the way the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root, they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit, thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins. But thou, O LORD, knowest me, thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee, pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day slaughter. How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs every field wither, for the wickedness them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds, because they said, He shall not see our last end.”
Jeremiah begins by affirming God’s righteousness before asking his question. “Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee.” This is the proper posture for questioning God. Jeremiah does not accuse God of injustice. He begins by confessing that God is righteous, even when His judgments are difficult to understand. Faith may bring questions to God, but it must do so with reverence.
His question is one that has troubled faithful men throughout history, “Wherefore doth the way the wicked prosper?” Jeremiah sees treacherous men flourishing while he suffers for faithfulness. This question had become especially personal because men from Anathoth, his own hometown, had plotted to kill him in Jeremiah 11. Jeremiah is not asking from a detached academic perspective. He is asking as a faithful servant under pressure.
Asaph wrestled with the same burden in Psalm 73.
Psalm 73:2-3, “But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity the wicked.”
The prosperity of the wicked can disturb the righteous when viewed only from the present moment. Wicked men may appear rooted, fruitful, and secure. Jeremiah says, “Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root, they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit.” He recognizes that even the temporary prosperity of the wicked exists only because God permits it. They cannot grow unless God allows the rain, soil, breath, and life they abuse.
The wicked are religious in speech but false in heart, “thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.” The “reins” refer to the inward life, motives, affections, and deepest seat of desire. They speak God’s name, but their inner life is far from Him. This is the same problem repeatedly exposed in Jeremiah, religious vocabulary without covenant faithfulness.
Jeremiah contrasts himself with them, “But thou, O LORD, knowest me, thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee.” Jeremiah is not claiming sinless perfection. He is appealing to God’s knowledge of his sincerity and faithfulness. God had tested his heart, and Jeremiah trusts that God knows the difference between faithful service and treacherous hypocrisy.
Jeremiah then prays that the wicked be pulled out like sheep for the slaughter and prepared for the day of slaughter. In Jeremiah 11, he was like a lamb brought to the slaughter because of the conspiracy against him. Now he asks God to bring the wicked to the judgment they deserve. This is not personal revenge taken into his own hands. It is an appeal for divine justice.
Jeremiah also sees that wickedness affects the land. “How long shall the land mourn?” The herbs wither, beasts and birds are consumed, and creation suffers under human rebellion. Sin is never isolated. The land, animals, society, families, and future generations all feel the effects of covenant rebellion. The wicked lived as though God would not see their end, but Jeremiah knows God sees all.
Jeremiah 12:5-6, God’s Answer to Jeremiah
Jeremiah 12:5-6, “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling Jordan? For even thy brethren, and the house 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.”
God answers Jeremiah, but not by giving him a full philosophical explanation for the prosperity of the wicked. Instead, God strengthens him for harder service. “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses?” The present opposition is real, but it is not the worst Jeremiah will face. If he is exhausted by the foot race, how will he run with horses?
The answer is not harsh. It is training. God is telling Jeremiah that his current trial is preparation for greater trials. The persecution in Anathoth was painful, but greater conflict would come in Jerusalem. Jeremiah would face imprisonment, public rejection, accusations of treason, confinement in a cistern, and the collapse of the nation he loved. God was teaching him to trust now because heavier burdens were ahead.
The second image makes the same point. If Jeremiah is wearied in the land of peace, how will he do in the swelling of Jordan? The swelling of Jordan likely refers to the dangerous, overgrown, floodplain region associated with wild beasts and danger. If ordinary trouble in a familiar place is overwhelming, what will happen in the more dangerous wilderness of future conflict?
This is a major principle of spiritual formation. God often uses lesser trials to prepare His servants for greater trials. A man who refuses to trust God in smaller pressure will not be ready for heavier responsibility. The answer to greater opposition is not self pity, but deeper dependence on the LORD.
God also warns Jeremiah that even his own brothers and father’s house have dealt treacherously with him. This deepens the wound. Jeremiah’s enemies are not only national leaders or pagan invaders. They include his own family and hometown. They have called a multitude after him. The opposition has expanded.
The final warning is, “believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.” Jeremiah must not only resist open hostility. He must also discern smooth words. Flattery can be more dangerous than obvious persecution. Open enemies make their intentions plain, but smooth speech can deceive and weaken a servant of God. Jeremiah must learn to trust God over men, whether men threaten him or flatter him.
Jeremiah 12:7-8, God Abandons His People to Their Enemies
Jeremiah 12:7-8, “I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage, I have given the dearly beloved my soul into the hand her enemies. Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest, it crieth out against me, therefore have I hated it.”
The LORD now speaks of the coming judgment upon Judah. “I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage.” The house here refers not merely to the temple building, but to the people of Israel, God’s covenant inheritance. The language is painful. God is not casting aside strangers. He is giving up His own house, His own heritage, His dearly beloved.
He says, “I have given the dearly beloved my soul into the hand her enemies.” This shows the heartbreak of judgment. God loved His people. They were not disposable. Yet love does not cancel holiness. Because His beloved had become rebellious, He would hand her over to enemies.
“My heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest.” Judah was supposed to be God’s lion in a noble sense. Jacob had prophesied of Judah as a lion’s whelp.
Genesis 49:9-10, “Judah is a lion's whelp, from the prey, my son, thou art gone up, he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion, who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering the people be.”
But instead of roaring for God, Judah roared against Him. The lion imagery is turned against them. God’s heritage had become hostile toward Him. Therefore He says, “therefore have I hated it.” This does not mean emotional instability in God. It means He rejected their present rebellious condition and would act against them in judgment.
Jeremiah 12:9, Judah as a Speckled Bird Surrounded by Predators
Jeremiah 12:9, “Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her, come ye, assemble all the beasts the field, come to devour.”
Judah is compared to a speckled bird surrounded by other birds. A bird with unusual markings stands out and may be attacked by the others. Judah, marked out by covenant privilege but corrupted by rebellion, would become conspicuous among the nations and vulnerable to attack.
The command, “come ye, assemble all the beasts the field, come to devour,” pictures the surrounding enemies gathering against Judah. God would allow the nations to come as instruments of judgment. Judah’s special status would not protect her while she lived in rebellion. In fact, her privilege made her accountability greater.
This verse also shows the seriousness of being God’s heritage. Belonging to God is a blessing, but rebellion against Him while bearing His name brings judgment. A people cannot wear the name of the LORD and roar against Him without consequence.
Jeremiah 12:10-13, The Mournful Harvest of the Land
Jeremiah 12:10-13, “Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me, the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness, for the sword the LORD shall devour from the one end the land even to the other end the land, no flesh shall have peace. They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns, they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit, and they shall be ashamed your revenues because the fierce anger the LORD.”
The word “pastors” here refers to shepherds or rulers. In the immediate context, it likely points to foreign rulers and military leaders who would destroy Judah, though the image also fits the broader failure of leadership seen throughout Jeremiah. These shepherds destroy God’s vineyard. They trample His portion underfoot and turn His pleasant portion into a desolate wilderness.
The vineyard belongs to God. The land is His portion. Judah is not merely losing national territory. God’s own vineyard is being trampled because His people have rebelled. The land mourns to the LORD. Again, creation is pictured as grieving under the burden of human sin and divine judgment.
“The whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.” This is an indictment of spiritual carelessness. The disaster is obvious, but no one takes it seriously. A people can become so hardened that even national ruin does not bring sober reflection.
The spoilers come upon the high places in the wilderness. The sword of the LORD devours from one end of the land to the other. The Babylonian sword is called the LORD’s sword because He directs the judgment. No flesh will have peace. This is the answer to false prophets who promised peace while rebellion continued.
The harvest image is tragic. “They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns.” Their labor will produce disappointment. They have put themselves to pain, but will not profit. Sin makes men work hard for a harvest of thorns. Their revenue, produce, and gain will bring shame because the fierce anger of the LORD is against them.
Galatians 6:7-8, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit shall the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Judah sowed rebellion and would reap desolation. This is not merely an agricultural metaphor. It is a moral law under God’s rule.
Jeremiah 12:14-15, Retribution and Restoration
Jeremiah 12:14-15, “Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit, Behold, I will pluck them out their land, and pluck out the house Judah from among them. And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.”
God now speaks concerning Judah’s enemies. He calls them “mine evil neighbours.” These nations would touch the inheritance God caused His people Israel to inherit. God would use foreign nations to judge Judah, but those nations were still accountable for their evil. Being used as an instrument of judgment does not make a wicked nation righteous.
The LORD promises, “I will pluck them out their land.” The nations that attacked Judah would also be judged. Babylon and the surrounding enemies would not escape God’s justice. God often uses one wicked power to discipline another, but afterward He holds the instrument accountable for its own wickedness.
God also promises to “pluck out the house Judah from among them.” This is restoration language. Judah would be exiled, but not abandoned forever. God would remove them from among the nations and bring them back.
The promise becomes tender, “I will return, and have compassion on them.” The God who judged would also show mercy. The exile would be real, but so would restoration. He would bring every man to his heritage and every man to his land. The land promise remains in view. God’s discipline did not cancel His covenant faithfulness.
Jeremiah 29:10-14, “For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts peace, and not evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found you, saith the LORD, and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD, and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.”
Jeremiah 12 gives the same hope in seed form. God would judge, but He would also return in compassion.
Jeremiah 12:16-17, A Merciful Promise to the Nations
Jeremiah 12:16-17, “And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth, as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then shall they be built in the midst my people. But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.”
The chapter ends with a remarkable offer of mercy to the nations. God says that if the nations will diligently learn the ways of His people and swear by His name, “The LORD liveth,” then they will be built in the midst of His people. This is astonishing because these are the same nations described as evil neighbors. Yet God offers them mercy if they turn to Him.
This shows that God’s concern for Israel was never mere ethnic favoritism. Israel was chosen by grace and covenant promise, and through Israel the nations were to be blessed. If the nations abandon Baal and confess the living LORD, they may share in covenant blessing.
Genesis 12:3, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families the earth be blessed.”
The nations had taught God’s people to swear by Baal. Now God says they may learn to swear by His name instead. This reverses the corruption. The nations that once influenced Israel toward idolatry can themselves be transformed by learning the ways of the LORD.
The warning remains, “But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation.” God’s mercy is real, and so is His judgment. Nations are accountable to God. If they obey, they may be built. If they refuse, they will be plucked up and destroyed.
This anticipates the broader biblical hope that Gentiles would come to know the LORD. The Messiah’s reign will include the nations acknowledging the God of Israel.
Isaiah 2:2-4, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain the LORD'S house shall be established in the top the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain the LORD, to the house the God Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths, for out Zion shall go forth the law, and the word the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
Jeremiah 12 therefore ends not in despair, but with divine sovereignty, justice, compassion, and a door of mercy even for the nations.
Doctrinal and Practical Notes
Jeremiah 12 teaches that faithful men may bring hard questions to God, but they must do so while confessing His righteousness. Jeremiah does not accuse God of wrong. He pleads from within faith.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that the prosperity of the wicked is temporary and permitted by God. Wicked men may take root and bear fruit for a season, but God sees their end.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that religious speech without inward loyalty is hypocrisy. The wicked had God near in their mouth but far from their reins. God is not impressed by words that do not match the heart.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that present trials prepare God’s servants for future trials. Running with footmen prepares a man to contend with horses. Trouble in the land of peace prepares him for the swelling of Jordan.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that opposition may come from one’s own household. Jeremiah’s own family and hometown dealt treacherously with him. Faithfulness to God may cost a man approval from those closest to him.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that smooth words can be dangerous. God warned Jeremiah not to believe them even when they spoke fair words. Flattery can be as harmful as open persecution.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that God’s beloved people are still accountable to His holiness. Judah was the dearly beloved of God’s soul, yet He gave her to enemies because she roared against Him in rebellion.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that sin makes the land mourn. Human rebellion damages more than individual souls. It affects society, land, animals, harvest, and future generations.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that God judges both His people and the nations. He would discipline Judah, but He would also judge the evil neighbors who touched Israel’s inheritance.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that God’s judgment is not the end of His covenant purpose. He promised to return, have compassion, and bring His people back to their heritage and land.
Jeremiah 12 teaches that God offers mercy to the nations. If they learn His ways and confess His name, they may be built among His people. If they refuse, they will be plucked up and destroyed.
Summary
Jeremiah 12 begins with Jeremiah asking why the wicked prosper and why treacherous men appear happy. He affirms God’s righteousness before pleading with Him about His judgments. Jeremiah sees that the wicked have God near in their mouth but far from their inward life. He asks for justice and grieves that the land mourns under their wickedness.
God answers Jeremiah by telling him that if running with footmen has wearied him, he must learn how to contend with horses. If trouble in the land of peace has wearied him, he must prepare for the swelling of Jordan. God warns him that even his brothers and father’s house have dealt treacherously with him and that he must not trust their smooth words.
The chapter then turns to Judah and the nations. God says He has forsaken His house and given His dearly beloved into the hand of enemies because His heritage has roared against Him like a lion. Judah is like a speckled bird surrounded by predators. The land will become desolate, the sword of the LORD will devour, and those who sow wheat will reap thorns.
Yet the chapter also gives hope. God will judge the evil neighbors who touch Israel’s inheritance, but He will also pluck Judah out from among them, return, have compassion, and bring His people back to their heritage and land. Finally, God offers mercy to the nations, if they learn His ways and swear by His name, they will be built among His people. If they refuse, they will be plucked up and destroyed.
