Jeremiah was not a very cautious man. When people uttered pious phrases that didn't make sense, he called them on the carpet. When he felt God was being unfair, he said so. It was the "correct" thing in Jeremiah's time to believe that God rewarded the good and punished the evil. (Remember Job's "friends" in the last chapter.) But Jeremiah wasn't convinced. He saw that the "good" people were getting a raw deal, while the "evil" people were getting along very well. And so he took his case directly to God:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
( Jer. 12:1)
Next time a seasoned skeptic tells you that the Bible is a lot of sentimental moonshine, remember that question. The Bible doesn't censor embarrassing questions. It asks them bluntly. And it does more than that (which is all the seasoned skeptic usually does). It answers them. In this chapter we must try to see how the Bible answers the question which the Jeremiahs in every age feel compelled to ask.
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