Think Wink.

Last night in my prophetic Lit. I class, we discussed my reading of Jeremiah 8:17-25:38.  Here is an interesting passage for you to chew on.  Jeremiah is know for his blatant honest with God.  Jeremiah does not cover up what he feels from God.  He is open and honest.  He calls God a deceiver and in Jeremiah 20:7-8 he uses language that is similar to a mental raping!  Look at what Jeremiah says in 12:1-2,

Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?  Why do all who are treacherous thrive?  You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart.

Notice how Jeremiah begins the complaint in v. 1.  He proclaims the truth that God is righteous.  Whatever God does is righteous and we must accept that and bow to him.  But he must ask, “Why does the way of the wicked proper?  Why do all who are treacherous thrive?”  That’s the million-dollar question isn’t it?  Why do good things happen to bad people?  Why is there evil in the world?  Why does Ted Turner who doesn’t give a rip about Jesus Christ have billions and poor old me who is doing your work have nothing?  Why does this world work this way?  That’s the question.

Keep going with Jeremiah in v. 2, “You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit.”  Jeremiah has said that God has planted these evil people.  God has planted these treacherous people.  God has done this.  This is an act of God!  God why did you do this?  Aren’t you good and don’t you seek to destroy the wicked?  Jeremiah has said that God is responsible for the evil in the world!  It’s a borderline heresy!

Jeremiah goes on to speak of how he has been kept from sin by God and so he’s not asking out of selfish reasons.  He honestly wants to know.  How long must the earth endure.  Now this is where it really hits me hardest.  God’s response in Jeremiah 12:5 is,

If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

God says, “Jeremiah, if you think this is bad, you haven’t seen anything yet!”  He says to Jeremiah, “Cowboy up!”  God is only getting started.  God does not downplay or deny Jeremiah’s statement.  He only says that Jeremiah needs to deal with it and that God will destroy Judah.  That’s his response.  His justice.  He does not say he isn’t responsible and we are left with the impression that God is indeed responsible for those whom he “planted.”  Do we dare try to rescue God from this Scripture with texts like James 1:13 where God neither tempts nor is tempted with evil?  But is James even saying the same thing that Jeremiah is saying?

Some of my classmates approached our prof. about this and he made another great point.  He took us back to Genesis 3:1 in which it says, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.”  He said that this text says that the serpent is naturally crafty and was made that way.  But then doesn’t that mean that God made the devil?  He said, “Where in this text is the devil or satan?  Show me.”  Our natural tendency is to turn to Revelation and say there.  But that isn’t reading Genesis now is it.  Ha-satan is only a title that can refer to anyone.  So the Old Testament doesn’t try to rescue God from the problem of evil. 
I must confess that challenges me.  Jeremiah leaves me with the impression that may be God can be behind the reason why evil is in the world and yet he is not guilty of evil at the same time.  Many people will cower at that.  So I issue this challenge, show me where in the Bible that God isn’t responsible.  James just says God doesn’t do the evil.  It says nothing about creating the evil.  Where in the Bible does it say that God didn’t create evil?  Show me a text that refutes Jeremiah’s teaching?

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