Jeremiah 9:12-16 - Discerning and living the perfect will of God

The unutterable devastation of Judah defied human explanation. It would be hard to conclude from conventional wisdom. How could a nation whose God was their covenant Lord end up in such devastation? Jeremiah insisted it was a process that could only be understood in the light of their relationship with God. They had departed from God and in so doing removed themselves from divine protection and instead invited divine judgment on themselves. What they would soon experience would be a judgment that God would bring about. So “Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through? In Jeremiah 9:13-16, the Lord  set out to clearly explain to them their predicament.

It was because the people had forsaken and disobeyed the Law of God given to them. Had they kept the Law, they would not have walked out of line. But they chose to depart from the path of the God-given instruction. They chose not to listen to the voice of God and rather stubbornly insisted on their own ways of walking after Baal, which their renegade fathers had taught them. Hence the judgment was inescapable.

In verse 15 the Lord declared the judgment which He would bring. He would “feed them with wormwood and poisoned drink.” In other words,  they would experience unbearable and bitter afflictions that would kill them.  Not only that, God said that He would also scatter them among the nations which their fathers had not known nor experienced. That meant that they would be carried captives into other nations. Even in those lands, they would be severely dealt with by the enemies’ swords until every recalcitrant among them was destroyed and annihilated.

The crux of the problem that we face today is no different from that which Judah had encountered then. It’s never an issue of the intellect but morality. Sound and godly morals can only be discerned by listening and obeying the Word of God. They cannot be obtained via the mere intellect. We will not be able to fully apprise God’s standard by mere rationalization. Spiritual truths must be spiritually discerned. They are truths that the Holy Spirit alone will illuminate and enlighten us as we draw close to God and His Word. We can understand why Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 not to adopt the pattern of this fallen world. He reminds us to instead give our life and mind to God. Practically, we must seek to apply what He had given through the Written Word. As we do so we  will be able to experience His transformation from within. Then will we be able to know the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God