18 For thus says the Lord,
“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
At this time,
And will cause them distress,
That they may [h]be found.”19 Woe is me, because of my [i]injury!
My wound is incurable.
But I said, “Truly this is a sickness,
And I must bear it.”
20 My tent is destroyed,
And all my ropes are broken;
My sons have gone from me and are no more.
There is no one to stretch out my tent again
Or to set up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become stupid
And have not sought the Lord;
Therefore they have not prospered,
And all their flock is scattered.
22 The sound of a report! Behold, it comes—
A great commotion out of the land of the north—
To make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt of jackals.23 I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself,
Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.
24 Correct me, O Lord, but with justice;
Not with Your anger, or You will [j]bring me to nothing.
25 Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You
And on the families that do not call Your name;
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have devoured him and consumed him
And have laid waste his [k]habitation.
Perhaps I’m making too much of it, but this first verse really jumped out at me. God is, of course, still speaking of Judah’s imminent judgment and destruction. And throughout this, there have been times where God said He would leave a remnant for Himself, or something to that effect. I thought perhaps, as Jeremiah mentioned earlier, that there might have been some place “out of the way”. That there could have been a place the invaders left because it was too small and insignificant.
However, in reading one commentary, they noted that archaeologists have not found one city in Israel that was continuously inhabited through the period of conquest and destruction that was about to happen. But I digress, so what was it that caught my eye? That very last part of v. 18, “That they may be found.” As I alluded to, others have translated it, “that they may feel it” or “that they may find it so” and the literal translation is more like “that they may find”.
So there is some ambiguity here, but as it is written in the NASB (above), and with further verses, I don’t think this usage is out of the question. Besides that, it is clear that God’s intent is not the utter annihilation of Israel, but rather to discipline and correct them. It is the ultimate and worst possible punishment, because they have refused all other correction, but it is not God throwing in the towel and giving up on His people completely.
We can see this in Jeremiah’s prayer at the end, where he has the humility to acknowledge that man’s wisdom is not good enough. Instead, they need to find God’s ways, and have God correct them “with justice” rather than anger. So yes, God would lay waste to the land, but many of the people would survive, albeit in captivity in a foreign land. God’s purpose was that they would find Him once more.
What then? That’s all well and good for them, but we aren’t being dragged away into captivity for our wickedness. I was thinking earlier how God doesn’t like us to be too comfortable. He wants good things for us, but a life of ease is often not that. I’d even go so far as to say it cannot be good for us. A life of comfort and luxury makes us lazy and stupid, like the shepherds of v. 21.
We see it often enough with those who inherit great riches, and those are too easily squandered. Though multiple people could have lived comfortably on such a sum, one person living a rich lifestyle with no thought for the future can easily throw it all away. It doesn’t have to be that way, with diligence and planning, with wisdom that is honestly beyond us (found in God alone), such blessings can be actual blessings. They can be poured out and shared with others and still be plenty for the one who is trusted to steward it.
I feel like I’m off on a rabbit trail again, but the point is that God needs us to be focused, and we need His wisdom to use His blessings wisely. Those might seem awful small, but everything we have is a gift from God. Israel had completely lost sight of this, and was focused solely on their own selfish ambitions. We must remember the source of all that we have and all that we are (and not conflate the two).
We are called to be children of God, and He will send us trials, tests, even trouble, to strengthen us, and to share His wisdom with us. Don’t be discouraged, but look for God’s guidance and wisdom. Stop trusting your own and put your hope in His plan. Because God has one for you, for me, for everyone who will call upon His name, and it is good because He is good.