In Jeremiah 12:1–6 the lament pattern is repeated as Jeremiah continues his confession. These verses are different from Jeremiah 11:18–23, in that Jeremiah now expresses more of his personal struggles with the plot against him.
As in Jeremiah 11:18–23, Jeremiah acknowledges upfront that the Lord is righteous,
everything the Lord does is right. And yet the prophet has a complaint to bring to the Lord. He once again uses the Hebrew word rib, and it speaks of a dispute or legal case, and he wants to plead
his case before the Lord. At the heart of the case, he presents to the Lord, is the prosperity of the wicked. Why do they prosper and why do all who are treacherous thrive?
The wicked,
translated from the Hebrew word rasa, are those who behave in a way that is the exact opposite of righteous, and should therefore be declared guilty. From the Hebrew root bagad, the word treacherous
has the meaning of betrayal and a lack of good faith and has been used by Jeremiah before (see Jeremiah 3:7).1 Even as he acknowledges the Lord’s righteousness, Jeremiah is questioning the justice of his present circumstances. In his understanding of the covenant, these men who have rejected the Lord’s prophet and now plot his death should experience the Lord’s judgment, and yet they seem to be experiencing blessing while Jeremiah suffers.
1 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?