READING FOR JUNE 9, 2026: JEREMIAH 12, GALATIANS 3, PSALM 52:1-4

JEREMIAH 12 So many times I hear strong believers ask why God has allowed this or that to happen to them. Here we have none other than the great prophet Jeremiah asking the same question. So, we are in good company asking God such a question. Let’s see what we can learn from this exchange. 

First of all, Jeremiah comes fully believing and stating that God is always right. That’s a good starting place. Then he asks God why it seems to him that the wicked are doing so well, even though he knows the faith they profess does not represent what they really think? Jeremiah adds that he in contrast has been transparent before God and genuinely sought to be faithful. He asks God to rid him and the land of these people who don’t really serve God and in fact have caused many problems for the nation in general and him in particular. Anyone Resonate?  

God’s reply likely surprised Jeremiah and is probably not what we are looking for when asking God why. God said if he had trouble dealing with these nasty countrymen, how can he expect to deal with those who are much more powerful and evil, say the Babylonians? Furthermore, God told Jeremiah to not even trust his brothers and father, even if they are nice to him. Raise our hands. Who is eager to be a great prophet of God? Yet, we might be called to such extreme service: “To the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelation of His glory you may also rejoice and be overjoyed” (1 Pet. 4:13). Can we take this long view?

In verses 7-13, we see that God is indeed aware of the sins of Jeremiah’s countrymen and assures Jeremiah He will seriously address them.  One can sense God’s sorrow, though, when He handed His house, His inheritance, and His beloved of His soul to their enemies. Though their sins have been enormous: they roared against God (vs.8) and their punishment will be devastating: the land will be devoured by the sword of the Lord (vs.12); God takes no joy in administering this just punishment. In fact, God still seeks their eventual wellbeing: “And it will come about that after I have driven them out, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land” (vs.15). Can we trust God with the Big Picture?

Probably also to Jeremiah’s surprise and maybe to ours, we learn that this happy promise above might also apply to Judah’s Baal-worshipping neighbors, should they come to faith in the true God: “Then, if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ just as they taught My people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people” (vs. 16). Much later, we learn that the intended extension of God’s people to include all nations was eventually completely fulfilled as Peter stated in Act 10:34: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.”

GALATIANS 3 Remember that Peter upset Paul when he withdrew from eating non-kosher food with Gentile believers in Antioch once Jewish Christians arrived. Peter’s action falsely signaled

READING FOR JUNE 9, 2026 CONTINUED: GALATIANS 3, PSALM 52:1-4  

that faith in Jesus was not sufficient. Now Paul gets back to the situation in Galatia. He pointedly asks, who led them to believe that faith in Jesus is not sufficient and that following the Mosaic law is required for salvation? Paul reminds them their great patriarch Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised. He goes on to say God promised that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s seed: Jesus. He quotes scripture that demanded obedience to the entire law, which Paul says is not possible. Again, he quotes the Old Testament to show what will save: “The righteous one will live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4).

Paul asks rhetorically, why was the Mosaic law given? Remember, the promise to Abraham had been given before the 400-year stay in Egypt, a land of false gods.  During that time, the violations by Abraham’s descendants of God’s commands reached a point that angels asked that the people be given this law to help them maintain their special relationship with God until Jesus entered the world.  The law in no way contradicted the promise or covenant made before with Abraham, but neither did it provide for individual righteousness. Paul said the law kept Israel protected as a set-aside people until Jesus came. Plus, it actually pointed faithful people to Jesus. Having served its purpose, the focus now must be faith in Jesus. Believers are now clothed in His righteousness, not our works. Our primary identity is belonging to Jesus, not as a Greek, Jew, boss, slave, male and female. We are all now heirs of Abraham through faith. Many people still believe we are saved by being more good than bad or perhaps better than others. Please know that we are saved only through faith in the work of Jesus on the cross. 

PSALM 52:1-4 This Psalm has David speaking to an Edomite (descendant of Esau) named Doeg, although not in his presence. David’s is reacting to Doeg’s providing information to Saul about David’s interactions with the priest Ahimelech, who assisted David (1 Sam. 21-22). This led Saul to command Doeg to kill Ahimelech and 84 fellow priests.  David, perhaps sarcastically, calls Doeg a mighty man because he killed 85 defenseless priests and boasted about it. He reminds him that God is faithful. In this case, this affirmation about God’s faithfulness seems to be meant as a threat to the doer of violence. There is no getting away with anything with God. 

Interestingly, all of David’s condemnations are directed toward the words of Doeg rather than the violent acts that the words brought forth. This should give us pause. Not many of us will kill 85 people in the next few days, but do we ever speak deceitfully or even enjoy gossiping about evil? “See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our body’s parts as that which defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our life and is set on fire by hell” (James 3:5-6). Once we begin speaking carelessly or unlovingly, the consequences can be far worse than we can imagine.