Do people get the leaders they Deserve?

Read Lamentations 4.

"Every country has the leadership it deserves."  That quote from the writings of Joseph de Maistre in 1811 concerning Russia has been translated, altered, and attributed variously over the years.  As leaders go, so goes the nation.

Over the years, the kings and other leaders in Jerusalem made sure the city was secure, safe and self-sufficient.  The walls and gates of the city could withstand any opposition.  An underground tunnel supplied water.  God's blessings of abundance caused food to be stored.  So, when Jeremiah and other of God's prophets spoke of surrendering to the Babylonians, it sounded like treason.  "The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world that foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem." (v.12)

But the multiple sins of the corrupt governmental and spiritual leaders reached a point where God intervened (v.13).  He warned them if they did not surrender the people would die by sword, pestilence or famine.  After a 30 month siege, this fourth funeral poem for Jerusalem records the results.  It is one of the more difficult chapters in the Bible to read due to the graphic awfulness of the famine.

What used to be precious and of high value, such as gold, gems, leadership positions, and even human life, became worthless.  Bodies of old and young, rich and poor were strewn on the ground and left like broken pieces of pottery.  There is an interesting contrast in verse 6 with Sodom and Gomorrah.  That judgment in Genesis was quick, but this one was painfully prolonged.

In the closing verses, Edom, celebrated the calamity.  They helped the Babylonians by sealing off any escape in their direction.  Jeremiah let them know that their day of judgment was coming.  The prophet Obadiah's message further explained God's ultimate punishment of Edom.

What a difference there would have been if Judah's leaders had fully obeyed the LORD and led the people in doing what was right!  Proverbs 14:34, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."