The road to Recovery

 Read Lamentations 5.

When Judah thought they were self-sufficient and felt no need for dependence on the LORD, they played.  But when they lost everything, they prayed.

This is the fifth acrostic funeral poem for the city of Jerusalem.  Judah had fallen.  The devastation was beyond belief.  Jeremiah has cried ceaselessly (4:49).  Now, the attention turns from the earthly circumstances to the heavenly solutions. 

God remained in sovereign control.  He reigns from His throne on high forever (v.19).  Therefore, this appeal is to the One who can do what no one else can. 

1. Remember us. (vv.1-18)
They were overwhelmed by their disgrace and suffering.  Everyone-- young and old, male and female, leaders and poor--were physically and brutally mistreated.  The first thing requested in this prayer was for God to look and see what was happening to them.  The truth is the LORD sees everything, all the time (Proverbs 15:3).  Not only did He see and know, but He was the source of the punishment.  "Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities." (v.7) 

No one in their right mind enjoys pain and suffering.  But God can use such things to cause the rebellious to stop and consider their waywardness.  Godly sorrow should lead one to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10).

2. Restore us. (v.21a)
All the celebrations and singing had stopped in Judah (vv.14-15).  How they longed for a time of joy.  Notice that this is not a call for restoration of their circumstances, but a return to the person of Jehovah Himself.

When King David suffered the conviction and consequences of his sin, he prayed in Psalm 51:12, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation."  After repenting of sin and coming clean with God, the direction of the heart will go back to the basics.  The foundation of our relationship with the LORD is when and how He intervened in the first place to bring us to Himself.  Nothing restores our faith like going back to the cross and realizing the price Jesus paid on our behalf.  Being saved by His grace should prompt an immediate burst of thanksgiving and joy. 

3. Renew us. (v.21b)
There was no reason for God to restore and renew their material things until they dealt with their spiritual condition.  Otherwise, they would have simply returned to their rebellious self-sufficiency.  In Psalm 51:10, David prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."  When God forgives and cleanses our hearts, we are then in a position to live for Him.  The word "right" is literally "upright" or faithful.  This was what God wanted all along for Judah and wants for each of us.

 

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."

 

Finding God in the middle of the Pain

 Read Lamentations 3.

Preachers have feelings too.  It is an awe-filled task to deliver God's messages of sin and judgment.  Jeremiah understood his own human flaws and disobedience.  Then, when the fulfillment of the prophecies began to unfold, he experienced the loss of all things along with his countrymen.

Chapter 3 is the third acrostic eulogy for Jerusalem.  There are two notable differences.  First, instead of one verse for each of the 22 Hebrew letters, this poem takes three for each.  Second, this is Jeremiah's very personal response to what has happened to the city, to the people, and to himself.

The insights come, not from his deep feelings of hurt, but notice how he moved from there to his faith.

1. Jeremiah's Hurt. (vv.1-18)
When his world fell apart, it brought him to a dark place "without any light" (v.2).  The results were both inside and out.  It affected him physically (v.4), emotionally (v.5), spiritually (v.8).  He could find no place of peace (v.17).  He reached the end of his perceived ability to endure it any longer (v.18).

These are not the words one would expect of a man of God.  Is not the believer always to be singing the victory song?  Don't the people who trust the LORD live above it all?  Those who have placed their trust in the LORD have the same emotions and experience the same hurts in life as everyone else.  There is no denying reality.  But there is more.

2. Jeremiah's Hope. (vv.19-40)
Tears?  Yes.  In verse 49, he wrote, "My eyes will flow without ceasing."  However, the believer processes the pain differently.  Greater than their hurt is their hope.  It requires a deliberate act of faith to also "call to mind" (v.21) the rest of the story.  Circumstances may change, but God does not change.  Discipline for sin may come, but so does God's mercy.  His offer of forgiveness and restoration is immediately available for those who put their trust in Him.  Indeed, the very purpose of this discipline of Judah was to turn hearts back to the LORD.

In the middle of his pain, in the center section of this book, Jeremiah penned, perhaps, his most famous words: "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’" (vv.22-24)

3. Jeremiah's Help. (vv.41-66)
He acknowledged his hurt.  He remembered his hope.  Then, he turned to the source of his help.  Jeremiah recognized that he was not the only one hurting.  He called upon those around him to examine themselves and come clean with God.  He prayed, realizing the LORD was always present, hearing and seeing what happened, and powerfully able to intervene.

"This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles." (Psalm 34:6)

 

What happens when people ignore God's Kindness?

 Read Lamentations 2.

Jeremiah is often called the "weeping prophet."  He wept over his country's sin and their refusal to repent.  Here, in this second of five funeral poems for Jerusalem, he cried until he could do so no longer (v.11).  What he observed caused him to be sick to his stomach.

In the opening verses, Jeremiah made it clear that it was the LORD Himself who inflicted this destruction.  He did so out of anger (v.1), without mercy (v.2), in His wrath (v.2), like an enemy (v.4), and in fierce indignation (v.6).  The prophet itemized the losses one by one from the fires, as the Babylonians burned the city, to the killing of many, to the city walls, gates and Temple that were destroyed.

The preacher was at a loss for words (v.13).  What could he possibly say now?  He had warned them that this was coming if they did not turn back to God.  But, at this point, there seemed to be nothing he could say that would bring comfort and healing.

Even the law of Moses with its priests and the prophets were no longer operative (v.9).  In truth, the people had ignored God's word for a long time, except to go through the motions of certain rituals and festivals to their liking.  However, had they taken heed to God's word, they would have known of these consequences.  A thousand years before, in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, God told them their disobedience would bring such results.  With uncanny precision, what God said came true.

"The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes." (v.17)

The daily, moment by moment, kindness of God should move us to turn from sin to holy living. 
"Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4)

 

Disobedience and Discipline

 Read Lamentations 1.

This is a book of laments or five funeral poems for the city of Jerusalem.  After years of warning, Judah's demise at the hands of the Babylonians became a reality.  The once proud city that reached its zenith when Solomon ruled as king was no more.  Everything had been stripped away; no power, no abundance, no prestige, no friends, only enemies. 

The poems are in acrostic style.  Each lament has 22 verses, each verse beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Chapter 3 triples the number of verses for each Hebrew letter. 

It is a sad eulogy.  In the very first verse, Jeremiah described Jerusalem as a destitute widow who had lost everything.  Then, he remembered her as being a princess who had become a slave.  As a result, the city was no longer the place of God's blessings and celebrations.  This caused everyone, even the roads (v.4), to mourn and groan.  Five times in this first chapter we read that there was none to comfort or to help her.  In verse 12, with outstretched arms looking for someone to care, she cried, "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?" 

In the personification of Jerusalem, there was no one to blame but herself.  As Jeremiah quotes her in verse 18, "The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word."  As a loving father, God had to discipline His disobedient children.

The purpose of good discipline is to correct wayward behavior.  When the LORD disciplines, it is to stop us from sinning and to bring us back to godly living in accordance with His word.  "He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:10b-11)

The blessing comes when we are willing to be trained by God.

 

Listening in the tough Times

 Read Jeremiah 52.

All that God said concerning the downfall of Judah came true.  In this closing chapter, Jeremiah summarized what took place.  The king and the people refused to listen and trust what God told them.

1. Jeremiah repeatedly warned Zedekiah not to rebel but to surrender in peace.  He would not listen and he paid a severe price.  His sons were slaughtered in front of him.  His eyes were put out.  The Babylonians imprisoned him for the rest of his life.

2. In chapter 27, Jeremiah warned that the rebellion would lead to the destruction of Solomon's beautiful Temple in Jerusalem.  Further, the Babylonians would take all the precious vessels of the Temple.  More to the king's liking, Hananiah, a false prophet, spoke the opposite message.  Jeremiah was treated as a traitor.  Here in chapter 52, the writer details the extensive work in tearing down the various parts of the Temple and hauling them off.

3. All the remaining city officials, including the Temple priests, were executed.

4. A few of the poorest in the area were allowed to stay in order to work the land.  In a series of deportations, thousands were taken in exile to Babylon.

As bad as these fulfilled prophecies are, God had not forsaken His people.  This earthly punishment of the nation was due to their sin and only for a time.  Jeremiah had also delivered God's message that the exile would last 70 years.  Even in exile, the LORD was gracious.  He remained faithful to them in meeting their needs, as Jeremiah stated in Lamentations.  His presence was there, as Ezekiel addressed.  He demonstrated His power again and again, as Daniel recorded.

King David wrote Psalm 23, "The LORD is my shepherd."  As a good shepherd, God cares for His own through the toughest of times.  "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Listen to and trust the Shepherd.

 

Are some people getting away with Sin?

 Read Jeremiah 51.

God's judgment against Babylon required two chapters.  In chapter 50, there are details of an invasion from the north to totally destroy the land.  It became obvious that many of the statements refer to a distant future punishment.  Here, in chapter 51, more detail is provided about the immediate invasion.

Though their destruction will be at the hands of another nation, God takes full credit.  "I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon." (v.1)  In the first fall of Babylon, God used the Medes along with the Persians (v.11a).  The Babylonians had been His instrument to mete out His punishment against others.  But the long-suffering patience of the LORD had come to an end.  "The land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt." (v.5b)   It is not only their personal sin that was "full" according to God, but He had not forgotten their desecration of His Temple in Jerusalem (v.11b)   "This is the time of the LORD's vengeance, the repayment he is rendering to her." (v.6)

What about Israel and Judah?  Had God forgotten them?  Will they be caught in the cross-fire of Babylon's collapse?  There were days when the Jews felt forsaken.  To the contrary, God said, "For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the LORD of hosts." (v.5a)  In fact, when Cyrus, King of Persian, took over, he offered to let the Jews return to their homeland and even paid for the rebuilding of the Temple (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

God always takes care of His own in the midst of dealing with sin and delivers them.  God sees every sin and every injustice.  In His time, He will carry out His justice.  Though for the present it may appear that the guilty are unchecked, we need only to wait on God's timing.  No one gets away with sin.

"Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine.  I will repay, says the Lord.'" (Romans 12:19)