Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Next Sermon Series: Haggai, “A Minor Prophet with a Major Message” 2 parts

Followed by our Summer Series: Proverbs - God’s Wisdom for Living (beginning on Father’s day)

Lamentations doesn’t list an author, although most scholars believe it was written by the prophet Jeremiah, based on comments he makes in the book bearing his name.

Jeremiah prophesied for over 40 years that if God’s people did not repent, God would allow foreign armies to conquer the land.

And that is exactly what happened.

In 586 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army came swooping in and conquered Jerusalem.

It was a terrible time.

The Babylonians destroyed homes, businesses, and the Temple itself.

People starved.

Pregnant women even resorted to cannibalism to survive.

Jeremiah wrote Lamentations to help surviving Jews process the tragedy and know God was still there for them.

Orthodox Jews still read the book annually on the anniversary of the fall of the Temple.

And Catholics read it during the last three days of Holy Week.

The book of Lamentations is named after the word, “lament,” which means to “cry out loudly.”

A lament is a cry out to God.

Many of the psalms are laments, as are portions of practically every book of prophecy.

But Lamentations is the only book of the Bible made up entirely of laments.

And these laments weren’t just quickly jotted down.

We know by their careful poetic composition that they took some time.

Chapters 1, 2, and 4 contain laments of 22 verses each, with each verse beginning with a different consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

That’s some serious Lamenting!

My Goal: (1) Those wrestling in their current situation, remind you that God is Faithful and he’s going to see you through (2) Those who are currently wrestling (you will soon), but also to help someone else wrestling right now.

Invitation: Altar time!

Simple Definition: “God’s faithfulness means that everything He says and does is certain”

He is 100% reliable, 100% of the time!

He does not fail, forget, falter, change, or disappoint.

He says what He means and means what He says and therefore does everything He says He will do.

The repeating of the name was certainly for the purpose of emphasis but also could have had some of the overtones associated with the pattern called repetition of such that Yahweh was in effect saying to Moses, “I am your dear Yahweh” or “to you I am your dearest friend, Yahweh” or something of the sort.

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To say that God is faithful goes to the very core of who He really is.

If He didn’t keep His word, He wouldn’t be God.

Illustration

Bill Bright, President of Campus Crusade for Christ, compares the attributes of God to an automobile engine.

Pistons, fan belts, water pumps, and thousands of moving parts all whirl around within a small space, making power for us to drive our car.

The parts all work together harmoniously as components of the whole engine.

Bill Bright, President of Campus Crusade for Christ, compares the attributes of God to an automobile engine.

Pistons, fan belts, water pumps, and thousands of moving parts all whirl around within a small space, making power for us to drive our car.

The parts all work together harmoniously as components of the whole engine.

That’s the way God’s attributes function too.

If you took away love, God’s character would be incomplete.

God’s love works with all the other attributes, like His justice, to produce the right kind of results.

We can compare God’s faithfulness to the oil in the engine that keeps the internal parts running smoothly.

God’s faithfulness means that each attribute in His character is working at full capacity at all times.

When does God’s love fail?

Never, because He is faithful.

When is God less than holy?

Never, because His character is pure and He is always faithful to who He is and to what He says.

God’s faithfulness is at the core of His very nature.

He is knowable, holy, the creator, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, just, sovereign, unchanging, and loving because He is faithful to His own character.

He never changes any of His attributes.

Paul drew on this truth when he wrote to the Thessalonians:

Transition

Lamentations, which is really a collection of sad songs, or laments.

It’s a mournful postscript to the Book of Jeremiah.

Lamentations, which is really a collection of sad songs, or laments.

It’s a mournful postscript to the Book of Jeremiah.

Through the use of five dirges, or funeral laments that correspond to the five chapters, Jeremiah reminds us that sin, in spite of all its allurement and excitement, carries with it heavy weights of sorrow, grief, misery, barrenness and pain.

The title of the book is taken from the first word in first verse.

“How” - It could also be translated, “alas!” which was a characteristic cry of lament or exclamation.

It could also be translated, “alas!” which was a characteristic cry of lament or exclamation.

Jeremiah is wondering how all this happened ­ everything was going so well and then this.

Jerusalem has now been destroyed and Jeremiah, who is known as the “weeping prophet,” is in the dumps.

As we come to Lamentations, chapter 3, we see that Jeremiah bares his heart, not holding back the depths of his despair.

No prophet ever pleaded with a people in a more impassioned manner.

And no one, except Jesus, was treated with more contempt than he was.

His List of Laments

In the first 20 verses, the weeping prophet lets it all hang out.

His language is real and raw.

1. God is angry

Jeremiah has seen trouble and he knows it’s because God is upset with His people:

2. Jeremiah is in the dark

Jeremiah feels the loneliness of darkness.

3. Feels like God is against him

Because of God’s judgment, Jeremiah feels like God has turned on him.

In verse 10, Jeremiah compares God to a bear lying in wait, or like a lion ready to pounce on his prey.

Verses12-13 are very graphic

4.

He is tormented mentally and physically

He feels his pain intensely and he can’t find a remedy for it.

Look at verse 4:

In verse 15-16, he describes how his life is filled with bitterness, how his teeth have been broken, and how he has been trampled in the dust.

5.

He can’t find release

Jeremiah can’t figure out how to escape the pain and anguish he feels.

He is besieged and surrounded with bitterness and hardship in verse 5.

Verse 7 says:

NIV “He has weighed me down with chains.”

His prayers are unanswered.

Notice verse 8:

6.

He is ready to give up

We see his honest cry of despair in verse 17:

7. His hope is gone

In verse 18, he says:

While it’s okay to be honest with God and express your real feelings like Jeremiah did, it’s NOT OKAY TO STAY THERE!

Verse 21 is really the “hinge” on which the book, and Jeremiah’s life turns:

What to call to mind:

Four phrases that raise and answer Jeremiah’s question.

1.

Why doesn’t God destroy me?

Here is Jeremiah’s answer:

The Hebrew word for “love” is “hesed”, a word rich with meaning.