Wed. Aug 28

Lamentations

Contrast Jeremiah’s response to judgement with Job’s response to tragedy.

Jeremiah understands that God has judged, while Job does not understand what is happening to him. Jeremiah’s experience is similar, because He has been beaten, thrown in prison, left for dead in a well, and stripped of any enjoyment in life by wicked leaders who have wronged him.

Jeremiah is depressed like Job is depressed. However, Jeremiah does not justify himself. Instead of speaking of his righteousness, he repents:

lam 3 40-

Lamentations 3:40–42 CSB

40 Let us examine and probe our ways, and turn back to the Lord. 41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven: 42 “We have sinned and rebelled; you have not forgiven.

let’s overview this lament:

The devastation of sin

Sin strips us of our greatness

Lamentations 1:1 CSB

1 How she sits alone, the city once crowded with people! She who was great among the nations has become like a widow. The princess among the provinces has been put to forced labor.

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lam 1 8

Lamentations 1:8 CSB

8 Jerusalem has sinned grievously; therefore, she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her now despise her, for they have seen her nakedness. She herself groans and turns away.

Sin strips the us of our joy

Lamentations 1:16 CSB

16 I weep because of these things; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one nearby to comfort me, no one to keep me alive. My children are desolate because the enemy has prevailed.

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Lamentations 1:20 CSB

20 Lord, see how I am in distress. I am churning within; my heart is broken, for I have been very rebellious. Outside, the sword takes the children; inside, there is death.

Lamentations 1:21 CSB

21 People have heard me groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my misfortune; they are glad that you have caused it. Bring on the day you have announced, so that they may become like me.

Sin strips us from the Lord’s compassion

Lamentations 2:1 CSB

1 How the Lord has overshadowed Daughter Zion with his anger! He has thrown down Israel’s glory from heaven to earth. He did not acknowledge his footstool in the day of his anger.

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Lamentations 2:3 CSB

3 He has cut off every horn of Israel in his burning anger and withdrawn his right hand in the presence of the enemy. He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire that consumes everything.

Lamentations 2:17 CSB

17 The Lord has done what he planned; he has accomplished his decree, which he ordained in days of old. He has demolished without compassion, letting the enemy gloat over you and exalting the horn of your adversaries.

The Lord is our hope

There is hope in depression

Lamentations 3:19–21 CSB

19 Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. 20 I continually remember them and have become depressed. 21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The Lord is faithful in love

Lamentations 3:22–24 CSB

22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! 24 I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”

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But the Lord has terms for His love

Lamentations 3:25–27 CSB

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him. 26 It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.

Lamentations 3:28–30 CSB

28 Let him sit alone and be silent, for God has disciplined him. 29 Let him put his mouth in the dust— perhaps there is still hope. 30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with disgrace.

The Lord disciplines in grace, because He does not have joy in the final execution of the wicked.

Lamentations 3:31–33 CSB

31 For the Lord will not reject us forever. 32 Even if he causes suffering, he will show compassion according to the abundance of his faithful love. 33 For he does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind.

Lamentations 3:40–42 CSB

40 Let us examine and probe our ways, and turn back to the Lord. 41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven: 42 “We have sinned and rebelled; you have not forgiven.

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The Lord is our defender

The Lord hears the prayers of the one who has been wronged

Lamentations 3:55–66 CSB

55 I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. 56 You heard my plea: Do not ignore my cry for relief. 57 You came near whenever I called you; you said, “Do not be afraid.” 58 You championed my cause, Lord; you redeemed my life. 59 Lord, you saw the wrong done to me; judge my case. 60 You saw all their vengefulness, all their plots against me. 61 Lord, you heard their insults, all their plots against me. 62 The slander and murmuring of my opponents attack me all day long. 63 When they sit and when they rise, look, I am mocked by their songs. 64 You will pay them back what they deserve, Lord, according to the work of their hands. 65 You will give them a heart filled with anguish. May your curse be on them! 66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them under your heavens.

lam 3 55-

Lamentations 3:55–57 CSB

55 I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. 56 You heard my plea: Do not ignore my cry for relief. 57 You came near whenever I called you; you said, “Do not be afraid.”

lam 3 55-57

The God who disciplines promises to save

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God promised Abraham that His descendants would become a great nation—that all of the families on the earth would be blessed through them.

It looks like this is not going to happen.

Theological question: Has the failure of Israel nullified the promise of God? Should the people repent and turn to the Lord even though He is not going to withhold the period of exile from them?

It looks as though repentance will do them no good. Some of them will not live to see Jerusalem rebuilt.

So God gives them a picture to cling to:

Ezekiel 37:1–10 CSB

1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. 3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I replied, “Lord God, only you know.” 4 He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. 6 I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” 7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.

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This picture:

dry bones, decay…long enough for the flesh to disappear. (twelve years for a body to decompose if it is left in the ground)

At the word of the Lord, flesh returns to the bones.

Bodies restored, but no life…no breath.

At the word of the Lord, the people had life!

Here is what the picture means:

Ezekiel 37:11–14 CSB

11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look how they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore, prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them, my people, and lead you into the land of Israel. 13 You will know that I am the Lord, my people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it. This is the declaration of the Lord.’ ”

ezek 3711-14

The Lord is going to keep His promise to Abraham. There will be a vast number of the descendants of Jacob…Israel...

The whole house of Israel: God will graft in those who are not descendants of Jacob by blood, but by faith!

They will receive the reward of repentance when God raises them on the last day.

He will put His Spirit in them…they will be dead before the day of Pentecost…and they will live.

This is the declaration of the Lord.

Take aways

sometimes the consequences to our sin outlive our repentance. But God’s promise of restoration is ultimately fulfilled on The Day.

We should never loose hope, even in depression. In fact depression should give us hope…because we know that the Lord is faithful in love. He does not cast off forever.

We should never underestimate the devastation caused by sin. Think about how long the people enjoyed a “good life” even though they were living sinful lifestyles. The payment for sin may come later, but it will come.