My Bad

MY BAD Lamentations 1:5-11 June 13, 2021 There is no such thing as a perfect pastor. Every pastor has strengths and weaknesses. After 28 years of doing this, I think I know where I'm strong and where I'm not. I feel like my strength is giving you historical context for what you read in the Bible. So, what the characters say, and what they do, makes sense. I am well aware that counseling is my weakness. Although I've had training, I am not strong at giving advice or helping someone in trouble chart a course of action. One Sunday in my first few years, immediately after worship, one of the men in the church came to me and said he needed a few minutes. We found a quiet place to talk, and he told me he was certain God was telling him to leave his wife and run away with his secretary. He had been carrying on with her for a while, and certainly God was telling him this was ok. I remember saying - I'm pretty sure that's not what God is saying. It conflicts with everything I've read in the Bible. A couple weeks later he was in church again, this time without his family. I asked about them and he said, my wife left me. She found out about the affair, took the kids, and left. This is my last Sunday in church. I can't worship a God who lies to me. I don't remember what I said, but it wasn't very profound. For the last 28 years I've often thought about him, and I always come back to - how in the world can you blame God for what happened? That was all you. You did something wrong, and you suffered the consequences. How can you not see that? The prophet Jeremiah writes 5 poems after the fall of Jerusalem. And, although he spent time inside the city preaching to the kings, this first poem is written as if from a complete outsider.1 The context here is someone who passes by and can evaluate what went wrong from the perspective of an outsider. And, his conclusion is very simple. This is all a result of sin.2 Don't be blaming God. You did this. You took actions, and there were consequences. I am standing here looking at a pillaged, fallen, crushed city. And, it's obvious, this is a consequence of sin. We know from the other documents produced at this time, and especially from the book of Jeremiah, the biggest sin was failure to trust God. The kings, the priests, and the phony prophets all advocated appeasement. Negotiate with Egypt. Negotiate with Babylon. And, strike a deal. You won't like the deal, but it will be better than if you have no deal at all. So, give away young men to become soldiers for foreign armies. Give away money meant for the Temple. Throughout this time, God has been telling the king and the priests - don't give away anything. Trust me to take care of you. I know both the Egyptians, and the Babylonians, have big scary armies. And, I know you fear what will happen if they come at you with violence. But, I promise I love you. And, I will protect you. But, you have to put all your faith in me. Not me and something else. Not me and treaties. Not me and concessions. When this is all over, I don't want you thinking you saved yourselves with a treaty. Just trust me, and when this is over, give me all the credit. If you don't, I will let you suffer the consequences of your own efforts to save yourselves. The fall of Jerusalem wasn't a punishment, it was a consequence. How often in our lives do we confuse punishment and consequence? If I tell you - do not put your hand on the stove; but you put your hand on the stove anyway; is the burn a punishment or a consequence? Is there sin involved? Sure, you disobeyed my instructions. You made a deliberate choice not to follow my guidance. That's the definition of sin. But, what happens next isn't a punishment from me. It's the exact consequence I was trying to save you from, with my guidance. The man didn't lose his wife and kids as a punishment. He lost them as a consequence of his sin. And, I suspect that many of the problems I've experienced in my life were not punishments from God. They were consequences of my own sin. When an entire city suffers the consequences, there's another question that comes into play. Are corporate consequences fair? Is it fair for the entire community to suffer for the sins of the few? The kings and the priests sinned. But, what about Joe the plumber? What about Zacchaeus the farrier? He didn't sign any treaties. He didn't negotiate any backroom deals. Why should he suffer?3 I spent four years at the Air Force Academy, and another 9 years on active duty. And, my least favorite aspect of military service was the love of corporate consequences. If one guy fails a room inspection, everybody loses their weekend pass. I hated that. Ironically, it was that fear of corporate consequences, that drove many of the wrong decisions by the religious community. The priests were completely unable to see any sin in their own behavior. But, the priests were afraid Zacchaeus the farrier would sin, and they would suffer. Zacchaeus isn't righteous and devout like us. So, let's separate ourselves from him. If Zacchaeus can't prove he's righteous, don't let him in to church. Keep him outside. Tell him God doesn't love him. If we physically distance ourselves, Zacchaeus will suffer all by himself. When Jesus comes along, he teaches that every human being has an obligation to every other human being. We all have the responsibility of helping those who cannot help themselves. If Zacchaeus is lost in his sin, it's our responsibility to help our brother. If the priests are lost in sin, it's our responsibility to help our brother. If the king, and the government, are lost in sin - do not shrug your shoulders and say, 'oh well, that's their problem'. It is our responsibility to help. One of the most difficult concepts for contemporary American's is that your relationship with Jesus is not just about you. I like the New Living Translation we use in the church. But, sometimes it lacks a tiny bit in technical translation. In Hebrew, verse 6 describes the city of Jerusalem as God's daughter. In fact, it describes her as God's favorite daughter.4 And, not just a little favorite. But, his way, way, way favorite. Unfortunately, the favorite daughter has misbehaved. And, Jeremiah says she has suffered devastating consequences. Instead of remaining virginal and pure, letting her father find the perfect husband for her, she ran off after the first hansom man she saw. And, she let him use her. He used her for his own perverted enjoyment. And, she willingly complied. He had sex with her in public for all the world to see. As soon as he was finished he beat her, and dumped her in the gutter. Then, he laughed as he walked away. Her beauty is forever marred. Her purity is gone. No suiter will give her a second look. And, Jeremiah gets very graphic. He says she has been thrown away, like you toss a used menstrual rag.5 While these are hard consequences, she has no one to blame but herself. Jeremiah is using the daughter as a metaphor for bad worship.6 Israel has decided I want a fling with this good-looking stranger. If I'm the king, I will sign treaties with foreign powers. If I'm a priest I will keep the sacrifices for myself. If I'm a run of the mill Israelite, I will start dabbling with idols - or maybe I will just embrace atheism. If God doesn't let me have the lover I want, maybe God isn't real. Even though God loves me like a favorite, I have the right to want whatever I want. And, God should stay out of my business. Jeremiah says - that's exactly what God did. He stayed out of your business. And now, you are suffering your own consequences. Like a daughter who runs off with a cad, you are left ruined. He says you (the city of Jerusalem, the king, the priests) wanted what you wanted. And, the first chance you got you ran off chasing your want. You gave no thought to my guidance. And, you gave no thought to the consequences.7 Instead of trusting me to protect you, you embraced treaties and idols. You thought you could have security, and prosperity. You expected to become rich and safe. Instead, you starved to death during the siege. You would do anything for food. You found yourself trading your fortunes, for a simple loaf of bread.8 And now, you come to me, and you dare to ask - why did you do this to us? Really? Over the next 8 weeks we're going to look at suffering, and sadness, and depression from many different points of view. But, on this first week, it's more than fair to ask - what role have you played in the sorrows of your life? Is it possible that some of the worst moments of your life, were your own fault? God speaks to us in so many ways. The Bible is an obvious way. It is filled with rules that guide our behavior. It is filled with characters that serve as both good and bad examples. It preaches forgiveness from sin, but not an absence of consequences for disobedience. Prayer is an obvious way God speaks. We ask for what we want or need. And, there is nothing wrong with asking for something simply because we want it. That is not sin. But, frequently God says no. It's not 'no' to be mean. It's not 'no' because God is cruel. It's 'no' because the consequences are just too costly. The problem comes when we decide, if you say no, I will do it anyway. God guides and speaks to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. When we disobey God, we know it. We don't accidently stumble into sin. We seek it out. And, the Spirit is burning in our hearts and minds telling us - don't do this. We have to actively block out the Spirit's message to sin. So consequences are inevitable. And then, how often (just like favorite daughter Jerusalem) do we shout out - God, why did you do this to me? Why am I being punished? What I will say next is not popular. If you want a better life, do what God says to do. And, if you don't, that's on you. 1 Raymond B. Dillard & Tremper Longman III. An Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 309. 2 Norman Gottwald, New Interpreter's Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 1145. 3 Dillard & Longman, 311. 4 Gottwald, 1144. 5 R. C. Sproul, general editor. New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1242. 6 NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 1321. 7 Heath A. Thomas, "The Meaning of zōlēlâ (Lamentations 1:11) One More Time," Vetus Testamentum, 61 no. 3 (2011), 489-498. 8 Charles William Miller, "Reading Voices: Personification, Dialogism, and the Reader of Lamentations 1," Biblical Interpretation, 9 no. 4 (2001), 393-408. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2