2021 - 35 - Bible Reading, Lament for Jerusalem

Week 34: Lament for Jerusalem

Auditorium Bible Study: The Gospel of Luke (Luke 7.1-8.3)

Sermon: Why I Believe In God

Wednesday: The Solomon 2.0 (1 Kgs 11.14–12.24)

Bible Readings:

Sunday, Aug 22: Eccles 1–3

Monday, Aug 23: Eccles 4–6

Tuesday, Aug 24: Eccles 7–9

Wednesday, Aug 25: Eccles 10–12

Thursday, Aug 26: Esther 1–5

Friday, Aug 27: Esther 6–10

Saturday, Aug 28: Dan 1–2

Brief Overview of the Biblical Content

Lament for Jerusalem

By Doy Moyer

After all of the warnings that had been given by prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the city of Jerusalem would finally fall in ca. 586 B.C. “The city has been taken” (Ezek 33:21). The captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, Nebuzaradan, “burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile” (2 Kings 25:9-11). Some of the poorest of the land were left to be be “vinedressers and plowmen” (v. 12). Zedekiah was taken, and Gedaliah was made governor of the area, though he would be assassinated.

Imagine how Jeremiah felt after all of this. For years he had poured himself out in God’s service trying to get the people to listen and repent. He was persecuted, threatened, and lived a life of sorrows. Even though he knew people wouldn’t listen, he continued boldly proclaiming the truth about the people and the city. Even so, the destruction still came just as prophesied. Jeremiah had every right to be angry and sorrowful at the same time. His sorry is most prominent, and we hear the great sorrow manifested in what we know as the book of Lamentations.

The opening words tell the story of desolation: Lamentations 1:1–3 (ESV)

How Lonely Sits the City

1 How lonely sits the city

that was full of people!

How like a widow has she become,

she who was great among the nations!

She who was a princess among the provinces

has become a slave.

2 She weeps bitterly in the night,

with tears on her cheeks;

among all her lovers

she has none to comfort her;

all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;

they have become her enemies.

3 Judah has gone into exile because of affliction

and hard servitude;

she dwells now among the nations,

but finds no resting place;

her pursuers have all overtaken her

in the midst of her distress.

Why did this happen? By this time the story should be well known: sin and the failure to repent. Israel in the north was destroyed because of their unfaithfulness to the covenant. Judah saw it happen, yet still followed in the very same path despite the warnings (Jer 3:6- 10). Jerusalem fell because she “sinned greatly” and became an “unclean thing” (1:8). Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel had gone into great detail about the nature of the sins of those in Jerusalem. The idolatry, injustices, and ritualism had finally caught up with them. None of what happened next should have been a surprise. God spelled it out, and He kept His word. Jeremiah’s distress and sorrow was in full view.

Ezekiel 1:21 (ESV)

21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

The message of the prophets did contain hard words of judgment. God meant business when He warned them, and they should have known better. Yet the prophetic messages also contained words of hope, restoration, and renewal, all of which would culminate in the coming of the Messiah. Hope, as with judgment, was based upon the faithfulness of God. If God said it would happen, it would happen.

Lamentations 3:21–26 (ESV)

21 But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

26 It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.

Ezekiel, likewise, pointed to better days (34:12-13). God would indeed restore His people, but it would be several years yet before He made that happen. Jeremiah ended his lamentations with a recognition of God’s rule and a plea for that restoration to come:

Jeremiah 5:19–22 (ESV)

19 And when your people say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’ ”

20 Declare this in the house of Jacob;

proclaim it in Judah:

21 “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,

who have eyes, but see not,

who have ears, but hear not.

22 Do you not fear me? declares the Lord.

Do you not tremble before me?

I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,

a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;

though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;

though they roar, they cannot pass over it.

While sin keeps us from God, He does reach out to restore through Christ. Thank God for His lovingkindness!

Four questions to ask after each day’s reading:

Key events, teaching, or concept:

Key verses:

What is God telling me about Himself or my relationship with Him?

How does this apply to my life today?