Text: Colossians 1:1-23 (NKJV)
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This section is incredibly dense with theology on the study of Jesus Christ. To help give purpose to this, the contextual setting was that of the church at Colossae. There is great debate as to what exactly the heretical teachings Paul was trying to counter later in the book, but this explanation of Jesus Christ was likely also a positive address of doctrine to help the matter also. I believe that the Colossian heresy was not actually a heresy but several different ones. A crossroads, the Colossian church was suffering under the influence of simultaneous, separate heresies, specifically Eastern mysticism, Greek philosophy and theosophy, and required obedience to the Judaistic law. Paul addressed each heresy in turn, but he thought it even more important to simply put forward correct doctrine at the start of the book about the core of our Christianity- Jesus Christ.
Verses 1-8 are a pretty straightforward greeting section. As such, we will not spend any further time on it.
Christology, or the doctrine of Jesus Christ the Son of God, is expounded in verses 9-23. I am simply going to take a verse-by-verse approach here since there is so much to learn.
Verses 9-12: The concepts of knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding introduce the section to us. Then, walking worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him, and being fruitful appear. Strengthened, giving thanks, and receiving an inheritance come. While praying for these things, Paul provides the information necessary here in this letter. What immediately follows is of the utmost doctrinal importance.
Verses 13-14: Jesus Christ provided redemption from sin, forgiveness of sins, and entrance into His kingdom for us. His death is the cornerstone of this provision. Essentially, His death liberated us from the enslavement of sin (redeemed) and allowed for our sin debt to be wiped clear (sins forgiven).
Verses 15-20: Most scholars believe that this was actually a hymn to be sung and remembered. That does not in any way diminish the depth of doctrine in it.
Verse 15: Jesus is the visible expression of God. He is fully God. John 14:9 and this verse are well understood in tandem. Understand that the Old Testament law forbade the building of physical representations of god, even the true God. He demanded to be directly worshiped and not through some stone idol. Understanding this, that Jesus is the "image" of God conveys that He is actually God Himself. The usage of the term "firstborn" is significant in most cultures prior to the 20th century. To be the firstborn meant receiving the vast majority share of the inheritance and carrying on the family line. Jesus is the dominant, priority #1 of all things physical, as He now resides in a human body. This is building toward verse 18.
Verse 16: Simply stated, Jesus was the agent of creation for all things physical and spiritual. See also Genesis 1 and John 1.
Verse 17: This teaches the pre-existence of Jesus before Creation. Further, Jesus is the glue that binds the universe together. The laws of physics are our descriptive terms for the actions of Jesus. Thankfully too, His act of making the universe continue to "consist" exceeds our knowledge of descriptive physics.
Verse 18: Jesus is the head of the church, His body. It is important to note that He is the head and not a person on earth, such as the Pope or Peter. Jesus is also the preeminent one of the new creation, as with the old. His existence is as the Preeminent One in all things. It is always about Him, and never about us.
Verse 19: The fullness of divinity exists in Jesus. This helps us (a little) to understand the Trinity. There is but one God; thus, seeing Jesus is seeing the Father and Spirit. Hard to wrap one's mind around though...
Verse 20: Jesus's death on the Cross as a sinless person paying for the sins of others was the pledge of God reconciling things (namely, us) to Himself.
Verses 21-23: Isn't it amazing what Jesus can do in our lives?!? He turns us from enemies of God to be reconciled and holy.
Applications:
"It's never about me; it's always about Jesus." Remember that and say it every time you get frustrated, suffer, are persecuted, or otherwise start to think that something revolves around you.
Thank Jesus Christ for all that He has done for you as God, sinless God-man, and your Savior.
Other Studies from Colossians
Friday, March 18, 2011
Devotional Thoughts on Colossians
- 3/19/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Colossians... A Lot of Christology, the Study of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:1-23)
- 4/2/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Colossians... Making Known the Riches of God's Glory (Colossians 1:24-29)
- 4/3/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Colossians... The Total Supremacy of Christ, Part 1 (Colossians 2)
- 4/4/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Colossians... The Total Supremacy of Christ, Part 2 (Colossians 3:1-11)
- 4/8/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Colossians... Positively Stated, What a Christian Should Be Doing (Colossians 3:12-17)
- 4/9/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Colossians... The Bible's Plan for Proper Relationships (Colossians 3:18-4:1)
- 4/12/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Colossians... Reminiscing and Remembrances (Colossians 4:2-18)
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
3/18/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Philemon... Slavery, Forgiveness, and Christian Love
Text: The Book of Philemon (NKJV)
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, 2 to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow
soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5 hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7 For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.
8 Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ— 10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, 11 who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. 12 I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, 13 whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. 14 But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. 15 For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. 18 But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. 20 Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord. 21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers. 25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
The premise for this book is that a slave, Onesimus, has run away from his owner, Philemon. While a runaway, Onesimus encountered the Apostle Paul, who led him to salvation by Jesus. Paul is now sending Onesimus back to Philemon while pleading with Philemon to treat Onesimus as a Christian brother.
This letter, along with other writings of Paul in Ephesians 6:5-9, 1 Corinthians 7:20-23, and Titus 2:9-10, have been used by critics of the Bible to say that Scripture promotes slavery. Before digging into specifically what this book contains, I want to take a little space address this.
Notice that while Philemon is the focal recipient of the letter, it was actually meant for his family and his church as well. By sending a public letter, there would have been increased pressure on Philemon to comply with what Paul was asking. This should not necessarily be interpreted as to mean that Paul did not think he would listen; rather, it conveys the import of the situation both locally in their congregation and in setting a precedent and teaching a lesson to the church at large, by virtue of its inclusion within the canon of Scripture.
I love Paul's approach to Philemon in verses 8-9. He had the authority as an apostle to command Philemon to obey, but instead Paul chose to make a request of Philemon. Philemon thus has a higher responsibility and can receive a blessing from obedience. Whereas the Old Testament focused on commands to show people they were sinners, the New Testament largely emphasizes principles of conduct that actually set a higher bar through freedom. For example, the tithe of giving 10% of income was mandated in the Old Testament. The natural reaction of a God-fearing Jew would then be to give 10%. The New Testament isn't so concerned with specific amounts or percentages, but rather it focuses on giving as much as possible until everything is given. Consider the widow's mite (Mark 12:41-44). She gave her last little bit of money to God. The same principle of principles is at work here. Paul teaches Philemon about the love he should show for his new brother, Onesimus, and then lets him make the decision to do right (see especially verse 14).
The last thing I want us to focus on in the study of this book is in verses 15-16. Paul asked Philemon to consider that God may have used the sin of Onesimus (running away in disobedience) and the inconvenience it proved to Philemon to accomplish His will. It was through this that the Apostle Paul led Onesimus to salvation through Jesus. Now, there are three possibilities for Onesimus's exposure to the good news of Jesus at this point: Philemon had not told his slave about Jesus either because of laziness or pride, Philemon had told his slave about Jesus but Onesimus did not yet believe, or Onesimus had feigned belief in Jesus. There is no evidence for the last of those options, and it would seem that based on the unprofitability and lack of a spiritual relationship of Onesimus with the church, it should be ruled out. That leaves the first two. Regardless of which of these two options, it is clear that Onesimus was not being drawn to belief in Jesus living with Philemon. During his runaway episode, he encounters Paul (apparently by divine design) and accepts Jesus. What an amazing thing to see God use the sinful act of a sinful person to bring that very sinner to a saving knowledge of Jesus!
1. James S. Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity (Downers Grove, IL.: InterVarsity Press Academic, 1999), 220.
Applications:
Be forgiving and treat other believers in Jesus with a great magnitude of love. Do no judge fellow believers or prospective Christians (anyone not already a Christian) by their social status.
Thank God that He uses human failures to accomplish His good will. If He didn't, a great deal of good would have never been done!
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, 2 to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow
soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5 hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7 For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.
8 Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ— 10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, 11 who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. 12 I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, 13 whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. 14 But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. 15 For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. 18 But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. 20 Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord. 21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers. 25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
The premise for this book is that a slave, Onesimus, has run away from his owner, Philemon. While a runaway, Onesimus encountered the Apostle Paul, who led him to salvation by Jesus. Paul is now sending Onesimus back to Philemon while pleading with Philemon to treat Onesimus as a Christian brother.
This letter, along with other writings of Paul in Ephesians 6:5-9, 1 Corinthians 7:20-23, and Titus 2:9-10, have been used by critics of the Bible to say that Scripture promotes slavery. Before digging into specifically what this book contains, I want to take a little space address this.
- The first thing that we must be careful of is inserting our understanding of American racial slavery into the culture of the 1st Century A.D. in the Mediterranean region. While slavery is not a good situation regardless, slaves in this time and era were "people captured in war or their descendants, those sold into slavery to pay debts, those abandoned as infants and raised as slaves, and those captured by slavers."1 Slavery was actually a better outcome than the likely alternative to people in the first three of those situations (death / execution). Around the time of the writing of Philemon, slaves accounted for roughly 30% of the population of the Roman Empire. They served in roles in the household, agriculture, public works, and military, and they were treated from terrible to peers with princes.
- The second thing to note on the idea of slavery in the context of this book and the broader context of the New Testament is that the prescription of two-way respectable treatment between slaves and masters did not constitute a broad commendation of the institution of slavery. In each of the passages mentioned, Paul (by inspiration of the Holy Spirit) commands masters and slaves to operate with the proper societal respect for each other, treat Christian brothers and sisters with an even higher level of respect regardless of social status, and live in the relationship in obedience to the commands and life of Jesus Christ. While he did not outright condemn slavery (see #3 here), Paul did call for a significant modification to the behaviors within the institution by those who followed Jesus.
- Third, the New Testament is far more concerned with breaking the spiritual bonds of sin than the physical bonds present within a society. This should be noted as a strike against proponents of the "Social Gospel." Our calling in this life is to share the Gospel to see people saved and disciple those people, not the alleviation of suffering that is a direct/indirect consequence of sin. Is it not better to suffer for 70 years on Earth to see eternity of rest in Heaven than vice versa?
- Looking into 1 Timothy 1:10, we see a reference here to "kidnappers" in a list of sinful types of people. The underlying Greek term is a reference to slavers who would kidnap people into slavery. This is a condemnation of taking of slaves without any cause other than profit.
- A fourth thing to note is that Old Testament ideas of slavery hearken back to a different culture, situation, criteria, and dispensation; they should not be superimposed on the church in the New Testament.
Notice that while Philemon is the focal recipient of the letter, it was actually meant for his family and his church as well. By sending a public letter, there would have been increased pressure on Philemon to comply with what Paul was asking. This should not necessarily be interpreted as to mean that Paul did not think he would listen; rather, it conveys the import of the situation both locally in their congregation and in setting a precedent and teaching a lesson to the church at large, by virtue of its inclusion within the canon of Scripture.
I love Paul's approach to Philemon in verses 8-9. He had the authority as an apostle to command Philemon to obey, but instead Paul chose to make a request of Philemon. Philemon thus has a higher responsibility and can receive a blessing from obedience. Whereas the Old Testament focused on commands to show people they were sinners, the New Testament largely emphasizes principles of conduct that actually set a higher bar through freedom. For example, the tithe of giving 10% of income was mandated in the Old Testament. The natural reaction of a God-fearing Jew would then be to give 10%. The New Testament isn't so concerned with specific amounts or percentages, but rather it focuses on giving as much as possible until everything is given. Consider the widow's mite (Mark 12:41-44). She gave her last little bit of money to God. The same principle of principles is at work here. Paul teaches Philemon about the love he should show for his new brother, Onesimus, and then lets him make the decision to do right (see especially verse 14).
The last thing I want us to focus on in the study of this book is in verses 15-16. Paul asked Philemon to consider that God may have used the sin of Onesimus (running away in disobedience) and the inconvenience it proved to Philemon to accomplish His will. It was through this that the Apostle Paul led Onesimus to salvation through Jesus. Now, there are three possibilities for Onesimus's exposure to the good news of Jesus at this point: Philemon had not told his slave about Jesus either because of laziness or pride, Philemon had told his slave about Jesus but Onesimus did not yet believe, or Onesimus had feigned belief in Jesus. There is no evidence for the last of those options, and it would seem that based on the unprofitability and lack of a spiritual relationship of Onesimus with the church, it should be ruled out. That leaves the first two. Regardless of which of these two options, it is clear that Onesimus was not being drawn to belief in Jesus living with Philemon. During his runaway episode, he encounters Paul (apparently by divine design) and accepts Jesus. What an amazing thing to see God use the sinful act of a sinful person to bring that very sinner to a saving knowledge of Jesus!
1. James S. Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity (Downers Grove, IL.: InterVarsity Press Academic, 1999), 220.
Applications:
Be forgiving and treat other believers in Jesus with a great magnitude of love. Do no judge fellow believers or prospective Christians (anyone not already a Christian) by their social status.
Thank God that He uses human failures to accomplish His good will. If He didn't, a great deal of good would have never been done!
3/17/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Lamentations... A Model of Prayer in Times of Distress (Lamentations 5)
A Christian's Guide to Studying and Applying the Old Testament
Text: Lamentations 5 (NKJV)
1 Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us;
Look, and behold our reproach!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens,
And our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans and waifs,
Our mothers are like widows.
4 We pay for the water we drink,
And our wood comes at a price.
5 They pursue at our heels;
We labor and have no rest.
6 We have given our hand to the Egyptians
And the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
7 Our fathers sinned and are no more,
But we bear their iniquities.
8 Servants rule over us;
There is none to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives,
Because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
Because of the fever of famine.
11 They ravished the women in Zion,
The maidens in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung up by their hands,
And elders were not respected.
13 Young men ground at the millstones;
Boys staggered under loads of wood.
14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate,
And the young men from their music.
15 The joy of our heart has ceased;
Our dance has turned into mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our heart is faint;
Because of these things our eyes grow dim;
18 Because of Mount Zion which is desolate,
With foxes walking about on it.
19 You, O LORD, remain forever;
Your throne from generation to generation.
20 Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?
21 Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored;
Renew our days as of old,
22 Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
These 22 verses differ in meter and style from the previous sections of poetry. This is a prayer of the prophet, Jeremiah, to the Lord. As we consider that, we must remember that, at its core, prayer both teaches and has its basis in dependence on God. One of the most important things about prayer and reasons why God commands it for us (c.f. 1 Thessalonians 5:17) is that it is an act of total helplessness. When we call to God for help, we acknowledge that we need it. When we thank Him for who He is and what He has done, we acknowledge that He is God and alone is worthy of our prayers. Jeremiah here reflects the helplessness of man, specifically of the people of Judah / Jerusalem, with this prayer for mercy from God and His deliverance.
Considering the terms Jeremiah introduced the inhabitants of Jerusalem with at the start of the book ("great" and "princess"), we see just how far she has fallen. Now only a collection of slaves, they have lost everything. Hopelessness has caused them to turn to God for restoration. Verses 1 through the first half of 16 remind the people of their dire straits; however, a hopeful tone comes back to finish out the book in the latter half of verse 16.
By acknowledging their sin (verse 16), Judah shifts their paradigm. No longer are they living the high life on their own strength and that of their political allies; rather, they are broken before God. My mind turns to the well known story of the "Prodigal Son" in the New Testament. The story in Luke 15:11-32 tells of a privileged son who takes his inheritance while his father is healthy (I have always been amazed by the incredible lack of respect that shows, though the practice was not unheard of in that culture and time), spends it on a life of wanton partying, becomes slave to a pig farmer (pigs were an unclean animal to the Jews, so this is even worse than it sounds), remembers his father and home, returns home humbly, and his father restores him fully back into his role as son. Sound familiar? While the point of that parable was not identifying the nation of Israel with the prodigal son (in fact, the opposite), the principle from there was in full effect here- God wants to see His children restored to their right relationship with Him. He takes great joy in seeing them restored, and He completely forgets their past transgressions.
Jeremiah concludes the entire book of lamenting with a plea to God to forgive and restore His people. We know from history, that this prayer was answered.
What can we learn about praying to God from this passage? Anytime we see a prayer preserved in Scripture, we should not just learn from the content but also from the attitude and form. Jeremiah reflects on life's circumstances (verses 1-16), confesses sin guilt (verse 16), praises God (verse 19), and makes a straightforward request (verses 20-22).
Applications:
Take some time in prayer like Jeremiah:
Other Studies from Lamentations
Text: Lamentations 5 (NKJV)
1 Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us;
Look, and behold our reproach!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens,
And our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans and waifs,
Our mothers are like widows.
4 We pay for the water we drink,
And our wood comes at a price.
5 They pursue at our heels;
We labor and have no rest.
6 We have given our hand to the Egyptians
And the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
7 Our fathers sinned and are no more,
But we bear their iniquities.
8 Servants rule over us;
There is none to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives,
Because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
Because of the fever of famine.
11 They ravished the women in Zion,
The maidens in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung up by their hands,
And elders were not respected.
13 Young men ground at the millstones;
Boys staggered under loads of wood.
14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate,
And the young men from their music.
15 The joy of our heart has ceased;
Our dance has turned into mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our heart is faint;
Because of these things our eyes grow dim;
18 Because of Mount Zion which is desolate,
With foxes walking about on it.
19 You, O LORD, remain forever;
Your throne from generation to generation.
20 Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?
21 Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored;
Renew our days as of old,
22 Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
These 22 verses differ in meter and style from the previous sections of poetry. This is a prayer of the prophet, Jeremiah, to the Lord. As we consider that, we must remember that, at its core, prayer both teaches and has its basis in dependence on God. One of the most important things about prayer and reasons why God commands it for us (c.f. 1 Thessalonians 5:17) is that it is an act of total helplessness. When we call to God for help, we acknowledge that we need it. When we thank Him for who He is and what He has done, we acknowledge that He is God and alone is worthy of our prayers. Jeremiah here reflects the helplessness of man, specifically of the people of Judah / Jerusalem, with this prayer for mercy from God and His deliverance.
Considering the terms Jeremiah introduced the inhabitants of Jerusalem with at the start of the book ("great" and "princess"), we see just how far she has fallen. Now only a collection of slaves, they have lost everything. Hopelessness has caused them to turn to God for restoration. Verses 1 through the first half of 16 remind the people of their dire straits; however, a hopeful tone comes back to finish out the book in the latter half of verse 16.
By acknowledging their sin (verse 16), Judah shifts their paradigm. No longer are they living the high life on their own strength and that of their political allies; rather, they are broken before God. My mind turns to the well known story of the "Prodigal Son" in the New Testament. The story in Luke 15:11-32 tells of a privileged son who takes his inheritance while his father is healthy (I have always been amazed by the incredible lack of respect that shows, though the practice was not unheard of in that culture and time), spends it on a life of wanton partying, becomes slave to a pig farmer (pigs were an unclean animal to the Jews, so this is even worse than it sounds), remembers his father and home, returns home humbly, and his father restores him fully back into his role as son. Sound familiar? While the point of that parable was not identifying the nation of Israel with the prodigal son (in fact, the opposite), the principle from there was in full effect here- God wants to see His children restored to their right relationship with Him. He takes great joy in seeing them restored, and He completely forgets their past transgressions.
Jeremiah concludes the entire book of lamenting with a plea to God to forgive and restore His people. We know from history, that this prayer was answered.
What can we learn about praying to God from this passage? Anytime we see a prayer preserved in Scripture, we should not just learn from the content but also from the attitude and form. Jeremiah reflects on life's circumstances (verses 1-16), confesses sin guilt (verse 16), praises God (verse 19), and makes a straightforward request (verses 20-22).
Applications:
Take some time in prayer like Jeremiah:
- Talk about your life with God.Thank Him for what He has done and is doing in your Life. He already knows way more about your life than you do, yes; however, He is our Father and friend. He wants to share communication with you.
- Confess your sins. Confess specific sins. Generally admit that you are a sinner and have failed to meet His perfect standard (Romans 3:23).
- Praise God. Praise His character (who He is) and His acts (what He does).
- Make your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6).
Other Studies from Lamentations
3/16/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Lamentations... The Leaders' Fall (Lamentations 4)
A Christian's Guide to Studying and Applying the Old Testament
Text: Lamentations 4 (NKJV)
1 How the gold has become dim!
How changed the fine gold!
The stones of the sanctuary are scattered
At the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
Valuable as fine gold,
How they are regarded as clay pots,
The work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the jackals present their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people is cruel,
Like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
Embrace ash heaps.
6 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom,
Which was overthrown in a moment,
With no hand to help her!
7 Her Nazirites were brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their appearance.
8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.
9 Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of the compassionate women
Have cooked their own children;
They became food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The LORD has fulfilled His fury,
He has poured out His fierce anger.
He kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could enter the gates of Jerusalem—
13 Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
Who shed in her midst
The blood of the just.
14 They wandered blind in the streets;
They have defiled themselves with blood,
So that no one would touch their garments.
15 They cried out to them,
“Go away, unclean!
Go away, go away,
Do not touch us!”
When they fled and wandered,
Those among the nations said,
“They shall no longer dwell here.”
16 The face of the LORD scattered them;
He no longer regards them.
The people do not respect the priests
Nor show favor to the elders.
17 Still our eyes failed us,
Watching vainly for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save us.
18 They tracked our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near;
Our days were over,
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
Than the eagles of the heavens.
They pursued us on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD,
Was caught in their pits,
Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
You who dwell in the land of Uz!
The cup shall also pass over to you
And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
22 The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished,
O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer send you into captivity.
He will punish your iniquity,
O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins!
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This chapter of Jeremiah's lament takes a renewed focus on the suffering, however this time, this emphasis is on that of the political and spiritual leaders of Judah (especially see verse 5).
Note that in verse 6, Jeremiah observed how Jerusalem has suffered a fate worse than Sodom. Most people are familiar with the epic destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed in a storm of fire and brimstone. How could Jerusalem's fate be worse? Essentially, Jeremiah believed that the torturous nature of suffering separation from their God and slavery were worse than a quick death (see also verse 9). This verse is also closely tied with verse 5. Not only was the punishment of Jerusalem worse than that of Sodom, the sin being judged was also. Jerusalem, having a close relationship with the true God, had knowledge and experience with Him; thus, their betrayal is far greater than that of heathens doing what heathens do.
See in verses 12-13 that the Babylonians were only able to breach Jerusalem because God allowed it as a judgment of the sins of Judah.
During the siege, the people of Jerusalem came to a realization that another nation (Egypt) was not, and in fact could not, save them from judgment. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that, as a group, they realized they were being judged for sin and so only the Lord could save them. It was not until after the destruction of Jerusalem that the people of Judah, led by Godly prophets like Jeremiah, understood their sin against God and repented.
Finally, Judah's longtime enemy, Edom, will see judgment come to her in due time. Judah's restoration is prophesied as is Edom's downfall.
Applications:
Again, sin has consequences. They are severe. We might think that some human act can alleviate those consequences (and in some situations, they may relieve the consequences we see on Earth), but the reality is that only repenting of our sin to God and turning to Him for salvation will produce any lasting resolution to our sin problem.
Other Studies from Lamentations
Text: Lamentations 4 (NKJV)
1 How the gold has become dim!
How changed the fine gold!
The stones of the sanctuary are scattered
At the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
Valuable as fine gold,
How they are regarded as clay pots,
The work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the jackals present their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people is cruel,
Like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
Embrace ash heaps.
6 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom,
Which was overthrown in a moment,
With no hand to help her!
7 Her Nazirites were brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their appearance.
8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.
9 Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of the compassionate women
Have cooked their own children;
They became food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The LORD has fulfilled His fury,
He has poured out His fierce anger.
He kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could enter the gates of Jerusalem—
13 Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
Who shed in her midst
The blood of the just.
14 They wandered blind in the streets;
They have defiled themselves with blood,
So that no one would touch their garments.
15 They cried out to them,
“Go away, unclean!
Go away, go away,
Do not touch us!”
When they fled and wandered,
Those among the nations said,
“They shall no longer dwell here.”
16 The face of the LORD scattered them;
He no longer regards them.
The people do not respect the priests
Nor show favor to the elders.
17 Still our eyes failed us,
Watching vainly for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save us.
18 They tracked our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near;
Our days were over,
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
Than the eagles of the heavens.
They pursued us on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD,
Was caught in their pits,
Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
You who dwell in the land of Uz!
The cup shall also pass over to you
And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
22 The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished,
O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer send you into captivity.
He will punish your iniquity,
O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins!
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This chapter of Jeremiah's lament takes a renewed focus on the suffering, however this time, this emphasis is on that of the political and spiritual leaders of Judah (especially see verse 5).
Note that in verse 6, Jeremiah observed how Jerusalem has suffered a fate worse than Sodom. Most people are familiar with the epic destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed in a storm of fire and brimstone. How could Jerusalem's fate be worse? Essentially, Jeremiah believed that the torturous nature of suffering separation from their God and slavery were worse than a quick death (see also verse 9). This verse is also closely tied with verse 5. Not only was the punishment of Jerusalem worse than that of Sodom, the sin being judged was also. Jerusalem, having a close relationship with the true God, had knowledge and experience with Him; thus, their betrayal is far greater than that of heathens doing what heathens do.
See in verses 12-13 that the Babylonians were only able to breach Jerusalem because God allowed it as a judgment of the sins of Judah.
During the siege, the people of Jerusalem came to a realization that another nation (Egypt) was not, and in fact could not, save them from judgment. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that, as a group, they realized they were being judged for sin and so only the Lord could save them. It was not until after the destruction of Jerusalem that the people of Judah, led by Godly prophets like Jeremiah, understood their sin against God and repented.
Finally, Judah's longtime enemy, Edom, will see judgment come to her in due time. Judah's restoration is prophesied as is Edom's downfall.
Applications:
Again, sin has consequences. They are severe. We might think that some human act can alleviate those consequences (and in some situations, they may relieve the consequences we see on Earth), but the reality is that only repenting of our sin to God and turning to Him for salvation will produce any lasting resolution to our sin problem.
Other Studies from Lamentations
Monday, March 14, 2011
3/14/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Lamentations... Hope Based on God, Part 2 (Lamentations 3:37-66)
A Christian's Guide to Studying and Applying the Old Testament
Text: Lamentations 3:37-66 (NKJV)
37 Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass,
When the Lord has not commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That woe and well-being proceed?
39 Why should a living man complain,
A man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
And turn back to the LORD;
41 Let us lift our hearts and hands
To God in heaven.
42 We have transgressed and rebelled;
You have not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with anger
And pursued us;
You have slain and not pitied.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud,
That prayer should not pass through.
45 You have made us an offscouring and refuse
In the midst of the peoples.
46 All our enemies
Have opened their mouths against us.
47 Fear and a snare have come upon us,
Desolation and destruction.
48 My eyes overflow with rivers of water
For the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes flow and do not cease,
Without interruption,
50 Till the LORD from heaven
Looks down and sees.
51 My eyes bring suffering to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies without cause
Hunted me down like a bird.
53 They silenced my life in the pit
And threw stones at me.
54 The waters flowed over my head;
I said, “I am cut off!”
55 I called on Your name, O LORD,
From the lowest pit.
56 You have heard my voice:
“Do not hide Your ear
From my sighing, from my cry for help.”
57 You drew near on the day I called on You,
And said, “Do not fear!”
58 O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul;
You have redeemed my life.
59 O LORD, You have seen how I am wronged;
Judge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their schemes against me.
61 You have heard their reproach, O LORD,
All their schemes against me,
62 The lips of my enemies
And their whispering against me all the day.
63 Look at their sitting down and their rising up;
I am their taunting song.
64 Repay them, O LORD,
According to the work of their hands.
65 Give them a veiled heart;
Your curse be upon them!
66 In Your anger,
Pursue and destroy them
From under the heavens of the LORD.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This passage is so dense with theology and neat things to learn, I am going to take a more systematic approach to it today.
Verse 37: Man cannot do anything without permission from God. Conversely, when He declares that something is to be a certain way, man cannot stop God. As I cannot go out and stop an earthquake in progress, God is all-powerful.
Verse 38: The things that we perceive as bad are permitted by God, and in some cases, directly sent by God. As the destruction of Jerusalem, God does use bad things to judge people. Since before man sinned there was no death or such badness, the antecedent to anything we perceive as bad is actually human sin.
Verse 39: As long as we exist (thus a logical "always"), we have no right to complain about the punishment for our sins. As a guilty murderer should have no right to oppose imprisonment, we have no right to complain about judgment for sins.
Verses 40-41: This is repentance in the general sense- turning our minds from our sinful ways and to God.
Verse 42: Here we go- confession. Taking responsibility for our actions and admitting guilt. Essentially, entering a "Guilty" plea before God, the Judge of the Universe.
Verse 45: As refuse (trash/sewage) and an imperfect part rejected, so was Judah in the Middle East. What a role reversal, from special treatment as God's chosen people to a pile of rejects. Still, there is hope in the promises of God for these people to be restored to their former place, although they were still technically God's chosen people.
Verses 55-57: God hears the prophet's prayers and brings comfort to Him. We should not sit around praying and listening for an audible reply from God (as we do not have that sort of communication as the Old Testament prophets); however, we should pray diligently. That is a key here. Jeremiah talks for verses, and really chapters, about pouring his heart out to God, yet it is not until here that God replies. It is not until Jeremiah is in that lowest pit that God replies to show Himself the most mighty in rescuing Him. This is not cruel, as one might perceive, as Jeremiah is only there because of sin. Essentially, he (and Judah) was digging his own pit.
Verses 58-59: I believe that this is a reflection of the plurality of the personhood of God. Not necessarily the Trinity revealed yet, but evidence that God is one with separate, distinct persons. Let's look to the New Testament to help understand what I am saying. First, we accept that God the Father is the judge. Would the judge fight for the cause of the defendant? No. I believe that this is a glimpse of Jesus (God the Son) as seen in Hebrews 7:25. He is out intercessor as High Priest before God the Father as Judge. This passage does not exclude the idea of the Holy Spirit, who based on New Testament revelation, does play a role in this situation. Romans 8:26-27 show that the Holy Spirit also intercedes for the believer through prayer. Further picturing Jesus, Jeremiah stated that this intercessor redeemed his sole (i.e. paid the price for it). From the New Testament, we know that Jesus's relationship far transcends that of a defense attorney as He substituted Himself for us in judgment so that we could be redeemed.
Applications:
Understand that all bad things you experience in life are a result, however direct or indirect, to our sin. Each time you find something frustrating or hurting you, it should cause you to reflect on your sinfulness.
Thank God that He is both a fair judge and the loving God who paid for the redemption of your soul!
Accept Jesus as your intercessor before God the Father as Judge. In other words, accept His free gift of redemption and worship Him as your Savior.
Other Studies from Lamentations
Text: Lamentations 3:37-66 (NKJV)
37 Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass,
When the Lord has not commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That woe and well-being proceed?
39 Why should a living man complain,
A man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
And turn back to the LORD;
41 Let us lift our hearts and hands
To God in heaven.
42 We have transgressed and rebelled;
You have not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with anger
And pursued us;
You have slain and not pitied.
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud,
That prayer should not pass through.
45 You have made us an offscouring and refuse
In the midst of the peoples.
46 All our enemies
Have opened their mouths against us.
47 Fear and a snare have come upon us,
Desolation and destruction.
48 My eyes overflow with rivers of water
For the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes flow and do not cease,
Without interruption,
50 Till the LORD from heaven
Looks down and sees.
51 My eyes bring suffering to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies without cause
Hunted me down like a bird.
53 They silenced my life in the pit
And threw stones at me.
54 The waters flowed over my head;
I said, “I am cut off!”
55 I called on Your name, O LORD,
From the lowest pit.
56 You have heard my voice:
“Do not hide Your ear
From my sighing, from my cry for help.”
57 You drew near on the day I called on You,
And said, “Do not fear!”
58 O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul;
You have redeemed my life.
59 O LORD, You have seen how I am wronged;
Judge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their schemes against me.
61 You have heard their reproach, O LORD,
All their schemes against me,
62 The lips of my enemies
And their whispering against me all the day.
63 Look at their sitting down and their rising up;
I am their taunting song.
64 Repay them, O LORD,
According to the work of their hands.
65 Give them a veiled heart;
Your curse be upon them!
66 In Your anger,
Pursue and destroy them
From under the heavens of the LORD.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This passage is so dense with theology and neat things to learn, I am going to take a more systematic approach to it today.
Verse 37: Man cannot do anything without permission from God. Conversely, when He declares that something is to be a certain way, man cannot stop God. As I cannot go out and stop an earthquake in progress, God is all-powerful.
Verse 38: The things that we perceive as bad are permitted by God, and in some cases, directly sent by God. As the destruction of Jerusalem, God does use bad things to judge people. Since before man sinned there was no death or such badness, the antecedent to anything we perceive as bad is actually human sin.
Verse 39: As long as we exist (thus a logical "always"), we have no right to complain about the punishment for our sins. As a guilty murderer should have no right to oppose imprisonment, we have no right to complain about judgment for sins.
Verses 40-41: This is repentance in the general sense- turning our minds from our sinful ways and to God.
Verse 42: Here we go- confession. Taking responsibility for our actions and admitting guilt. Essentially, entering a "Guilty" plea before God, the Judge of the Universe.
Verse 45: As refuse (trash/sewage) and an imperfect part rejected, so was Judah in the Middle East. What a role reversal, from special treatment as God's chosen people to a pile of rejects. Still, there is hope in the promises of God for these people to be restored to their former place, although they were still technically God's chosen people.
Verses 55-57: God hears the prophet's prayers and brings comfort to Him. We should not sit around praying and listening for an audible reply from God (as we do not have that sort of communication as the Old Testament prophets); however, we should pray diligently. That is a key here. Jeremiah talks for verses, and really chapters, about pouring his heart out to God, yet it is not until here that God replies. It is not until Jeremiah is in that lowest pit that God replies to show Himself the most mighty in rescuing Him. This is not cruel, as one might perceive, as Jeremiah is only there because of sin. Essentially, he (and Judah) was digging his own pit.
Verses 58-59: I believe that this is a reflection of the plurality of the personhood of God. Not necessarily the Trinity revealed yet, but evidence that God is one with separate, distinct persons. Let's look to the New Testament to help understand what I am saying. First, we accept that God the Father is the judge. Would the judge fight for the cause of the defendant? No. I believe that this is a glimpse of Jesus (God the Son) as seen in Hebrews 7:25. He is out intercessor as High Priest before God the Father as Judge. This passage does not exclude the idea of the Holy Spirit, who based on New Testament revelation, does play a role in this situation. Romans 8:26-27 show that the Holy Spirit also intercedes for the believer through prayer. Further picturing Jesus, Jeremiah stated that this intercessor redeemed his sole (i.e. paid the price for it). From the New Testament, we know that Jesus's relationship far transcends that of a defense attorney as He substituted Himself for us in judgment so that we could be redeemed.
Applications:
Understand that all bad things you experience in life are a result, however direct or indirect, to our sin. Each time you find something frustrating or hurting you, it should cause you to reflect on your sinfulness.
Thank God that He is both a fair judge and the loving God who paid for the redemption of your soul!
Accept Jesus as your intercessor before God the Father as Judge. In other words, accept His free gift of redemption and worship Him as your Savior.
Other Studies from Lamentations
Saturday, March 12, 2011
3/13/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Lamentations... Hope Based on God, Part 1 (Lamentations 3:1-36)
A Christian's Guide to Studying and Applying the Old Testament
Text: Lamentations 3:1-36 (NKJV)
1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
2 He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.
3 Surely He has turned His hand against me
Time and time again throughout the day.
4 He has aged my flesh and my skin,
And broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me
And surrounded me with bitterness and woe.
6 He has set me in dark places
Like the dead of long ago.
7 He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out;
He has made my chain heavy.
8 Even when I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer.
9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
10 He has been to me a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in ambush.
11 He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate.
12 He has bent His bow
And set me up as a target for the arrow.
13 He has caused the arrows of His quiver
To pierce my loins.
14 I have become the ridicule of all my people—
Their taunting song all the day.
15 He has filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drink wormwood.
16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel,
And covered me with ashes.
17 You have moved my soul far from peace;
I have forgotten prosperity.
18 And I said, “My strength and my hope
Have perished from the LORD.”
19 Remember my affliction and roaming,
The wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul still remembers
And sinks within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I 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 hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him;
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—
There may yet be hope.
30 Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
And be full of reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32 Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
33 For He does not afflict willingly,
Nor grieve the children of men.
34 To crush under one’s feet
All the prisoners of the earth,
35 To turn aside the justice due a man
Before the face of the Most High,
36 Or subvert a man in his cause—
The Lord does not approve.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
The first thing that we need to understand in this chapter about hope that exists amidst all of this doom and gloom is that it really has little to nothing to do with the people of Jerusalem but has everything to do with God. Remember that this punishment is administered by a good, righteous God on a rebellious, sinful people.
The lament continues early in the chapter. Verses 1-18 remind us of how bad things were; however, verse 7 really hits at the depth of it. I don't know about you, but the worst feeling for me is that of hopelessness. When I was in the Army, there was no escape. You don't like your job, so you quit. Oh, you might feel a little captive to supporting your lifestyle, but you can just quit. Not so for me when I was in the Army. Call it a little too much job security, if you will. You find yourself trapped. There is no out. That is the feeling of the prophet and the inhabitants of Jerusalem here. Notice though that it is God who trapped them in this dire situation. Now, you might be thinking- "Ok, all the punishment- I get. But now He is just being cruel, toying with these people like a cat with a mouse." I think, however, that in the context of what has happened this is not the case; in fact, I believe that this verse is essential to us understanding the concept of hope here.
Ah ha! I now have you totally confused. Let's break it down though. The people of Judah found themselves in this situation because they trusted in their "lovers" (chapter 1) and their gods to protect them, rather than the one true God. Israel then tried to free herself from the situation, struggling against the Babylonians like the 105-lb. band kid forced to wrestled the 165-lb. wrestler in PE. They were pinned with no human hope of successful escape. Really, what was the problem through all of this? Israel failed to remember that God was their hope and shield. Who needs the support of the Egyptian military (ironic a bit if know much about the Old Testament) when you have the Almighty God who simply speaks the destruction of your enemies and they are gone? At every interval in Israel's history prior to this, they should have seen the hand of God guiding and protecting them. Still, they ignored that and did not trust in Him. By firmly trapping the people of Judah in an intractable situation, God was able to show Himself mighty to His people and remind them of their reliance on Him. The pattern of the Hebrew people is that they turn from God, experience judgment at the hands of their neighbors, turn back to God, and He takes them back in to restore them to their former glory. What a forgiving God He is! This most troubling situation (trapped with no way out) was really a sign of God's coming intervention for His people.
Now, let's look at verses 20-21. Referencing back to verse 18, Jeremiah recalls that His hope is in the Lord and so his soul bows deferentially to God. This is the product that God was looking for in His people. "Therefore" in verse 21 appropriately renders this strongly inferential statement, teaching us that because God alone can help, I have hope.
Verses 22 and 23 are the pivot point of the book and are the most well known from it. In the midst of this turmoil and despair, we see that God is compassionate and faithful. This may seem contradictory, but it is not. God is a fair judge, so He will execute such upon sinners; however, He is a loving and merciful God, so He wants to forgive and save.
Verse 26 is a spot in which the Christian must be careful. Far too often, this verse is pirated from its actual meaning to support a separate, New Testament idea. The salvation referenced here is not one of eternal salvation, rather is is rescue from trial. In the midst of these trials, the prophet encouraged the people of Judah to seek God patiently (verse 25) and to hope and wait quietly (verse 26) for God to rescue them. Our avenue to eternal salvation is not simply sitting around waiting quietly (nor is it working hard for it); rather, it is solely through faith by the grace of Jesus Christ. This selection understood in its immediate context is based on God's faithfulness. Basically, He is faithful, so they needed to turn to Him and wait (rather than trusting in our own strength or that of "friends" as got them into this mess).
Verse 32 is a powerful verse from a theological perspective, because we see the balance of God's attributes. In people, we have many characteristics that make us up, but we are very imbalanced. As I referenced earlier, God is a fair judge who therefore must pronounce harsh judgment, but He is loving and compassionate. Here we see the balanced mix of the two seemingly exclusionary characteristics.
The last thing that I want to point out is that God does not execute this judgment like humans often do. Verse 33 literally renders "from the heart." In other words, He takes no joy in it. From a New Testament reference (2 Peter 3:9), we know that He wishes everyone to know Him and have eternal life, wishing no one to experience spiritual death.
Applications:
Trust in God, because He is compassionate and faithful. He is the object of our hope. As New Testament Christians, we understand that this hope is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ who gives us the firm hope of eternal life.
Trust in God patiently through trials and afflictions. Seek Him through prayer and Bible study, and then trust that He will work things out best for His kingdom. Remember that He loves and cares for you.
Praise God for His compassion, faithfulness, patience, and mercy. He could certainly cause everyone to cease their existence in a nanosecond and do so justly, but He does not. Thank you Lord!
Other Studies from Lamentations
Text: Lamentations 3:1-36 (NKJV)
1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
2 He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.
3 Surely He has turned His hand against me
Time and time again throughout the day.
4 He has aged my flesh and my skin,
And broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me
And surrounded me with bitterness and woe.
6 He has set me in dark places
Like the dead of long ago.
7 He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out;
He has made my chain heavy.
8 Even when I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer.
9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
10 He has been to me a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in ambush.
11 He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate.
12 He has bent His bow
And set me up as a target for the arrow.
13 He has caused the arrows of His quiver
To pierce my loins.
14 I have become the ridicule of all my people—
Their taunting song all the day.
15 He has filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drink wormwood.
16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel,
And covered me with ashes.
17 You have moved my soul far from peace;
I have forgotten prosperity.
18 And I said, “My strength and my hope
Have perished from the LORD.”
19 Remember my affliction and roaming,
The wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul still remembers
And sinks within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I 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 hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him;
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—
There may yet be hope.
30 Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
And be full of reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32 Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
33 For He does not afflict willingly,
Nor grieve the children of men.
34 To crush under one’s feet
All the prisoners of the earth,
35 To turn aside the justice due a man
Before the face of the Most High,
36 Or subvert a man in his cause—
The Lord does not approve.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
The first thing that we need to understand in this chapter about hope that exists amidst all of this doom and gloom is that it really has little to nothing to do with the people of Jerusalem but has everything to do with God. Remember that this punishment is administered by a good, righteous God on a rebellious, sinful people.
The lament continues early in the chapter. Verses 1-18 remind us of how bad things were; however, verse 7 really hits at the depth of it. I don't know about you, but the worst feeling for me is that of hopelessness. When I was in the Army, there was no escape. You don't like your job, so you quit. Oh, you might feel a little captive to supporting your lifestyle, but you can just quit. Not so for me when I was in the Army. Call it a little too much job security, if you will. You find yourself trapped. There is no out. That is the feeling of the prophet and the inhabitants of Jerusalem here. Notice though that it is God who trapped them in this dire situation. Now, you might be thinking- "Ok, all the punishment- I get. But now He is just being cruel, toying with these people like a cat with a mouse." I think, however, that in the context of what has happened this is not the case; in fact, I believe that this verse is essential to us understanding the concept of hope here.
Ah ha! I now have you totally confused. Let's break it down though. The people of Judah found themselves in this situation because they trusted in their "lovers" (chapter 1) and their gods to protect them, rather than the one true God. Israel then tried to free herself from the situation, struggling against the Babylonians like the 105-lb. band kid forced to wrestled the 165-lb. wrestler in PE. They were pinned with no human hope of successful escape. Really, what was the problem through all of this? Israel failed to remember that God was their hope and shield. Who needs the support of the Egyptian military (ironic a bit if know much about the Old Testament) when you have the Almighty God who simply speaks the destruction of your enemies and they are gone? At every interval in Israel's history prior to this, they should have seen the hand of God guiding and protecting them. Still, they ignored that and did not trust in Him. By firmly trapping the people of Judah in an intractable situation, God was able to show Himself mighty to His people and remind them of their reliance on Him. The pattern of the Hebrew people is that they turn from God, experience judgment at the hands of their neighbors, turn back to God, and He takes them back in to restore them to their former glory. What a forgiving God He is! This most troubling situation (trapped with no way out) was really a sign of God's coming intervention for His people.
Now, let's look at verses 20-21. Referencing back to verse 18, Jeremiah recalls that His hope is in the Lord and so his soul bows deferentially to God. This is the product that God was looking for in His people. "Therefore" in verse 21 appropriately renders this strongly inferential statement, teaching us that because God alone can help, I have hope.
Verses 22 and 23 are the pivot point of the book and are the most well known from it. In the midst of this turmoil and despair, we see that God is compassionate and faithful. This may seem contradictory, but it is not. God is a fair judge, so He will execute such upon sinners; however, He is a loving and merciful God, so He wants to forgive and save.
Verse 26 is a spot in which the Christian must be careful. Far too often, this verse is pirated from its actual meaning to support a separate, New Testament idea. The salvation referenced here is not one of eternal salvation, rather is is rescue from trial. In the midst of these trials, the prophet encouraged the people of Judah to seek God patiently (verse 25) and to hope and wait quietly (verse 26) for God to rescue them. Our avenue to eternal salvation is not simply sitting around waiting quietly (nor is it working hard for it); rather, it is solely through faith by the grace of Jesus Christ. This selection understood in its immediate context is based on God's faithfulness. Basically, He is faithful, so they needed to turn to Him and wait (rather than trusting in our own strength or that of "friends" as got them into this mess).
Verse 32 is a powerful verse from a theological perspective, because we see the balance of God's attributes. In people, we have many characteristics that make us up, but we are very imbalanced. As I referenced earlier, God is a fair judge who therefore must pronounce harsh judgment, but He is loving and compassionate. Here we see the balanced mix of the two seemingly exclusionary characteristics.
The last thing that I want to point out is that God does not execute this judgment like humans often do. Verse 33 literally renders "from the heart." In other words, He takes no joy in it. From a New Testament reference (2 Peter 3:9), we know that He wishes everyone to know Him and have eternal life, wishing no one to experience spiritual death.
Applications:
Trust in God, because He is compassionate and faithful. He is the object of our hope. As New Testament Christians, we understand that this hope is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ who gives us the firm hope of eternal life.
Trust in God patiently through trials and afflictions. Seek Him through prayer and Bible study, and then trust that He will work things out best for His kingdom. Remember that He loves and cares for you.
Praise God for His compassion, faithfulness, patience, and mercy. He could certainly cause everyone to cease their existence in a nanosecond and do so justly, but He does not. Thank you Lord!
Other Studies from Lamentations
Pardon the Clutter: Redux
As I said in the first week after I started this blog, sorry about the clutter. Unfortunately, this platform doesn't allow me to hide posts. Since I have to create some navigation posts for a new application of this blog, these Bible reading schedules will be clogging my "Home" page here for a little bit. Please continue to check in for devotional enrichment, but if you can't easily find what you are looking for because of the clutter, I would suggest using the "Devotional Thoughts Master Page" to locate it.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 14
Sunday (Day 92): Romans 10
Monday (Day 93): Romans 11
Tuesday (Day 94): Romans 12-13
Wednesday (Day 95): Romans 14
Thursday (Day 96): Romans 15
Friday (Day 97): Romans 16
Saturday (Day 98): Mark 1
Monday (Day 93): Romans 11
Tuesday (Day 94): Romans 12-13
Wednesday (Day 95): Romans 14
Thursday (Day 96): Romans 15
Friday (Day 97): Romans 16
Saturday (Day 98): Mark 1
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 13
Sunday (Day 85): Romans 2 (insert: Romans 2:1-11 and Romans 2:12-16)
Monday (Day 86): Romans 3
Tuesday (Day 87): Romans 4
Wednesday (Day 88): Romans 5-6
Thursday (Day 89): Romans 7
Friday (Day 90): Romans 8
Saturday (Day 91): Romans 9
Monday (Day 86): Romans 3
Tuesday (Day 87): Romans 4
Wednesday (Day 88): Romans 5-6
Thursday (Day 89): Romans 7
Friday (Day 90): Romans 8
Saturday (Day 91): Romans 9
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 12
Sunday (Day 78): Matthew 24
Monday (Day 79): Matthew 25
Tuesday (Day 80): Matthew 26
Wednesday (Day 81): Matthew 27
Thursday (Day 82): Matthew 28
Friday (Day 83): Romans 1:1-15 (insert: Romans 1:1-7 and Romans 1:8-15 )
Saturday (Day 84): Romans 1:16-32 (insert: Romans 1:16-17 and Romans 1:28-32)
Monday (Day 79): Matthew 25
Tuesday (Day 80): Matthew 26
Wednesday (Day 81): Matthew 27
Thursday (Day 82): Matthew 28
Friday (Day 83): Romans 1:1-15 (insert: Romans 1:1-7 and Romans 1:8-15 )
Saturday (Day 84): Romans 1:16-32 (insert: Romans 1:16-17 and Romans 1:28-32)
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 11
Sunday (Day 71): Matthew 17
Monday (Day 72): Matthew 18
Tuesday (Day 73): Matthew 19
Wednesday (Day 74): Matthew 20
Thursday (Day 75): Matthew 21
Friday (Day 76): Matthew 22
Saturday (Day 77): Matthew 23
Monday (Day 72): Matthew 18
Tuesday (Day 73): Matthew 19
Wednesday (Day 74): Matthew 20
Thursday (Day 75): Matthew 21
Friday (Day 76): Matthew 22
Saturday (Day 77): Matthew 23
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 10
Sunday (Day 64): Matthew 10
Monday (Day 65): Matthew 11
Tuesday (Day 66): Matthew 12
Wednesday (Day 67): Matthew 13 (insert: Matthew 13:24-30)
Thursday (Day 68): Matthew 14
Friday (Day 69): Matthew 15
Saturday (Day 70): Matthew 16
Monday (Day 65): Matthew 11
Tuesday (Day 66): Matthew 12
Wednesday (Day 67): Matthew 13 (insert: Matthew 13:24-30)
Thursday (Day 68): Matthew 14
Friday (Day 69): Matthew 15
Saturday (Day 70): Matthew 16
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 9
Sunday (Day 57): Matthew 1-2
Monday (Day 58): Matthew 3-4
Tuesday (Day 59): Matthew 5
Wednesday (Day 60): Matthew 6
Thursday (Day 61): Matthew 7 (insert: Matthew 7:24-27)
Friday (Day 62): Matthew 8
Saturday (Day 63): Matthew 9 (insert: Matthew 9:14-17)
Monday (Day 58): Matthew 3-4
Tuesday (Day 59): Matthew 5
Wednesday (Day 60): Matthew 6
Thursday (Day 61): Matthew 7 (insert: Matthew 7:24-27)
Friday (Day 62): Matthew 8
Saturday (Day 63): Matthew 9 (insert: Matthew 9:14-17)
Friday, March 11, 2011
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 8
Sunday (Day 50): Acts 22
Monday (Day 51): Acts 23
Tuesday (Day 52): Acts 24
Wednesday (Day 53): Acts 25
Thursday (Day 54): Acts 26
Friday (Day 55): Acts 27
Saturday (Day 56): Acts 28
Monday (Day 51): Acts 23
Tuesday (Day 52): Acts 24
Wednesday (Day 53): Acts 25
Thursday (Day 54): Acts 26
Friday (Day 55): Acts 27
Saturday (Day 56): Acts 28
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 7
Sunday (Day 43): Acts 15
Monday (Day 44): Acts 16
Tuesday (Day 45): Acts 17
Wednesday (Day 46): Acts 18 (insert: Acts 18:24-28)
Thursday (Day 47): Acts 19
Friday (Day 48): Acts 20
Saturday (Day 49): Acts 21
Monday (Day 44): Acts 16
Tuesday (Day 45): Acts 17
Wednesday (Day 46): Acts 18 (insert: Acts 18:24-28)
Thursday (Day 47): Acts 19
Friday (Day 48): Acts 20
Saturday (Day 49): Acts 21
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 6
Sunday (Day 36): Acts 8
Monday (Day 37): Acts 9
Tuesday (Day 38): Acts 10
Wednesday (Day 39): Acts 11
Thursday (Day 40): Acts 12
Friday (Day 41): Acts 13
Saturday (Day 42): Acts 14
Monday (Day 37): Acts 9
Tuesday (Day 38): Acts 10
Wednesday (Day 39): Acts 11
Thursday (Day 40): Acts 12
Friday (Day 41): Acts 13
Saturday (Day 42): Acts 14
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 5
Sunday (Day 29): John 21
Monday (Day 30): Acts 1
Tuesday (Day 31): Acts 2
Wednesday (Day 32): Acts 3
Thursday (Day 33): Acts 4
Friday (Day 34): Acts 5
Saturday (Day 35): Acts 6-7
Monday (Day 30): Acts 1
Tuesday (Day 31): Acts 2
Wednesday (Day 32): Acts 3
Thursday (Day 33): Acts 4
Friday (Day 34): Acts 5
Saturday (Day 35): Acts 6-7
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 4
Sunday (Day 22): John 14
Monday (Day 23): John 15
Tuesday (Day 24): John 16
Wednesday (Day 25): John 17
Thursday (Day 26): John 18
Friday (Day 27): John 19
Saturday (Day 28): John 20
Monday (Day 23): John 15
Tuesday (Day 24): John 16
Wednesday (Day 25): John 17
Thursday (Day 26): John 18
Friday (Day 27): John 19
Saturday (Day 28): John 20
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 3
Sunday (Day 15): John 7
Monday (Day 16): John 8
Tuesday (Day 17): John 9
Wednesday (Day 18): John 10
Thursday (Day 19): John 11
Friday (Day 20): John 12
Saturday (Day 21): John 13
Monday (Day 16): John 8
Tuesday (Day 17): John 9
Wednesday (Day 18): John 10
Thursday (Day 19): John 11
Friday (Day 20): John 12
Saturday (Day 21): John 13
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 2
Sunday (Day 8): John 3:22-36
Monday (Day 9): John 4:1-26
Tuesday (Day 10): John 4:27-38
Wednesday (Day 11): John 4:39-42
Thursday (Day 12): John 4:43-54
Friday (Day 13): John 5
Saturday (Day 14): John 6
Monday (Day 9): John 4:1-26
Tuesday (Day 10): John 4:27-38
Wednesday (Day 11): John 4:39-42
Thursday (Day 12): John 4:43-54
Friday (Day 13): John 5
Saturday (Day 14): John 6
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide: Week 1
Sunday (Day 1): John 1:1-5
Monday (Day 2): John 1:6-18
Tuesday (Day 3): John 1:19-34
Wednesday (Day 4): John 1:35-51
Thursday (Day 5): John 2:1-12
Friday (Day 6): John 2:13-25
Saturday (Day 7): John 3:1-21
Monday (Day 2): John 1:6-18
Tuesday (Day 3): John 1:19-34
Wednesday (Day 4): John 1:35-51
Thursday (Day 5): John 2:1-12
Friday (Day 6): John 2:13-25
Saturday (Day 7): John 3:1-21
Discipleship Bible Reading Guide
Thank you for choosing to study through the New Testament with us here at North Hills Baptist Church! You will find that some days have a blog post that is hopefully enriching to your study, but other days you simply have a chapter or two selected to read on your own.
If you find that you miss a day, I would suggest trying to make it up the next day so that you don't fall behind. If you happen to get off by a significant amount, go ahead and pick up where ever you left off. There's no time like the present!
If you find that you miss a day, I would suggest trying to make it up the next day so that you don't fall behind. If you happen to get off by a significant amount, go ahead and pick up where ever you left off. There's no time like the present!
3/11/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Lamentations... God's Anger with Jerusalem for Sin (Lamentations 2)
A Christian's Guide to Studying and Applying the Old Testament
Text: Lamentations 2 (NKJV)
1 How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion
With a cloud in His anger!
He cast down from heaven to the earth
The beauty of Israel,
And did not remember His footstool
In the day of His anger.
2 The Lord has swallowed up and has not pitied
All the dwelling places of Jacob.
He has thrown down in His wrath
The strongholds of the daughter of Judah;
He has brought them down to the ground;
He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
3 He has cut off in fierce anger
Every horn of Israel;
He has drawn back His right hand
From before the enemy.
He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire
Devouring all around.
4 Standing like an enemy, He has bent His bow;
With His right hand, like an adversary,
He has slain all who were pleasing to His eye;
On the tent of the daughter of Zion,
He has poured out His fury like fire.
5 The Lord was like an enemy.
He has swallowed up Israel,
He has swallowed up all her palaces;
He has destroyed her strongholds,
And has increased mourning and lamentation
In the daughter of Judah.
6 He has done violence to His tabernacle,
As if it were a garden;
He has destroyed His place of assembly;
The LORD has caused
The appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion.
In His burning indignation He has spurned the king and the priest.
7 The Lord has spurned His altar,
He has abandoned His sanctuary;
He has given up the walls of her palaces
Into the hand of the enemy.
They have made a noise in the house of the LORD
As on the day of a set feast.
8 The LORD has purposed to destroy
The wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has stretched out a line;
He has not withdrawn His hand from destroying;
Therefore He has caused the rampart and wall to lament;
They languished together.
9 Her gates have sunk into the ground;
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her princes are among the nations;
The Law is no more,
And her prophets find no vision from the LORD.
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
Sit on the ground and keep silence;
They throw dust on their heads
And gird themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Bow their heads to the ground.
11 My eyes fail with tears,
My heart is troubled;
My bile is poured on the ground
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
Because the children and the infants
Faint in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and wine?”
As they swoon like the wounded
In the streets of the city,
As their life is poured out
In their mothers’ bosom.
13 How shall I console you?
To what shall I liken you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What shall I compare with you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is spread wide as the sea;
Who can heal you?
14 Your prophets have seen for you
False and deceptive visions;
They have not uncovered your iniquity,
To bring back your captives,
But have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.
15 All who pass by clap their hands at you;
They hiss and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that is called
‘The perfection of beauty,
The joy of the whole earth’?”
16 All your enemies have opened their mouth against you;
They hiss and gnash their teeth.
They say, “We have swallowed her up!
Surely this is the day we have waited for;
We have found it, we have seen it!”
17 The LORD has done what He purposed;
He has fulfilled His word
Which He commanded in days of old.
He has thrown down and has not pitied,
And He has caused an enemy to rejoice over you;
He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.
18 Their heart cried out to the Lord,
“O wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let tears run down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief;
Give your eyes no rest.
19 “Arise, cry out in the night,
At the beginning of the watches;
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.
Lift your hands toward Him
For the life of your young children,
Who faint from hunger at the head of every street.”
20 “See, O LORD, and consider!
To whom have You done this?
Should the women eat their offspring,
The children they have cuddled?
Should the priest and prophet be slain
In the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 “Young and old lie
On the ground in the streets;
My virgins and my young men
Have fallen by the sword;
You have slain them in the day of Your anger,
You have slaughtered and not pitied.
22 “You have invited as to a feast day
The terrors that surround me.
In the day of the LORD’s anger
There was no refugee or survivor.
Those whom I have borne and brought up
My enemies have destroyed.”
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
In verse 3, the term "horn" is used often by Jewish authors to represent power, strength, or even leaders. Jacob was a forefather and namesake of the Israelite nation (his name was changed from Jacob to Israel), and the use of his name is representative of the nation. What a fearful place to be- facing such an onslaught of God in "flaming fire" (as opposed to coals or an underlying hot spot in a forest fire).
Verses 6-7 show us that God's destruction of Jerusalem was so complete that He even saw to destroying His place of worship. This was fitting as Judah had failed to worship Him properly and had added the worship of false gods.
Throughout this chapter, we see that God uses the ungodly to accomplish His will; so much so in fact, that the author doesn't really even recognize the Babylonians as contributors to the downfall of Jerusalem. In fact, verses 8-9 and 17 confirm that God was behind the actions taken against Judah, not just the imperialistic desires of Babylon.
Verses 10-11 show the typical mourning to this culture based on such tragedy. Notice that the children suffer for the sins of their parents (remembering still that God's judgment, even against them, is righteous from Chapter 1). The prophet uses graphic, figurative language to express the depths of despair by Jerusalem. No where else is the Hebrew phrase underlying the liver pouring onto the ground recorded.
Jerusalem, once proud and mighty, has now become the laughing stock of the Middle East, as recorded in verses 15-16.
Lamentations accurately records the thoughts of the prophet Jeremiah, though verses 20-21 are shocking. First off, one is taken aback by how bad things really got. What a terrible spot to be in where people are eating their own children (for more information, see Deuteronomy 28:53, 2 Kings 6:24-29, and Jeremiah 19:9)! The tone of these verses is accusatory from the prophet to God. Again, this is an accurate record and isn't an endorsement of us accusing God of being overly harsh every time that something doesn't go our way in life.
Applications:
"Many people today take lightly the warnings of God’s coming judgment on sin, even as Jerusalem did before its destruction."1 Don't fall into this trap! Lamentations should serve as a warning to this end.
My mind is taken to Romans 6:1-2, where apparently the thought of sinning more so that God's forgiving grace could be more abundantly seen appeared in the church. Paul confirms to us that sin is never to be taken lightly, even to the Christian assured of Heaven.
1. Huey, F. (2001). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (461). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Other Studies from Lamentations
Text: Lamentations 2 (NKJV)
1 How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion
With a cloud in His anger!
He cast down from heaven to the earth
The beauty of Israel,
And did not remember His footstool
In the day of His anger.
2 The Lord has swallowed up and has not pitied
All the dwelling places of Jacob.
He has thrown down in His wrath
The strongholds of the daughter of Judah;
He has brought them down to the ground;
He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
3 He has cut off in fierce anger
Every horn of Israel;
He has drawn back His right hand
From before the enemy.
He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire
Devouring all around.
4 Standing like an enemy, He has bent His bow;
With His right hand, like an adversary,
He has slain all who were pleasing to His eye;
On the tent of the daughter of Zion,
He has poured out His fury like fire.
5 The Lord was like an enemy.
He has swallowed up Israel,
He has swallowed up all her palaces;
He has destroyed her strongholds,
And has increased mourning and lamentation
In the daughter of Judah.
6 He has done violence to His tabernacle,
As if it were a garden;
He has destroyed His place of assembly;
The LORD has caused
The appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion.
In His burning indignation He has spurned the king and the priest.
7 The Lord has spurned His altar,
He has abandoned His sanctuary;
He has given up the walls of her palaces
Into the hand of the enemy.
They have made a noise in the house of the LORD
As on the day of a set feast.
8 The LORD has purposed to destroy
The wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has stretched out a line;
He has not withdrawn His hand from destroying;
Therefore He has caused the rampart and wall to lament;
They languished together.
9 Her gates have sunk into the ground;
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her princes are among the nations;
The Law is no more,
And her prophets find no vision from the LORD.
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
Sit on the ground and keep silence;
They throw dust on their heads
And gird themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Bow their heads to the ground.
11 My eyes fail with tears,
My heart is troubled;
My bile is poured on the ground
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
Because the children and the infants
Faint in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and wine?”
As they swoon like the wounded
In the streets of the city,
As their life is poured out
In their mothers’ bosom.
13 How shall I console you?
To what shall I liken you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What shall I compare with you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is spread wide as the sea;
Who can heal you?
14 Your prophets have seen for you
False and deceptive visions;
They have not uncovered your iniquity,
To bring back your captives,
But have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.
15 All who pass by clap their hands at you;
They hiss and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that is called
‘The perfection of beauty,
The joy of the whole earth’?”
16 All your enemies have opened their mouth against you;
They hiss and gnash their teeth.
They say, “We have swallowed her up!
Surely this is the day we have waited for;
We have found it, we have seen it!”
17 The LORD has done what He purposed;
He has fulfilled His word
Which He commanded in days of old.
He has thrown down and has not pitied,
And He has caused an enemy to rejoice over you;
He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.
18 Their heart cried out to the Lord,
“O wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let tears run down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief;
Give your eyes no rest.
19 “Arise, cry out in the night,
At the beginning of the watches;
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.
Lift your hands toward Him
For the life of your young children,
Who faint from hunger at the head of every street.”
20 “See, O LORD, and consider!
To whom have You done this?
Should the women eat their offspring,
The children they have cuddled?
Should the priest and prophet be slain
In the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 “Young and old lie
On the ground in the streets;
My virgins and my young men
Have fallen by the sword;
You have slain them in the day of Your anger,
You have slaughtered and not pitied.
22 “You have invited as to a feast day
The terrors that surround me.
In the day of the LORD’s anger
There was no refugee or survivor.
Those whom I have borne and brought up
My enemies have destroyed.”
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
In verse 3, the term "horn" is used often by Jewish authors to represent power, strength, or even leaders. Jacob was a forefather and namesake of the Israelite nation (his name was changed from Jacob to Israel), and the use of his name is representative of the nation. What a fearful place to be- facing such an onslaught of God in "flaming fire" (as opposed to coals or an underlying hot spot in a forest fire).
Verses 6-7 show us that God's destruction of Jerusalem was so complete that He even saw to destroying His place of worship. This was fitting as Judah had failed to worship Him properly and had added the worship of false gods.
Throughout this chapter, we see that God uses the ungodly to accomplish His will; so much so in fact, that the author doesn't really even recognize the Babylonians as contributors to the downfall of Jerusalem. In fact, verses 8-9 and 17 confirm that God was behind the actions taken against Judah, not just the imperialistic desires of Babylon.
Verses 10-11 show the typical mourning to this culture based on such tragedy. Notice that the children suffer for the sins of their parents (remembering still that God's judgment, even against them, is righteous from Chapter 1). The prophet uses graphic, figurative language to express the depths of despair by Jerusalem. No where else is the Hebrew phrase underlying the liver pouring onto the ground recorded.
Jerusalem, once proud and mighty, has now become the laughing stock of the Middle East, as recorded in verses 15-16.
Lamentations accurately records the thoughts of the prophet Jeremiah, though verses 20-21 are shocking. First off, one is taken aback by how bad things really got. What a terrible spot to be in where people are eating their own children (for more information, see Deuteronomy 28:53, 2 Kings 6:24-29, and Jeremiah 19:9)! The tone of these verses is accusatory from the prophet to God. Again, this is an accurate record and isn't an endorsement of us accusing God of being overly harsh every time that something doesn't go our way in life.
Applications:
"Many people today take lightly the warnings of God’s coming judgment on sin, even as Jerusalem did before its destruction."1 Don't fall into this trap! Lamentations should serve as a warning to this end.
My mind is taken to Romans 6:1-2, where apparently the thought of sinning more so that God's forgiving grace could be more abundantly seen appeared in the church. Paul confirms to us that sin is never to be taken lightly, even to the Christian assured of Heaven.
1. Huey, F. (2001). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (461). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Other Studies from Lamentations
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
3/9/2011 Devotional Thoughts from Lamentations... The Misery of Jerusalem (Lamentations 1)
A Christian's Guide to Studying and Applying the Old Testament
Text: Lamentations 1 (NKJV)
1 How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are 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 captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude;
She dwells among the nations,
She finds no rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.
4 The roads to Zion mourn
Because no one comes to the set feasts.
All her gates are desolate;
Her priests sigh,
Her virgins are afflicted,
And she is in bitterness.
5 Her adversaries have become the master,
Her enemies prosper;
For the LORD has afflicted her
Because of the multitude of her transgressions.
Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from the daughter of Zion
All her splendor has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
That find no pasture,
That flee without strength
Before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and roaming,
Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things
That she had in the days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
With no one to help her,
The adversaries saw her
And mocked at her downfall.
8 Jerusalem has sinned gravely,
Therefore she has become vile.
All who honored her despise her
Because they have seen her nakedness;
Yes, she sighs and turns away.
9 Her uncleanness is in her skirts;
She did not consider her destiny;
Therefore her collapse was awesome;
She had no comforter.
“O LORD, behold my affliction,
For the enemy is exalted!”
10 The adversary has spread his hand
Over all her pleasant things;
For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary,
Those whom You commanded
Not to enter Your assembly.
11 All her people sigh,
They seek bread;
They have given their valuables for food to restore life.
“See, O LORD, and consider,
For I am scorned.”
12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Behold and see
If there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
Which has been brought on me,
Which the LORD has inflicted
In the day of His fierce anger.
13 “From above He has sent fire into my bones,
And it overpowered them;
He has spread a net for my feet
And turned me back;
He has made me desolate
And faint all the day.
14 “The yoke of my transgressions was bound;
They were woven together by His hands,
And thrust upon my neck.
He made my strength fail;
The Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand.
15 “The Lord has trampled underfoot all my mighty men in my midst;
He has called an assembly against me
To crush my young men;
The Lord trampled as in a winepress
The virgin daughter of Judah.
16 “For these things I weep;
My eye, my eye overflows with water;
Because the comforter, who should restore my life,
Is far from me.
My children are desolate
Because the enemy prevailed.”
17 Zion spreads out her hands,
But no one comforts her;
The LORD has commanded concerning Jacob
That those around him become his adversaries;
Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.
18 “The LORD is righteous,
For I rebelled against His commandment.
Hear now, all peoples,
And behold my sorrow;
My virgins and my young men
Have gone into captivity.
19 “I called for my lovers,
But they deceived me;
My priests and my elders
Breathed their last in the city,
While they sought food
To restore their life.
20 “See, O LORD, that I am in distress;
My soul is troubled;
My heart is overturned within me,
For I have been very rebellious.
Outside the sword bereaves,
At home it is like death.
21 “They have heard that I sigh,
But no one comforts me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
They are glad that You have done it.
Bring on the day You have announced,
That they may become like me.
22 “Let all their wickedness come before You,
And do to them as You have done to me
For all my transgressions;
For my sighs are many,
And my heart is faint.”
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
איך , translated as "How" to start verse 1, has been adopted by some as the title to the book. Certain words bear connotations that go far beyond their literal meanings, and this word is a typical word to introduce an elegy. Great Jerusalem, geographically at the heart of Judaism, is to be mourned, since she has fallen.
As I mentioned in the introduction to the book, verse 1 is a study in contrasts. The great one is now a widow and the noble leader is now the vassal.
For what does Jerusalem (as capital of Judah, being representative) suffer so terribly? Verse 2 introduces to us the idea that Judah did not place her faith in יהוה, the true God, but in her surrounding heathen nations and their false gods (Jeremiah 2:20-25 showing the allusion by the same author to the false gods). The "lovers" of verse 2 are her false, heathen friends. While they dealt in treachery, we will see that God is faithful (Lamentations 3:22-23). Again in verse 5, what is the cause of these afflictions? "Because of the multitude of her transgressions." This is also evident in verses 8, 9, and 18. Sin has consequences. These physical reminders of those consequences are an actual dramatic understatement of the full, spiritual consequences of sin found in Romans 6:23 ("the wages of sin is death").
Verses 1-11 are the front section of this poetic verse (chapter), and they are basically describing the woe that has befallen Judah and its capital, Jerusalem.
Verses 12-15 then present a series of metaphorical promotions to give the reader a better visualization of just how bad things were. "fire... net... yoke... trampled... crush..." are the terms that the author used to describe this episode. Not a very positive light, to be certain.
Finally, verses 16-22 present a first-person narrative from the perspective of Jerusalem herself. We are reminded in verse 18 that through all of this tragedy (from a human perspective), God is righteous. Is a judge evil for pronouncing sentence on the guilty? Certainly not, and as has been explored in Romans (see also Romans 3:10, 3:23, and 5:12), everyone in the world is guilty in sin. God's judgment does not make Him evil, and our human tragedy stems from human sin. Whether directly a result of our personal (or national) sin as we see here or the result of sin the entire race is guilty of by the federal headship of Adam as the father of the race (Romans 5:12), all tragedy, death, badness, and wickedness we experience is tied to human sin. Through all this, God remains perfectly righteous. We should also notice that the confession of sin does not immediately nor necessarily alleviate any or all of the physical consequences of sin. It does have spiritual and eternal ramifications, but we are often forced to live with the temporal consequences (such as AIDS resulting from an immoral sexual encounter).
Applications:
As I pointed out in the discussion above, this period was a specific consequence to a specific set of sins committed by Judah. This should remind us that sin has consequences. Romans 6:23 brings this further into focus, telling us that "the wages of sin is death." Spiritual death is what we earn through sin; it is what we are due.
Other Studies from Lamentations
Text: Lamentations 1 (NKJV)
1 How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are 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 captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude;
She dwells among the nations,
She finds no rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.
4 The roads to Zion mourn
Because no one comes to the set feasts.
All her gates are desolate;
Her priests sigh,
Her virgins are afflicted,
And she is in bitterness.
5 Her adversaries have become the master,
Her enemies prosper;
For the LORD has afflicted her
Because of the multitude of her transgressions.
Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from the daughter of Zion
All her splendor has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
That find no pasture,
That flee without strength
Before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and roaming,
Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things
That she had in the days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
With no one to help her,
The adversaries saw her
And mocked at her downfall.
8 Jerusalem has sinned gravely,
Therefore she has become vile.
All who honored her despise her
Because they have seen her nakedness;
Yes, she sighs and turns away.
9 Her uncleanness is in her skirts;
She did not consider her destiny;
Therefore her collapse was awesome;
She had no comforter.
“O LORD, behold my affliction,
For the enemy is exalted!”
10 The adversary has spread his hand
Over all her pleasant things;
For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary,
Those whom You commanded
Not to enter Your assembly.
11 All her people sigh,
They seek bread;
They have given their valuables for food to restore life.
“See, O LORD, and consider,
For I am scorned.”
12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Behold and see
If there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
Which has been brought on me,
Which the LORD has inflicted
In the day of His fierce anger.
13 “From above He has sent fire into my bones,
And it overpowered them;
He has spread a net for my feet
And turned me back;
He has made me desolate
And faint all the day.
14 “The yoke of my transgressions was bound;
They were woven together by His hands,
And thrust upon my neck.
He made my strength fail;
The Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand.
15 “The Lord has trampled underfoot all my mighty men in my midst;
He has called an assembly against me
To crush my young men;
The Lord trampled as in a winepress
The virgin daughter of Judah.
16 “For these things I weep;
My eye, my eye overflows with water;
Because the comforter, who should restore my life,
Is far from me.
My children are desolate
Because the enemy prevailed.”
17 Zion spreads out her hands,
But no one comforts her;
The LORD has commanded concerning Jacob
That those around him become his adversaries;
Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.
18 “The LORD is righteous,
For I rebelled against His commandment.
Hear now, all peoples,
And behold my sorrow;
My virgins and my young men
Have gone into captivity.
19 “I called for my lovers,
But they deceived me;
My priests and my elders
Breathed their last in the city,
While they sought food
To restore their life.
20 “See, O LORD, that I am in distress;
My soul is troubled;
My heart is overturned within me,
For I have been very rebellious.
Outside the sword bereaves,
At home it is like death.
21 “They have heard that I sigh,
But no one comforts me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
They are glad that You have done it.
Bring on the day You have announced,
That they may become like me.
22 “Let all their wickedness come before You,
And do to them as You have done to me
For all my transgressions;
For my sighs are many,
And my heart is faint.”
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
איך , translated as "How" to start verse 1, has been adopted by some as the title to the book. Certain words bear connotations that go far beyond their literal meanings, and this word is a typical word to introduce an elegy. Great Jerusalem, geographically at the heart of Judaism, is to be mourned, since she has fallen.
As I mentioned in the introduction to the book, verse 1 is a study in contrasts. The great one is now a widow and the noble leader is now the vassal.
For what does Jerusalem (as capital of Judah, being representative) suffer so terribly? Verse 2 introduces to us the idea that Judah did not place her faith in יהוה, the true God, but in her surrounding heathen nations and their false gods (Jeremiah 2:20-25 showing the allusion by the same author to the false gods). The "lovers" of verse 2 are her false, heathen friends. While they dealt in treachery, we will see that God is faithful (Lamentations 3:22-23). Again in verse 5, what is the cause of these afflictions? "Because of the multitude of her transgressions." This is also evident in verses 8, 9, and 18. Sin has consequences. These physical reminders of those consequences are an actual dramatic understatement of the full, spiritual consequences of sin found in Romans 6:23 ("the wages of sin is death").
Verses 1-11 are the front section of this poetic verse (chapter), and they are basically describing the woe that has befallen Judah and its capital, Jerusalem.
Verses 12-15 then present a series of metaphorical promotions to give the reader a better visualization of just how bad things were. "fire... net... yoke... trampled... crush..." are the terms that the author used to describe this episode. Not a very positive light, to be certain.
Finally, verses 16-22 present a first-person narrative from the perspective of Jerusalem herself. We are reminded in verse 18 that through all of this tragedy (from a human perspective), God is righteous. Is a judge evil for pronouncing sentence on the guilty? Certainly not, and as has been explored in Romans (see also Romans 3:10, 3:23, and 5:12), everyone in the world is guilty in sin. God's judgment does not make Him evil, and our human tragedy stems from human sin. Whether directly a result of our personal (or national) sin as we see here or the result of sin the entire race is guilty of by the federal headship of Adam as the father of the race (Romans 5:12), all tragedy, death, badness, and wickedness we experience is tied to human sin. Through all this, God remains perfectly righteous. We should also notice that the confession of sin does not immediately nor necessarily alleviate any or all of the physical consequences of sin. It does have spiritual and eternal ramifications, but we are often forced to live with the temporal consequences (such as AIDS resulting from an immoral sexual encounter).
Applications:
As I pointed out in the discussion above, this period was a specific consequence to a specific set of sins committed by Judah. This should remind us that sin has consequences. Romans 6:23 brings this further into focus, telling us that "the wages of sin is death." Spiritual death is what we earn through sin; it is what we are due.
Other Studies from Lamentations
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