Lamentations 2:10 says, The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground. The people of Israel were in deep mourning at this time. Verse eleven adds, Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. Jeremiah said that he was also in deep mourning or distress because of the state of God's chosen people. We, as followers of Christ, should be in deep distress when we see those who are called God's people in distress, even if they have brought the suffering on themselves by disobedience. Verse twelve continues, They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers’ bosom. The children were crying out to their mothers asking where the food was. We should be moved by compassion today when we see children crying out in hunger, but I believe we too often just see them as an inconvenience. Verse thirteen states, What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee? Jeremiah asked what he could liken the suffering of the people of Judah and Israel to. When God does pronounce His judgment on those who refuse to accept His salvation, there will be nothing to compare their suffering to. Verse fourteen adds, Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment. Jeremiah said that the prophets had seen false things for the people and had not seen their iniquity. If they had and had called the people to repentance, and they had responded, then the captivity might have been avoided. We must be aware that we do not listen to false teachings or preaching today. Verse fifteen continues, All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth? Jeremiah said that everyone who passed by laughed at what was once the city of Jerusalem, asking what had happened to the city that had called itself a city of perfection and beauty. If we proclaim ourselves to be perfect today but are not following God's commandments and guidance, we will one day likewise fall. Verse sixteen says, All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up: certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it. Jeremiah said that all of the enemies of God's chosen people would think that they had defeated them by their own power. The lost people of the world may believe that they have defeated Christians, but they will never defeat those who are God's true followers by their own power nor for good. Even if we lose our life in the world today as we stand for God, the victory is still ours through our faith in Jesus Christ. Verse seventeen adds, The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries. Jeremiah said that God had done what He said He would do to His people because He allowed them to be defeated since they had become His people in name only. If we stop having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and following in obedience to God's word as what makes a person one of the family of God, then we should not be surprised if we are overcome by the world. I know we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone, but once 2e accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord, then we will be guided by by God's word. Verse eighteen continues, Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease. Jeremiah told the people of Judah and Israel to cry out to their God if they would find relief from their suffering. Verse nineteen states, Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street. They were called on to sincerely seek God's forgiveness, crying out to Him from early in the morning. When we find ourselves out of God's will, there is never time to wait to seek His forgiveness. Verse twenty adds, Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? There was a call tto God for Him to consider what He had done, but they needed to consider what they had done. We should never feel that we have the right to attempt to question God's plan for the world. Verse twenty-one continues, The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied. Once more, the blame seems to have been put on God for their suffering and not on their disobedience. Verse twenty-two concludes, Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD’s anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed. Jeremiah said that there were none left of God's people, but we know there was a remnant. We should never feel that we are the only one left who believes in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
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