Lamentations 4:13

Lamentations 4:13 says, The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem. For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, Jeremiah said that no one would have believed that Jerusalem could be defeated.   This was because of the protection of God, which they no longer had because of their sins..  Not just the people, but the prophets and priests of Jerusalem were guilty of sins.  These were the religious leaders.  It is bad enough when any person who calls them self a follower of Christ doesn't truly have a personal relationship with Him, but it is even worse when those who call themselves preachers and teachers do not.  Verse fourteen adds, They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.  The prophets and priests wandered around like blind men with blood on their hands.  Verse fifteen continues, They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.  Jeremiah pointed out the hypocrisy of these religious leaders, who had called the Gentiles unclean while they themselves were filled with sin.  We need to be sure that we are not denouncing the sins of others while we are guilty of allowing sin to rule our life.  Verse sixteen declares, The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.  Jeremiah said that God would no longer protect the people of Jerusalem and Judah, because they did not obey His laws.  Verse seventeen adds, As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.  The people of Jerusalem had looked in vain for deliverance, or salvation, from some other nation, or source, instead of looking to God in obedience to His word.  We may look for salvation from some other source today, but salvation comes only from God through faith in Jesus Christ as one's personal Savior and Lord.   Verse eighteen continues, They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come.  Though there might have been a time when no enemy could have come into Jerusalem, the people were now afraid to go out into the streets and knew that their defeat was ar hand.  Verse nineteen states, Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.  The people of Jerusalem and Judah could not outrun their enemies.   We cannot always outrun our enemies today as Christians, but if we remain faithful to God, He will always defeat them for us.  Verse twenty adds, The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.  The people thought that even though their leader had fallen that they could still survive as God's people under the rule of those who had defeated them.  If we are God's people in name only we may think that we can survive by accepting the rule of those who do not believe in God, and who may even think that they have defeated Him, but this will never be true.   Verse twenty-one continues, Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.  There was still hope for God's people if they returned to Him.  God is still our only source of hope today.   Verse twenty-two concludes, The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.  When the punishment for their sins was complete, then God would restore them.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, our captivity by sin is over.  We are restored to a right relationship with God.