Review

 We will look at a few things we learn from the book of Lamentations.  First, God's judgment of the people of Judah and Jerusalem occurred just as Jeremiah had prophesied.  Jeremiah was very saddened by their condition.  God's judgment is coming on all the world, and we as Christians should be very saddened by the fact that so many people will not accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, and God's everlasting punishment awaits them.  Second, the state of the people of Judah and Jerusalem was because of their sin and open rebellion against God, from the governmental leaders to the priests and prophets on down.  Just because the government or someone claiming to be speak for God says that something is okay or true doesn't make it so.  We must always look to God and His word for answers.  God will never change His commandments for us, no matter who may say so.  Last, though the people were suffering, and Jeremiah was lamenting their condition they were not without hope. Today, even if we are saddened by the condition of the world, we need to acknowledge that we are not without hope.   God waited to welcome the people of Judah and Jerusalem back to Him, and He waits to welcome everyone who will come to Him through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ today.  

Lamentations 5:12

Lamentations 5:12 says, Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.  Jeremiah said that the leaders were punished and there was no respect for the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, which was a result of their sin.  If there comes a time when we are punished and there is no respect for us as followers of Christ, we need to make sure that it isn't because we have allowed sin to rule our life.   Verse thirteen adds, They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.  There was also no respect for the young people, and they were forced into manual labor.  This was more than simple chores.  Verse fourteen continues, The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.  Jeremiah said that there was no joy left.  The elders no longer sat talking by the gates and the young men no longer played music.  When the people of Judah and Jerusalem turned away from God and chased after idols, they suffered His punishment and lost all the joy of life.  As followers of Christ, if we allow sin back in our life and begin to chase after the things or this world instead of obeying God, we won't lose our salvation, but we will lose our joy in life.  The things of this world without being used in obedience to God will never bring lasting joy.  Verse fifteen declares, The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.  The priests and prophets had said that Jeremiah was wrong in prophesying that Judah and Jerusalem were going to fall, but now the truth of his prophesy was a reality.  People today may refuse to believe that Jesus Christ is the only hope of salvation and that He is coming again to judge the sins of people, but it doesn't make it any less true. Verse sixteen adds, The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!  Jeremiah acknowledged that the people had lost their freedom as a result of their sins.  They had no one to blame but themselves.  It was not God's fault that they were in the condition that they were in.  Every individual today has only himself or herself to blame if they face God's ultimate judgment without hope.  God has made salvation available to everyone, but too many people, like those in Jeremiah's day, refuse to believe His word.  Verse seventeen continues, For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.  Verse eighteen adds, Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.  Jeremiah said that the people were in deep sorrow because Zion, which was seen as the place of God, and all things associated with Him had fallen.  Verse nineteen states, Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.  Jeremiah acknowledged the eternal nature of God, even if everything associated with Him had been destroyed.   God will never cease to exist, even if everything associated with Him today is destroyed.  Of course, as followers of Christ, everything can never be destroyed in our life, because the Holy Spirit lives in us.  Verse twenty adds, Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?  Jeremiah asked how God could seemingly forget them forever, and we know that God never forgets anyone, especially those that are His people.  The problem was that the people of Judah and Jerusalem had forgotten God and not the other way around.   Verse twenty-one continues, Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.   Jeremiah called on God to turn the people to Him once more, and God had always stood ready to forgive and restore them if they returned to Him.  God will never force anyone to believe in and follow Him, but He always stands ready to restore people to a right relationship with Him if they only come to Him for forgiveness.  Verse twenty-two concludes, But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.  Jeremiah said that God had utterly rejected the people of Judah and Jerusalem, but once more, the opposite was true.  The majority of the people had utterly rejected God.  

Lamentations 5:1

Lamentations 5:1 says, Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.  Jeremiah called on God to remember what was happening to the people of Judah and Jerusalem.  We really don't have to ask God to be aware of what is happening in our lives individually or as a nation collectively, because He is always aware.   Verse two adds, Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.  People of other nations had taken over their land.  Still, this was because of their disobedience, and if we are defeated spiritually today it will be because of our disobedience to God.  Even though our salvation is everlasting, we may still at times allow sin back into our lives.  Verse three continues, We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows,  When they rejected the heavenly Father, they were as orphans and Fatherless.   Verse four states, We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.  Even water was not free when they were under the authority of other nations.  We should never forget that all our blessings come from God.  If we turn away from Him, the we will find ourselves in need spiritually of the living water, which cannot be bought, but is given freely.  God had given His people a land flowing with milk and honey, and after they rejected Him, they didn't even have water to drink freely.  Verse five adds, Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.  They were continually working under oppression instead of working for their own benefit and God's glory.  Verse six continues, We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.  Jeremiah said that the people of Judah, and Israel as well, had placed themselves under the authority of the Egyptians and Assyrians for protection.  They had quit looking to God for protection and thought they could find it under other nations, but it did not work.  We will never find protection anywhere but in God.  Verse seven says, Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.  Jeremiah said that the fathers of the people had sinned and that they had borne their iniquities.  Even though their fathers may have sinned and been responsible for the people being enslaved, unless the current generation returned to God, the responsibility was theirs as well.  Every individual is responsible for his or her own sins.  Verse eight adds, Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.  Those who had been their servants were now in a position of power over them.  It was not just the rulers of the Chaldeans that had power over the people of Judah, but the servants of the Chaldeans did as well.  Verse nine continues, We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.  Jeremiah said even getting bread, one of the most basic of needs, was dangerous.  There is no real safety in the world outside of the protection of God.  Verse ten states, Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.  Famine had left their skin dry and parched, probably because of their being out scrounging for food.  Verse eleven adds, They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.  The men could not protect their wives and daughters from being ravaged and abused.  This was possible one of the hardest things to bear.  Death is not always the worst fate, unless we die without putting our faith in Jesus Christ.

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. 

Lamentations 4:1

Lamentations 4:1 says, How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.  The gold of the temple had become tarnished, and the fine gold of the ornaments thrown into the streets.  Verse two adds, The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!  The house of God, the temple, and the people of God, Judah and Israel, had been held in high esteem like fine gold, but now they were seen as mere earthen vessels made by a potter.  Since their rebellion against God had lost them their protection from God, they were a weak and powerless people.  Without God's protection today, we as followers of Christ would be a weak and powerless people too often, which is why we must live in obedience to Him.  Verse three continues, Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.  The little children were suffering from lack of nourishment.  Verse four states, The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.  Jeremiah continued to speak of the suffering of the children, who were reliant on their parents for their food and drink.  As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to meet not only our children's physical needs, but their spiritual needs as well.  We cannot afford to leave them spiritually hungry and thirsty.  Verse five adds, They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.  Not only the children, but all the people of Judah and Israel were left hungry, even though they had been blessed with plenty when following God.  Verse six continues, For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.  Jeremiah said that the punishment of Judah and Israel was greater than the punishment of Sodom.  Sometimes falling immediately is better than suffering for a long time.  The people of Sodom never had to endure long time suffering like the people in Jeremiah's day were.  Verse seven says, Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:  Verse eight adds, Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.  The Nazarites, some of the most devout and healthy of God's chosen people, had also been brought down.  Our devotion to earthly standards will never keep us safe if we are not following God's will for our life.   Verse nine continues, They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.  Jeremiah said that those who had been killed by the sword were better off than those who were dying of hunger.  If we are killed for our belief in God today, it may not be the worst outcome.   Of course, those who were supposed to be God's people then were suffering because of their lack of belief in and faithfulness to God.  Verse ten states, The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.  Mothers were killing their children because of their lack of food and the ability to provide for them.  Today, women kill their children before they are born simply because they would be an inconvenience.  Verse eleven adds, The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.  Jeremiah said that it was God Who had brought about the destruction of His rebellious people.  No matter what happens in this life, it is God's judgment that will be the final one.  Verse twelve continues, 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.  Jeremiah said that the people of the world had not believed that Jerusalem could or would be defeated.  This only happened because of their rebellion against God.  If we as Christians remain faithful to God, then the world will never defeat us. 

Lamentations 3:55

Lamentations 3:55 says, I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.  When he was in the dungeon, Jeremiah called out to the LORD, by name.  I believe this indicates a personal relationship with God, or at least a personal belief in God.  If we call out to God by name, we have to at least believe that He exists, and if He is to hear our prayers, we must pray in faith believing He will answer, which makes the relationship personal.  Verse fifty-six adds, Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.  Jeremiah asked God to not hide from hearing him.  Matthew Henry points out that his prayer was as natural as breathing, as should our prayers be today.  This should be the way of our prayer life at all times, and not just in times of distress.  Verse fifty-seven continues, Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.  Jeremiah said when he cried out to God in prayer that God told him not to fear.  We are not told that Jeremiah's condition changed, but that God simply told him to not be afraid.  If we put our faith in God, then we never have a need to be afraid, no matter what is happening in life.  Verse fifty-eight states, Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.  Jeremiah said God had interceded for his soul and redeemed his life.  Through Jesus Christ, God has interceded for anyone who will accept His gift of salvation and will save that person's soul.  Verse fifty-nine adds, O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.  Jeremiah didn't say that he was guiltless but placed his life in God's judgment.  We cannot claim to be guiltless of sin today, but we can ask that God judge us through our relationship with Jesus Christ, which is the only way that we can have hope.  Verse sixty continues, Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.  Jeremiah said that he knew that God was aware of what was going on in his life and of the vengeance that people felt against him.  Many of these were God's chosen people who not only refused to listen to Jeremiah but also imprisoned him.  Verse sixty-one says, Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me;  Jeremiah really didn't have to state that God knew of his afflictions, but even so he acknowledged that God knew.  We should always have faith that God knows what is going on in our life, whether good or bad.  Verse sixty-two adds, The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.  Verse sixty-three continues, Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.  Jeremiah said that the people spoke against him all day long and that they plotted against him all the time as well.  Verse sixty-four declares, Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.  Jeremiah asked that God punish his enemies according to their works.  We are called to a higher standard, where we ask that God forgive our enemies, because if we are judged by our works we are all guilty and deserving of death.  Verse sixty-five adds, Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.  Verse sixty-six concludes, Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.  Again, we may know that God will one day punish those who refuse His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, and they may mistreat us continually, but our prayer should be for their salvation.  This is the example that Jesus Christ set for us.

Lamentations 3:37

Lamentations 3:37 says, Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?  This is another way of asking who would say that God is wrong in what He says.  Many people in Jeremiah's day, even the religious leaders, were saying just that, and many people in the world do so today.   Verse thirty-eight adds, Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?  Jeremiah said that evil, or punishment, and good could both come from God.  Some people today say that they don't believe in hell because a loving God would not send people to such a place, and He doesn't, but He allows them to go there if they refuse His gracious salvation.  Verse thirty-nine continues, Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?  Jeremiah asked why we should complain about the punishment of our sins.  God has warned that all sin will be punished, so why should we complain when it is.  God also made it possible to avoid that punishment through faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah Who was to come then and the Messiah Who has come now.  There is no one with a reason to complain about God's judgment.  Verse forty declares, Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.  Jeremiah tells us that instead of complaining about God's judgment that we should search, or examine, our ways and turn to God again if we find that we are no longer living by His guidance.   Verse forty-one adds, Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.  Jeremiah also said that instead of complaining that we should lift up our hearts and hands to God in praise.  When things are not going well, do we still praise God, or do we start to question Him and feel sorry for ourselves.  Verse forty-two continues, We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.  Jeremiah said that the people of Judah and Jerusalem had rebelled, and God had not pardoned them.  This was because they had not repented and returned to God.  The sad news is that God has already pardoned everyone if they will only come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, and yet the majority never will.  Verse forty-three says, Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.  Jeremiah said that God had persecuted them with anger, but it was their sin that led Him to this action.  Verse forty-four adds,Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.  Jeremiah said that God had hidden Himself from them, but they really had hidden themselves from His will.  If we truly seek God, then He will be found.  Verse forty-five continues, Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.  Jeremiah said that the rest of the world now saw the people of Judah and Jerusalem as trash.  They had lost the protection of God because of their rebellion.  If we who call ourselves followers of Christ do not obey God's commandments, the people of the world may see God allowing us to be defeated as He chastises us.  Verse forty-six states, All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.  Jeremiah said that every enemy was crying out against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.  The people of the world today are likewise crying out against Christians, but we must remain faithful to God and make sure that it isn't our disobedience to God that is causing this to happen.   Verse forty-seven adds, Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.  They were living in fear of the world and what the people of the world were doing to them instead of living in fear of the judgment of God which led them to this condition.  We as followers of Christ should never live in fear of the world.  Verse forty-eight continues, Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.  Jeremiah was crying about the destruction the people of Judah and Jerusalem, just as we should be crying for the lost of the world today who are facing everlasting punishment.  Verse forty-nine says, Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,  Jeremiah said he was continuously crying, not for himself, but for the people of Judah and Jerusalem.  Verse fifty adds, Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.  Verse fifty-one continues, Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.  Jeremiah said that what he saw happening to those who were called God's people affected his heart and he was waiting for God to look down in mercy.  Verse fifty-two states, Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.  Jeremiah said that his enemies chased him without cause, and even though Jeremiah was faithful to God, his enemies were being successful because of the sins of God's chosen people.  Verse fifty-three adds, They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.  Verse fifty-four concludes, Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.  Jeremiah may have felt cut off from God, but he really wasn't.  Sometimes today if the world seems to close in on us, we may feel cut off from God, but if we are true followers of Christ we never will be.