January 12, 2020
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Lamentations? Here’s today’s reading:
Lamentations 2 (ESV)
1 How the Lord in his anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud! He has cast down from heaven to earth the splendor of Israel; he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger. 2 The Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; in his wrath he has broken down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he has brought down to the ground in dishonor the kingdom and its rulers.......Continue Reading
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So very very sad
I want to cry with Jeremiah as I read this. However, the prophet warned the people and they did not listen. May I listen and take heed to what the Lord commands of me.
17 The Lord has done what he purposed;
he has carried out his word,
which he commanded long ago;
he has thrown down without pity;
he has made the enemy rejoice over you
I read the verse and see such strong language, anger, swallowed up without mercy, broken down the strongholds, brought to the ground, cut down in fierce anger. Notice that God’s right hand can be a source of protection or a source of correction (v 3, 4).
As I was reading these verses all I could think of was Jesus’ words in Luke 13:34, Matt 23:37 where he reveals that God wanted to gather his people like a hen gathers her chicks. He wants to protect and not correct.
How many times do I wrestle against God only to miss out on his bountiful provision and compassionate care? God disciplines those whom he loves.
The message of Jeremiah 2:6-7 is powerful because worship is broken due to sin; “The Lord has scorned his altar, disowned his sanctuary”.
Like others, how can I not weep at the imagery of the mother’s forced to eat their young?
Jeremiah 2:14 speaks of the false prophets who spoke false and deceptive visions. It is important to remain faithful to God’s word, to his message even when the culture all around us changes and presses the God’s people to change to adopt the cultural morals of the day. Remember, the prophets also gave ‘deceptive’ visions, ‘misleading’ visions. When I read this I think it may be visions that are not completely false but are phrased in such a way that is deceiving or that may leave out some critical part.
My reference listed as Jeremiah above should be Lamentations 2:6-7 & Lamentations 2:14 🙂
It is pretty clear that God does not like sin, unbelief and disobedience from HIs people and reveals His displeasure in the judgement He brings. It is important to remember this comes after years of warning, and yet the graphic depiction of His anger and destruction is chilling. Verses 1-9 clearly show all His displeasure and disfavor and His rejection. The condition of Jerusalem is desolate and yet in these verses God takes responsibility for causing it and carrying it out. Now this is not inconsistent with His love for His people but it displays an aspect of God’s love that needs to be taken into account by believers even today.
In verse 10 there is a change in the description moving from God’s activity to man’s response and his dire circumstances. There are expressions of repentance and regret in the city. The situation drives the people to it. How deep is Jeremiah’s pain expressed in verse 11. Too bad the prophets got it wrong in verse 14 when they preached prosperity in the midst of disobedience rather than warning the people of what is now happening. Then Jerusalem wouldn’t be a scourge to the nations.
And yet in the midst of all this, verse 19 brings another aspect and that is instructing the people to cry out to the Lord and seek His solace as they describe their fate to Him. It is one of the comforts even in suffering judgement that we are still able to cry out to the Lord. Look at the words used…cry out in the night, pour out your heart, lift up your hands, look Lord and consider… They are all expressions of turning to God in the midst of the suffering and seeking Him in spite of it. We can certainly turn to Him in the darkest of times and know in Christ He will never leave us of forsake us. May it be such though, that we don’t need Him to bring discipline on us for us to do it!
Overwhelming visual description of God’s judgement on his people.
11 My eyes are spent with weeping;
my stomach churns;
my bile is poured out to the ground
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because infants and babies faint
in the streets of the city.
12 They cry to their mothers,
“Where is bread and wine?”
as they faint like a wounded man
in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
on their mothers’ bosom.
13 What can I say for you, to what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?