Lamentations 1

None to comfort Jerusalem verse 1- 2

How does the city sit solitary that was full of people

How is she become as a widow

she that was great among the nations

and princess among the provinces

How is she become tributary

She weeps sore in the night – and 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 are become her enemies

No rest for Jerusalem verse 3

Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction

and because of great servitude

She dwells among the heathen – she finds no rest

all her persecutors overtook her between the straits

No pasture in Jerusalem verse 4- 6

The ways of Zion do mourn

because none come to the solemn feasts

all her gates are desolate – her priests sign

her virgins are afflicted

and she is in bitterness

Her adversaries are the chief – her enemies prosper

for the LORD has afflicted her

for the multitude of her transgressions

her children are gone into captivity before the enemy

and from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed

her princes are become like harts that

find no pasture

and they are gone without strength before the pursuer

None to help Jerusalem verse 7

Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries

all her pleasant things that she had I the days of old

when her people fell into the hand of the enemy

and none did help her

the adversaries saw her

and did mock at her Sabbaths

No comforter verse 8- 11

Jerusalem has grievously sinned

THEREFORE she is removed

all that honored her despise her

BECAUSE they have seen her nakedness

YEA – she sighed – and turned backward

Her filthiness is in her skirts – she remembers not her last end

THEREFORE she came down wonderfully

she had no comforter – O LORD

behold my affliction

for the enemy hath magnified himself

The adversary has spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things

for she has seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary

whom YOU did command that they should

not enter into YOUR congregation

All her people sigh – they seek bread

they have given their pleasant things

for meat to relieve the soul

SEE – O LORD – and CONSIDER

for I am become vile

None to comfort Jerusalem verse 12- 17

Is it nothing to you

all you that pass by?

BEHOLD – and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow

which is done to me

wherewith the LORD has afflicted me

in the day of HIS fierce anger

From above has HE sent fire into my bones

and it prevailed against them

HE has spread a net for my feet – HE has turned me back

HE has made me desolate and faint all the day

The yoke of my transgressions is bound by HIS hand

they are wreathed – and come up upon my neck

HE has made my strength to fall

the Lord has delivered me into their hands

from whom I am not able to rise up

The Lord has trodden under foot all my mighty men

in the midst of me

HE has called an assembly against me to crush my young men

the Lord has trodden the virgin – the daughter of Judah

as in a winepress

For these things I weep – mine eyes – mine eyes run down with water

BECAUSE the comforter that should relieve my soul

is far from me – my children are desolate

BECAUSE the enemy prevailed

Zion spreads forth her hands – and there is none to comfort her

the LORD has commanded concerning Jacob

that his adversaries should be round about him

Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them

None to comfort me verse 18- 22

The LORD is righteous – for I have rebelled against HIS commandment

HEAR – I pray you – all people – and behold my sorrow

my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity

I called for my lovers – BUT they deceived me

my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city

while they sought their meat to relieve their souls

BEHOLD – O LORD – for I am in distress – my bowels are troubled

mine heart is turned within me for I have grievously rebelled

abroad the sword bereaved at home there is as death

They have heard that I sigh – there is none to comfort me

all mine enemies have heard of my trouble

they are glad that YOU have done it

YOU will bring the day that

YOU have called

and they shall be like unto me

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

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 9 Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembered not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. (6040 “affliction” [oniy] means trouble, misery, poverty, frustration, suffering, or great pains).

DEVOTION: Jeremiah is describing what he is seeing and experiencing after the destruction of Jerusalem. He gives this account of what the sin of rebellion has cost the children of Israel.

Their capital that was beautiful was destroyed. The people were taken into captivity. Those who remained in the land were afflicted by the Babylonians.

Jeremiah wanted the LORD to see their suffering and do something about it. However, he knew that they were being judged for their lack of response to the pleas of the LORD.

There are consequences to sin. Their sin was rebellion. They thought they could never be defeated. They thought that as long as they did some worship of the LORD, HE would be satisfied.

They were wrong. HE offered them a way out but they chose to continue to worship false gods. They continued to kill HIS prophets who were warning them of coming judgment.

Too often the LORD sends us warnings our way and we just neglect them. We think that the LORD will never send weakness, sickness or premature death our way.

HE wants us to confess our sin to HIM and return to serving HIM faithfully. When this doesn’t happen, HE has to send judgment. The children of Israel had to learn this and we need to learn it as well. Our thoughts concerning judgment are not the same thoughts that the LORD has. We tend to think that HIS longsuffering will never cause HIM to chasten us.

The people of Jerusalem thought the same thoughts and they were WRONG. God is longsuffering but after enough warnings HE will send judgment.

Are we conscience of the warning HE is sending into our life. In our times of devotions are we listening to HIS voice? We know when we are backsliding. Consider HIS warnings.

CHALLENGE: Longsuffering doesn’t mean that we can sin to the full and not expect a time of chastening.

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: 10 The adversary has spread out his hand on all her pleasant things: for she has seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom YOU did command that they should not enter into YOUR congregation. (6862 “adversary” [tsar] means enemy, foe, someone who offers opposition, oppressor, or one in a state of open hostility with an opponent)

DEVOTION: The LORD had told the children of Israel that HE didn’t want any other nation to be entering into the Temple. Here we find that the Chaldeans had entered into the Temple and taken all the precious things out of it for their own use instead of being used for the worship of the LORD alone.

Even today we find that the world is entering into the church and having its way during the worship service. They are not services that please the LORD but they are there to just please the people attending instead of the LORD.

The Temple was to entered only by the priests that were to lead the children of Israel in proper worship of the LORD. They were to bring gifts to the LORD and leave them there. They were to bring their sacrifices to show the LORD that they loved HIM there.

It is because of their lack of proper respect for the LORD that the children of Israel were sent into captivity and the Temple was destroyed. It was not being used the way the LORD set it up to be used and therefore was not a place of genuine worship of the LORD alone.

CHALLENGE: We have to ask ourselves whether the church we attend is being used for genuine worship of the LORD alone or if it is a place where people can come to be entertained for themselves.

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 18 The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. (6662 “righteous” [tsaddiyq] means just, lawful, correct or right.)

DEVOTION: The book of Lamentations uses acrostic in the first four chapters. Each verse starts with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In chapter three there are sets of three verses that start with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This first chapter describes the fall of Jerusalem and the reason for the fall. This chapter emphasizes that there were none to comfort them.

The LORD does everything from the correct perspective. HE is just. HE is always right. What happened to the people of Jerusalem and their city was for their good. They had rebelled against the LORD and were not obeying HIS commandments.

HE sent prophets to warn them of coming judgment but they would not listen. HE was longsuffering. HE always does what is good for HIS people. Sometimes correction is needed. That correction can be just a slap on the wrest or it can be a two by four on the back of the head.

HE knows what will work in our lives. Always remember that all the trials that come our way are not because of some sin in our lives.

Many times it is because of our need to grow in the LORD or HE is drawing us back to HIM. The children of Israel had become religious and not followers of God. Religion is man’s way to reach up to God. Man makes the rules in religion.

Christianity is God reaching down to man and giving him a way to follow HIM. God establishes the rules in Christianity. Religion is a plan where man earns his salvation through his works. Christianity is God’s work on the cross for our sins through the shed blood of our LORD Jesus Christ and our following the LORD.

Israel chose religion and it cost them their freedom. What is our choice today? Are we following the LORD or some manmade religion? All roads don’t lead to salvation. Only one road leads to salvation and that is through Christ alone.

CHALLENGE: Learn from the bad example of Israel. Learn from the Word of God to follow the LORD closely. HE always does what is right for us.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 22 Let all their wickedness come before you; and do unto them, as YOU have done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint. ( 585 “sighs” [anachah] means groanings, mourning, expression of grief or physical distress, expressing of disapproval, or mental distress.)

DEVOTION: It is hard to be someone who genuinely works for the LORD to help HIS people to understand what HE expects of them. It is even harder when they don’t listen to you and you have to face the same consequences as those who are disobedient.

One of the truths that are taught in this chapter is the fact that even a genuine servant of the LORD is still a sinner. Jeremiah admitted that his transgressions were also part of the reason for judgment.

Jeremiah was groaning over all that had taken place. He had to record all that the LORD had said to the children of Judah and regarding the children of Israel who were already in captivity. Now all twelve tribes were in captivity because of their sins.

Worshiping false gods was the main reason the LORD had to deal with HIS people. They were wicked in HIS eyes and would not listen to the warnings of Jeremiah and other genuine prophets of the LORD.

Sometimes it is easier to listen to those who tell us what we want to hear rather than the truth that we need to hear. God wants us to listen to individuals who will tell us what we don’t want to hear if it is of the LORD.

Jeremiah didn’t like what he saw regarding his people and wanted the LORD to handle them. We need to make sure that we don’t let our anger get the best of us and personally want to hurt those who have hurt us. Give to the LORD always. HE can handle it better than us because we are sinners just like Jeremiah.

CHALLENGE: When our hearts are faint we need to turn to the LORD and realize that we are in good hands no matter what our circumstances seem to be.

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Prayer: O LORD, behold my affliction: for the

enemy has magnified himself verse 9

Pray verse 18

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

Solemn feasts verse 4

Priests verse 4, 19

Sanctuary verse 10

Congregation verse 10

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

Commandments of the LORD verse 18

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 5, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18, 20

LORD has afflicted Zion for her multitude of

transgressions verse 5

LORD afflicted Zion verse 12

Day of fierce anger of LORD verse 12

HE has sent fire into my bones verse 13

HE has spread a net for my feet verse 13

HE has turned Israel back verse 13

HE has make Israel desolate and faint all the day verse 13

HE has make Israel’s strength to fall verse 14

Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 14, 15

LORD has delivered Israel into hands of enemy verse 14

Lord has trodden under foot all Israel’s mighty

men verse 15

Lord has called an assembly against Israel to

chush my my young men verse 15

Lord has trodden the virgin, the daughter of

Judah verse 15

Comforter verse 16

Righteous verse 18

HIS commandment hear verse 18

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Nation verse 1

Enemies verse 2, 5, 7, 9, 16, 21

Heathen verse 3, 10

Adversaries verse 5, 7, 10

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

No Comfort verse 2, 16, 17, 21

Deal treacherously verse 2

None come to solemn feasts verse 4

Bitterness verse 4

Adversaries of God’s people verse 5, 7, 10, 17

Transgressions verse 5, 14, 22

Mock her Sabbaths verse 7

Sinned verse 8

Filthiness verse 9

Magnify self verse 9

Heathen verse 10

Vile verse 11

Rebelled verse 18

Lovers verse 19

Deceive verse 19

Grievously rebelled verse 20

Glad someone is hurting verse 21

Wickedness verse 22

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Comfort verse 2, 16, 17, 21

Affliction verse 3- 5, 7, 9, 12

Rest verse 3

Strength verse 6, 14

Help verse 7

Comforter verse 9, 16, 21

Times of weeping verse 16

Righteous verse 18

Times of distress verse 20

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Jerusalem verse 1, 2, 7- 10, 17

become a widow

was great among the nations

she has become a tributary

she weeps sore in the night

none to comfort her

friends have become her enemies

adversaries saw her and did mock

at her sabbaths

has grievously sinned

therefore is removed

all that honored her despise her

turned backwards

filthiness of her skirts

no comforter

adversary has spread out his hand upon

all her pleasant things

heathen entered into her sanctuary

Judah verse 3 , 15

gone into captivity

she dwells among the heathen

she finds no rest

all her persecutors overtook her

Zion verse 4- 17

mourns

no more solemn feasts

all her gates are desolate

virgins are afflicted

she is in bitterness

her adversaries are the chief

her enemies prosper

her children are gone inot captivity

before the enemy

all her beauty is departed

her princes are become like harts that

find no pasture – without strength

No sorrow like my sorrow

LORD has afflicted me in the day of HIS

fierce anger

Zion spread forth her hands and there

is none to comfort her

I am become vile verse 11

I am not able to rise up verse 14

I weep verse 16

Jacob verse 17

Jerusalem verse 17

is as a menstruous woman

People of LORD gone into captivity verse 18

I have rebelled against HIS commandment verse 18

I called for my lovers, but they deceived me verse 19

My priest and mine elders gave up the ghost

In the city verse 19

Elders verse 19

I am in distress – my bowels are troubled verse 20

Mine heart is turned within me verse 20

I have grievously rebelled verse 20

None to comfort me verse 21

My heart is faint verse 22

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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QUOTES regarding passage

The structure’s most striking feature is the use of the acrostic, or alphabetical arrangement, in which successive lines of the poem begin with consecutive letters of the alphabet. The acrostics employed in Lamentations are, of course, not apparent in English translations.

There are twenty-two verses in chaps. 1–2, corresponding to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse is composed of three lines; the first word of each verse begins with a consecutive Hebrew letter.

Chapter 3 has sixty-six verses of one line each. The first three verses begin with the first letter of the alphabet; the next three verses begin with the second letter, and so on.

Chapter 4 has twenty-two verses of two lines each; the first word of each verse begins with consecutive Hebrew letters.

Chapter 5 contains twenty-two verses, but it is not an acrostic (cf. Ps 103); nor does it contain the Qinah meter. Perhaps the breakdown in the pattern that characterizes the previous chapters was deliberate in order to suggest chaos and despair.

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The most likely explanation for the use of acrostics in Lamentations is that they symbolized a complete and exhaustive expression of grief, even as we might say, “Everything from A to Z has been said on the subject.” Gottwald believes that the acrostic also served to express a complete cleansing of conscience through total confession of sin. (Huey, F. B. (1993). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations. The New American Commentary (445). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

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Contemporary applications that can be made from the Book of Lamentations include the following: (1) the wickedness of any people will eventually result in the disintegration of that society; (2) we should never take God’s past blessings as assurance that they will continue when we continue in sin; (3) our nation and our churches are subject to God’s judgment when they are no longer faithful; (4) God fulfills his word; (5) though many solutions for human suffering have been proposed, ultimately the only satisfactory way to deal with it is through deep and abiding faith in God in spite of the circumstances. (Huey, F. B. (1993). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations. The New American Commentary (446–447). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

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1:21–22 Jerusalem’s enemies heard of its “distress”; but instead of giving comfort, they rejoiced that God had brought punishment on his people. Jerusalem’s response was to call on God to punish its enemies, even as he had punished it. Jeremiah also frequently appealed to God to bring vengeance on those who were persecuting him (Jer 11:20; 12:3; 15:15; 17:18; 18:21–23; 20:11; cf. Ps 109:1–20). Invoking a curse on one’s enemies was a common practice in ancient times. It is common response to those who have hurt us, but Jesus invokes a different principle, “Love your enemies” (Matt 5:44).

The first lament has focused on the misery and desolation of a city that suffered the consequences of ignoring the prophets’ warnings that God punishes those who sin. It serves as a solemn reminder of the ultimate misery and sorrow of all who think they can escape God’s punishment. (1:21–22 Jerusalem’s enemies heard of its “distress”; but instead of giving comfort, they rejoiced that God had brought punishment on his people. Jerusalem’s response was to call on God to punish its enemies, even as he had punished it. Jeremiah also frequently appealed to God to bring vengeance on those who were persecuting him (Jer 11:20; 12:3; 15:15; 17:18; 18:21–23; 20:11; cf. Ps 109:1–20). Invoking a curse on one’s enemies was a common practice in ancient times. It is common response to those who have hurt us, but Jesus invokes a different principle, “Love your enemies” (Matt 5:44).

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It should be a matter of deep interest for the child of God, in any dispensation, to know that there is One above who notes with compassion all of his sorrows, and is afflicted in all his afflictions. Nothing could demonstrate this more clearly than the incorporation, as a part of the Holy Scriptures, of the expressions of the heart-sorrows of Jeremiah as he beheld the overwhelming woes of his people, and the desolations of the Holy City. These feelings were right and proper—nay, produced by the Spirit of God in the heart of His servant Jeremiah. He, the God of Israel, was no cold, indifferent spectator of the anguish, humiliation and pains of the people of His choice. His holiness demanded that He chasten them for their iniquities; and He had used the king of Babylon to that end, but His heart was grieved for them still, as a loving father is sorely pained in his own correction of a wayward son. He greatly valued, therefore, the soul-exercises of His grief-stricken prophet, and has seen fit to place his lamentations on record for our instruction and comfort. In a certain sense Jeremiah speaks for the godly ones left in the land—their mouthpiece, as it were.

The peculiar structure of this elegiac poem is worthy of note. In their original form, the first four chapters are acrostic, after the pattern of a number of the psalms. Chapters 1, 2 and 4 consist of twenty-two verses each; every verse commencing with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in regular order. Chapter 3, in which the fullest confession of their sin and grief is found, consists of sixty-six verses; and here three verses are given to each letter. That is, each of the first three verses begins with Aleph, the first letter of the alphabet; and the next three verses, each begins with Beth, the second letter; and so on to the end of the alphabet.

In Ps. 119 we have twenty-two divisions of eight verses each, similarly arranged, as even the ordinary English Bible shows. There, every letter of the alphabet (which represents the whole compass of man’s speech) is used in the praise of the perfect law of the Lord. In Lamentations every letter is required to express the sorrows following upon the neglect and breaking of that law.

Chapter 5 is an exception to the acrostic style, though containing the same number of verses as the first, second, and fourth.

In this first chapter the remnant of Judah confess the righteousness of the Lord in permitting their afflictions, though they are filled with sorrow as they behold the sad results. They acknowledge their own sinfulness and extol the holiness of God, while calling for judgment upon the instrument of His wrath.

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In a certain sense these last two verses might also be looked upon as setting forth the doom of those who refuse to own the Lordship of Jesus. He too could say of such, “Thou wilt bring the day that Thou hast called, and they shall be like unto Me.” Despising His sufferings, men who reject His grace must know for themselves the awful power of divine wrath. (Ironside, H. A. (1906). Notes on the prophecy and Lamentations of Jeremiah (p. 318). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)

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1:20–22. Jerusalem had called to those passing by (vv. 12–19) but now she turned her cry to God. In baring her soul to the Lord, Jerusalem called on Him to notice her plight. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death. While the city was under attack by Nebuchadnezzar’s army, those who tried to escape to freedom by breaking through the siege were cut down by swords. Those who remained in the city died of starvation and plague.

After describing her plight, Jerusalem called on God to extend His judgment to her enemies. May You bring the day You have announced so they may become like me. The “day” was the “day of the Lord,” which had already been announced by the prophets. This was the time when God’s judgment would extend to all the earth to avenge injustice and bring about the Age of righteousness that had been promised (cf. comments on “the day of the Lord” under “Major Interpretive Problems,” in the Introduction to Joel).

Jerusalem wanted God to judge the sins of her enemies as He had judged her sins: deal with them as You have dealt with me because of all my sins (cf. Lam. 4:21–22). This did not happen at that time, but God said He would judge all nations during and after the still-future Tribulation period (cf. Isa. 62:8–63:6; Ezek. 38–39; Joel 3:1–3, 9–21; Obad. 15–21; Micah 7:8–13; Zech. 14:1–9; Matt. 25:31–46; Rev. 16:12–16; 19:19–21.) (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Lamentations. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1214). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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“We are reaping just what we have sown,” the prophet is crying. The awful judgments that came were only what the city and the nation deserved. “We have rebelled against His Word.” Rebellion always leads to discipline; see Heb. 12:1–14. Why did God allow His people to go into captivity? To teach them to trust Him and obey His Word. In v. 19 Jeremiah names these troublemakers: the “lovers,” that is, the false gods and the pagan nations that Judah trusted when she got into trouble; and the false prophets and priests, who taught lies and gave the people a false confidence. When a nation will not listen to the truth of God’s Word, there is no hope for that nation.

What can the people do? Nothing but yield to God’s chastening hand and trust His mercy (1:22). Confession of sin is better than continuous rebellion against God. It was too late for God to call off the invasion, but certainly He would see the repentance of His people and begin to work on their behalf even while they were in captivity. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (La 1:18–22). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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Ver. 21. They have heard that I sigh: there is none to comfort me, &c.] That is, the nations, as the Targum; the neighbouring ones, those that were her confederates and allies; the same with her lovers, as before, as Aben Ezra observes; these being near her, knew full well her sorrowful and distressed condition, being as it were within the hearing of her sighs and groans; and yet none of them offered to help her, or so much as to speak a comfortable word to her: all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; not only her friends, but foes; meaning the Tyrians, Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites, and as the following description of them shews; for it must design others from the Chaldeans, that were the immediate cause of it: they are glad that thou hast done it; brought all this ruin and destruction on Jerusalem, which could never have been done, if the Lord had not willed it; and at this the above-mentioned nations rejoiced; see Ezek 25:3; Obad. ver. 12 there being a considerable stop on the word glad, it may be rendered, as by some, they are glad; but thou hast done it; not they, but thou; and therefore must be patiently bore, and quietly submitted to, it being the Lord’s doing: thou wilt bring the day that thou hast called; the time of the destruction of the Chaldeans, who had the chief hand in the ruin of the Jewish nation, and of those that rejoiced at it; which time was fixed by the Lord, and proclaimed and published by his prophets, and would certainly and exactly come, as and when it was pointed out: some take it to be a wish or prayer, that God would bring it, as he had declared; though others interpret it in a quite different sense, thou hast brought the day^p; meaning on herself, the determined destruction; so the Targum, “thou hast brought upon me the day of vengeance; thou hast called a time upon me to my desolation:” and they shall be like unto me; in the same distressed, desolate, and sorrowful condition, being brought to ruin and destruction; which afterwards was the case of the Chaldeans, and all the other nations.

Ver. 22. Let all their wickedness come before thee, &c.] The Targum adds, “in the day of the great judgment;” but it seems to refer to present time, at least to the time fixed by the Lord for their ruin; and which the church imprecates, not from a spirit of revenge, but from a holy zeal for the glory of God; desiring that the wickedness of her enemies might be remembered by the Lord, so as to punish them in righteous judgment for the same: and do unto them as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions; she owns that what was done to her was for her sins, and therefore could not charge God with injustice; only she desires the same might be done to her enemies, who were equally guilty: some render it, glean them; or rather, gather them as a vintage; or as grapes are gathered: as thou hast gathered me; as thou hast took me, and cast me into the wine-press of thy wrath, and there hast trodden and squeezed me; see ver. 15 so do unto them: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint; her sighs were many because of her afflictions, and her heart faint because of her sighing. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, p. 706). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

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FROM MY READING:

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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Waterless Clouds

“Woe unto them! . . . clouds they are without water, carried about of winds.” (Jude 1:11-12)

This appears to be the only reference in the Bible that compares clouds to people. Several references use cloud imagery to depict the presence of God directing Israel (Exodus 13:21), speaking to Moses (Exodus 16:10-11), anointing the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-38) and the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11), and speaking to the apostles on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5). Our Lord Jesus was taken up to heaven in a cloud (Acts 1:9) and will return in a cloud as well (Luke 21:27).
Here, however, Jude applies a strong negative imagery. Those who introduce evil into the Lord’s churches may seem to represent the presence of God, but their misty vapor holds no “water”—it will only obscure the brilliance of light and obfuscate the real “temperature” of the environment.
In an agrarian-based economy, clouds were hopeful signs of rain to refresh the land. Some of that positive view has been lost by urban societies, which often see rain as an inconvenience. New Testament imagery connects water with life-giving properties emanating from the Holy Spirit and with the cleansing value of the words of Scripture (John 4:14; Ephesians 5:26). Paul warned Pastor Titus about many “unruly and vain talkers and deceivers” who must be stopped so that “good men” would become “sound in the faith” (Titus 1:8-13).
Thus, Jude compares those who hinder “the faith” to those who appear to represent godly pursuits and character but are empty of the refreshing and guiding power of the Holy Spirit and void of biblical wisdom and insight. They are “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14) and “serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:18). (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)

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THE CROSS AND PEACE

…peace with God… Romans 5:1

Before man can ever know peace, and in particular peace with God, the two sides must be dealt with. Man is at enmity with God, and God’s wrath is upon man. Something has to happen on God’s side, and the message of the cross is that this has happened. When our Lord died upon the cross, He was fulfilling every demand of God’s holy law. The righteousness and the justice and the holiness of God were fully satisfied. God poured out His wrath upon sin in the body of His own Son. Christ’s soul was made an offering for sin, and all the demands of God on His holiness were satisfied there. And, thank God, it works on our side also. We have a feeling that God is against us. We think of God as some great ogre or monster waiting to pounce upon us and to punish us; we feel that He hates us and that He is against us and spoiling our lives. We do not want to be bothered by Him and want to go our own way.

Then the moment comes when we look at that cross and see that God sent His only begotten, dearly loved Son into this world in order that He might go to the cross. It was God who sent Him to it. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself….” It was God who “laid on him the iniquity of us all.” It was God who smote Him and struck Him and gave Him the punishment that we deserved. As you look at the cross, I say again, our whole attitude toward God, and our whole opinion of God, changes completely. There we see that God is love and full of mercy and of compassion, that God loves us with an everlasting love. So you see that by the cross, God’s wrath is satisfied and appeased, and our folly and our rebellion are taken away, and God and man are brought together, and our peace is made with God.

A Thought to Ponder: By the cross God and man are brought together. (From The Cross, pp. 182-183, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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John 14

Jesus reassures His disciples with His promise to send the Holy Spirit.

INSIGHT

A very tender and intimate scene begins in chapter 14. The disciples do not understand clearly everything that is going on, but they know that something big is about to happen and that Jesus will be leaving them. Their Teacher, their Mentor, their Friend for the last three years is leaving, and their hearts are crushed with the burden.

In this spirit, Jesus speaks softly, kindly, tenderly to them: “Let not your heart be troubled; . . . I go to prepare a place for you (in My Father’s house). And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself” (14:1-3). Again: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (14:18).

How loving and compassionate. And He loves us just as much as the disciples. (Quiet Walk)

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