Lamentations 1
COMMENTARY:
: 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.
: 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.
: 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.
: 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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