Begin with Truth – Lamentations 3:1-33
I am one who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath;
2 he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
3 against me alone he turns his hand,
again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away,
and broken my bones;
5 he has besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
6 he has made me sit in darkness
like the dead of long ago.
7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
he has put heavy chains on me;
8 though I call and cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer;
9 he has blocked my ways with hewn stones,
he has made my paths crooked.
10 He is a bear lying in wait for me,
a lion in hiding;
11 he led me off my way and tore me to pieces;
he has made me desolate;
12 he bent his bow and set me
as a mark for his arrow.
13 He shot into my vitals
the arrows of his quiver;
14 I have become the laughingstock of all my people,
the object of their taunt-songs all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitterness,
he has sated me with wormwood.
16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
and made me cower in ashes;
17 my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;
18 so I say, “Gone is my glory,
and all that I had hoped for from the Lord.”
19 The thought of my affliction and my homelessness
is wormwood and gall!
20 My soul continually thinks of it
and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,[b]
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,
28 to sit alone in silence
when the Lord has imposed it,
29 to put one’s mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),
30 to give one’s cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.
31 For the Lord will not
reject forever.
32 Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve anyone.
What does the Passage say?
Lamentation is a collection of poetic Laments over the destruction of Jerusalem (Defenition of the Book of Lamentation according to Wikipedia).
V. 1-18 The writer of this lament starts by describing God’s wrath. The author, traditionally known as Jeremiah, says that he witnessed God’s punishment toward the people of God. Jeremiah attributes all that has been done to the people, from God, as a result of the people’s sins.
V. 19-24 Despite of all that has happened, Jerimiah continues to praise the Lord. It reminds me of the praise from Job. He says, “I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. This I call to mind and therefore I have hope. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail” (v. 20-22 NIV).
V. 25-33 Jeremiah says that the ones who have hope in the Lord look at these hardships as an opportunity to re-examine their soul.
What does the Passage say to me/us?
Once more, we are reminded that believing in God is not to avoid any hardship. Even though my understanding of why Christians go through tough times, differs from Jeremiah’s view, I agree that he still has hope in our Lord, in these tough times. It is also true that the wise uses, this time, to wait upon the Lord, and re-examine their soul.
We should focus more on how we can avoid what the Israelites did to the Lord. How we should avoid all idols and objects in the world that break our relationship with our Lord. How we should focus more on following our Lord.
However, all in all, let us know not lose sight of the compassion of our Lord. The love of our Lord is great, and his mercies are new every day.
Prayer
Lord, lead us not to temptation of this world, but pour out your mercies upon us everyday. Help us to share that mercy with others that we meet today.
In Christ Name we pray, AMEN.
*The steadfast love of the Lord – a song based on today’s verse
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