The Bible says in Lamentations 2:15-16,
All
that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the
daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of
beauty, The joy of the whole earth?[16] All thine enemies have opened
their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have
swallowed her up: certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found,
we have seen it. If you are a believer, one of your primary goals in life
should be to be a witness for the Lord. Jesus said, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your
good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. If you know Jesus as Savior, then He changed your life,
and that change is what will witness to the world of what the Lord can do. If
you walk in fellowship with the Lord, then people will be affected by what God
does through you. But how terrible it is when the world looks at someone who
claims to be a believer but sees only the chastisement that God brought.
Jerusalem could have been as it says in verse 15, The joy of the whole earth, but instead Jerusalem became the reason for sorrow and tears and
crying. The enemies saw it and were glad. But the enemies of Israel made one big
mistake: they thought that they brought the destruction of Jerusalem. God made
it happen, just as Jeremiah wrote in verse 17, The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the
days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine
enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn
of thine adversaries.
The Bible says in Lamentations 2:18, Their heart
cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a
river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
It is interesting what Jeremiah said in this verse and very prophetic. He
mentions a wall in Jerusalem, and the fact that tears would run down like a
river. That is exactly what we have today in Jerusalem. Not much has changed.
Even though a new temple was built by Ezra, and that temple was embellished by
King Herod, it too was destroyed, and all that is let is part of a wall where
people go and cry and wail because they know that God did this, and only God
can fix it. In the age in which we live, Jesus is fixing souls one at a time.
Turn to Jesus with your sins and your problems, and your crying will be turned
to joy.
Jeremiah goes into more detail about
the sorrows that he had seen. The Bible says in Lamentations 2:19-22, Arise, cry
out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like
water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of
thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.[20] Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast
done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall
the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?[21]
The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young
men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger;
thou hast killed, and not pitied.[22] Thou hast called as in a solemn
day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD's anger none escaped
nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy
consumed. Verse 19 speaks of children being in hunger. Verse 20
speaks of women eating their own children. Yes, people turn to cannibalism when
they are in the most dire of circumstances. Verse 21
speaks of both young and old lying in the streets because they have been killed
by the swords of soldiers who breached the walls and killed indiscriminately. As Jeremiah said in verse 22, that definitely was the day of the
Lords anger. That was Gods anger against Israel. There will be
another day of Gods anger against the whole world. Jesus calls it a time of
Great Tribulation that will come upon the earth. Jesus also said that except
those days be shortened, no flesh would be saved. The
invitation that God gives to everyone is to turn to Jesus while there is time.
In the next twenty verses Jeremiah shows
us once again how much he is suffering. It is true that we can suffer a lot in
this world, especially if we look at other peoples sufferings and feel their
pain too. But if we look too closely at all the sufferings and feel them too
deeply, we might fall into the same kind of negativity that Jeremiah fell into.
Fortunately, we will see starting in verse 21 that Jeremiah finds a way out
from all of his sad thoughts: turn to the Lord and put his eyes upon the Lord. It
says in Lamentations 3:1-20, I am the man that hath seen affliction by the
rod of his wrath.[2] He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but
not into light.[3] Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.[4] My flesh
and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.[5] He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and
travail.[6] He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.[7]
He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.[8]
Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my
prayer.[9] He hath inclosed my ways with hewn
stone, he hath made my paths crooked.[10] He was unto me as a bear lying
in wait, and as a lion in secret places.[11] He hath turned aside my
ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.[12] He hath
bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.[13] He hath caused the
arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.[14] I was a derision to all
my people; and their song all the day.[15] He hath filled me with
bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.[16] He hath also
broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.[17]
And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat
prosperity.[18] And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the
LORD:[19] Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and
the gall.[20] My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in
me. In describing his suffering, Jeremiah actually begins to
give a solution to getting out of the depths of sorrow. In verse 19 Jeremiah
says, Remembering mine affliction and my
misery. In verse 20 Jeremiah says, My soul hath them still in remembrance. After the time of grieving, there comes a time when we
need to forget the past: even the painful past. Maybe we should say, especially
the painful past. People are going to suffer for their sins, and even when they
do not sin, people are going to suffer because this is a world of woe. Even
Jesus was called a man of sorrows and well acquainted with grief. In order to
get over a great sorrow or loss, you must forget about the past, and reach
forward to the future. God wants His believers to be happy. It says in Psalms
100:1-2, Make a joyful noise unto the LORD,
all ye lands.[2] Serve the LORD with gladness:
come before his presence with singing. We can
be happy if we think the right thoughts. It says in Philippians 4:8, Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Finally, Jeremiah starts to look at
things from the right perspective. The right perspective for a believer is to
turn our eyes to the Lord no matter what happens to us and no matter what is
our situation. Jeremiah says in Lamentations 3:21-26, This I
recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.[22] It is of the LORD's
mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.[23]
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.[24] The LORD is
my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in
him.[25] The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.[26] It is good that a man should both
hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
In verse 21 Jeremiah says, I recall to
my mind. Instead of the negative thoughts of how badly things have gone, Jeremiah
turns his mind to what can take him out of depression and out of sorrow: he
turns his mind to the Lord. In verse 22 Jeremiah mentions the Lords mercy and
the Lords compassion. Jesus loves us. Verse 23 is a great verse: They are new
every morning: great is thy faithfulness. It is a good thing that His mercy is
new every morning because we need it every morning. We can walk with Him, not
because we are faithful, but because He is faithful to us. We can count on Him
and His mercy towards us. In verse 24 Jeremiah said, The LORD is
my portion, saith my soul. If we desire
the Lord Jesus more than anything else, then no matter what we lose, we can
never lose Him. We will always have our most precious possession: our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. In verse 25 Jeremiah mentions two things that every
believer must do: wait for the Lord and seek the Lord. Because the Lord is
merciful to us and compassionate towards us, we know that He is going to
provide. He will give grace and glory. We only need to wait upon Him and upon
His time. He will provide and He will bless. Jeremiah concludes this great set
of verses by saying in verse 26, It is good that a man should both
hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Hope in the Bible refers to expectation. You know something is going to happen,
but you just do not know exactly when it is going to happen. With the Lord we
always have that kind of hope. We know something good is about to happen. Help
is on the way. The salvation of the Lord first of all refers to being saved
from our sins. But it also refers to anything that we need to be delivered
from. God will deliver us from any troubles and from all troubles. What a
Savior!
The Bible says in Lamentations 3:27-31,
It
is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.[28] He sitteth alone and keepeth
silence, because he hath borne it upon him.[29] He putteth
his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.[30] He giveth his
cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with
reproach.[31] For the Lord will not cast off for ever:
When we follow the Lord, and do things His way, there will be many blessings,
but there will also be burdens to bear. Jesus said, If any man will come after me, let him take up his cross
daily and follow me. Christians need to learn
how to bear a burden and keep going. If you are living an entirely selfish
life, then you will not be able to bear burdens. You will only seek the easy
way and the way of pleasure. No one gets everything they want. Everyone has to
learn to obey, and the younger that we learn this, the better off we will be. As
it says in verse 27, It is good for a man
that he bear the yoke in his youth.
In talking about someone who has learned
to bear the burdens that God has given to him, Jeremiah wrote in verse 30, He giveth
his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full
with reproach. One of your burdens to bear might be to suffer in silence after
you have been persecuted. Jesus said to turn the other cheek, and that is
exactly what this says too. Do not take revenge if you have been persecuted for
your faith. Wait upon the Lord. These situations will challenge our faith, that is for sure. Jeremiah said in verse 31, For the Lord
will not cast off for ever. In His time
God will deliver you.
The Bible says in Lamentations 3:32-40,
But
though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude
of his mercies.[33] For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the
children of men.[34] To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the
earth,[35] To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most
High,[36] To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth
not.[37] Who is he that saith, and it cometh
to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?[38]
Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil
and good?[39] Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment
of his sins?[40] Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the
LORD. Some people look at their problems or the sorrows in the world,
and they get bitter against God. But if you look for the compassion of God, you
will see it. Your eyes will be opened. Jesus said, Seek and ye shall find. Yes,
there is grief to suffer sometimes, yet
will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. One of the things that is going
on is that God knows, and we do not know. One thing that we do know is that God
is good. God wants everyone to have the best life possible. That is why Jesus
said, I am come that ye might have life,
and that ye might have it more abundantly.
In verse 34 Jeremiah makes an
interesting statement, saying what God will not do. God will not crush under
his feet all the prisoners of the earth. We are prisoners of the earth. We
are bound here, held down by gravity with so many limitations and so many
sufferings. But thank God that Christians will one day be set free from the
earth. Gravity will hold us no more, and we will meet the Lord in the air. And
so shall we ever be with the Lord: free. It says in Romans 8:21, Because the
creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God. What a wonderful future awaits those
who believe in Jesus. If you do not know Jesus, you can turn to Him today and
He will forgive you of your sins.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2017 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved