Lamentations 3:36

In these verses Jeremiah is continuing to talk about certain truths concerning God. The Bible says in Lamentations 3:36-37, “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?” Two important spiritual principles are recounted here, and it is interesting to see how they fit together. The first one speaks of the free will of man, and the second one is about the sovereignty of God. The Lord does not “subvert a man in his cause” because God gives every person a free choice to choose their way. That is especially true for believers. God promises to bless what we do. Jesus said in Matthew 18:18, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Of course, Christians will have their desires affected by the reading and study of the Word of God. Our way of thinking and therefore our priorities are affected. As we make scriptural choices, whatever those choices are, it is no wonder that God seals them in heaven. There is another dynamic involved in our freedom to choose: God’s sovereignty. Nothing happens unless God lets it happen. That is one of the reasons that we pray and ask for God’s will, God’s leading, and God’s help in whatever we do. “Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not.” Our decisions will not pan out unless the Lord wills.

The Bible says in Lamentations 3:38-47, “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.[41] Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.[42] We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.[43] Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.[44] Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.[45] Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.[46] All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.[47] Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.” The problem that Israel had is a very common problem. It is the sin problem. God does not do evil. Man does evil, and then God must punish the evil. The only escape from that punishment is to repent. That is why Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” How fortunate we are to live in the age of grace with Jesus as our Savior. In verse 42 Jeremiah said, “We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.” Why did not God pardon? Forgiveness is not automatic. You must repent of you sins and ask for forgiveness. One of the terrible consequences of sin is that it negatively affects the prayer life. Jeremiah said in verse 44, “Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.” David wrote the same thing in Psalms 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”

Jeremiah made a good point in verse 39 when he asked the question: “Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?” We all deserve to go to hell. It is only by the grace of God that Jesus saves us from that destiny. We do not deserve such kindness and benefit. Therefore, when we suffer something in this life, shouldn’t we say that we deserve even greater?

The reason that Israel’s enemies got the upper hand over them was because Israel went out of fellowship with the Lord. Jeremiah said in verse 46, “All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.” We need the Lord. We need His help and His blessings. When we are not in fellowship with the Lord, we are easy targets for the people of this world. You can avoid all this by making sure that you stay in fellowship with the Lord by applying First John 1:9 to your heart. It says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You do not want to have happen what is said in verse 47, “Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.”

The Bible says in Lamentations 3:48-54, “Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.[49] Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,[50] Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.[51] Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.[52] Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.[53] They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.[54] Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.” Jeremiah cried many tears, more than ninety-six tears, that is for sure. All of that water flowing down his face reminded him of another time when he experienced a lot of water. In verse 53 he referred to “the dungeon.” He was talking about a time when he was thrown into a dungeon, being persecuted for telling the truth. It says in Jeremiah 37:15-16, “Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.[16] When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;”

But in Lamentations 3:55-58 Jeremiah wrote, “I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.[56] Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.[57] Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.[58] O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.” God delivered Jeremiah in the past. God answered Jeremiah’s prayer in the past, and so the Lord would answer Jeremiah this time too. If you know Jesus as your Savior, that means there was a day when you called out to Jesus to rescue you from your sins. Jesus answered that prayer, and therefore, He will rescue any other time that you need Him and call out to Him. Notice what the Lord said to Jeremiah in verse 57 after Jeremiah called out to God, “Fear not.” The Lord does not want us to fear. He wants us to have confidence in Him. That is living by faith. No matter happens, we can say with confidence, “The Lord will provide.” “The Lord will save.”

The Bible says in Lamentations 3:59-63, “O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.[60] Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.[61] Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me;[62] The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.[63] Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.” One of the truths about God that Jeremiah understands that means that God will intervene and take care of Jeremiah is the omniscience of God. God knows all things. God knows what the wicked are doing. God knows what the wicked are planning. God knows what the wicked are saying. God hears every word, and God is holy. God does not like the wicked devices of the wicked, and God loves His children. Remember that we are told, “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay.”

The Bible says in Lamentations 3:64-66, “Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.[65] Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.[66] Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.” There is nothing wring with asking God to punish evil doers. As far as our personal relationships are concerned, we do not take vengeance on others for their wrongs against us. But God has set up authorities who have the responsibility of punishing evil-doers. God is at the head of all authorities, and God will punish evil doers. That is why we need to quickly turn from our sins to the Lord for forgiveness.

The Bible says in Lamentations 4:1-6, “How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.[2] The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter![3] Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.[4] The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.[5] They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.[6] For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.” These verses show one more time how much Jeremiah was suffering as he lists things that went so terribly wrong in the country of Israel. They lost their wealth and their health and their lovely lives that they once lived. It was all gone. And then in verse six, they are compared to Sodom and the punishment that Sodom received when its judgment came. Needless to say, it is not good if you are compared to Sodom in any way.

The Bible says in Lamentations 4:7-8, “Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: [8] Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.” Jeremiah first remembers what the Nazarites once were. They were spiritual. They were dedicated to God. They were “purer than snow.” But then something terrible happened. They fell from their former estate. They went away from God. They ruined their relationship with the Lord. Be careful if you are close to the Lord today. You can ruin your relationship with the Lord tomorrow and ruin your testimony before the lost people of the world. “Let any man who thinks that he stands, take heed lest he fall.”

The Bible says in Lamentations 4:9, “They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.” As Jeremiah looked at the sufferings of his people, he thought about the suffering of death with all those who had died when the nation was lost, and Jeremiah saw that it was better to die quickly than to suffer for a long time and then die. When Jesus died on the cross, He died a death that was designed by the Romans to cause great suffering. Jesus willingly went to that death for you and for me. What a Savior!

The Bible says in Lamentations 4:10-13, “The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.[11] The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.[12] The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.[13] For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her.” In verse 10 the unthinkable is mentioned once again: cannibalism, and not just any cannibalism: women eating their own children. Horrible is not a strong enough word. And then in verse 12 Jeremiah says that what happened in the destruction of Israel was so horrendous that the kings of the earth and the inhabitants of the world would find it unbelievable. How have the mighty fallen. Let any man thinks that he standeth take heed lest he fall. Sin has terrible consequences. Turning away from God always ends in destruction. Every believer in Jesus is so fortunate. We have a Savior. We will be saved from punishment and destruction. Thank you Lord Jesus for your salvation and forgiveness.

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