A Cry to God's Heart : A Study in Lamentations

This past Saturday evening I was trying to decide what to do... I was feeling a bit restless. I ended up picking up my Bible and I flipped through to the book of Lamentations. I've never read the entire book before, just bits and parts. I started reading through with just a pen in hand, to underline and make notes. I ended up reading all five chapters. I wanted to share in this post some of the things I learned.

First here's a little background on the book. The book of Lamentations is believed by most to have been written by the prophet Jeremiah. It was written after 586 BC, after the third group of people had been taken to Babylon. Jerusalem lay in ruins, with so many of her people gone.

One thing that I probably like about the book of Lamentations is the way it's written. The author uses personification, metaphors, and vivid imagery. Now, the book does take a little diving into to understand, but it's worth the time. I'm not going to go into all of that in this post, instead I want to focus on a few main points. 

Why did all of that happen? Why were  the Jews carted off to Babylon? Why was their country invaded? Why didn't God intervene? 

^ If you've ever read the book of Lamentations, or even just one of the books of prophecy written around that time then those are some questions that may have popped in your head. The author of the book actually answers some of those questions...

Lam. 4:13, "Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous within her."

Lam. 5:6, "We made a treaty with Egypt and with Assyria, to get enough food."

Lam. 1:18, "The Lord is just, for I rebelled against His command..."

The people of Judah had sinned against God. They turned to other countries for what only God could give them. God had forbidden them from making alliances with other countries. He wanted them to rely on Him for their needs. But they didn't. They trusted in other nations, who later failed them. 

I've often heard the quote, "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay." It's true, in our lives and in their lives. Sin has a huge price. The price is death (Romans 6:23). But God, in His mercy, He often gives us another chance. But that doesn't mean there aren't consequences.

I have a question for you, and I want you to really think about it. Does your heart break over your sin? "Lament" means to express deep grief and sorrow and that's what the writer of Lamentations does. He says how he's in distress, how his heart is broken because of his rebellion. (Lam. 1:20)

To be completely honest I don't think I am most of the time. When it comes to some things.. like snapping at a sibling, letting my thoughts wander where they shouldn't, etc... I tend to shrug it off rather than truly repenting to God. That doesn't mean we're to live in shame and guilt. No! God called us to freedom (Galatians 5:13). But if we want to live in that freedom we have to bring our sin and shame to Him and truly turn from it. 

The people of Judah turned from God and to others. They turned from Who truly loved them, to alliances with cheap promises. 

We may be quick to judge them, but how often do we do the very same thing? So often we turn from God and His love and truth to the world and what the world offers. But the pleasure sin brings is fleeting and isn't worth the price. 

Lamentations 3:31-33, "For the Lord will not reject us forever. Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to the abundance of His faithful love. For He does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind."

I think those verses pretty much sum up the book of Lamentations. God doesn't enjoy the pain and devastation our world faces today. I believe all of the sin and sorrow breaks His heart. He has allowed us the gift of freewill, and sadly we often chose to rebel against Him. But He always remains compassionate and His love is faithful.

On a different note, I think I'm going to start doing posts like this more often. Perhaps once a month or something like that. I actually did something like this a while back on Isaiah (click here to read it).

Lamentations 3:21-22, "Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end."