Imagine if you will that you are one of the survivors of the Civil War left in the south. By the time of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the South lay in ruin. Cities, farms, and homes have been burned and ravaged by cannon fire. Railroads and bridges have been destroyed. The economical, social and spiritual fabric of your culture has been torn to shreds. The loss of life has touched virtually every family. The practice of organizing military units with troops from the same town meant that some communities no longer have any surviving young men, all of them having died in the same battle. Tears well up in your eyes as you realize that life as you know it now lies in the charred rubble and there is nothing you can do to change what has happened. “Why!” you cry out. Lonely, hurt, broken and without hope your fall to your knees, bury your head in your hands and sob uncontrollably. That seems to describe exactly how Jeremiah felt as he wandered through the once glorious city of Jerusalem after it had been totally leveled by the Babylonian army. Jeremiah new that judgment was coming because he had faithfully delivered the message God had given to him to the people. “Repent of your sins or suffer the consequences!” But neither his knowledge of the pending doom nor his obedience to carrying out his God given mission lessened the deep sorrow he felt as he surveyed the piles of rubble that was once Jerusalem. Today I would like us to step alongside Jeremiah and survey with him firsthand the devastating effects of sin.
I. Jerusalem laments over her demise with expressions of sorrow and regret.
A. Jeremiah’s observations as he surveys the tragic scene.
1. Jeremiah first looks at Jerusalem, the capital and representative of Judah, and contrasted what she once had been with what she then was.
2. Even in the great days of David and Solomon, the territories of Israel never compared with those of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia at their height; while for buildings, riches (except perhaps in the days of Solomon), and population, Jerusalem never rivaled the great cities of the Near East.
3. These opening verses introduce the reader to an incredible scene. A once great lady has become a widow, a queen has become a servant girl; her friends have become her enemies, her rivals have gained the upper hand, her children have been carried off, and her many possessions have been lost.
4. What makes it all the more horrifying is the absence of any comforting hand. There is no shoulder to cry on, no heart to grieve along with her in her time of loss. Instead, the neighbors only laugh in contempt.
5. The roads that led to Jerusalem once were crowded with pilgrims but were now deserted. The priests groaned because the temple, formerly the center of their life and activity, was no more. “Her maidens grieve” because their chances for marriage and family were now precarious.
B. The question is, “What did Jerusalem do to warrant such a devastating judgment.
1. The Lord has brought devastation upon Jerusalem as a result of her many sins and continued rebellion.
2. They have rejected the Lord and turned their backs on His ways.
3. They had become so earthly minded that they lost sight of the eternal.
4. Personal pleasure rather than godly commitment became their standard of living.
C. The last eleven verses here in chapter one is marked by Jerusalem speaking for herself.
1. Jerusalem’s remarks highlight the intensity of her suffering and that her suffering has been brought on her by the Lord.
2. The intensity of her suffering is brought out in the numerous references to parts of the human body in these verses.
a. The Lord sends destruction into her bones.
b. He has tripped her feet.
c. He has placed the burden of her sins on her neck.
d. Her eyes are filled with tears.
3. Jerusalem is reminded that she is a part of the nation of Judah which the Lord is punishing. If the Lord is justified in destroying the nation than he is justified in destroying the city as well.
4. The city finally acknowledges the justness of her suffering. She had rebelled against a righteous husband. He has been treating her only as she deserves.
5. She points out her suffering now as an object lesson to other cities. A righteous God shows his righteousness by bringing suffering on the wicked.
6. Jerusalem appealed for the sympathy of other peoples; here it appealed to God to take notice of its suffering. Again Jerusalem admitted its rebelliousness that had led to death and pestilence in the streets and in the homes.
7. Jerusalem’s enemies heard of its “distress”; but instead of giving comfort, they rejoiced that God had brought punishment on his people. Jerusalem’s response was to call on God to punish its enemies, even as he had punished it.
II. Jerusalem’s sorrow and grief express a timeless truth.
A. Until you have personally experienced the depths loneliness and brokenness you are not able to understand the anguish of a lonely heart.
1. This first lament has focused on the misery and desolation of a city that suffered the consequences of ignoring the prophets’ warnings that God punishes those who sin. It serves as a solemn reminder of the ultimate misery and sorrow of all who think they can escape God’s punishment.
2. Jerusalem searched for anyone who could understand and provide at least a little comfort for her pain but no one could be found.
3. The futility in Jerusalem’s search for comfort was rooted in misunderstanding and looking for comfort in the wrong place.
4. CS Lewis coined the phrase that pain was the megaphone of God. He writes, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain.”
5. As the nation of Judah will learn the existence of pain and suffering in the world serves as a vivid reminder that there is something seriously wrong in the world.
6. We see the pain and suffering led Jerusalem to do some very honest self examination so that they could find the cause of their suffering.
7. Comfort eluded Jerusalem despite the desperate search because they looked for comfort in the wrong place.
B. There is no one that can understand the depth of our suffering like Jesus Christ.
1. No human being has ever experienced the pain of loneliness and brokenness like the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
2. The Spotless Lamb of God walked this earth for thirty-plus years among those very ones He had created.
3. He walked among sinners and met their needs so completely—only to be betrayed, beaten, mocked and nailed to a rugged Roman cross by the very ones He sought to save.
4. He died alone despised by man and experiencing God turning His back on Him.
5. Yes, He experienced the same pain described in Lamentations 1 as well as all things that go along with being human.
III. Is there any place we can turn in order to be truly comforted?
A. Have you ever felt like you were alone in your pain?
1. There is a huge difference between the pain we suffer and the pain suffered by Judah
2. Judah’s pain happened after repeated warnings and calls to change their sinful behavior.
3. The results are the same; we are left with many questions to be answered, and feelings of loneliness and brokenness.
4. Perhaps the greatest question we want an answer to is, “Where is God in all of this?”
B. The truth is, Jesus knows exactly what you are going through and longs to ease your hurt.
1. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30—NIV)
2. Jesus invites the "weary" (the participle suggests those who have become weary through heavy struggling or toil) and the "burdened" (the passive side of weariness, overloaded like beasts of burden) to come to him; and he (not the Father) will give them rest. There is an echo of Jeremiah 31:25, where Yahweh refreshes his people through the new covenant.
3. The Lord longs to bring you relief from your suffering and a peace that passes all understanding.
4. The key question is, “Are you willing to trust yourself to His care?
The following was written by Jack Jordan newspaper editor recording the events of April 3, 1974.
An uneasiness nagged at me as I checked over proofs for the next day’s paper. It was Wednesday, April 3, 1974 about 4 o’clock on a gray afternoon. More than 100 tornadoes had been sighted to the southwest. We had had such warnings before the twisters had always missed Xenia, Ohio.
Suddenly the radio crackled: “Tornado! Southwest of town, expected in six minutes.” I leapt from desk and hurried out into our office which faces the main downtown street. Police shouted “Take Cover” through bullhorns. Already white faced shoppers and business people were streaming into our new annex building for the protection of its steel beam and thick concrete construction.
suddenly an ominous green darkened the street. A rumbling roar like a thousand freight trains crossing the ceiling filled the building with a grinding thunder. Our street doors flew open, I rushed to close them and found myself looking up into a black swirling sea of debris and giant tress. I fought my way back and threw myself down on the stairs among the other praying and sobbing people.
Then an eerie stillness filled the air. The monster had passed. My family and home were two miles away. I ran to my convertible, its windows sucked out, I sat in broken glass and drove down the street. There were no more streets , just mountains of debris and dazed and confused people wandering around. After making sure that my family was okay, I returned to the newspaper office.
The tornado had bulldozed a seven mile path half a mile wide right through Xenia, Ohio. 33 men, women, and children were dead. Almost half of Xenia’s buildings were destroyed. Nearly 10,000 people were homeless. Six of nine schools were smashed, nine churches, and 180 stores and businesses were destroyed.
In the coming months the city would pull together and begin to rebuild houses, businesses, churches, schools, and lives. One afternoon, seven months later I walked downtown and remembered the houses that owners had spray painted with the words “Oh God, why us?” and “Only God knows.” And I remember what Dick Pope a minister had said at an Easter celebration just eleven days after the tornado. “For the first time people are really going to understand what resurrection is about. You have to realize that Christ was even more effective after the resurrection than before. And this storm can be a turning point for this town. The Christian faith does not promise that we will not have suffering, but it does create the character in us that can face it and know how to use it.”
