We live in a culture that is overrun by frivolous lawsuits. We are encouraged to sue if someone tramples on what we consider to be our rights. This is just another sign of the mentality, “I have the right to believe and act in whatever manner I deem appropriate.” Unfortunately this attitude has begun to seep into the church. Have you ever wondered what happens when Christian’s decide to do things their own way? How does God deal with those rebellious children who refuse to listen to Him and insist on having their own way? If you will think back the answer is found in Galatians 6:7, “A man reaps what he sows.” This spiritual principle is graphically illustrated in the destruction of Jerusalem a punishment brought on the Jews by their persistent disobedience to God. Lamentations does an excellent job of showing the consequences of Judah’s pursuit of pleasure and self gratification. Judah reaped the fruit of demanding their own way. The images that we see throughout Lamentations are graphic and quite unpleasant. However, let us dare not forget that those images are realistic and relevant. Let’s make another stop in Jeremiah’s diary and look at the lessons we can learn for today.
I. Five results of continued disobedience to God for both individuals and communities.
A. Diminishing of one’s dignity and loss of one’s ability to make an impact.
1. The storm had passed over Jeremiah’s head. As he picked himself up and gazed on the desolation around him, he declared with the voice of faith that this had been the work of the "Lord".
2. God’s wrath covered the nation like a storm cloud that had unleashed its fury on the helpless inhabitants below. Jerusalem is compared to a star that has fallen from heaven.
3. A nation that once enjoyed a privileged position with God through its covenant relationship never seemed to grasp the moral and spiritual obligations that such a relationship required.
4. Judah now finds herself no longer enjoying national prominence; her leaders no longer possess the power and position to guide her destiny.
5. The continued sin of the people had brought shame among the nations and has caused her to lose her ability to be a godly influence on the nations around her.
B. Loss of one’s internal stability and zeal for life.
1. The description of Judah’s total destruction continues in this verse. “Horn” is a frequent figure for strength and pride in the Old Testament.
2. Instead of coming to the defense of his people, the Lord had completely withdrawn his help (“his right hand”). God had become their enemy, even as the prophets said.
3. The hand that in past times had symbolized the Lord’s help was now turned against Judah.
4. Many people today take lightly the warnings of God’s coming judgment on sin, even as Jerusalem did before its destruction.
C. A deepening of your guilt and an increase in the intensity of your anguish.
1. Though historically Babylon was the enemy that destroyed Israel, theologically it was God who used Babylon as the instrument of punishment.
2. The intensive verb “swallow” heads a list of powerful verbs describing what God had done to Judah in his wrath. The same verb is repeated at the conclusion of the list where it is linked with the concept that Yahweh had become the enemy of his people.
3. No wonder the mourning and pain is felt on such a large scale, everything that nation took pride in has been destroyed.
4. The peoples’ decision to continually disobey God has led to their nation’s destruction.
D. A feeling of abandonment and emptiness.
1. Those who were “pleasing to the eye,” the youth of the nation, had been slain. God had withdrawn his right hand of help in the face of the enemy. Even worse, he had used that right hand in a gesture of hostility toward his people.
2. The Temple had been dismantled as easily as a garden hut. With the destruction of the Temple came the cessation of festival, sabbath, king and priest.
3. All the rituals and holy days associated with the temple had ceased. The altar, which once symbolized a place of reconciliation with God, was no more.
4. The enemy’s shouts of victory filled the despoiled temple with sounds reminiscent of the joyful, festive sounds of the worshipers on one of the appointed feast days.
5. This should serve as a warning that no amount of ritual can avert God’s judgment or take the place of obedience and a broken and contrite heart.
E. A loss of vision and a great lack of purpose.
1. God withheld his hand from protecting the people; here he did not withhold his hand of punishment.
2. There was no indication of God’s will, either through priestly interpretation of the law or through prophetic vision.
3. Jerusalem fell because the kings by their wickedness had forfeited their right to rule; the priests had forfeited their right to administer the law. The prophets, by their faithlessness, no longer received God’s “visions.”
4. The kings and princes of Judah had been carried into foreign lands “where there is no law,”, no divine revelation.
5. The false prophets who had been so positive about Jerusalem’s deliverance from Babylon no longer pretended to be receiving revelation from the Lord.
6. No sage counsel was available from the elders who had been overwhelmed by the calamity. The joyful songs of the maidens had been silenced.
II. God’s intention and His desired response.
A. Although Lamentations repeatedly reaffirms that judgment has come upon Judah as a result of their sin it also is clear that the punishment came directly from the Lord.
1. The divine demolition of Jerusalem was carried out by Yahweh. He used the precision normally employed in building a city, for “he stretched out the measuring line.”
2. The punishment God has brought on the people has produced the desired response.
3. The people now feel intense sorrow and grief. Their wills are broken and they have nowhere else to turn.
B. The prophet’s own sorrow and sympathy for Judah now shines through.
1. The prophet Jeremiah, who had labored so hard to avert the disaster of 586 B.C., now expressed his unrelenting sorrow over what had happened.
2. He desired to reach out in an all-inclusive embrace of comfort and healing but was helpless to do so. Jerusalem’s wound was too deep to be healed.
3. The prophet knew of no similar calamity from which he might derive a comforting word for Jerusalem. Zion’s destruction was as unfathomable as the ocean itself.
4. There are times when people can do nothing to alleviate another’s pain as much as they would desire.
5. Who would heal the wound of Zion? Certainly not the false prophets. They had preached falsehood and foolishness through the years. They had made no effort to turn Jerusalem away from her path of ruin.
III. Some important truths to gain from this passage.
A. All that had befallen Judah was God’s doing. “Yahweh has done what he planned.” He had fulfilled the word He had spoken long before.
1. On the surface these words seem to add to the tragedy. Beneath the surface, however, there is consolation here.
2. If God had made good on his threatening words, he would also make good on his words of promise.
3. Here, then, was a glimmer of hope in the blackness of Zion’s agony. The people now turn to God in prayer. Jeremiah encouraged them to join him in shedding tears night and day.
4. God would act and restore them when they came before Him with true repentant hearts.
B. Too often we rely on God’s grace and patience to protect us from the consequences of our continued unfaithfulness.
1. As we have seen in this passage God will not allow His children to continue to hide their sin behind His mercy.
2. God will allow us ample time to turn back to Him, but if we persist in our disobedience He will discipline us.
3. The punishment will always be unpleasant but the desired result is to turn our hearts back to Him.
4. However if we truly believe the words contained in Scripture we will soon discover that God’s desire is not to punish us but to enjoy a relationship with us..
5. Whom will you serve today? The Lord of glory or the temporary pleasures of sin.
6. The choice is ours to make and the consequences of that choice is ours to bear.
When the now-famous poet Elizabeth Barrett became the wife of Robert Browning, her parents disowned her because they disapproved of the marriage. Their daughter Elizabeth, however, wrote almost every week, telling them that she loved them and longed for a reconciliation. After 10 years, she received a huge box in the mail that contained all the notes she had sent. Not one had been opened! Although these "love letters" have now become a precious part of classical English literature, it’s really sad to think that they were never read by Elizabeth Barrett’s own parents. Had they looked at just one, the broken relationship with their daughter might have been healed.
