Summary: Jeremiah continues to list Judah’s losses after the Babylonian invasion. All her precious things have gone; the nation is exposed in shameful defeat; the Temple which was sacred was stripped by Babylon, even the holy of holies violated.

THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS – PART 3 – JUDAH DESPISED THE TEMPLE – NOW ALL THE PRECIOUS THINGS HAVE GONE - CHAPTER 1:7-10

Currently we are looking at Jeremiah’s description as a summary of the catastrophe that befell Jerusalem. Times were horrible but reality of the bad conditions clarifies the reasons why this happened. The laments are both Jeremiah and the people.

PART [A]. THE REMEMBRANCE OF PRECIOUS THINGS GONE

{{Lamentations 1:7 “In the days of her AFFLICTION and HOMELESSNESS, Jerusalem REMEMBERS all her precious things that were from the days of old when her people fell into the hand of the adversary, and no one helped her. The adversaries saw her. THEY MOCKED AT HER RUIN.”}}

There is nothing like loss and adversity to bring on the realisation of all that has departed which once was held dear. It is all gone and can’t be retrieved. That causes remorse and regret but it is too late. I do wonder about those who have spurned God’s message of salvation and today are in hell to recall their lost opportunity. All full of regrets; all too sad; all too permanent. We must all make sure of our standing before God. {{2 Corinthians 6:2 for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”}} - In hell there is no salvation.

Those captives who survived the great pall of death and destruction, along all the way to Babylon, would recall all the lovely things that had been lost and the affliction they suffered. Their national home had been destroyed. The expression “fell into the hand of the adversary” indicates there was no hope for them, and no avoidance of their fate. It was their gross sin that caused this to happen.

No one wanted to help Judah because all the surrounding nations hated her and were themselves enemies of Judah. It is similar today in Israel for all the surrounding nations want to see the end of Israel but it will not happen. They themselves will be destroyed. Gladly would many nations of the world like to see the end on Israel in the growing move of anti-Semitism. We know this opposition will happen. As we move very close to the Tribulation, in that time Jesus said this would happen – {{Matthew 24:9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you and you will be HATED BY ALL NATIONS on account of My name.”}}

Most of all, it was the LORD who did not help Judah. Of course His eye was over the people but He did not intervene. When you reject God, don’t expect God to deliver you, but if you call in repentance upon the Lord He will hear you. God is gracious and merciful to all those who call on Him, but for the stubborn and blasphemers and rejecters of salvation, He will be a Rock that crushes the bones in pieces. Judah singularly earned its own wages sadly.

Verse 7 above says Judah’s enemies WATCHED ON AND MOCKED the suffering of the people. It is even worse than that. Hellish Edom helped slaughter the people trying to get away from Nebuchadnezzar’s army. That is covered here in Edom’s destruction –

{{Obadiah 1:10-11 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame, and you will be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth, and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem - you too were as one of them.”}}

{{Obadiah 1:12-14 “Do not gloat over your brother’s day, the day of his misfortune, and do not rejoice over the sons of Judah in the day of their destruction. Yes, do not boast in the day of their distress. Do not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster. Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity in the day of their disaster, and do not loot their wealth in the day of their disaster, and do not stand at the fork of the road to cut down their fugitives, and do not imprison their survivors in the day of their distress.”}} There are 8 “do not” here and Edom did every one of them. Obadiah wrote through inspiration of what God knew would happen.

That disgraceful and monstrous behaviour rose up before God and He declared Edom’s full destruction because of their satanic action against God’s sinful people. Israel was idolatrous and wicked but it is not in our authority to take action against the earthly people of God. The promise given to Abraham is valid for every phase of human history – {{Genesis 12:2-3 “and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing. I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU and THE ONE WHO CURSES YOU I WILL CURSE. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed,”}}

I have had occasion to write to a number of politicians about their hate of Israel and remind them of this promise of God and how they have placed themselves under the curse of God. Sadly I don’t expect them to take any notice. It is the end of the age and opposition to Israel is rising. The Prime Minister of Australia (Albanese) hates Israel enormously, as did Biden and Harris. Those who oppose Israel seal their own fate. This is a biblical principle often played out. Learn from Haman.

President Donald Trump is probably the best President in the matter of support for Israel that the United States has ever had. Personally, I believe this is the last chance for the western world. The time is so near that the Church is removed and God takes up Israel again as we have been seeing in Romans and Isaiah and Jeremiah.

PART [B]. THE SUMMATION OF JUDAH’S CONDITION

{{Lamentations 1:8 JERUSALEM SINNED GREATLY. Therefore she has become an unclean thing. All who honoured her despise her because they have seen her nakedness. Even she herself groans and turns away.

Lamentations 1:9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts. SHE DID NOT CONSIDER HER FUTURE. Therefore she has fallen astonishingly. SHE HAS NO COMFORTER. “See, O LORD, my affliction, for the enemy has magnified himself!”}}

There are graphic “no cover up” descriptions of Jerusalem. Jeremiah says it precisely as God led him to do. When a person/city/church/nation has sinned, one can NOT gloss over sin. It has to be revealed for what it is. That is what is happening here.

The concentration here is on Jerusalem but it all applies to Judah. What Jeremiah writes is plain, easy to understand and full of his own pathos. The opening statement underscores all the rest; the city sinned greatly. There is no need to pursue that for it is all in the book of the prophet, and other prophets. Following the gods of the nations means practising the most vile things as found in paganism. There is sin and there is great sin. Judah was guilty of great sin, constant and prolonged. God always has a day of reckoning, even for His earthly people.

In our world one who has fallen from grace is no longer honoured. It happens to personalities, even Christian leaders whose private, awful sins have been made public. Attitudes change from respect to despite and disdain. Judah was despised.

Seeing her nakedness in verse 8 means she is like one caught in adulteries, in the very act, like that poor woman in the Gospels. She was made a public spectacle and greatly shamed. During the calling of God and the ministry of Jeremiah Judah expressed no shame and showed revulsion towards Jehovah, but now her shame has been forced on her.

Jerusalem herself even groans about her fallen condition. God might have to humble people drastically to get their attention and we hope the groaning leads them to repentance and into God’s fold. Judah turned away from her own condition, shamed and contrite.

In verse 9, the picture is like one who rushes to the precipice and then charges over. It is said she did not consider her own future. Those who don’t do that are often guilty of irrational behaviour and these do not listen to correction or advice. Judah persecuted the prophets and despised their God so calamity came upon them.

“Her uncleanness was in her skirts,” is an inference to a woman in adultery who does the bidding of her lovers. Judah had many lovers. This is spiritual adultery. Line up all the gods/idols of the nations and they were the lovers that Judah chased after. She was relentless in that, but so were the pleading and warnings of the LORD. In the end she was stripped bare before the nations.

Verse 9 repeats the fact she had no comforters; no sympathisers, none who would look on her favourably in her now pathetic state. She was in isolation and rejected by all, including, as it seemed, by God Himself. The description in the verse is “she has fallen astonishingly,” and the AV says, “she came down wonderfully,” with Strong’s using “marvel.” The world was astonished at the suddenness of Judah’s fall. So it shall be soon once the Church is removed and it is plunged into the horror of the Tribulation.

The close of verse 9 is, “See, O LORD, my affliction, for the enemy has magnified himself!” It is a cry to Jehovah to “look upon, look out, find out, to see, observe, consider, look at, give attention to, discern, distinguish,” Judah’s awful condition. After the nation’s tragedy the people turn their faces to God and ask for comfort and consideration because there is no one else to help them in this great judgement. How often do we turn to God when we are undone and exposed, fallen in a heap because of our sin! For some people this is the only way God gets their attention.

The enemy “magnifying himself” happened when Babylon was lifted up in pride for what it had done to Judah, which nation was supposed to be invincible because of their “god”, but it had been conquered. Babylon’s pride was sky high. God’s chosen people were grovellng in their failure.

PART [C]. THE TEMPLE – BEFORE DESPISED – NOW VIOLATED

{{Lamentations 1:10 “The adversary has stretched out his hand over all her PRECIOUS THINGS, for she has seen the nations enter her SANCTUARY, the ones whom You commanded that they should not enter into Your congregation.”}}

It was too late for Jerusalem to care for its Temple and express concern for the violation of the Holies of Holies. The nation despised the Temple for it despised the LORD who gave the Temple. Godlessness has no concern for holy things and the reprobate sins of a wicked nation had nothing to do with the Temple for they despised it and had their own shrines to the multiplicity of foreign gods they worshipped.

Judah may have seen Babylon enter the sanctuary but nowhere does Jeremiah say that the people were sorry for that. They did not care. They saw it but did not care. They were more interested in their own survival.

God did command that foreigners should not enter the Tabernacle or the Temple except for the court of the Gentiles in the outer Temple. Regarding the Holiest place only the High Priest could go there on the Day of Atonement, and the ministering priests were allowed in the holy place where was found the Table of Showbread, the Incense Altar and the Golden Candlestick.

The Holy of Holies contained only the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat. When Babylon marched in, Solomon’s Temple was so despised that God’s presence was no longer there. The Babylonians were free to come and go without penalty. They came all right and took all the furnishings.

I have no doubt they took the Ark of the Covenant because that which was once holy was made unholy by the gross sinfulness of the people. No spiritual value was attached to it but it had considerable value for the Babylonians because of all the gold. They took the entire Temple equipment and utensils. It would have been a major trophy for them.

I reject this nonsense about the Ark of the Covenant being hidden away or buried with magical powers. That is blasphemous, Hollywood gobbledygook. In effect the Jews trampled underfoot the holiness of God. All the precious things were removed. Judah lost everything. Sin will always cause the loss of everything, often in this world, and most certainly in the next.