The Book Of Lamentations – Part 15 – The Judgement Fell Like An Attacking Lion; Like A Quiver Of Arrows; Like The Poison Of Wormwood - Chapter 3:10-15 Series

THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS – PART 15 – THE JUDGEMENT FELL LIKE AN ATTACKING LION; LIKE A QUIVER OF ARROWS; LIKE THE POISON OF WORMWOOD - CHAPTER 3:10-15

[10]. FEAR AND TERROR OF DEATH ARE THE PROSPECTS

{{Lamentations 3:10 “HE is like A BEAR TO ME, lying in wait, LIKE A LION in secret places.”

Lamentations 3:11 “HE has turned aside my ways and TORN ME TO PIECES. HE has made me desolate.”}}

The prevailing situation for the defeated survivors was gruesome enough with the feeling God had shut Himself off with hewn stones and crooked paths, but now in this verse it is like they have become prey for God who is pictured as hunting them and savaging them. The bear and lion are hunting animals, fierce, and to fall into their domain was death. That is the way the people felt. It really was a sad situation they were in with only dismal thoughts about themselves.

Some people are known as pessimists but in this book, pessimism is everywhere until we get into Chapter 5 and things become just a bit brighter. There are so many word pictures painted here for the suffering and desolation of a defeated people with no apparent hope for the future. That is so sad. God is not mocked. Don’t be deceived. When people reject God’s message and pursue their own gross sin as the world is doing right now, then the hand of judgement will fall and it is very close with the Tribulation ready at any time.

The idea of the bear and lion lying in wait and hiding in secret, gives great uncertainty hour after hour. The Jews had been devastated and did not know if more was to come. That is a fearful situation and one none of us would choose.

The image of a bear and lion waiting for destruction is not isolated in scripture. It is mentioned in scripture with the leopard replacing the bear – {{Hosea 13:6-7 “As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, and being satisfied, their heart became proud. Therefore, they forgot Me, so I WILL BE LIKE A LION TO THEM. LIKE A LEOPARD I WILL LIE IN WAIT BY THE WAYSIDE.”}} That is the same imagery Jeremiah used much later. An agrarian people understands images from nature. There were centuries of pleading and warning from a longsuffering and compassionate God but stubbornness and entrenched sin refused God’s messages.

However, in Amos, the picture is set in the day of the LORD. That is still future occurring in the Tribulation, but it can be applied partially to God in Israel's judgement, including Babylon and Rome, so it is fitting here – {{Amos 5:18-19 “Alas, you who are longing for THE DAY OF THE LORD, for what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light - AS WHEN A MAN FLEES FROM A LION, AND A BEAR MEETS HIM, OR GOES HOME, LEANS HIS HAND AGAINST THE WALL, AND A SNAKE BITES HIM.”}}

What all these prophets are saying is that when God moves forward with judgement against sin, there will be no escape. Darkness is a picture of destruction and rejection, and desolation, and it is sudden and unexpected for those caught up in it, just like a lion hiding in secret or in hidden places which suddenly pounces on its prey.

In the downfall of Judah the lament was “torn me to pieces” and “made me desolate”. It is a sad situation but the even sadder aspect is that it was deserved (earned), because sin always pays its wages and the wages of sin is death. No one will escape that and the coming judgement of the Tribulation will be dreadful, for from Revelation chapters 6 to 9 around 40% or more of the earth’s population will perish. Please, do not reject the love of God. Repent and become a member of the Bride so you will be removed from the judgement to come.

[11]. THE ARROWS OF THE LORD ARE TRUE

{{Lamentations 3:12 “HE bent His bow and SET ME AS A TARGET for the arrow.”

Lamentations 3:13 “HE made the arrows of His quiver TO ENTER INTO MY INWARD PARTS.”}}

From a previous message you might recall that we are here in the section that blames all on the LORD with verse after verse saying “HE (has)”, as one calamity follows another. Judah was the target and Jerusalem was the bulls eye. Entering the inward parts speaks of thoroughness and depth; also hurt and pain. The destruction was both deep and thorough. The imagery of the archer and arrows is common in the Old Testament, and always is associated with both battle and death.

The great Battle of Armageddon at the end of the tribulation, marking the Second Coming sees the Lord Himself armed with a sword, another symbol of judgement – {{Revelation 19:15 “From His mouth comes A SHARP SWORD so that with it He may smite the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron, and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”}}