The Book Of Lamentations – Part 38 – We Look At The Beginning Of Complaints – Inheritance Has Been Lost - Chapter 5:1-2 Series

THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS – PART 38 – WE LOOK AT THE BEGINNING OF COMPLAINTS – INHERITANCE HAS BEEN LOST - CHAPTER 5:1-2

Chapter 4 has ended and we saw some absolutely horrible things that were happening because the people were downtrodden by Babylon and persecuted by the Edomites. Their starvations caused them to do unthinkable things.

CHAPTER 5

We are entering the final chapter of this remarkable book of Lamentations. The chapter has 22 verses as it is another Alphabetic section of 22 statements or strophes matching the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each new strophe (or verse in our bibles) matches a letter in the Hebrew Alphabet beginning with Aleph and each strophe begins with a letter in the progression through the alphabet. However the strict alphabetic order is a bit incomplete in this chapter.

The verses in this chapter are SMALL STATEMENTS, not long verses. In a lot of ways the content here is a sort of summary of the material that has preceded this. THE VERSES POUR OUT COMPLAINTS or emotions, frustrations and woe. There is recognition here of the origin of these troubles, and that was sin and rebellion and constant rejection of the messages of the prophets. The ending of the chapter is a little unexpected coming from Jeremiah but we will wait until verse 22.

Let us begin this serious chapter, as they all are.

[1]. MAY THE LORD RECALL AND TAKE NOTE

{{Lamentations 5:1 “Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us. Look, and see our reproach.”}}

The LORD is being reminded, not that He ever needs reminding, but Jeremiah is so much in turmoil about his people that he interceded for them with God. This approach is so common in the way we pray to God. We make God aware of the problems hoping that by frequent reminders He will take note and come to our rescue.

There is a parable often called The Importunate Widow, sometimes called the parable of the Unjust Judge. And I want to quote the whole lot:-

{{Luke 18:1-8 Now He was telling them a parable TO SHOW THAT AT ALL TIMES THEY OUGHT TO PRAY AND NOT TO LOSE HEART, saying, “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city and she kept coming to him saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent,’ and for a while he was unwilling, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God, nor respect man, YET BECAUSE THIS WIDOW BOTHERS ME, I WILL GIVE HER LEGAL PROTECTION LEST BY CONTINUALLY COMING, SHE WEARS ME OUT.’” The Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said. NOW SHALL NOT GOD BRING ABOUT JUSTICE FOR HIS ELECT WHO CRY TO HIM DAY AND NIGHT, AND WILL HE DELAY LONG OVER THEM? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”}}

When you read this parable you may wonder, “Is this nagging God? God knows what I want, so why do I have to pester Him?” Why do I have to keep asking God to remember? Is it irreverent to “wear God out,” or to keep crying to Him day and night for the same thing?

The purpose of this parable is stated at the start - TO SHOW THAT AT ALL TIMES THEY OUGHT TO PRAY AND NOT TO LOSE HEART. This speaks of persistence and I remember going right back to the 1960s when in Teacher training that it was common in certain circles to teach about “persistent prayer” or “persevering prayer”. Sometimes there used to be methods on how to do that. Americans love to have methods they religiously adhere to. The only way that widow was going to get justice was to go day and night to the judge until he relented. I was uncertain about this matter of perseverance in prayer and tried to understand what some were saying.

We don’t treat God in an irreverent way but the principle is there because the Lord Himself told that parable.

I suppose we could say, “keep on keeping on”, “hang in there”. The first of those two expressions has an Australian origin that has a fascinating history to it. Here it is – [[DID YOU KNOW that the slogan "keep on keeping on", synonymous with Berger Paints, had its origin in Bush Poetry? For the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932, Berger commissioned C. J. Dennis to write a poem about the Sentimental Bloke's musings on the newly-built structure. In that poem "I Dips Me Lid", Dennis coined the phrase "keep on keeping on". The poem was published in a Berger booklet and the company's slogan was born!”]] I suppose non-Australians may not understand some of that.