Why Lamentations? Series

“How lonely sits the city

that was full of people!

How like a widow has she become,

she who was great among the nations!

She who was a princess among the provinces

has become a slave.” [1]

“Lamentations! You’re actually going to preach a series of messages from that dark, foreboding book? That’s crazy!” Few messages are preached from this humbling study of national grief. At least that would be my assessment of the portions of the Word we preachers tend to favour for sermonic material, and people seem genuinely perplexed when the possibility of a sermon series from this book is proposed. When you do see a sermon series on Lamentations, it is tacked onto a study of Jeremiah; and it is common to see commentaries on Jeremiah and Lamentations, leaving the impression that the study of this book is an afterthought.

Though there is an absence of familiarity with this book of the Word of God, I fear that many of the nations of the West are going to become acquainted with the subject matter that is presented in this poetic portion of the darker history of Israel. I fear that even in my lifetime, and almost certainly within the lifetime of my children and my grandchildren, the nations in which they live will know genuine, prolonged grief brought upon them through their own determination to reject righteousness. Therefore, I need to get ahead of the situation, preparing those who hear me for what is surely coming. Christians need to get ready for what must surely come, and they need to get ready now.

Canadians have played fast and loose with righteousness, having forgotten God. What else can the True and Living God, the God of All Justice do when the people He has blessed so richly forget Him and ignore His mercy! Thus it is that the neglected book serves as a warning of the pain that must surely attend a nation when God acts, releasing the nation that has been blessed so they may reap the bitter harvest of their own desires.

A DATE WITH DESTINY — Few nations have continued as great powers beyond two hundred years. Societies inevitably pass through stages, progressing as follows:

• from slavery/serfdom to spiritual growth;

• from spiritual growth to courage;

• from courage to liberty;

• from liberty to abundance;

• from abundance to complacency;

• from complacency to apathy;

• from apathy to dependence;

• from dependence to slavery/serfdom.

The stages that are listed are general and approximate, but the progression nevertheless holds throughout history for every great power. Though the timing for the various stages is not fixed, only in a few exceptional circumstances have nations maintained power for longer than two centuries. Egypt, Babylon, Persia. Greece, Rome, France, Britain, and now the United States, two centuries plus or minus a few years appears to be the norm.

I am increasingly certain that North American culture—both Canadian and American—is nearing, if they have not already reached the terminal stage that is listed for a society—and I am assuredly not alone in this assessment. [2] If this assessment is correct, our nation and all North America is facing a definitive slide into slavery/serfdom. Without divine intervention, the immediate future for our nations is anything but bright. For all our technological prowess, it seems as though we are unable to conquer our restless souls; and consequently our society has become a moral/ethical morass. Though my assertion of the need to turn again to worship of the Living God and the necessity of pursuing righteousness will be seen as offensive to many, without a return to pursuing spiritual growth in the Faith of Christ the Lord, we face a dim and frightening future.

But why should I be so concerned at this point in my seventy-seven circuits around the sun? I’m concerned in great measure because I am watching North American culture turn from worship of the Risen Son of God as increasingly people worship their own pleasure and whatever power they can seize. And what is happening in society is mirrored in the Congress of the United States of America and in the Parliament of Canada. Increasingly, these two nations are governed by children focused on seizing power over their opponents while these children enrich themselves. Increasingly, these two nations are governed by politicians while statesmen are excluded. Perhaps this same thing is happening in other nations, but I am aware of these transitions in my adopted home, Canada, and in my natal home, the United States.

One commentator laments, “We accept, even expect, corruption in government. We look to the government to solve our problems. We cancel people’s speech. We cancel people. We have lost our common vision. We have lost our common values. We are arbitrary in enforcing laws. We accept lawlessness if it suits our ends. We allow double standards. We consent to government takings without just compensation. We have accepted a hierarchical system of jurisprudence. We strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. We worship the creation instead of the creator. We allow lies to go unchallenged. We are afraid to speak the truth. We allow men to compete in women’s sports. We prostrate ourselves before the Climate change Gods. We allow government to become an arm to prosecute political foes. We opt for safety over liberty. We abandon our own history and neglect hard fought lessons. We judge people by the color of their skin and reject MLK’s message. We accept false narratives as fact. We have become entitled and want to be taken care of. We form strong opinions based on emotion. We are lazy in our thinking. We scrape to find soldiers. We abandon allies.” [3]