Lamentations 4

Lamentations 4:11-13 ESV

The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.
The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
This was for the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.

Three thoughts occur to me as I think through this chapter. First, their confidence was in the wrong thing. Nobody believed that "foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem." Whether their confidence was in the superiority of their defences, or in the mistaken assumption that God would protect them despite their sin and disobedience, they were wrong. No gate, no defence, no contingency plan can protect you when God says that it is time for justice. No misplaced faith can save us or protect us. The world says, "Just believe." God says, "Believe the truth." There is a big difference between those two ideas. Our strength and security is not in our faith, but in the object of our faith. We need to make sure that we are listening closely to him.

The second thought to occurs to me is the devastation of the people. Royalty are living in squalor. Those who had plenty are starving. Those who were known for their compassion are extremely cruel and selfish. When all the props are kicked out from under us then our true character is revealed. It's easy to be nice when everything is going our way. Difficulty reveals who we really are. When all the artificial pretences and social hierarchies of society come tumbling down we find out who is truly great and who were posers.

The third thought that struck to me in this chapter is the statement, "This was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests." It reminds me of the vital and weighty responsibility we have as a priesthood of believers to be speaking the truth. The prophets and priests of Jeremiah's day had gotten into the pattern of telling people what they wanted to hear. At some point the seem to have lost the ability to speak God's truth despite the consequences.

Father, you have called us to be salt and light in our world. May we truly be that. May our eyes be set on you. May our lips speak your truth. May our lives truly reflect your character no matter what circumstances we face.

By His grace,
Rick Weinert

Comments