August 26, Lamentations 3:37-5

August 26, Lamentations 3-5

We continue from yesterday’s reading…

Lamentations 3:37-66 God is all Sovereign. “Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?” Nothing happens outside of God’s control, nothing. Jeremiah continues, “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?” Since God orchestrates all things, both good and bad things are under His control. Another thing we can learn here is that man can’t complain when he is being punished for self-inflicted sins. Rather, we are to examine ourselves and lift up our hearts to the Lord above. The people of Judah & the Israelites have sinned and rebelled and God has punished them and not yet overlooked all of their sins. They are starting to ask fro restoration as the hardships that were before them were very harsh. They have become scum to their neighbors and their enemies come against them heavy. Jeremiah was grief stricken with what was going on, literally was weeping over it. God has helped Jeremiah historically by rescuing him and he is crying out to God for help. But worry not, God is the Vindicator and will repay them…

Lamentations 4 is a chapter of the suffering of God’s people. The people are starving and begging for food. They grew up with a bunch of money and luxury and now they are literally being decimated. Some have turned to cannibalism from their starvation against their own children. The people started to realize that their own sins and the sins of their prophets and leaders have brought them to where they are at. The Lord is the one who scattered them and punished them, but the suffering will come to an end some day.

Lamentations 5 is a plea for restoration from God’s people. They were asking God to remember them, as they were weary and those that sinned (prophets) were no longer around. However, their joy was turned into mourning as the reality of their circumstance was before them. The confession at the end of the book has powerful meaning… “19 

But you, O Lord, reign forever, your throne endures to all generations. Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days? Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.” It is a confession that God is in control forever, even though they felt forgotten. They desired to be renewed back to what they were but they also fear that God is that angry with them and are under His rejection. 

To sum it all up: 

• God will not be mocked. As I have said so many times, God is not fooled. Either you are true to your faith or you are not. I understand that at times we are heavily tried. That is God sanctifying (purifying) us to become who HE created us to be. We can live in light of that - knowing full-well that our Sovereign God knows what is best and will bring us through what He has us in, regardless of what it is.