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Sermons PREACHED BY JOHN GAINES |
Looking at Lamentations
1. Lamentations is a short book which tradition says was written by the prophet Jeremiah. Some scholars dispute that Jeremiah is the author, but most admit that it was written soon after the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 587 B. C. There is nothing which conclusively disproves the tradition that Jeremiah wrote this book of poetry. Lamentations deals with the events described in the last chapters of Jeremiah . . . during the siege and after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians [Lamentations 1:1-4 (NKJV) How lonely sits the city That was full of people! How like a widow is she, Who was great among the nations! The princess among the provinces Has become a slave! 2 She weeps bitterly in the night, Her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers She has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies. 3 Judah has gone into captivity, Under affliction and hard servitude; She dwells among the nations, She finds no rest; All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits. 4 The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted, And she is in bitterness.]
2. In the Hebrew Bible, Lamentations is separated from the book of Jeremiah. It is in a section called the Megilloth. Megilloth is a Hebrew word meaning "rolls" or "scrolls." The Megilloth contained the five books Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther.
3. Lamentations is made up of a series of five funeral laments (dirges) expressing sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem. The first four of these are acrostics (each verse beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order). One writer suggests that the purpose of using the acrostic was to say that Judah's grief was so all-compassing that every one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet could be used to express it [Cate, Introduction to the Old Testament and Its Study, 494]. Poems (chapters) 1, 2, 4, and 5 have twenty-two sections (verses). Chapter 3 is a triple acrostic with each letter of the alphabet repeated three times.
4. Lamentations is a sad book. Its literary form makes it difficult to offer a precise outline of its contents. However, the general description of each chapter can be given as follows:
a. The desolation of Zion after Jerusalem's fall.
b. God's anger shown because of Judah's sin.
c. The author's grief
d. (4 & 5) Sufferings of the siege recalled
5. We can pick out certain themes which aptly portray the situation in 587 B. C. These themes also lend themselves to application to our times.
I. JERUSALEM DID NOT CONSIDER HER DESTINY.
A. Lamentations 1:9 (NKJV) Her uncleanness is in her skirts; She did not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter. "O LORD, behold my affliction, For the enemy is exalted!"
B. Jerusalem had sinned greatly and become vile [1:8].
1. Her "skirts" were unclean. Commentators see this as a reference to the pagan idolatry willingly practiced by Jerusalem's inhabitants before the city's destruction.
2. The people had plunged ahead without giving thought to the consequences of forsaking God for paganism. They did not remember that foolish choices come with a price which has to be paid.
C. People today ought to be sure that we consider our destiny.
1. The destiny of the faithful -- Revelation 2:10 (NKJV) "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."
2. The destiny of those who never know God or obey the gospel -- 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 (NKJV) in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
3. The destiny of those who turn back from serving God -- 2 Peter 2:20-22 (NKJV) For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."
II. GOD DEMONSTRATED HIS ANGER AGAINST JERUSALEM.
A. Lamentations 2:1-4 (NKJV) How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion With a cloud in His anger! He cast down from heaven to the earth The beauty of Israel, And did not remember His footstool In the day of His anger. 2 The Lord has swallowed up and has not pitied All the dwelling places of Jacob. He has thrown down in His wrath The strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its princes. 3 He has cut off in fierce anger Every horn of Israel; He has drawn back His right hand From before the enemy. He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire Devouring all around. 4 Standing like an enemy, He has bent His bow; With His right hand, like an adversary, He has slain all who were pleasing to His eye; On the tent of the daughter of Zion, He has poured out His fury like fire.
B. We must not forget about the reality of God's wrath [Hebrews 10:31 (NKJV) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.]
1. Romans 11:22 (NKJV) Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
2. A day is coming when God when bring His vengeance to bear against those who refuse to obey Him [Romans 12:19 (KJV) Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.]
3. The delay in executing judgment does not mean that God's anger has been appeased. He waits to give ample opportunity for repentance, but the day of the Lord WILL come [2 Peter 3:9-10 (KJV) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.] Jerusalem ignored the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah when they still had opportunity to repent. They paid the price when the Lord covered Jerusalem with a cloud of His anger. The same certain result awaits those who reject God's warnings today.
III. GOD IS THE SOURCE OF MERCY AND HOPE.
A. Lamentations 3:19-24 (NKJV) Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul still remembers And sinks within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. 22 Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"
1. Jeremiah was not in total despair even in that time of great calamity.
a. God is still merciful.
b. God is still compassionate.
c. God is still faithful.
2. Thus the prophet could look to the future with hope even in the bleakest of times. "The Lord is my portion. Therefore I hope in Him!"
B. We still live in a wicked world. Crime, terrorism, and evil are rampant. One could be excused for thinking that we live in a doomed world. That's because we do live in such a world . . . a world doomed by human sinfulness. Without Christ, there is no hope. Without Him, all are like the Gentiles described in Ephesians 2:12 (NKJV), "that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world."
C. Our hope today still comes from our merciful, compassionate, faithful God. He wants us to be saved and not lost [1 Timothy 2:3-5 (KJV) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;]
IV. EXAMINATION AND REPENTANCE ARE REQUIRED.
A. Lamentations 3:40-42 (NKJV) Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD; 41 Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven. 42 We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned.
B. Searching out and examining our ways means to compare how we are living with the way we should be living. See how we stand with God [2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV) Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?; unless indeed you are disqualified.]
C. Repentance is "turning back to the Lord." The remnant of Jews needed to turn back to God. Sinners today have the same need for repentance [Acts 17:30 (NKJV) "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,]
D. A change in behavior is necessary before pardon can be obtained. We need to produce fruits worthy of repentance [Luke 3:8]. When we turn again and obey the Lord's will, He is ready to pardon our past transgressions. When the sinners on Pentecost asked what they must do, the apostle Peter told them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [Acts 2:38 (NKJV)]
CONCLUSION
Copyright ©2002 by John Gaines. May be reproduced for non-commercial purposes provided this notice accompanies any use.
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LEONARD STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST |
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