Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Lamentations 3: A Rose Among Thorns

In the middle of an otherwise bleak message, a few powerful notes of grace and hope manage to shine forth from the darkness of Lamentations 3.

The opening verses almost sound as if they could have been written by Job!  The author describes himself as a doomed man living under God's wrath.  Driven into darkness, he spends several verses detailing his misfortune and God's relentless punishment.  The Lord is depicted as a bear about to attack, a lion about to pounce.  He has imprisoned the narrator, as well as used him for target practice.  It is a grim picture of a vengeful, angry God.

Against that dismal backdrop, verses 22 through 24 ironically express the hope of Jeremiah: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'”  If these words sound familiar, you may be remembering them from the classic hymn, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."  Even in the midst of experiencing the terror of the Lord's wrath, the author chooses to focus on God's love and mercy.  Jeremiah clings to the hope that God is good to us despite the evil and pain we find ourselves immersed in.  His grace and mercy are new every morning!

Unfortunately, the final third of the chapter returns to a message of gloom and doom.  Jeremiah shares about the tribulation in which he finds himself.  God is unapproachable, even by prayer, and the people's enemies have the upper hand.  They have flung the narrator into a watery pit while Jeremiah's eyes fill with tears in seeing the grief come upon his city.  In the end, the prophet implores God not so much for deliverance - but rather for his enemies to suffer!  Even though Jeremiah has seen so much pain and suffering, he still wants to see some meted out to those who have injured him.  

It's no wonder that the emphasis of this chapter is often placed on "the good parts" in the middle!

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