223rd Week, Lamentations Chapters 1-5 (Click on Title for Video Intro)

Click on Title for Video Introduction 

Monday, Lamentations Chapter 1

Lamentations 1

Verses 5 & 7

Bart Strayer

The book of Jeremiah predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, and Lamentations looks back on it.  As you noticed, the entire book of Lamentations is written in a poem format. At times, this format is a little hard for me to understand.  Nevertheless, it is God’s Word, so we will do our best.

Verse 5:  The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins.

Verse 7:  In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. 

 THOUGHT

What amazes me about this first chapter in Lamentations is Jeremiah’s reaction to the destruction of Jerusalem. Let us recall.  God spoke to Jeremiah about the people’s sinful ways and how their actions would be their demise. Jeremiah told the people about God’s plan, and HE WAS REJECTED AND TREATED POORLY. And now, He mourns the loss of those people.

This book speaks to me about the greatness of Jeremiah’s character. To me, actions like these are what turn people into legends. These displays of compassion force us to dig way down deep inside of ourselves as we put all selfishness aside. This is NOT easy especially after the degree to which Jeremiah was rejected and his life threatened. 

I don’t know about you guys, but this area of my life needs a lot of work! Loving your enemies is a Christian fundamental, but it is difficult.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word and this time of weekly fellowship. Please guide us as we read Lamentations. Prepare our hearts for Your Word and open our minds to the words on the page. Help us be loving to those, like Jeremiah, who are suffering or mourning a loss. Help us to sympathize and not judge. Help us to love our enemies and not perpetuate anger or judgment. In Jesus Name.  AMEN

Tuesday, Lamentations Chapter 2

Lamentations 2

Verse 3

Bart Strayer

Verse 3:

(The Message)

His anger blazing, he knocked Israel flat, broke Israel’s arm and turned his back just as the enemy approached, came on Jacob like a wildfire from every direction.

(New Living Translation)

All the strength of Israel vanishes beneath his fury. The Lord has withdrawn his protection as the enemy attacks. He consumes the whole land of Israel like a raging fire.

THOUGHT

There are many good individual verses in Lamentations 2 that can clearly stand by themselves as a complete thought and lesson from God. I am going to try to stick to the macro-theme of the chapter as a whole. 

In essence, this chapter emphasizes sin’s consequences. ‘To continue in rebellion against God is to invite disaster.’ One emotion that is ‘under-felt’ on this day of the new covenant is ‘fear’.  How often do we truly fear God?

It is true that if we come to Jesus and truly repent our sin, then God sees us clean of sin. THANK YOU JESUS!!! However, mere words are not repentance. We must turn from our sins and mourn over our wrongs against God. Fear can change our hearts to come about to true repentance. Fear can be a gift.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your mighty power and love for Your people. We thank You that You are patient and slow to anger. Help expose the sin in our lives so that we may live a good and righteous life before You. In those times of stubbornness, inject fear into our hearts as a means to bring us back to true repentance. Help us Lord Jesus. In Your Name We Pray. AMEN

Wednesday, Lamentations Chapter 3

Lamentations 3

Verses 55-57

Bart Strayer

Verses 55-57:

I called on Your name, O LORD, From the lowest pit. You have heard my voice:  “Do not hide Your ear from my sighing, from my cry for help.”  You drew near on the day I called on You, and said, “Do not fear!”

THOUGHT

Wow. What a great God we serve. During the struggles of our life, He gives us hope for a future. Granted, it is not always on our clock, nevertheless, hope in times of despair is one of the best emotions one can feel. During those times of doubt, it is good to remember God’s faithfulness. 

Sometimes I need to reflect on the trying times of my life to remember the bad that God has brought me through. It is easy to get bogged down with despair and forget that we serve a merciful God. God was faithful to His good servant, Jeremiah. He brought him through the time at the bottom of the cistern. For hope, I encourage all of you to cry out to the Lord in times of difficulty.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your mercy. We thank You that You are in control of our future, and that gives us hope. Help us to reflect on Your goodness and grow in our trust in You. As You promised Jeremiah, “I have plans for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you”.  Help us to remember Your faithfulness. In Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN

Thursday, Lamentations Chapter 4

Lamentations 4

Verse 9

Bart Strayer

Verse 9:  Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.

THOUGHT

Chapter four paints a dismal picture of life in Jerusalem during the two years of entrapment. Verses 1-12 contrast the current horrific state of the nation to the days of prosperity. God described these pictures in the book of Jeremiah. 

It was hard for me to comprehend how all of these calamities would come about. It is amazing to think how the wall that was meant to keep Jerusalem safe was the very wall that killed the city.  We can easily fall victim to something similar to that of Jerusalem. 

We all tend to build walls without knowing it.  As a man, I tend to build walls that prevent me from feeling certain things. Guys hate to feel stuff.  Just keep the facts and figures, and we’re just fine. Unfortunately, I think this wall is protecting me, when in essence, it is trapping me from feelings that could change my heart for good. 

One could draw many parallels from this story in Lamentations. Do you have a wall in your life that has turned from protection to rejection?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we thank You for this time of fellowship. Help us break down the walls that enslave us and prevent us from the life You want us to live. Help expose those walls that we are unaware of. We thank You for Your love for us and ask for protection from the devil’s ways. In Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN

Friday, Lamentations Chapter 5

Lamentations 5

Verse 21

Bart Strayer

Verse 2l:  Bring us back to you, God we’re ready to come back.  Give us a fresh start.

THOUGHT

We’ve come to the end of Lamentations. In chapter 5, Jeremiah pleads to God for the restoration of the once great city of Jerusalem. I have chosen to highlight the 21st verse of this chapter. I read through 14 translations of this verse and found The Message put it the best. “Give us a fresh start.”  Notice Jeremiah’s words. The phrase “Give us a fresh start.” is not standing alone. It is preceded with an action - an important action that the people of Jerusalem must take to have the second part of the verse fulfilled. 

While reading this verse, I couldn’t help but think of the picture of the statue, ‘Christ the Redeemer of the Open Arms’, located on a mountaintop high above Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Through Jesus Christ, God makes it so easy for us to come back, but it is first preceded by an action from us. For Jerusalem and the world, within this verse, lies the HOPE of a future.

PRAYER

Dear Jesus, we thank You for Your salvation. We thank You for giving Your life so that we may have life. We thank You for the wide open arms that You have for Your people. Our prayer is that unbelievers would have the courage to take that first action. Give them strength to turn their backs on a life of sin and see Your open arms. We thank You for Your love and forgiveness. In Your Name We Pray. AMEN