Does sin carry a high cost? Does God hold leaders accountable? Should enemies gloat? Let’s look at the acrostic poem in lamentations 4.
Was Zion once valued like gold, but because of her sins, now like mere pottery?
[Alef א] How tarnished the gold has become, the finest gold debased! Sacred stones have been scattered at every street corner.
[Bet ב] Though the precious people of Zion were like fine gold, how they are valued like clay vessels, the handiwork of a potter! (Lam 4:1-2 ISV)
Was starvation so bad under a Babylonian siege that even nursing babies suffered?
[Gimel ג] Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
[Dalet ד] The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. (Lam 4:3-4 KJV)
Were even the rich suffering? Were Jerusalem’s sins greater than Sodom’s?
[He ה] Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those reared in crimson Embrace ash pits.
[Vav ו] So the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands whirled toward her. (Lam 4:5-6 LSB)
Did Jerusalem’s leaders, once like precious jewels, become like soot?
[Zayin ז] Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, They shined more than milk; They were more ruddy in body than pearls of coral, Their form was like lapis lazuli [sapphire].
[Het ח] Their appearance is darker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is dry, it has become like wood. (Lam 4:7-8 NASB)
Would a quick death have been better than starvation and cannibalism?
[Tet ט] 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.
[Yod י] With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed. (Lam 4:9-10 NIV)
Were foreign kings astonished that Jerusalem was invaded?
[Kaf ך] The Lord has fulfilled His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, And it has devoured its foundations.
[Lamed ל] The kings of the earth, And all inhabitants of the world, Would not have believed That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem— (Lam 4:11-12 NKJV)
Did God place blame on religious leaders? Were dead bodies and blood everywhere?
[Mem ם] Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the sins of her priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood.
[Nun נ] They wandered blindly through the streets, so defiled by blood that no one dared touch them. (Lam 4:13-14 NLT)
Did people tell those who touched the blood to go away? Were priests and elders disrespected?
[Samekh ס] “Go away!” they cried to them. “Unclean! Go away! Go away! Don’t touch! When they fled away and wandered, men said among the nations, “They can’t live here any more.”
[Ayin ע] Yahweh’s anger has scattered them. He will not pay attention to them any more. They didn’t respect the persons of the priests. They didn’t favor the elders. (Lam 4:15-16 WEB)
Did they look to Egypt for help in vain, and their end came anyway?
[Pe פ] Our eyes continually failed, looking for some help, but for nothing. From our watchtower we watched for a nation that doesn’t save.
[Tzadi צ] Our steps were tracked; we could no longer walk in our streets. Our end had drawn near; our days were done—our end had definitely come. (Lam 4:17-18 CEB)
Did the Babylonians pursue anyone who tried to escape Jerusalem, including Zedekiah?
[Qof ק] They swooped down faster than eagles from the sky. They hunted for us in the hills and set traps to catch us out in the desert.
[Resh ר] The Lord's chosen leader was our hope for survival! We thought he would keep us safe somewhere among the nations, but even he was caught in one of their traps. (Lam 4:19-20 CEV)
Did Edom gloat over Zion’s punishment, then learn that they too would be punished?
[Shin ש] Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup shall pass; you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
[Tav ת] The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished; he will keep you in exile no longer; but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish; he will uncover your sins. (Lam 4:21-22 ESV)
For rejecting God and later for crucifying Jesus, was Jerusalem like Capernaum punished much longer than the quick destruction of Sodom?
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” (Mat 11:23-24 HCSB)
Does sin carry a high cost? Does God hold leaders accountable? Should enemies gloat? You decide!
Hope in Suffering (Lamentations 3)
Do we sometimes go from suffering to hope in God? Let’s look at a triple acrostic in Lamentations 3.
Did God lead Jeremiah through a prophet’s life of loneliness, bitterness and suffering?
[Alef א] I am a man familiar with affliction—under the rod of God’s anger. He has led me—brought me into darkness, not into light. He truly turned his hand against me, again and again, all day long.
[Bet ב] He made my flesh and skin prematurely old; he broke my bones. He laid siege against me, surrounding me with bitterness and suffering. He has forced me to live in darkness, like those who are long dead. (Lam 3:1-6 ISV)
When God punishes a sinful city, nation or church, does He even shut out prayer?
[Gimel ג] He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.
[Dalet ד] He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. (Lam 3:7-12 KJV)
When we rebel against God, what bitterness can we expect?
[He ה] He made the arrows of His quiver To enter into my inward parts. I have become a laughingstock to all my people, Their music of mockery all the day. He has saturated me with bitterness; He has sated me with wormwood.
[Vav ו] He has broken my teeth with gravel; He has made me cower in the dust. My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten goodness. So I say, “My strength has perished, As well as my hopeful waiting which comes from Yahweh.” (Lam 3:13-18 LSB)
Do we suffer for our sins yet wait patiently for God’s compassion upon us?
[Zayin ז] Remember my misery and my homelessness, the wormwood and bitterness. My soul certainly remembers, And is bent over within me. I recall this to my mind, Therefore I wait.
[Het ח] The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, For His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I wait for Him.” (Lam 3:19-24 NASB)
Do we wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord at the end of this life?
[Tet ט] The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
[Yod י] Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust—there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. (Lam 3:25-30 NIV)
Though God disciplines His followers, does He abandon them forever?
[Kaf ך] For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men.
[Lamed ל] To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the earth, To turn aside the justice due a man Before the face of the Most High, Or subvert a man in his cause—The Lord does not approve. (Lam 3:31-36 NKJV)
Should we test our ways to make sure they are in line with God’s wishes?
[Mem ם] Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission? Does not the Most High send both calamity and good? Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?
[Nun נ] Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say, “We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.” (Lam 3:37-42 NLT)
Does the One who created life have every right to take it away again?
[Samekh ס] “You have covered us with anger and pursued us. You have killed. You have not pitied. You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through. You have made us an off-scouring and refuse in the middle of the peoples.
[Ayin ע] “All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us. Terror and the pit have come on us, devastation and destruction.” My eye runs down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people. (Lam 3:43-48 WEB)
Is there any real relief in human efforts of this world or only in God?
[Pe פ] My eyes flow and don’t stop. There is no relief until the Lord looks down from the heavens and notices. My eyes hurt me because of what’s happened to my city’s daughters.
[Tzadi צ] My enemies hunted me down like a bird, relentlessly, for no reason. They caught me alive in a pit and threw stones at me; water flowed over my head. I thought: I’m finished. (Lam 3:49-54 CEB)
Will God rescue us in our hour of affliction, even after our suffering?
[Qof ק] From the bottom of the pit, I prayed to you, Lord. I begged you to listen. “Help!” I shouted. “Save me!” You answered my prayer and came when I was in need. You told me, “Don't worry!”
[Resh ר] You rescued me and saved my life. You saw them abuse me, Lord, so make things right. You know every plot they have made against me. (Lam 3:55-60 CEV)
Will God save us from persecutors and repay them, even though we sometimes suffer?
[Shin ש] “You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me. The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long. Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the object of their taunts.
[Tav ת] “You will repay them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. You will give them dullness of heart; your curse will be on them. You will pursue them in anger and destroy them from under your heavens, O Lord.” (Lam 3:21-22 ESV)
Does Paul also mention our hope in the midst of suffering?
We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. (2 Cor 4:8-9 HCSB)
Do we sometimes go from suffering to hope in God? You decide!
Did God lead Jeremiah through a prophet’s life of loneliness, bitterness and suffering?
[Alef א] I am a man familiar with affliction—under the rod of God’s anger. He has led me—brought me into darkness, not into light. He truly turned his hand against me, again and again, all day long.
[Bet ב] He made my flesh and skin prematurely old; he broke my bones. He laid siege against me, surrounding me with bitterness and suffering. He has forced me to live in darkness, like those who are long dead. (Lam 3:1-6 ISV)
When God punishes a sinful city, nation or church, does He even shut out prayer?
[Gimel ג] He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.
[Dalet ד] He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. (Lam 3:7-12 KJV)
When we rebel against God, what bitterness can we expect?
[He ה] He made the arrows of His quiver To enter into my inward parts. I have become a laughingstock to all my people, Their music of mockery all the day. He has saturated me with bitterness; He has sated me with wormwood.
[Vav ו] He has broken my teeth with gravel; He has made me cower in the dust. My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten goodness. So I say, “My strength has perished, As well as my hopeful waiting which comes from Yahweh.” (Lam 3:13-18 LSB)
Do we suffer for our sins yet wait patiently for God’s compassion upon us?
[Zayin ז] Remember my misery and my homelessness, the wormwood and bitterness. My soul certainly remembers, And is bent over within me. I recall this to my mind, Therefore I wait.
[Het ח] The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, For His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I wait for Him.” (Lam 3:19-24 NASB)
Do we wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord at the end of this life?
[Tet ט] The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
[Yod י] Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust—there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. (Lam 3:25-30 NIV)
Though God disciplines His followers, does He abandon them forever?
[Kaf ך] For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men.
[Lamed ל] To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the earth, To turn aside the justice due a man Before the face of the Most High, Or subvert a man in his cause—The Lord does not approve. (Lam 3:31-36 NKJV)
Should we test our ways to make sure they are in line with God’s wishes?
[Mem ם] Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission? Does not the Most High send both calamity and good? Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?
[Nun נ] Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say, “We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.” (Lam 3:37-42 NLT)
Does the One who created life have every right to take it away again?
[Samekh ס] “You have covered us with anger and pursued us. You have killed. You have not pitied. You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through. You have made us an off-scouring and refuse in the middle of the peoples.
[Ayin ע] “All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us. Terror and the pit have come on us, devastation and destruction.” My eye runs down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people. (Lam 3:43-48 WEB)
Is there any real relief in human efforts of this world or only in God?
[Pe פ] My eyes flow and don’t stop. There is no relief until the Lord looks down from the heavens and notices. My eyes hurt me because of what’s happened to my city’s daughters.
[Tzadi צ] My enemies hunted me down like a bird, relentlessly, for no reason. They caught me alive in a pit and threw stones at me; water flowed over my head. I thought: I’m finished. (Lam 3:49-54 CEB)
Will God rescue us in our hour of affliction, even after our suffering?
[Qof ק] From the bottom of the pit, I prayed to you, Lord. I begged you to listen. “Help!” I shouted. “Save me!” You answered my prayer and came when I was in need. You told me, “Don't worry!”
[Resh ר] You rescued me and saved my life. You saw them abuse me, Lord, so make things right. You know every plot they have made against me. (Lam 3:55-60 CEV)
Will God save us from persecutors and repay them, even though we sometimes suffer?
[Shin ש] “You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me. The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long. Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the object of their taunts.
[Tav ת] “You will repay them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. You will give them dullness of heart; your curse will be on them. You will pursue them in anger and destroy them from under your heavens, O Lord.” (Lam 3:21-22 ESV)
Does Paul also mention our hope in the midst of suffering?
We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. (2 Cor 4:8-9 HCSB)
Do we sometimes go from suffering to hope in God? You decide!
God's Anger (Lamentations 2)
Do we see ourselves in God’s anger at Jerusalem? Let’s look at an acrostic poem in Lamentations 2.
Have we ever been shamed for our sins and cast down in dishonor because of them?
[Alef א] How the Lord in his wrath shamed cherished Zion! He cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel, He did not remember his footstool in the time of his anger.
[Bet ב] The Lord swallowed up without pity all of Jacob’s habitations. In his wrath he tore down the strongholds of fair Judah. He cast to the ground in dishonor both her kingdom and its rulers. (Lam 2:1-2 ISV)
Have we ever had enemies in life and it seemed like it was caused by our sins?
[Gimel ג] He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about.
[Dalet ד] He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire. (Lam 2:3-4 KJV)
Have we ever slipped from faithfulness to God, or noticed that even our church has suffered the consequences of sin?
[He ה] The Lord has become like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel; He has swallowed up all its palaces; He has brought its strongholds to ruin And multiplied in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning.
[Vav ו] And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has brought His appointed meeting place to ruin. Yahweh has caused to be forgotten The appointed time and sabbath in Zion, And He has spurned king and priest In the indignation of His anger. (Lam 2:5-6 LSB)
Has God rejected our church because of unfaithfulness and handed its walls to the enemy?
[Zayin ז] The Lord has rejected His altar, He has repudiated His sanctuary; He has handed over The walls of her palaces to the enemy. They have made a noise in the house of the Lord As on the day of an appointed feast.
[Het ח] The Lord determined to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not restrained His hand from destroying, And He has caused rampart and wall to mourn; They have languished together. (Lam 2:7-8 NASB)
Have we lost God’s vision in our lives, and forgotten the law of Christ?
[Tet ט] Her gates have sunk into the ground; their bars he has broken and destroyed. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and her prophets no longer find visions from the Lord.
[Yod י] The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground. (Lam 2:9-10 NIV)
Do our eyes fail with tears, and are our hearts troubled because the spiritual food of the Gospel lacks in our churches?
[Kaf ך] My eyes fail with tears, My heart is troubled; My bile is poured on the ground Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, Because the children and the infants Faint in the streets of the city.
[Lamed ל] They say to their mothers, “Where is grain and wine?” As they swoon like the wounded In the streets of the city, As their life is poured out In their mothers’ bosom. (Lam 2:11-12 NKJV)
Who can heal a church whose wound is so deep, because the preachers have said too many foolish things, and painted false pictures?
[Mem ם] What can I say about you? Who has ever seen such sorrow? O daughter of Jerusalem, to what can I compare your anguish? O virgin daughter of Zion, how can I comfort you? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?
[Nun נ] Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope. (Lam 2:13-14 NLT)
Do people mock our churches, not because they preach truth, but because the world has swallowed them up?
[Samekh ס] All that pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city that men called ‘The perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth’?”
[Ayin ע] All your enemies have opened their mouth wide against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, “We have swallowed her up. Certainly this is the day that we looked for. We have found it. We have seen it.” (Lam 2:15-16 WEB)
Has the enemy rejoiced over our churches, because he has conquered them?
[Pe פ] The Lord did what he had planned. He accomplished the word that he had commanded long ago. He ripped down, showing no compassion. He made the enemy rejoice over you; he raised up your adversaries’ horn.
[Tzadi צ] Cry out to my Lord from the heart, you wall of Daughter Zion; make your tears run down like a flood all day and night. Don’t relax at all; don’t rest your eyes a moment. (Lam 2:17-18 CEB)
Do we pray for God to rescue our churches from those who kill faithful preachers and murder our infants?
[Qof ק] Get up and pray for help all through the night. Pour out your feelings to the Lord, as you would pour water out of a jug. Beg him to save your people, who are starving to death at every street crossing.
[Resh ר] Think about it, Lord! Have you ever been this cruel to anyone before? Is it right for mothers to eat their children, or for priests and prophets to be killed in your temple? (Lam 2:19-20 CEV)
Are our churches to be left with the spiritually dead, while the world rejoices?
[Shin ש] In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without pity.
[Tav ת] You summoned as if to a festival day my terrors on every side, and on the day of the anger of the Lord no one escaped or survived; those whom I held and raised my enemy destroyed. (Lam 2:21-22 ESV)
Did Jesus ever warn a church about the danger of being spiritually dead?
Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: “The One who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. (Rev 3:1 HCSB)
Do we see ourselves in God’s anger at Jerusalem? You decide!
Have we ever been shamed for our sins and cast down in dishonor because of them?
[Alef א] How the Lord in his wrath shamed cherished Zion! He cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel, He did not remember his footstool in the time of his anger.
[Bet ב] The Lord swallowed up without pity all of Jacob’s habitations. In his wrath he tore down the strongholds of fair Judah. He cast to the ground in dishonor both her kingdom and its rulers. (Lam 2:1-2 ISV)
Have we ever had enemies in life and it seemed like it was caused by our sins?
[Gimel ג] He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about.
[Dalet ד] He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire. (Lam 2:3-4 KJV)
Have we ever slipped from faithfulness to God, or noticed that even our church has suffered the consequences of sin?
[He ה] The Lord has become like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel; He has swallowed up all its palaces; He has brought its strongholds to ruin And multiplied in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning.
[Vav ו] And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has brought His appointed meeting place to ruin. Yahweh has caused to be forgotten The appointed time and sabbath in Zion, And He has spurned king and priest In the indignation of His anger. (Lam 2:5-6 LSB)
Has God rejected our church because of unfaithfulness and handed its walls to the enemy?
[Zayin ז] The Lord has rejected His altar, He has repudiated His sanctuary; He has handed over The walls of her palaces to the enemy. They have made a noise in the house of the Lord As on the day of an appointed feast.
[Het ח] The Lord determined to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not restrained His hand from destroying, And He has caused rampart and wall to mourn; They have languished together. (Lam 2:7-8 NASB)
Have we lost God’s vision in our lives, and forgotten the law of Christ?
[Tet ט] Her gates have sunk into the ground; their bars he has broken and destroyed. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and her prophets no longer find visions from the Lord.
[Yod י] The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground. (Lam 2:9-10 NIV)
Do our eyes fail with tears, and are our hearts troubled because the spiritual food of the Gospel lacks in our churches?
[Kaf ך] My eyes fail with tears, My heart is troubled; My bile is poured on the ground Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, Because the children and the infants Faint in the streets of the city.
[Lamed ל] They say to their mothers, “Where is grain and wine?” As they swoon like the wounded In the streets of the city, As their life is poured out In their mothers’ bosom. (Lam 2:11-12 NKJV)
Who can heal a church whose wound is so deep, because the preachers have said too many foolish things, and painted false pictures?
[Mem ם] What can I say about you? Who has ever seen such sorrow? O daughter of Jerusalem, to what can I compare your anguish? O virgin daughter of Zion, how can I comfort you? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?
[Nun נ] Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope. (Lam 2:13-14 NLT)
Do people mock our churches, not because they preach truth, but because the world has swallowed them up?
[Samekh ס] All that pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city that men called ‘The perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth’?”
[Ayin ע] All your enemies have opened their mouth wide against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, “We have swallowed her up. Certainly this is the day that we looked for. We have found it. We have seen it.” (Lam 2:15-16 WEB)
Has the enemy rejoiced over our churches, because he has conquered them?
[Pe פ] The Lord did what he had planned. He accomplished the word that he had commanded long ago. He ripped down, showing no compassion. He made the enemy rejoice over you; he raised up your adversaries’ horn.
[Tzadi צ] Cry out to my Lord from the heart, you wall of Daughter Zion; make your tears run down like a flood all day and night. Don’t relax at all; don’t rest your eyes a moment. (Lam 2:17-18 CEB)
Do we pray for God to rescue our churches from those who kill faithful preachers and murder our infants?
[Qof ק] Get up and pray for help all through the night. Pour out your feelings to the Lord, as you would pour water out of a jug. Beg him to save your people, who are starving to death at every street crossing.
[Resh ר] Think about it, Lord! Have you ever been this cruel to anyone before? Is it right for mothers to eat their children, or for priests and prophets to be killed in your temple? (Lam 2:19-20 CEV)
Are our churches to be left with the spiritually dead, while the world rejoices?
[Shin ש] In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without pity.
[Tav ת] You summoned as if to a festival day my terrors on every side, and on the day of the anger of the Lord no one escaped or survived; those whom I held and raised my enemy destroyed. (Lam 2:21-22 ESV)
Did Jesus ever warn a church about the danger of being spiritually dead?
Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: “The One who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. (Rev 3:1 HCSB)
Do we see ourselves in God’s anger at Jerusalem? You decide!
Jerusalem Laments (Lamentations 1)
Do we see ourselves in Jerusalem lamenting over her sin and suffering? Let’s look at an acrostic poem of Jerusalem’s sorrow in Lamentations 1.
How lonely has Jerusalem become, a vassal city of a foreign king?
[Alef א] How lonely she lies, the city that thronged with people! Like a widow she has become, this great one among nations! The princess among provinces has become a vassal.
[Bet ב] Bitterly she cries in the night, as tears stream down her cheeks. No one consoles her of all her friends. All her neighbors have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. (Lam 1:1-2 LSB)
Are foreign alliances with nations that worship false gods like treacherous lovers?
[Gimel ג] Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
[Dalet ד] The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. (Lam 1:3-4 KJV)
How would we feel if our enemies became our masters?
[He ה] Her adversaries have become her masters; Her enemies are complacent; For Yahweh has caused her grief Because of the greatness of her transgressions; Her infants have gone away As captives before the adversary.
[Vav ו] So all her majesty Has gone out from the daughter of Zion; Her princes have become like deer That have found no pasture; So they have fled without strength Before the pursuer. (Lam 1:5-6 LSB)
Have our nations sinned greatly like Jerusalem and become objects of ridicule?
[Zayin ז] In the days of her affliction and homelessness Jerusalem remembers all her treasures That were hers since the days of old, When her people fell into the hand of the adversary And no one helped her. The adversaries saw her, They laughed at her ruin.
[Het ח] Jerusalem sinned greatly, Therefore she has become an object of ridicule. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Even she herself groans and turns away. (Lam 1:7-8 NASB)
Had Jerusalem even thought about cause and effect for her future, that pagan nations would desecrate her holiest place?
[Tet ט] Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. “Look, Lord, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed.”
[Yod י] The enemy laid hands on all her treasures; she saw pagan nations enter her sanctuary—those you had forbidden to enter your assembly. (Lam 1:9-10 NIV)
Does national sin bring consequences at the dinner table, national sorrow?
[Kaf ך] All her people sigh, They seek bread; They have given their valuables for food to restore life. “See, O Lord, and consider, For I am scorned.”
[Lamed ל] “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the Lord has inflicted In the day of His fierce anger. (Lam 1:11-12 NKJV)
Has the Lord turned us back, captive to the consequences of our national sins?
[Mem ם] “He has sent fire from heaven that burns in my bones. He has placed a trap in my path and turned me back. He has left me devastated, racked with sickness all day long.
[Nun נ] “He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies; I am helpless in their hands. (Lam 1:13-14 NLT)
Has God trodden down our nation and has the enemy prevailed?
[Samekh ס] “The Lord has set at nothing all my mighty men within me. He has called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah as in a wine press.
[Ayin ע] “For these things I weep. My eye, my eye runs down with water, because the comforter who should refresh my soul is far from me. My children are desolate, because the enemy has prevailed.” (Lam 1:15-16 WEB)
Where is the comforter of Zion, because the people disobeyed His word?
[Pe פ] Zion spreads out her hands; she has no comforter. The Lord commanded Jacob’s enemies to surround him. Jerusalem is just a piece of garbage to them.
[Tzadi צ] The Lord is right, because I disobeyed his word. Listen, all you people; look at my suffering. My young women and young men have gone away as prisoners. (Lam 1:17-18 CEB)
Will our national allies come to our aid if we betray the Lord our God?
[Qof ק] I called out to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and my leaders died while searching the city for scraps of food.
[Resh ר] Won't you look and see how upset I am, our Lord? My stomach is in knots, and my heart is broken because I betrayed you. In the streets and at home, my people are slaughtered. (Lam 1:19-20 CEV)
Are our international lovers, our allies glad that our nation groans in trouble?
[Shin ש] “They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am.
[Tav ת] “Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.” (Lam 1:21-22 ESV)
Did Jesus likewise lament over Jerusalem, because of an impending punishment in 70 AD?
As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41–44 HCSB)
Do we see ourselves in Jerusalem lamenting over her sin and suffering? You decide!
How lonely has Jerusalem become, a vassal city of a foreign king?
[Alef א] How lonely she lies, the city that thronged with people! Like a widow she has become, this great one among nations! The princess among provinces has become a vassal.
[Bet ב] Bitterly she cries in the night, as tears stream down her cheeks. No one consoles her of all her friends. All her neighbors have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. (Lam 1:1-2 LSB)
Are foreign alliances with nations that worship false gods like treacherous lovers?
[Gimel ג] Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
[Dalet ד] The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. (Lam 1:3-4 KJV)
How would we feel if our enemies became our masters?
[He ה] Her adversaries have become her masters; Her enemies are complacent; For Yahweh has caused her grief Because of the greatness of her transgressions; Her infants have gone away As captives before the adversary.
[Vav ו] So all her majesty Has gone out from the daughter of Zion; Her princes have become like deer That have found no pasture; So they have fled without strength Before the pursuer. (Lam 1:5-6 LSB)
Have our nations sinned greatly like Jerusalem and become objects of ridicule?
[Zayin ז] In the days of her affliction and homelessness Jerusalem remembers all her treasures That were hers since the days of old, When her people fell into the hand of the adversary And no one helped her. The adversaries saw her, They laughed at her ruin.
[Het ח] Jerusalem sinned greatly, Therefore she has become an object of ridicule. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Even she herself groans and turns away. (Lam 1:7-8 NASB)
Had Jerusalem even thought about cause and effect for her future, that pagan nations would desecrate her holiest place?
[Tet ט] Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. “Look, Lord, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed.”
[Yod י] The enemy laid hands on all her treasures; she saw pagan nations enter her sanctuary—those you had forbidden to enter your assembly. (Lam 1:9-10 NIV)
Does national sin bring consequences at the dinner table, national sorrow?
[Kaf ך] All her people sigh, They seek bread; They have given their valuables for food to restore life. “See, O Lord, and consider, For I am scorned.”
[Lamed ל] “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the Lord has inflicted In the day of His fierce anger. (Lam 1:11-12 NKJV)
Has the Lord turned us back, captive to the consequences of our national sins?
[Mem ם] “He has sent fire from heaven that burns in my bones. He has placed a trap in my path and turned me back. He has left me devastated, racked with sickness all day long.
[Nun נ] “He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies; I am helpless in their hands. (Lam 1:13-14 NLT)
Has God trodden down our nation and has the enemy prevailed?
[Samekh ס] “The Lord has set at nothing all my mighty men within me. He has called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah as in a wine press.
[Ayin ע] “For these things I weep. My eye, my eye runs down with water, because the comforter who should refresh my soul is far from me. My children are desolate, because the enemy has prevailed.” (Lam 1:15-16 WEB)
Where is the comforter of Zion, because the people disobeyed His word?
[Pe פ] Zion spreads out her hands; she has no comforter. The Lord commanded Jacob’s enemies to surround him. Jerusalem is just a piece of garbage to them.
[Tzadi צ] The Lord is right, because I disobeyed his word. Listen, all you people; look at my suffering. My young women and young men have gone away as prisoners. (Lam 1:17-18 CEB)
Will our national allies come to our aid if we betray the Lord our God?
[Qof ק] I called out to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and my leaders died while searching the city for scraps of food.
[Resh ר] Won't you look and see how upset I am, our Lord? My stomach is in knots, and my heart is broken because I betrayed you. In the streets and at home, my people are slaughtered. (Lam 1:19-20 CEV)
Are our international lovers, our allies glad that our nation groans in trouble?
[Shin ש] “They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am.
[Tav ת] “Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.” (Lam 1:21-22 ESV)
Did Jesus likewise lament over Jerusalem, because of an impending punishment in 70 AD?
As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41–44 HCSB)
Do we see ourselves in Jerusalem lamenting over her sin and suffering? You decide!
Jerusalem (Jeremiah 52)
Was this possibly written by Baruch as an appendix, validating Jeremiah’s entire ministry? Let’s look at Jeremiah 52.
Was Zedekiah the last king of Judah before the captivity, and was he an evil king?
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of Yahweh this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. (Jer 52:1-3 LSB)
Surrounded by Nebuchadnezzar’s army, was Jerusalem without food?
Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and built a bulwark all around it. So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. (Jer 52:4-6 NASB)
Was king Zedekiah of Judah eventually captured by the king of Babylon?
Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, but the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured.
He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death. (Jer 52:7-11 NIV)
What did Nebuzaradan do to the temple in Jerusalem? Why were some left behind?
Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around.
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poor people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. (Jer 52:12-16 NKJV)
Did the Babylonians pillage most of the precious articles from the temple?
The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon. They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, basins, dishes, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple. The captain of the guard also took the small bowls, incense burners, basins, pots, lampstands, ladles, bowls used for liquid offerings, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver. (Jer 52:17-19 NLT)
What other articles from the temple did the Babylonians pillage?
They took the two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the bases, which King Solomon had made for Yahweh’s house. The bronze of all these vessels was without weight. As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits encircled it; and its thickness was four fingers. It was hollow. A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. The second pillar also had the same, with pomegranates. There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were one hundred on the network all around. (Jer 52:20-23 WEB)
Which high officials of Judah did the king of Babylon put to death?
The commander of the guard also took Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the deputy priest, and the three doorkeepers. From the city, he took a eunuch who was appointed over the army and the seven royal advisors who remained in the city. He also took the scribe of the commander of the army in charge of military conscription and sixty military personnel who were found in the city. Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. The king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And Judah went away from its land into exile. (Jer 52:24-27 CEB)
How many prisoners were taken by king Nebuchadnezzar to Babylonia?
Here is a list of the number of the people of Judah that Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylonia as prisoners: In his seventh year as king, he took 3,023 people. In his eighteenth year as king, he took 832 from Jerusalem. In his twenty-third year as king, his officer Nebuzaradan took 745 people. So, Nebuchadnezzar took a total of 4,600 people from Judah to Babylonia. (Jer 52:28-30 CEV)
Though the last king of Judah, Zedekiah died, what happened to the second last king, Jehoiachin, also known as Jeconiah and Coniah?
And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived. (Jer 52:31-34 ESV)
Did later people learn the lesson of an earlier destruction of Jerusalem? Will we? What did Jesus predict?
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that its desolation has come near. (Luke 21:20 HCSB)
Was the last chapter of Jeremiah possibly written by Baruch as an appendix, validating Jeremiah’s entire ministry? You decide!
Was Zedekiah the last king of Judah before the captivity, and was he an evil king?
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of Yahweh this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. (Jer 52:1-3 LSB)
Surrounded by Nebuchadnezzar’s army, was Jerusalem without food?
Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and built a bulwark all around it. So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. (Jer 52:4-6 NASB)
Was king Zedekiah of Judah eventually captured by the king of Babylon?
Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, but the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured.
He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death. (Jer 52:7-11 NIV)
What did Nebuzaradan do to the temple in Jerusalem? Why were some left behind?
Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around.
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poor people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. (Jer 52:12-16 NKJV)
Did the Babylonians pillage most of the precious articles from the temple?
The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon. They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, basins, dishes, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple. The captain of the guard also took the small bowls, incense burners, basins, pots, lampstands, ladles, bowls used for liquid offerings, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver. (Jer 52:17-19 NLT)
What other articles from the temple did the Babylonians pillage?
They took the two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the bases, which King Solomon had made for Yahweh’s house. The bronze of all these vessels was without weight. As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits encircled it; and its thickness was four fingers. It was hollow. A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. The second pillar also had the same, with pomegranates. There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were one hundred on the network all around. (Jer 52:20-23 WEB)
Which high officials of Judah did the king of Babylon put to death?
The commander of the guard also took Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the deputy priest, and the three doorkeepers. From the city, he took a eunuch who was appointed over the army and the seven royal advisors who remained in the city. He also took the scribe of the commander of the army in charge of military conscription and sixty military personnel who were found in the city. Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. The king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And Judah went away from its land into exile. (Jer 52:24-27 CEB)
How many prisoners were taken by king Nebuchadnezzar to Babylonia?
Here is a list of the number of the people of Judah that Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylonia as prisoners: In his seventh year as king, he took 3,023 people. In his eighteenth year as king, he took 832 from Jerusalem. In his twenty-third year as king, his officer Nebuzaradan took 745 people. So, Nebuchadnezzar took a total of 4,600 people from Judah to Babylonia. (Jer 52:28-30 CEV)
Though the last king of Judah, Zedekiah died, what happened to the second last king, Jehoiachin, also known as Jeconiah and Coniah?
And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived. (Jer 52:31-34 ESV)
Did later people learn the lesson of an earlier destruction of Jerusalem? Will we? What did Jesus predict?
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that its desolation has come near. (Luke 21:20 HCSB)
Was the last chapter of Jeremiah possibly written by Baruch as an appendix, validating Jeremiah’s entire ministry? You decide!
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