Jeremiah's Lamentations
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. His heart was broken because of the destruction of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple by the mighty Babylonian army. He was faithful to proclaim God's messages to the people to the very end. He spoke strong words to try to turn them to the Lord. However, all along he wept because he saw what the Lord was going to do. Then, once the destruction had taken place and the people were taken into exile, he wrote down his lamentations for us, as the Lord inspired him. (Lamentations 1:16,18) I believe there is a great lesson for all of us in how Jeremiah lamented for Jerusalem and his people.
Jeremiah shed sincere tears because of all of the bloodshed and the fact that Jerusalem was burned with fire. The house of God was plundered, and the people were taken away to be settled in Babylon. The thing to notice, though, is that Jeremiah was not complaining to God. He was weeping because he knew that what had happened was right. He admitted that God was in the right, because they had rebelled against His word. That did not change the anguish of his soul. He still hurt for his people. He was still lonely because he had no comforters near him, and all of the young men and women were in Babylon. The enemy had prevailed, because God sent them to do His will, to punish the sins of His people.
I hope when we experience the anger of God, that we will not get angry with God, but we will admit that He was right in whatever He did. Then, we can lament and mourn, as we turn our hearts to Him. The result of that kind of weeping, is that God will send His comfort to us. He will lift us up and restore us at the proper time, as He did the people of Judah.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Lamentations 2-4.
Jeremiah shed sincere tears because of all of the bloodshed and the fact that Jerusalem was burned with fire. The house of God was plundered, and the people were taken away to be settled in Babylon. The thing to notice, though, is that Jeremiah was not complaining to God. He was weeping because he knew that what had happened was right. He admitted that God was in the right, because they had rebelled against His word. That did not change the anguish of his soul. He still hurt for his people. He was still lonely because he had no comforters near him, and all of the young men and women were in Babylon. The enemy had prevailed, because God sent them to do His will, to punish the sins of His people.
I hope when we experience the anger of God, that we will not get angry with God, but we will admit that He was right in whatever He did. Then, we can lament and mourn, as we turn our hearts to Him. The result of that kind of weeping, is that God will send His comfort to us. He will lift us up and restore us at the proper time, as He did the people of Judah.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Lamentations 2-4.