Lamentations 2:2-5
“The Master, without a second thought, took Israel in one gulp. Raging, he smashed Judah’s defenses, ground her king and princes to a pulp. 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. Like an enemy, he aimed his bow, bared his sword, and killed our young men, our pride and joy. His anger, like fire, burned down the homes in Zion. The Master became the enemy. He had Israel for supper. He chewed up and spit out all the defenses. He left Daughter Judah moaning and groaning.”
“Without mercy the Lord has destroyed every home in Israel. In his anger he has broken down the fortress walls of beautiful Jerusalem. He has brought them to the ground, dishonoring the kingdom and its rulers. All the strength of Israel vanishes beneath his fierce anger. The Lord has withdrawn his protection as the enemy attacks. He consumes the whole land of Israel like a raging fire. He bends his bow against his people, as though he were their enemy. His strength is used against them to kill their finest youth. His fury is poured out like fire on beautiful Jerusalem. Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel like an enemy. He has destroyer her palaces and demolished her fortresses. He has brought unending sorrow and tears upon beautiful Jerusalem.”
In The Message, Peterson takes a historical account and imbues it with a temporal pathos. It is unspeakable anguish to be the focus of God’s wrath. We believers who walk securely in his love need reminding of this, of what unbelievers will face. The Gospel is their only salvation, and it is up to us to offer it.
Lord, you are an awe-some God. This description of your wrath fills me with gratitude for the cross. I am cradled in your arms, not slain by your sword. I cannot thank or praise you enough. Spirit, you will have to do it for me.
Lamentations 1:18
“GOD has right on his side. I’m the one who did wrong. Listen everybody! Look at what I’m going through! My fair young women, my fine young men, all herded into exile!”
“‘The Lord is right,’ Jerusalem says, ‘for I rebelled against him. Listen, people everywhere look upon my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters have been taken captive to distant lands.’”
Americans are fortunate in their geological assets to be protected from protracted war such as Europe and the Middle East have experienced. But we have lost the future to hedonism and materialism and our children have gone into exile because of our sin. We have sent them to the land of nihilism and despair. They inherit immense economic and cultural problems or our making. Yet seniors, whose political and cultural decisions led us here, still see themselves blameless. How long before they truly see and are overcome with grief such as this?
Lord, I don’t know how to think about these days. The best parallel I can think of is 1930s Europe. Do we have WWIII coming round the bend? Please, help us! Heal us. Pour out your spirit upon your people to serve and help heal our land. What would you have me do/be right now? How can I prepare myself for the future? Show me. Please grace us with your healing touch.
Lamentations 1:12
“And you passersby, look at me! Have you ever seen anything like this? Ever seen pain like my pain, seen what he did to me, what GOD did to me in his rage?”
“Does it mean nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see if there is any suffering like mine, which the Lord brought on me when he erupted in fierce anger.”
Perhaps Pharisees used Lamentations to develop their belief that all suffering is the result of sin. Christ made hash of it. But in this case, Israel did bring her suffering upon herself. Society today believes suffering is at the hands of others, never the consequence of sin. The truth is both. Suffering is a fact of life for every person. Does it shape or destroy? Our choice.
Lord, you have led me through some dark valleys, proving your faithfulness over and over. Yet I still fear the dark. Forgive me lack of faith. Give me strength to walk through it, allowing your sculpting touch.
Lamentations 1:5
“Her enemies have become her masters. Her foes are living it up because GOD laid her low, punishing her repeated rebellions. Her children, prisoners of the enemy, trudge into exile.”
“Her oppressors have become her masters, and her enemies prosper for the Lord has punished Jerusalem for her many sins. Her children have been captured and taken away to distant lands.”
This is a picture of addiction. The affliction has taken on a life of its own and become a cruel master. Satan specializes in making mole hills into mountains, though addiction is hardly a mole hill. He makes problems seems so big we cannot see God, our salvation. Meanwhile the addiction works to weaken our self-image, relationships and livelihood. Children of addiction are carried into exile too. Their emotional and physical home destroyed, and they lack the solid base of a secure family that teaches how to live well.
It is a hopeless picture. But praise God he has not forgotten nor abandoned us, though mired in the desolate muddy puddle of our own making. He reaches out with the hand of rescue in Jesus Christ. He is God, fully man, who walked our walk and knows the path out of our bondage. He guides, as surely as God led Israel back to their homeland 2,500 years ago.
Lord, thank you for my parents who made great effort to provide me security. In Christ you are my parent now, giving security and intimacy too. You hold my hand as tightly as Mom and Dad did when I took my first steps. Continue the good work my parents began, developing my true self for your glory.
Lamentations 1:3
“After years of pain and hard labor, Judah has gone into exile. She camps out among the nations, never feels at home. Hunted by all, she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.”
“Judah has been led away into captivity, oppressed with cruel slavery. She lives among foreign nations and has no place of rest. Her enemies have chased her down, and she has nowhere to turn.”
The Message places Israel’s pain and hard labor before exile. The NLT does it after. The NLT’s rendering makes sense but there is a good lesson in The Message. Rebellion engenders consequences and Israel suffered many before the ultimate, exile. They were like open wounds in society as she repeatedly hit her head against a wall. They were a foretaste of that to come. Yes, Israel suffered before her exile.
Hunted and chased, there was no escaping the consequences of her sins. It is terrifying to be completely in the hands of another where nothing you can do will change your circumstances. Still, Israel trusted God. He sustained her in exile and brought her home in his perfect time.
Lord, blind trust is hard. Give me grace to trust when my heart is quaking in my shoes; when feelings way otherwise.
Colossians 4:5-6
“Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.”
“Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity, Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”
I like to think I’ve always done a pretty good job of this in later years because the Lord gave me and intuitive nature. But in my youth, I had an overwhelming need for approval. I had none from my father and sought it in others, especially men. The Lord healed me of this in my fifties. It took a long time. It was hard. It was glorious to be set free.
However, I still find myself searching to impress when I feel insecure or alien, especially in casual social situations. I’m not on my guard. I find myself not listening but waiting for my turn to talk. How can I go back into bondage so easily? Because I am human and we keep going back to the sin that was our birthright.
Oh Lord! Forgive me for turning back like Lot’s wife. I deserve to be a pillar of salt and ash too. Thanks for drawing me home to you. You gently work to reveal my error and heal me. Make me so secure I no longer turn to edifying myself but rest in your approval, guaranteed at the cross. May that assurance testify to others of your love, goodness and truth.
Colossians 4:2-4
“Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.”
“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim the message as clearly as I should.”
Thanksgiving in tough times is hard but is the beginning of God’s work in that moment. Regardless the misery, look for even the smallest thing to thank God for. It turns our eyes from the problem to the solution.
The spread of the gospel is mysterious. The Spirit of God weaves himself throughout the world in wonderous ways. It is his work, and I am only an assistant. All I need do is follow instructions. That means staying close enough to hear them.
Paul believed God could make all his words witness to Christ, even words related to everyday living. We are called to be so saturated with the Spirit that even speech about daily life points to Jesus.
Lord give us a thankful spirit right now. We need your help. Fill me so all my words point to you even when in the pit of despair. Choke off the enemy’s effort to destroy us. Keep us safe in the shadow of your wings, especially while we are so vulnerable. Show us the path up out of the mire.
Colossians 3:15
“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing.”
“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.”
Dancing is a good illustration of how believers should live together. Where our partner is strong, we follow, where weak we take the lead, always ready to act according to our gifts and place in God’s ballet. Dance class has two parts, solitary time at the bar and center stage work in ensemble. We prepare for the dance by time alone at the prayer-bar with God and practicing with each other. The ballet, and the Church, inspire and awe when undergirded with good preparation.
Instruments in a musical ensemble must be in tune with each other for their music to be enjoyed. Tuning up means everyone listens care-fully to their neighboring instruments and the entire ensemble. Listening is an essential private and interpersonal spiritual discipline. How well do we listen, to God, other believers and the world?
Doing our own thing is easier. But humans were made for companionship, with God and each other. Learning to dance and sing together is eternally worth it.
Colossians 3:12-14
“So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”
“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
When dressed in Christ-chosen clothing we become the salt that savors and preserves society. This is not a call to be a passive nice guy. Our new clothes enhance our true self and we become more of who we were created to be. This is power and Christ who gave it would have us use it. Exercised with love it is a powerful force for change. Imagine is all people could function as their true self. What a rich world it would be!
Numbers 2:34
“The People of Israel did everything the way GOD commanded Moses: They camped under their respective flags; they marched by tribe with their ancestral families.”
“So the people of Israel did everything as the Lord commanded Moses. Each clan and family set up camp and marched under their banners exactly as the Lord had instructed them.”
It is nice to read of this obedience in Israel’s early relationship with God. They had just undergone big changes and exercise of faith. Upheaval makes following a leader easier. We feel more secure. Therefore, the Creator, and his ambassador Moses, were in ascendance in Israel’s mind. We take comfort in famioly and relationship in uncertain times just as Israel did.
Lord, I want to follow faithfully, and respect you fully, in good and bad times. Spirit guard my faithfulness.
Colossians 3:1-2
“So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.”
“Since you have been raised to new life in Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”
To think about the things of heaven does not mean those that are out of this world. It is a call to view the happenings on earth from the viewpoint of heaven. Always ask, “What is God doing here?” then try to figure things out. This simplifies life enormously and understanding the Bible, people, culture and history is easier. The key is knowing God. Who is he as a person? How does he describe himself? What are his feelings and desires? The answers are called the attributes of God. Learning these begins intimacy with him and growth in wisdom.
Lord I need you and your wisdom. I want to know it and live it. Thank you for your Word and speaking personally to me through it. Please continue. You are my life. I want no other.
Colossians 2:18-19
“Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.”
“ Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.”
Each believer has a tiny, sub-atomic, place in Christ’s body. Christ the head provides protection and nourishment needed for growth into our eternal destiny. We need only work with neighboring particles to do our part. The headship is critical. Other people and things and even other believers try to put their head in Christ’s place. And don’t forget our self. This is the litmus test when confused about spiritual things. Whose head s truly on top?
Lord, it is so very easy to put my head up there. It is an insidious process and I fear it. I am weak here. Please be my strength.