Lam. 3-5
Lamentations 3 is quite the journey! It starts off with, “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath” (Lam. 3:1). I assume “his wrath” is referring to God, though it never really says that. After several verses describing the despair and devastation of suffering “his wrath”, verse 18 says, “so I say, ‘My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LROD’”.
Yet just a few verses later there is a shift. Verse 21 says, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope”. What does the writer “call to mind”? The steadfast love of the LORD. He recalls God’s mercies, His faithfulness, His goodness, and His salvation. This leads into a call to endure, “for the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love” (Lam 3:31-32). Remembering God’s character sparks the awareness that His wrath is not undeserved, but that He is full of mercy. “Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!” (Lam 3:39-40).
The last part of the chapter then turns into a plea for God’s salvation. “I called on your name, O LORD…you heard my plea…You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’ You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life” (Lam. 3:55-58). The writer ends the chapter by acknowledging that God will repay his enemies.
Reading through this chapter I think that this journey is not unlike the journey of our own lives, both on an overall view and during specific times of trial. And I think that it is not unlike the journey that Jesus went through on our behalf. We all live under the rod of God’s wrath, because this world has been given over to sin. But when we bring to mind God’s character, we have hope. God is good, and He sent His Son to endure His wrath on our behalf. And just as God fully restored His Son and will repay His enemies in full, so it is with us. Therefore, let us “examine our ways, and return to the LORD”, enduring to the end by our hope, which is Christ Jesus our Lord.
Heb. 13
I had an interesting thought regarding this chapter this morning. I think it is safe to say that our three biggest concerns in life, outside of life itself, are money, food, and shelter. In a somewhat subtle way, Hebrews 13 tells us to leave all of these to God. We seek money for provision. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’”. Our provision comes from God, not money. Let us be content with what He provides.
We seek food for sustenance. Hebrews 13:9b says, “…for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefitted those devoted to them”. I believe this is actually referring to food related laws and reiterating the point that we are saved by grace and not by adhering to a set of regulations. But the fact that food is what we look to for sustenance further emphasizes the point of God’s grace and that it is He alone who sustains us.
We seek shelter to keep us safe and protected. Hebrews 13:13 says, “Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured”. We need to be willing to abandon our idea of safety and security and seek it in Christ. Going to Christ takes us outside our comfort zone and exposes us to suffering and reproach. But in the end, we will find that Christ is the only safe shelter.