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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Lam. 1-2
Utter desolation! Just reading through this makes me feel empty inside. God took away everything, including His temple, festivals, and Sabbaths. As sad and horrible as all of this sounds – and actually is – I see something good in it. I can sum it up in one line from Lamentations 2:9. “[The Law] is no more”. God wiped the slate clean so He could start something new. He took down the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel so that He could bring in His new Kingdom of Heaven. The Law, the temple rituals, and the festivals could not save or make God’s people holy. So He cleared the way for something, or someone who could.
Though hard, that’s actually a beautiful thing. And it clearly depicts what needs to happen in us to gain restoration from and with God. I think it’s what Jesus meant when He said we must become like little children to enter God’s Kingdom. We need to reduce our flesh to nothing, lower ourselves to utter desolation so that God can lift us up and make us something of real value. Out with the old to make room for the new.
Lam. 3
I had two thoughts reading through this chapter this morning. The first is a continuation of what I just mentioned. My utter devastation brings God’s endless mercy. He is the hope of all who seek Him; the salvation of all who wait for Him. But it is only when we know what we deserve from God that we can receive what we do not. “Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins?” (Lam 3:39). It is what we deserve and perfectly just.
The second thought is that all the panic and pitfall, devastation and destruction that these lamentations describe is that just punishment for our sins. Thus, it is the punishment that Jesus took in our place. He took the awful so that we could have the good. He bore the judgment so that we could experience the mercy. “Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins?” (Lam. 3:39). And why should we complain about any hardship we face in this life, knowing that we will never experience the punishment we deserve?