We often don’t hear too many sermons on the book of Lamentations. The reasons seem obvious to me. It is a book that deals with the lamenting of God’s discipline over Jerusalem (The Southern Kingdom of Israel or Judah) due to her sin. Yet this book, through its poetic nature, serves as as example of how we ought to lament over our own sin. In Lamentations 2:18-22 we find that she expresses her pain to the Lord.
First, Jerusalem confesses that the Lord is righteous. v. 18
“The Lord is righteous,
yet I rebelled against his command.
Listen, all you peoples;
look on my suffering.
My young men and young women
have gone into exile.” (NIV, and all subsequent verses)
She knows that what God has commanded to happen in her life is not because God is unfair, nor because God wants to hurt her. Despite everything that has happened to Jerusalem, she confesses that the Lord is just. The fault is not God’s.
Her confession includes why this tragedy happened to her, “I rebelled against his command.” Blame it on Jerusalem that she decided to say “no” to what God commanded her to do. God called attention to her disobedience through her prophets like the prophet Jeremiah and warned her of what would come if she did not listen to her voice. But she didn’t listen.
Many today blame God for their sins and the results of it. Why does God allow this if he is just? The truth is clear: “The Lord is righteous.” The problem is not with God but with us. Instead of accusing God we should confess “I rebelled against his word.”
She invites all the peoples who see her to hear her and see her pain. See what has happened to him. It is a warning to everyone that God is the Judge. The consequences that came were severe for Jerusalem. They lost everything. Her “virgins” and “young men”, the most precious of her people “were taken into captivity.” No one escapes or will escape his just judgment. The book of Jeremiah (Jer. 46-51) speaks of the judgment that will come to all nations.
The warning is the same for us. Let’s hear her voice today. If you are a believer, he invites you to be disobedient and continue on your way because God will judge you. If you have not believed in Christ, it invites you to repent of your sins and believe in Him and not wait for God’s judgment.
Second, she admits that her lovers have cheated on her v. 19
“I called to my allies
but they betrayed me.
My priests and my elders
perished in the city
while they searched for food
to keep themselves alive. “
The lovers he spoke of in verses 2 and 8-9, the nations that Judah trusted and led him to be unfaithful to God, have deceived him. They didn’t give him help when he asked for it. Religious leaders and city leaders perished “while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.” She lost all her allies. Unfaithfulness to God does not bring good consequences. Never!
Third, she admits that she is suffering greatly for her rebellion” v. 20
“See, Lord, how distressed I am!
I am in torment within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,
for I have been most rebellious.
Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.. “
Jerusalem is suffering, being tormented in a way that affects her mental state, so much that she feels heat inside her. It is something very intense. Her heart, her insides are turned upside down or so moved. The emotional state is intense.
The reason for this suffering is because “I have been most rebellious..” Once again, she confesses that she was rebellious (v. 18) but she adds “in a great way.” But not only did it affect her mind, her heart and her entire physical state, she experienced death in and out of the city. There is no security for her anywhere. The city suffers greatly!
Finally, she asks the Lord to do justice” vv. 21-22
Jerusalem asks God to do justice to the nations.
“People have heard my groaning,
but there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my distress;
they rejoice at what you have done.
May you bring the day you have announced
so they may become like me.
“Let all their wickedness come before you;
deal with them
as you have dealt with me
because of all my sins.
My groans are many
and my heart is faint.”
Seeing her, hearing her groan, those who pass by on the road, the nations who hear what has happened to her, do not offer her any consolation. There is no one to comfort her. All the enemies who heard the evil that came to her, rejoice in what God did to her. This is a sovereign act of God in which He causes all those who supported her to abandon her and to rejoice. Those who do not believe in Christ often rejoice when the believer falls and is unfaithful to the Lord. They use this moment to justify themselves.
The suffering that Jerusalem experienced was a sovereign act of God. Let us remember this, those of us who have believed and follow Christ. Nothing that happens to us is outside his sovereignty and will. God has a purpose whether we know it or not.
Jerusalem prays that God will bring the day of judgment to the nations and be judged like her (Isaiah 2:12; Amos 5:18; Zephaniah 1: 14-18 – Isa 2:12; Amos 5:18; Zeph 1:14 -18). This includes what God has announced in reference to Babylon and her future destruction (Jer. 51:24, 35–37). The Lord would do this and it was so.
Just as God punished the wickedness of Israel, the Lord punishes (and will punish) the wicked nations. The day of the Lord will come and they will be judged. God uses nations to carry out his punishment on Jerusalem but by no means will he leave the wickedness of the nations go unpunished. God is a just and an impartial judge.
She prays to God that their wickedness comes before Him and that they too be punished as she has been by the Lord because of “all” his rebellions. Jerusalem admits her rebellions once again as the cause of this suffering but at the same time asks that God, as a just judge, bring justice against Babylon. She prays that God do justice to stop her moaning and the pain in her heart.
Application questions:
The Lord is not far from His children but sin affects our relationship with Him. And this can lead us to rebellion. This will bring immediate consequences such as lack of communion with Him and other visible consequences.
How do you lament over your own sin? Do you confess to God what you have done wrong?
What can you do in your life to prevent your heart from rebelling against the Lord?
How are you letting others speak into your life to help you avoid this?
