A RUINED KINGDOM LAMENTATIONS 4:1-22

Transcription

1 1 A RUINED KINGDOM LAMENTATIONS 4:1-22

2 2 Text: Lamentations: 4:1-22, A Ruined Kingdom 1. How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at the head of every street. 2. How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter's hands! 3. Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert. 4. Because of thirst the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth; the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them. 5. Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those nurtured in purple now lie on ash heaps. 6. The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her. 7. Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires. 8. But now they are blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick. 9. Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field. 10. With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.

3 The LORD has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations. 12. The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the world's people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem. 13. But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous. 14. Now they grope through the streets like men who are blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments. 15. "Go away! You are unclean!" men cry to them. "Away! Away! Don't touch us!" When they flee and wander about, people among the nations say, "They can stay here no longer." 16. The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor. 17. Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us. 18. Men stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come. 19. Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert. 20. The LORD's anointed, our very life breath, was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations. 21. Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked. 22. O Daughter of Zion, your punishment will end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O Daughter of Edom, he will punish your sin and expose your wickedness. (NIV)

4 4 Introduction: I. The general flow of the poem is in four (4) parts, Willis wrote, viz., A. Verses 1-20 describe the many stark contrasts between life in Jerusalem in its former times of glory and life in Jerusalem during the Babylonian siege and destruction. B. Verses provide an explanation of these drastic changes: the Lord has punished his sinful people. C. Verses expresses the collective sense of futility felt by the people, as they witness the collapse of their beloved city and capture of their king. D. Verses contain words of condemnation for one of Judah s jeering neighbors, Edom. II. This fourth (4th) lament is an acrostic like that found in the first two (2) chapters with the exception that the stanzas here have two (2) lines instead of three (3), Smith wrote. A. Smith arranges this material into three (3) sections; viz., 1. Description of the calamity (4:1-10), 2. Explanation of the Calamity (4:11-20), 3. Explanation Regarding the Calamity (4:21-22). III. These extremely sad lines (verses 1-10) describe the horrors of the awful famine that preceded the flight of Zedekiah the king of Israel and the terrible destruction that followed, Coffman wrote.

5 5 A. The total devastation of Jerusalem was horrible, but these verses relate to the horrors of the siege that preceded the fall of Jerusalem, Coffman stated. Commentary: Lamentations 4:1, How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at the head of every street. (NIV) I. The fine gold has lost its luster, has become dull. A. Smith observed that the afflictions in 4:1-10 fell on the whole population of Jerusalem including: 1. the youth, 2. the little children, 3. the wealthy, 4. the king, princes, priests and prophets and the once tender-hearted mothers. B. The gold in this verse refers to the precious sons of Zion who become skin and bones, dying of starvation, sitting upon dunghills (ashes) in search of food. (Coffman) II. The sacred gems are scattered at the head of every street. A. Coffman identified these sacred gems as those that decorated the breastplate of the High Priest now without respect are scattered in the city streets.

6 6 III. The present wretched circumstances, Clarke reminds us, are contrasted with the flourishing state of their affairs in former times. A. Gold is certainly not expected to tarnish nor jewels to be scattered in the streets, but this is exactly in figurative language what happened to Jerusalem s finest. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) 1. Zechariah 9:16, The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. (NIV) 2. 1 Chronicles 29:2, With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble all of these in large quantities. (NIV) 3. 2 Chronicles 3:6, He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim. (NIV) 4. 1 Kings 5:17, At the king's command they removed from the quarry large blocks of quality stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. (NIV) Lamentations 4:2, How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter's hands! (NIV)

7 7 I. The precious sons of Zion, the people of Judah in general (The Pulpit Commentary), once regarded as extremely valuable, are now considered no more valuable than an ordinary clay pot. A. Isaiah 22:24, All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars. (NIV) B. Isaiah 45:9, "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'? (NIV) C. Clarke wrote that these precious sons were the Jewish priests and believers who were the pure standard of holiness. D. All that has now been reversed, negated and now are symbols of dishonor. Lamentations 4:3, Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert. (NIV) I. God s people had become worse than wild beasts, jackals, more like ostriches in the desert. A. Job 39:13-16, "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain, (NIV)

8 8 B. The jackals nursed their young, but Jerusalem s starving women ate their children. C. Ostriches lay their eggs and do not further properly concern themselves with their potential offspring. 1. For her carelessness about their eggs, and her inattention to her young, the ostrich is proverbial, Clarke wrote. 2. Job 39:14-16, She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain, (NIV) Lamentations 4:4, Because of thirst the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth; the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them. (NIV) I. Infants and children were dying of thirst and starvation. No one gave them even the basic necessities to sustain life. A. Lamentations 2:12, They say to their mothers, "Where is bread and wine?" as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away in their mothers' arms. (NIV) Lamentations 4:5, Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those nurtured in purple now lie on ash heaps. (NIV)

9 9 I. Those who once ate the best foods and wore the finest clothes (scarlet) now find themselves destitute in the streets lying in ash heaps. A. No one escaped the terrible effects of this siege. B. The elite who once reclined on costly carpets and sofas find themselves homeless on the streets. (See Clarke.) Lamentations 4:6, The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her. (NIV) I. Jerusalem s punishment was greater than Sodom s. No one helped either Jerusalem nor Sodom in their times of sudden destruction. A. Sodom s punishment was sudden and immediately over while Jerusalem suffered a long, lingering punishment, agonizingly and horrifyingly drawn out. (Willis) 1. Ezekiel 16:1-63, The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices and say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. " 'Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood,

10 10 and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, "Live!" I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, you who were naked and bare. " 'Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine. " 'I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD. " 'But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. Such things should not happen, nor should they ever occur. You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male

11 11 idols and engaged in prostitution with them. And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them. Also the food I provided for you the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign LORD. " 'And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood. " 'Woe! Woe to you, declares the Sovereign LORD. In addition to all your other wickedness, you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine in every public square. At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, offering your body with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by. You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and provoked me to anger with your increasing promiscuity. So I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were shocked by your lewd conduct. You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied. Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia, a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied. " 'How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign LORD, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute! When you built your mounds at

12 12 the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment. " 'You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! Every prostitute receives a fee, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors. So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you. " 'Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children's blood, therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see all your nakedness. I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring upon you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger. Then I will hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you naked and bare. They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords. They will burn down your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers. Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be

13 13 calm and no longer angry. " 'Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign LORD. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices? " 'Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: "Like mother, like daughter." You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom. You not only walked in their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they. As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done. Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters

14 14 appear righteous. " 'However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them, so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before. You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines all those around you who despise you. You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the LORD. " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant. Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of my covenant with you. So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD. Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign LORD.' " (NIV) 2. Genesis 4:13, Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. (NIV)

15 Zechariah 14:19, This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. (NIV) 4. Isaiah 19:16, In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the LORD Almighty raises against them. (NIV) Lamentations 4:7, Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires. (NIV) I. Before the Babylonian siege began, Judah s eminent ones, princes (Nazarites) were handsome and glorious, purer than snow, beautiful like polished jewels. A. The elite of Jerusalem s nobility who had enjoyed the good life before the siege now found themselves starving like everyone else. (See Coffman.) B. Princes and Nazarites may here refer to what is chief or eminent. 1. Genesis 49:26, Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. (NIV) Lamentations 4:8, But now they are blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick. (NIV)

16 16 I. Now these princes had become ugly, destitute, unrecognized in the streets, and totally without any vestige of their previous honor and splendor, blacker than a coal. A. Job 30:30, My skin grows black and peels; my body burns with fever. (NIV) B. Job 2:12, When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. (NIV) C. Job 19:20, I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth. (NIV) D. Psalm 102:5, Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones. (NIV) Lamentations 4:9, Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field. (NIV) I. Sudden death by the sword is better than a lingering, slow death by starvation. A. Jeremiah 15:2, And if they ask you, 'Where shall we go?' tell them, 'This is what the LORD says: " 'Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.' (NIV) B. Jeremiah 24:10, I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.' " (NIV)

17 17 C. Jeremiah 52:6, By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. (NIV) D. Coffman suggested that some of the sufferers may have longed, prayed for a merciful quick death. Lamentations 4:10, With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed. (NIV) I. The famine was so severe that good, tender-hearted and compassionate mothers became cannibals, were driven to cook and eat their own children. A. Deuteronomy 28:53-57, Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you. Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. The most gentle and sensitive woman among you so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities. (NIV)

18 18 B. Jeremiah 19:9, I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.' (NIV) C. 2 Kings 6:24-30, Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels. As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, "Help me, my lord the king!" The king replied, "If the LORD does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?" Then he asked her, "What's the matter?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son.' So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she had hidden him." When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he had sackcloth on his body. (NIV) D. Lamentations 2:20, "Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? (NIV) E. Isaiah 49:15, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (NIV)

19 19 Lamentations 4:11, The LORD has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations. (NIV) I. God s undiluted wrath was poured out against Zion in full strength. A. Jeremiah 7:1-15, This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : "Stand at the gate of the LORD's house and there proclaim this message: " 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. " 'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"-safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD. " 'Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the LORD, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not

20 20 listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim.' (NIV) B. Jeremiah 21:1-2, The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said: "Inquire now of the LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us." (NIV) C. Deuteronomy 32:23, "I will heap calamities upon them and spend my arrows against them. (NIV) D. Smith wrote that God s wrath was stirred against Jerusalem because of: 1. the sins of their spiritual leaders. 2. the evil counsel of the priests and prophets. 3. the city s stubborness. E. The sinful kingdom was destroyed. 1. Amos 9:8, "Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob,"declares the LORD. (NIV)

21 Samuel 8:7, And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. (NIV) 3. Hosea 13:11, So in my anger I gave you a king, and in my wrath I took him away. (NIV) Lamentations:4:12, The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the world's people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem. (NIV) I. Everyone mistakenly believed Jerusalem was impregnable. A. Smith noted that Jerusalem was disillusioned into thinking: 1. some foreign nation would rescue them. 2. they could successfully resist the might of Babylon. 3. they would be able to flee to safety outside Jerusalem. 4. that king Zedekiah would be able to protect them. B. Jerusalem was strategically located for defense in regard to terrain and the walls of the city had been built to repel enemy attacks. (See Clarke.) 1. Judah could humanly speaking have confidence in Jerusalem s security.

22 22 II. Jerusalem had been conquered before which leaves us at a loss to determine why the people could have thought Jerusalem was impregnable. A. 1 Kings 14:26, He carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. (NIV) B. 2 Kings 14:13, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate a section about six hundred feet long. (NIV) C. Jeremiah 7:9, " 'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, (NIV) D. Psalm 48:8, As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever. Selah (NIV) Lamentations 4:13, But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous. (NIV) I. Jerusalem fell because of the sins of her false prophets, the iniquities of her priests and the murder of the righteous within the city. A. Lamentations 2:14, 20, The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were

23 23 false and misleading. "Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? (NIV) B. Jeremiah 2:26, "As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. (NIV) C. Jeremiah 32:32, The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. (NIV) D. 2 Kings 21:16, Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the LORD. (NIV) E. 2 Kings 24:4, including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to forgive. (NIV) F. Psalm 106:38, They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. (NIV) G. Isaiah 1:15, When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; (NIV)

24 24 H. Jeremiah 7:6, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, (NIV) I. Jeremiah 19:4, For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. (NIV) J. Jeremiah 22:3, 17, This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. "But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion." (NIV) K. Jeremiah 26:7, 15, The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing." (NIV) L. 2 Kings 21:16, Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the LORD. (NIV) M. Jeremiah 6:13, "From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. (NIV)

25 25 N. Jeremiah 23:11, "Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness," declares the LORD. (NIV) O. Isaiah 28:7, And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. (NIV) II. The false prophets, false priests and those who aligned themselves with the sinful leaders persecuted the true prophets, true priests and faithful people of Jerusalem. (See Clarke.) Lamentations 4:14, Now they grope through the streets like men who are blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments. (NIV) I. Because of their; that is, the prophets and priests, sins, the citizens of Jerusalem wander, grope around like blind people. They are so defiled by shedding innocent blood that everyone regards them as unclean and won t have anything to do with them, won t even touch their clothes. A. Leviticus 13:45-46, "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp. (NIV) B. Isaiah 6:5, "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of

26 26 unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (NIV) C. Psalm 107:27, They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end. (NIV) D. Psalm 60:3, You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger. (NIV) E. Deuteronomy 28:28-29, The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you. (NIV) F. Jeremiah 23:12, "Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished," declares the LORD. (NIV) Lamentations 4:15, "Go away! You are unclean!" men cry to them. "Away! Away! Don't touch us!" When they flee and wander about, people among the nations say, "They can stay here no longer." (NIV) I. Everyone ostracized the people of Jerusalem. Wherever they went they found themselves most unwelcome. A. Leviticus 13:45-46, "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as he has the infection he

27 27 remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp. (NIV) B. Isaiah 6:5, "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (NIV) C. They were treated as if they had been unclean lepers. (See Smith.) D. These sinners were so bad that even the heathens did not want to have anything to do with them. 1. Deuteronomy 28:65, Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. (NIV) Lamentations 4:16, The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor. (NIV) I. God scattered these people because of their sins. God no longer providentially protects them and the priests are shown no divine honor and the elders are shown no favor from the Lord...nor anyone else for that matter. A. The face of the Lord is against the faces of the priests. (Willis) 1. Leviticus 20:3, 6, I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my

28 28 sanctuary and profaned my holy name. " 'I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people. (NIV) 2. Leviticus 26:17, I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. (NIV) 3. Psalm 34:16, the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. (NIV) 4. Psalm 80:16, Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish. (NIV) 5. Ezekiel 14:8, I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD. (NIV) B. No one helps the citizens of Jerusalem. 1. Deuteronomy 28:50, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. (NIV) 2. Job 22:8, though you were a powerful man, owning land an honored man, living on it. (NIV) 3. 2 Kings 5:1, Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

29 Isaiah 3:3, the captain of fifty and man of rank, the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter. (NIV) C. The humiliation of Jerusalem came as a direct result of God s anger (because) of the near-universal immorality and wickedness of the people, Coffman wrote. 1. Not merely the sins of false prophets and priests, but the general wickedness of the whole nation led to God s destruction of the sinful kingdom, Coffman wrote. Lamentations 4:17, Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us. (NIV) I. The people of Jerusalem looked earnestly for someone to rescue them, but found no help anywhere. A. Coffman wrote, Zedekiah, the last king of Israel to reign in Jerusalem, had violated his oath of loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar and secretly hoped that Egypt would help Israel; but Egypt would not have helped Israel even if she could have done it, and could not have done so even if she had desired to do it. 1. Isaiah 36:6, Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. (NIV) 2. Jeremiah 49:7, Concerning Edom: This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Is there no longer

30 30 wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed? (NIV) B. The nation to which Judah looked first were the Egyptians, who were Judah s pretended allies, but were neither able nor willing to help them against the Chaldeans, Clarke wrote. Lamentations 4:18, Men stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come. (NIV) Note: At this point the Speaker changes. Before the third person (they/them/their) was used in regard to the people of Jerusalem. Afterward the first person (we/us/our) is used. I. The people of Jerusalem were stalked, harassed, hounded so much they could not even walk in their city streets. Things were so bad they thought they were going to die very soon. A. Coffman wrote, The siege is over. The king has fled; the walls are breached; the soldiers of the enemy are in the streets. Of course, all who are able to do so flee from the city. B. During the siege of Jerusalem the Chaldean s would fire darts, arrows and missiles over the city walls which made it very dangerous for the people of Jerusalem to walk about the city. (See Clarke.) Lamentations 4:19, Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert. (NIV)

31 31 I. The pursuers were swift as eagles and chased the citizens of Jerusalem over the mountains and laid in wait in the desert for them. A. Jeremiah 39:4-5, When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. (NIV) B. Jeremiah 4:13, Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! We are ruined! (NIV) C. 2 Kings 25:4-6, Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him. (NIV) D. There is no escape from the enemy. Even those fortunate enough to get out of the city were too weak from hunger to make a successful escape. They were easily captured, Coffman wrote. E. The citizens of Jerusalem were hunted everywhere they went as if they had been wild animals. (See Clarke.) 1. Clarke wrote that this may refer to Zedekiah and his attempts to escape.

32 32 Lamentations 4:20, The LORD's anointed, our very life breath, was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations. (NIV) I. Even the king, the Lord s anointed, Zedekiah, on whom the citizens of Jerusalem depended for the protection of their lives were caught in the enemies traps, pits. The people were disillusioned because the people thought the king would be able to provide some protection from their captor s atrocities. A. Jeremiah 7:14, Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. (NIV) B. 2 Kings 25:1-7, So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it. The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him. They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. (NIV)

33 33 C. 1 Chronicles 29:23, So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. (NIV) D. Psalm 28:8, The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. (NIV) E. Lamentations 1:13, "From on high he sent fire, sent it down into my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long. (NIV) F. Psalm 7:15, He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. (NIV) Lamentations 4:21, Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked. (NIV) I. Edomites in the land of Uz had better rejoice while they can because Judah s troubles would in time extend to them as well. A. Jeremiah 49:7-13, Concerning Edom: This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed? Turn and flee, hide in deep caves, you who live in Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him. If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? If thieves came during the night, would they not steal only as much as they wanted? But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, so that he cannot conceal himself. His children, relatives and neighbors will perish, and he will be no more. Leave your orphans; I will protect their lives. Your widows too can trust in me." This is what the

34 34 LORD says: "If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. I swear by myself," declares the LORD, "that Bozrah will become a ruin and an object of horror, of reproach and of cursing; and all its towns will be in ruins forever." (NIV) B. Edom was a perennial enemy of Israel and certainly must have gloated over Israel s misfortune. C. Amos 1:11-12, This is what the LORD says: "For three sins of Edom, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because he pursued his brother with a sword, stifling all compassion, because his anger raged continually and his fury flamed unchecked, I will send fire upon Teman that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah." (NIV) D. Psalm 137:7, Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations!" (NIV) E. Remember that Job was a resident of Uz, probably located east of Edom in the Arabian desert. (Bromiley) 1. Job 1:1, In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. (NIV) F. Jeremiah spoke of Uz as well. 1. Jeremiah 25:17-26, So I took the cup from the LORD's hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it: Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn and cursing, as they are

35 35 today; Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod Edom, Moab and Ammon; all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places; all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert; all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too. (NIV) G. Edom would drink the cup of calamity just as Jerusalem had done. 1. They were going to get theirs! 2. Jeremiah 25:15-29, This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them." So I took the cup from the LORD's hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it: Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn and cursing, as they are today; Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people, and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod Edom, Moab

36 36 and Ammon; all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places; all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the desert; all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media; and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too. But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: You must drink it! See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares the LORD Almighty.' (NIV) Lamentations 4:22, O Daughter of Zion, your punishment will end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O Daughter of Edom, he will punish your sin and expose your wickedness. (NIV) I. Zion s punishment would one day end and not be prolonged beyond the prophesized seventy (70) years, but Edom would be punished for their sins and their wickedness would be exposed. A. Habakkuk 2:15-16, "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies. You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and be exposed! The cup from the LORD's right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory. (NIV) B. Edomites taunted Israel not realizing that the same fate will soon befall them. (Willis)