Year 4 Week 46 Day 316-322 November 12 18, 2015
Week 46 Day 316-322 November 12 November 18, 2015 I. Invocation and Adoration: So weak, so frail an instrument, if Thou, my God, vouchsafe to use; tis praise enough to be employed; reward enough, if Thou excuse. If Thou excuse, then work Thy will by so unfit an instrument; it will at once Thy goodness show, and prove Thy power Omnipotent. Amen. (George Whitefield 1866-1944) Reading of Proverbs 11:21-31 (Optional) We have finished reading the Book of Psalms as a part of our preparation for worship, and now we shall use the Book of Proverbs as an optional reading to transition us from worship to confession: Read this passage a few times each day, not for the sake of Bible study, but to grasp a major thought each day and translate that thought into either adoration or confession. II. Confession Pause now and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you your sins and ask for forgiveness. III. Thanksgiving List, one by one, things for which you should give thanks.
IV. Scriptural Reflection: This week, we shall study of the book of Lamentations in the Old Testament. Read slowly and reflectively the assigned passage twice at least and consider the questions below each day: The Book of Lamentations There is little doubt that Jeremiah is the author of this book and Ancient tradition is unanimous in ascribing it to the prophet Jeremiah (NCBC, 6). Concerning the setting, the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) has an introduction added before Lamentations 1:1 which says, And it came to pass, after Israel was taken captive, and Jerusalem made desolate that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said The literary form of this book is quite unique in that: Chapters 1 & 2: are written as acrostic poems (kind of like Psalm 119) using a new Hebrew alphabet to begin each of the 22 verses. Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: with 66 verses, has three verses for each letter of the alphabet; like chapters 1 & 2 is also an acrostic poem of 22 verses. It might be worth-noting that while the Hebrew letters in chapter 1 are arranged according to the normal sequence of the Hebrew alphabets, chapters 2-4 reverse the order of the 16 th & 17 th alphabets, placing peh in front of ayin (NCBC, 4) is not an acrostic poem, but it also has 22 verses with the 2 nd half of each verse shorter than the first, hence conveying a somber effect of diminuendo (Scofield). Day 316 Lamentations 1:1-22 The Lament Over the Desolation of Zion and Judah (1:1-6) (1) With the last chapter of Jeremiah (ch.52) still fresh in your mind, if you were Jeremiah sitting, say on the Mount of Olive and looking at the Jerusalem, as LXX suggests, what might you see? (2) In these opening verses, Jeremiah does not only look at the present desolation but remembers the former days of the city and the nation: a. What contrasts does he employ in v.1?
b. What has added to her bitterness? (v.2) (3) What insight does Jeremiah 52: 6-8 provide in your understanding of his lament in v.3? (4) In depicting their demise, Jeremiah mentions priests, young women, children and princes (vv. 4-6) to indicate that all have met with the same fate: a. What reason does he give for their collective demise? (v.5) b. What does he mourns over particularly in v.4a? The Affliction of Jerusalem (1:7-11) the focus is on Jerusalem as the capital where the treasures and the temple were: (5) In depicting the despise of Jerusalem by her enemies: a. What imagery was used for the shame that fell upon her? (vv. 8b-9) b. How appropriate was this considering the sin that she has committed? (v.8a) (6) What has her shame and insult extended to? (v.10) Jeremiah Personalizing His Lament (1:12-20) (7) In the midst of his lamentation for the city, why does Jeremiah change to first person? (8) Look, Lord and consider, for I am despised (1:11b-14) a. Why does Jeremiah call on the passers-by to look and see? (v.12) b. He uses several imageries to depict the pouring out of God s anger: i. What does the imagery of fire serve to portray? (v.13a) ii. What about the spreading of a net? (v.13b) iii. What does the imagery of the yoke depict? (v.14) (9) No one to comfort (1:15-21) a. In describing their crushing defeat (v.15): i. Why does Jeremiah call Judah the Virgin Daughter? ii. Why does he liken their defeat as the Lord trampling on a winepress? b. What is the thing that causes him to weep and overflow with tears? (vv.16-17) c. What should all the peoples who care to look and listen learn from the demise of Jerusalem? (vv. 18-19) d. Since the rebellious is Jerusalem (and her people), why should the prophet feel such a deep torment himself? (v.20) Calling for Vengeance (1:21-22) (10) On what basis does Jeremiah call upon God to punish the enemies of God s people? (11) What judgment has God already announced on the enemies of His people? (see Jeremiah 25:12ff) (12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Day 317 Lamentations 2:1-22 God s Fierce Anger (2:1-10) note how the motif of God s anger is being emphasized in these lines and the three-fold Hebraic parallelism used in each verse, one reinforcing or deepening the idea of the foregoing line: (1) In describing the fierce anger of the Lord (vv.1-3) a. How does Jeremiah speak of the former glory of Israel (v.1) b. How does the imagery of a cloud serve to depict the anger of God? c. In the first three verses, what are the verbs used by Jeremiah? How do they collectively depict the fierce anger of the Lord? (2) God as their enemy (vv. 4-7) a. How does v.5 sum up the result of God turning into their enemy? b. Why has God even laid waste His own dwelling place and His altar? (vv. 6-7) (3) God s determination to destroy (vv. 8-10) a. How does v. 8 depict God s resolve to destroy? b. What is the respective fate of their king, princes, prophets, elders and young women? c. What does Jeremiah seek to depict with describing each of their fates? (4) Jeremiah s weeping for Jerusalem (vv. 11-17) a. How does Jeremiah describe his own weeping for Jerusalem? (v.11) b. What is the scene that causes him to grieve the most? (vv.11-12) c. In seeking to comfort Zion, can the prophet find any events or examples in history that was worse than what happened to Zion? (v.13) Why or why not? d. Could their captivity be avoided? (v.14) Why or why not? e. As it is, what have they become in the eyes of the world? (vv.15-16) f. Do you think calling Jerusalem, the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth is an exaggeration? Why or why not? (v.15) (5) Calling for Petition (vv. 18-22) a. In calling the people (both the exile and the remnant) to petition to the Lord, what does the prophet ask the people to do? (vv. 18-19) b. Do you think it is too little, too late? Why or why not? c. Now, the prophet pleads with the Lord as well (vv. 20-22) i. What do the three rhetorical questions in v.20 seek to do? ii. Why does the prophet take the judgment of the Lord so personally? (v.22) (6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Day 318 Lamentations 3:1-18 Jeremiah s lament for Jerusalem and Judah is now turned into a lament of personal suffering: (1) When Jeremiah says, I am a man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord s, is he thinking of the suffering of Jerusalem or his own sufferings as they relate to the fate of Jerusalem? (you may want to consult today s Meditative Article) Now, he details the rod of God s wrath, using He has to describe his own affliction: (2) Vv. 2-3: What has God indeed done to him emotionally? (3) V.4: what have all these afflictions done to his body? (4) Vv. 5-9: being hemmed in by God Jeremiah has been put into a dungeon or prison at least twice (Jeremiah 37:15; 38:13) and for a long time: a. Is he referring to his experience in prison only? Why or why not? b. What is the difference between being walled in by men and by God? c. To those who belong to God, how can we find a way out? d. Does it work for Jeremiah? (v.8) (5) Vv. 10-13: being hunted by God a. What is worse: to be walled in or to be hunted by God? Why? b. The first imagery used is that of a bear or lion lying in wait (vv. 10-11) i. What does this imagery serve to depict? c. The next imagery is that of an archer (vv. 12-13) i. What does this imagery serve to depict? (6) Vv. 14-18: Down and out he ends his personal lament feeling insulted (v.14), bitter (v.15) and trampled (v.16) a. How does he sum up his condition? (v.17) b. What prosperity and splendor is he referring to? His or Jerusalem? c. What hope had he had all along from the Lord all these years as a prophet, for Jerusalem and for himself? (v.18) d. Why does he think that all hopes are gone now? (7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life? Day 319 Lamentations 3:19-39 God s Compassion (3:19-39) (1) As Jeremiah remembers his affliction and his wandering, how downcast is he? (3:18) (2) Yet, he also remembers something that brings him hope (vv. 22-24):
a. What does he remember that assures him of God s great love and concludes that His compassions never fail? (v.22) b. What makes him understand that His faithfulness is great? (v.23) c. What causes him, in spite of all his afflictions and bitterness, to continue to wait for God? (v.24) (3) God is good and so is affliction (3:25-36) a. Jeremiah poetically speaks of three things that are good in vv. 25-27 i. What are they? ii. Why are they so good? b. What are the three things that one should do in bearing his yoke (or burden) before the Lord? (vv.28-30) c. What three reasons does Jeremiah give to support his advice? (vv. 31-33) (4) As if he senses that the hearers may not agree with his advice, what additional three reasons does he give in telling us to submit to God through three rhetorical questions in vv. 37-39? (5) Do you agree with Jeremiah? Why or why not? (6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life? Day 320 Lamentations 3:40-66 Call to Repentance (3:40-47) having affirmed God s sovereignty and their sinfulness, Jeremiah now call them to repentance: (1) What is the three-step process to repentance that he calls them to? (v.40) a. What does examination entail? b. How should we test our ways? c. How then should we repent? (vv. 41-42) (2) In the process of genuine repentance, Jeremiah urges them to recall the severe consequences of their sins (vv. 43-47) a. What has God covered Himself with and what are the consequences? (vv.43-44) b. What have they become today? (vv. 45-47) c. How does such a recollection and recognition have to do with their process of repentance? (v.40) Personal Lament (3:48-66) now the prophet once more reverts to his own weeping and groaning and tears even that he might arouse himself to prayer, and lead others also (Calvin, 441):
(3) The recollection and recognition of the fate of Jerusalem has caused the prophet once again to weep (vv. 48-51) a. What does he see in particular that makes him weep? (v.51) b. Why won t he stop weeping? (v.50) (4) The recollection of his own sufferings, especially while in prison (vv. 52-58) a. How horrible was his experience in prison? (vv. 52-54; see Jeremiah 37:20) b. How did he plead with God? (vv. 55-56) c. How did the Lord respond to his prayer? (vv. 57-58; Jeremiah 38:11-13) (5) Praying for Vengeance (3:59-66) His past deliverance by the Lord becomes the basis of his confidence to pray for the present: a. Since God has taken his cause and redeemed his life (v.58), do you think vv. 59-63is still a description of himself or of Jerusalem (and the people of God)? b. Where are his former enemies now? (Jeremiah 52:10) c. What does he ask the Lord to do to his enemies? (vv. 64-66) d. Should he seek revenge either for himself or Jerusalem? (6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life? Day 321 Lamentations 4:1-22 In this acrostic poem, Jeremiahs laments the punishment that has befallen his people which they fully deserve: Punishment Worse than That of Sodom (4:1-11) (1) In what way(s) were the children of Zion like gold and sacred gems before? (vv. 1-2) (2) In what way(s) are they like pots of clay now? (vv. 1-2) (3) What is the sin highlighted here? (v.3) (4) In what ways they are more heartless than jackals? (v.4) (5) Presumably the rich and royal were especially guilty of this sin: what punishment have they suffered? (v.5) (6) The instant punishment of Zion is now compared to that of Sodom (vv. 6-11) a. What was the punishment of Sodom marked by? (v.6, see Genesis 19: 24-25) b. How does Jeremiah contrast the former glory of the princes with what they have become? (vv. 7-8) c. Why does he say that those killed by the sword are better off? (vv. 9-10) d. In what way(s) is the punishment of his people greater than that of Sodom? (7) The sin of the prophets and priests (vv. 12-16) a. What should the prophets and priests be to the people and to the Lord?
b. What have they done instead? (v.13) c. In describing the judgment they now receive, what does Jeremiah liken them to? (vv. 14-15) d. What consequences have the sins of these clergies led to? (v.12) e. Why does Jeremiah single out their sins? (8) Futility of trusting in men (vv. 17-20) one nation and one individual are cited: a. Which is the nation that they put their trust in? b. Why couldn t this nation save them? (Jeremiah 44: 30; 46: 1-2) c. Which one individual did they put their trust in? d. What was his fate? (v.20; Jeremiah 52: 9-11) (9) Hope of Return (vv. 21-22) a. Of all the foreign nations, why does Jeremiah single Edom out for judgment? (see Jeremiah 49:7-22; and Meditative Reflection of Day 309) b. What is the hope that accompanies the punishment of Edom? (10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life? Day 322 Lamentations 5:1-22 Corporate Petition to the Lord: This final poem is entirely spoken with the corporate we. Asking God to Look at Their Disgrace (5:1-16) of course the Lord knows of their pitiful state, therefore by asking the Lord to look, they are hoping to get His sympathy: (1) The list of disgrace (5:2-10): what kind of disgrace a. Is the loss of their land and homes? (v. 2; see Deuteronomy 6:23) b. Is becoming fatherless and widows? (v.3) c. Is depicted by vv. 4, 6, 9-10? d. Is depicted by v.8? e. What have all these punishments rendered them to be? (v.5) f. Can they really blame their fathers for their punishment? (v.7) Why or why not? (Jeremiah 16:12) (2) More than disgrace (5:11-18) a. What is the picture depicted by vv. 11-14? b. How does Jeremiah sum up their current physical, emotional and spiritual conditions in vv. 15-18? (3) Final plea on behalf of Israel (5:19-22) a. What does his acknowledgment of God s eternity signify? b. Are his two questions in v.20 valid? Why or why not?
c. What is his final plea for his people? (vv.21-22) i. Which should come first: God s restoration or their return? Why? ii. Do you think God has utterly rejected them and His anger is beyond measure? iii. What is God s answer to Jeremiah s plea? (see Romans 11:1, 25-27) (4) As we conclude the study of the book of Lamentations, can you pause to consider and list three major lessons that this Book has impressed upon you?
V. Meditative Reflection Day 316 The Weight of Sin My sins have been bound into a yoke; by his hands they were woven together. They have been hung on my neck, and the Lord has sapped my strength. (Lamentations 1:14) Irrespective of how modern scholars seek to discredit the Jeremaic-authorship of Lamentations and their effort to date this book to a much later time in Jewish history, the Septuagint (i.e. the Greek translation of the Old Testament completed around 2 B.C. and widely used in Jesus time) has helpfully affirmed Jeremiah as its author with this description before 1:1 And it came to pass, after Israel was taken captive, and Jerusalem made desolate that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said One can imagine the sadness that must have overwhelmed Jeremiah as he sat there; looking at the ruin of Jerusalem and the temple, witnessing the fulfillment of the prophecies that he personally has spoken. As much as the destruction of the city and its people caused him to weep like fire that pierced down into his bones (1:13), he was fully conscious of the fact that such wounds have been self-inflicted by the sin of the people which he describes very vividly with these words as he personalizes those sins as his own: My sins have been bound into a yoke; by his hands they were woven together. They have been hung on my neck, and the Lord has sapped my strength. (Lamentations 1:14) This brings back memory of a time in my life when I could honestly say that I felt my strength sapped out of me, and it was because I had not properly and utterly dealt with my sin. One more day that I allowed myself to carry that sin, it is indeed like yoke that my sin has woven around my neck, not only did I feel that it weighed heavily on me, I could not lift up my head, not to God, nor to anyone. Fortunately, by the grace and mercy of God, I was able not only to confess my sin to the Lord, but also to the people I offended, and then I could feel the lifting of my yoke and regain my strength from the Lord. While that experience continues to haunt me to these days, it also serves to strengthen my resolve not to allow myself to put on such a yoke again!
Day 317 The Destruction(s) of Jerusalem Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and young women have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity. (Lamentations 2:21) As Jeremiah wept for Jerusalem, he gave us an account of the horror that took place in the destruction of Jerusalem in the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (2:20-21). That, unfortunately, was repeated some six hundred years later in A.D. 70 in the hands of the Roman General, Titus. Allow me to repeat the Meditative Article of Day 90 in which an excerpt of Josephus account about the latter destruction shows how similar an experience to that of Jeremiah was being repeated: The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D. was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in 66A.D. The siege ended with the sacking of the city and the destruction of its famous Second Temple. The destruction of both the first and second temples is still mourned annually as the Jewish fast Tisha B'Av. As the Romans slowly crushed the revolt in outlying areas, refugees flooded into Jerusalem for the climactic battle of the war. The Jews inside the city were torn by internal dissent, with various rebel groups vying for control. There was horrendous loss of life, and conditions worsened as the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem in the spring of A.D. 70. Titus troops took the outer wall around May and captured the strategic Fortress of Antonia. The destruction of the temple was imminent, but many of the Jewish defenders likely believed that God would defend them and His temple at the last. Nonetheless, at the end of August, the Romans successfully attacked the temple, setting fire to its gate and overwhelming its defenders. With the sanctuary fallen, the Jews lost hope and carnage ensued. Here is what Josephus (who had acted as a mediator for the Romans and, when negotiations failed, witnessed the siege and the aftermath) wrote about the incident: While the holy house was on fire, everything was plundered that came to hand, and ten thousand of those that were caught were slain; nor was there a commiseration of any age, or any reverence of gravity, but children, and old men, and profane persons, and priests were all slain in the same manner; so
that this war went round all sorts of men, and brought them to destruction, and as well those that made supplication for their lives, as those that defended themselves by fighting. The flame was also carried a long way, and made an echo, together with the groans of those that were slain; and because this hill was high, and the works at the temple were very great, one would have thought the whole city had been on fire. Nor can one imagine anything either greater or more terrible than this noise; for there was at once a shout of the Roman legions, who were marching all together, and a sad clamor of the seditious, who were now surrounded with fire and sword. The people also that were left above were beaten back upon the enemy, and under a great consternation, and made sad moans at the calamity they were under; the multitude also that was in the city joined in this outcry with those that were upon the hill. And besides, many of those that were worn away by the famine, and their mouths almost closed, when they saw the fire of the holy house, they exerted their utmost strength, and broke out into groans and outcries again the blood was larger in quantity than the fire, and those that were slain more in number than those that slew them; for the ground did nowhere appear visible, for the dead bodies that lay on it; but the soldiers went over heaps of those bodies, as they ran upon such as fled from them (Excerpt from Josephus, Wars 6.5.1) Day 318 Lamentations Lead to True Prayers I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the LORD s wrath. (Lamentations 3:1) In the previous two chapters, we have read about how Jeremiah, lamenting and weeping bitterly over the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah, and grieved mournfully especially for the death of his people (2:20-22). It is now followed by a lament over his personal sufferings. One wonders how these laments would be related and what purpose would they serve? Ewald has this insight to offer: In consequence of experiences most peculiarly his own, the individual may indeed at first make complaint, in such a way, as here, still deeper despair for the third time begins (vv. 1-18); but, by the deepest meditation for himself on the eternal relation of God to men, he may also very readily come to the due acknowledgment of his own sins, and the necessity for repentance, and
thereby also to believing prayer. Who is this individual that complains, and thinks, and entreats in this fashion, whose I passes unobserved, but quite appropriately, into we? O man, it is the very image of thyself! Everyone must now speak, and think, as he does. Thus, it is just by this address, which commences in the most doleful tones, that sorrow for the first time and imperceptibly, has passed into true prayer. (K&D, 508-9) Day 319 Hope in the midst of Despair Because of the LORD s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23) As Jeremiah sat before the ruins of Jerusalem, weeping and lamenting not only the destruction of Jerusalem and his people, it appeared that he also called to mind all the sufferings, insults and pains he endured because of his ministry as a prophet. Not only did he lament his affliction, he also fell into despair as if his faithfulness and his trust in God had come to naught! As He fell under the bitterness of his memory, he ended his personal poem of lament by saying, My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord (3: 18). However, it was when he appeared to be reaching the end of his rope that he suddenly recalled something that caused him to have a complete turnaround in his faith in God and even caused him to have hope once again, and this is a secret that all God s children should and could learn: Because of the LORD s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. (3:22-24) There are three things that Jeremiah draws his attention to: (1) We are not consumed : sure the nation is no more; Jerusalem is not more; and even the temple is no more; but there is a remnant that God has preserved for Himself. You see, in our plight, we can look at all the losses and calamities we have suffered, or we can focus on what God has, in the process, preserved for us or protected us from. This is, accordingly to Jeremiah, evidence that God s compassions have not been consumed (Calvin, 407); (2) There are new every morning : but to be able to observe that God is renewing His compassion to us every morning (i.e. bringing light into our darkness), we need to choose to look for them by faith and through His truth which is the meaning of His
faithfulness (Calvin, 408). That also means that we need to look with our eyes by faith and not by our physical sight; and (3) The Lord is my portion : because of our repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we have become His children (John 1:12); as a result, we are His and He is ours forever. That relationship will never change. Having considered these previous thoughts, is your soul still downcast? Day 320 Steps to Repentance Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. (Lamentations 3:40) Yesterday we considered how the prophet was able to restore his hope and confidence in the Lord when he focused not just on the punishment of God and the dire consequences that they now faced, but also on the fact that God has not totally consumed them with His wrath. Thus he was even able to see God s mercies renewed every morning for them and once again held firm to their unshakable relationship with the Lord. However, he also recognized that such mercies from God were meant to spur them into genuine repentance, as a result he now calls on his people to take the necessary steps toward genuine repentance: Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. (Lamentations 3:40). In other words, the steps toward genuine repentance involve; (1) Self-examination: a thorough self-examination of our ways is only possible if we can make time to quiet ourselves before the Lord, or we will keep repeating our sinful behaviors without even realizing our follies. Even worse is when we try to spend a bit of time before the Lord, and are satisfied to be shown some of our erring ways, and then we assume that our sins have been dealt with. This is worse because we are deceiving ourselves and the Lord. We should recognize that only the Holy Spirit can show us our erring ways, and thus we should cultivate a habit of praying and waiting before the Lord, asking Him to show us our sins thoroughly, and only when we have confessed them one by one, should we get up from our knees to carry on our lives; (2) Testing our ways: Indeed, there are erring ways that we may not be able to see in our time of prayer and reflection; they will only be revealed to us as we are being tested. The word is used in the course of examination or investigation before the court of law,
which involves the weighing of evidence before the law. Thus, the examination of our erring ways needs to be done with an honest searching and weighing before the Word of God which is the only yardstick and measurement we use to test our ways; (3) Returning: mere words of confession and commitment to change is not enough, it has to be followed by action and that is highlighted by the word, return, and Holladay points out that this word is often used by Jeremiah in a covenantal context (TWOT, 909). This is an important emphasis in the true attitude of repentance, in that it is not for self-centered reason that we repent, but out of a love obligation that we respond to the mercies and love of our Redeemer Savior. Day 321 The Sins of the Clergy 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. (Lamentations 4:13) Throughout the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations, we understand that Israel was punished for the sins committed by the entire community the kings, the princes, the elders, the priest, the prophets and the people, and yet in this fourth poem of lament in which Jeremiah passionately presented his final plea to the Lord, he attributed the fall of the fortified gates of Jerusalem, which were able to withhold the powerful army of Nebuchadnezzar for almost two years (Jeremiah 52:4-5), not to the might of the Chaldeans, but rather, it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests (5:13). In order words, the clergy have to bear the bulk of the sins of the people. Their failure to teach the people the pure precepts and decrees of God, to set an example for them in things spiritual and ethical and to lead the charge against idol worship together with their plots to kill those faithful servants of God like Jeremiah is seen as the main contributor to the apostasy and fall of the entire nation. This is such a serious reminder to us, pastors and theologians who bear the same responsibilities of the priests and prophets of old. If we fail to teach the pure doctrine of the gospel, to live a spiritual and ethical life beyond reproach and to sound our prophetic voice against the godless culture, we will be held also as the main contributor to the apostasy of the church.
Day 322 God Answers Jeremiah s Prayer Restore us to yourself, LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure. (Lamentations 5:21-22) As Jeremiah laments the severe punishment suffered by his people, Israel, he ends his tearful lamentation with a very moving prayer in 5:19-22. First he acknowledges the sovereignty and kingship of the Lord, one that is eternal. This acknowledgment signifies his total submission to the action and will of the Lord. However, he knows the Lord so well that he does not stop in submission only, but appeals to the heart of God and asks, Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? (5:20). This appeal proves to be prophetic in that, although he appears to be asking the question soon after the destruction of Jerusalem, the nation of Israel will remain destroyed for thousands of year hence and it does appear that the Lord has totally forgotten about them. It is even more prophetic in the way he petitions for his people by asking God to restore them to Himself, so that they may return (5:21). Logically, it should be Israel who should turn back to the Lord first, not the other way round. But the truth of the matter is, even if they return, they cannot be accepted by the Lord through their sacrifice of animals; God has to act first, with the provision of the sacrificial lamb the Lamb of God who is His Son, as the atoning sacrifice, not only for them, but for the whole world. This is how God answers the prayer of Jeremiah, not by withholding His wrath, but by pouring His wrath on His Son who has taken on the sin of Israel and of the world on the cross. Indeed, God has not forgotten Israel, nor has He forsaken or rejected them utterly as the Apostle Paul testifies in Romans 11:26-27 that through the redemption work of His Son, God has fulfilled His promise given to His people: The deliverer will come from Zion; He will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins (Isaiah 59: 20 21; 27:9)
VI. A Time for Silence You have meditated much with your intellectual faculty today. Now have a moment of silence (the length is up to you, 5 or even 30 minutes), and ask God quietly, Lord, is there any important message from you today that I might have missed? Show me, your servant is listening? VII. Supplication Use the following chart to cover people and ministries that you want to remember before the Lord, apart from praying for yourself: Sunday Your family Other people Church Ministries Other Ministries City & World Others Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday VII. Benediction Through waves and clouds and storms, may He gently clear thy way. Wait thou His time, so shall this night soon end in joyous day. Amen. (Hymn X, by Gerhardt, adapted)