Lamentations 3:10-27: “This I Call to Mind”

Written by Jeremiah, Lamentations described the Chosen People being looted and pillaged and carted away to Babylon. Jeremiah shares perspective amidst the damage.

When judgment comes

10 He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding; 13 He drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver; 16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes…

A fav hymn: Great Is Thy Faithfulness. We love the idea of a faithful God. He will always do what He says He will do. But in Deuteronomy 28 blessings and cursings are described – the incredibly good things that will happen if God’s people live holy lives and the horrific things that will happen if they do not.

25 “The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, 29 and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways, bi And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you, Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless. 33 A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, 34 so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

Judah’s exile to Babylon is seen in the Bible as a result of numerous sins and acts of disobedience against God. Here are a few of the sins that contributed to their exile:

  1. Child Sacrifice: They offered their children as sacrifices to pagan gods (Jere. 7:31, 19:5).
  2. False Prophets: Listened to and followed false prophets who led them astray (Jeremiah 14:14, 23:16-17).
  3. Injustice: They failed to execute justice and oppressed the poor, widows, and orphans (Jeremiah 5:28, 22:3).
  4. Shed Innocent Blood: Engaged in violence and murder (Jeremiah 7:6, 22:17).
  5. Sexual Immorality: Engaged in various forms of sexual immorality (Jere 5:7-8, Ez 16:25).
  6. Trusted in Human Alliances: Relied on political alliances with other nations instead of trusting in God (Isaiah 30:1-2, Jeremiah 2:18).
  7. Corruption Among Leaders: Corruption and dishonesty among the priests, prophets, and kings (Jeremiah 6:13, 23:11).
  8. Covetousness: Coveted wealth and possessions (Jeremiah 6:13, 8:10).
  9. Neglected the Poor: Ignored the needs of the poor and vulnerable (Jeremiah 22:16).
  10. Sorcery and Witchcraft: Practiced sorcery, divination, and other occult practices (Jeremiah 27:9-10).

And so, God was faithful. He did what He said He was going to do. Curses. Jeremiah understands this.

Let’s say America goes down one day because of our rampant sinfulness. Will the people of God be exempt from the hardship? If so, it would be one of the first time in human history to happen…l wouldn’t count on it. This is Jeremiah during the Babylonian exil. A righteous man being pummeled as his nation gets pummeled.

The Discipline of Theology

21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

In the midst of the hardest moment of Jeremiah’s life and of Judah’s life he stops and makes Himself remember Who this God of His is.

  • Why does He do this?
  • He has a personal relationship with this God.
  • He has an intimate understanding of His Word and has much of it memorized.
  • He recognizes the times and sees that they need someone in the mess to “Call to mind…”
  • He sees that the tragedy may well get tougher, not easier, and a right view of God will be necessary for the days ahead.

A mini-doctrine of God

22 The steadfast love of the LoRd never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

  • The hesed love of the Lord
  • The foreverness of this love/ mercies
  • The freshness of this love and mercy The greatness of this love and mercy
  • That a plot of land in the Promised Land is not Jeremiah’s portion…but the Lord
  • Hope – “Faith, hope and love” – the greatest of these is love, but the hardest, hope.

The Yoke of Youth

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. 26 lt is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

Wait = patient expectancy. Not just sitting around chilling for the Second Coming. Expectation of youth who yoke themselves to older saints in the Church should be normative.