Judges 1:1-2 – Taking initiative to progress

The era of Joshua has ended. He led them into Canaan and apportioned the land to the 12 tribes. Though the land had been distributed to them, the detail work remained to be done. Fortunately, the instruction of the Lord through Joshua was still lingering in their mind. A new generation had emerged and the land of Canaan still had not been fully conquered. And the need to drive out the Canaanites from the land remained a very critical step to fully claim the promised land. It appears that no one came forward to take the lead. So, we are told that the sons of Israel came to consult the Lord. It is likely that they came to Eleazar the priest to inquire of the Lord. Remember the Urim and Thummim that the priest would carry in a pouch in the breastplate of the priestly garment. Using the Urim and Thummim Judah was indicated as the tribe to go first.

The question “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” tells us that no tribe took the initiative. No one came to the fore to assume leadership. Yet they knew that one tribe had to take the lead. They procrastinated. It could well be that each was waiting for the other to go out and test the water for them. Eventually, they decided to leave it to the Lord to show them who should take the lead.

Didn’t the Lord promise to be with them even as they go about possessing the land? Could it be that lacking a clear-cut leader like Joshua, they became hesitant? At least we see two encouraging developments. Firstly, their interest in conquering the land was still there. Secondly, they were concerned enough to seek the Lord. The reason why God chose Judah to lead the way was not stated. Perhaps it’s because this was the tribe where the eventual king would hail from. So, God indicated that Judah should go first and then assured them that the Land had already been given into their hand.  

From these two verses, we learn that to attain our God-given promises, there is a need for us to act swiftly on God’s instruction. The longer we wait, and the longer we procrastinate, the less inclined we are to obey God’s instruction. Because we love God, we must be sure to hear carefully and take the initiative to act swiftly. Every promise of God requires discipline, let’s be sure to rise up to the occasion.  

Introduction to the Book of Judges

The Book of Judges is the book we shall next embark on in our quest to know and connect more dearly with God in our spiritual journey. This book covers the period of Israel’s journey from the death of Joshua to the time of the kings. It was a period where there was no fit national leader like Moses or Joshua. While people such as Gideon, Samson, Deborah and etc., each differently would come to the scene as a judge, they did not play a judiciary but a delivering role. They would be better seen as deliverers and not judges. They did not come to lead the whole nation but only appeared to help one or several tribes of Israel which were undergoing oppression that came from the hostile Canaanites. When the oppression became unbearable, they would cry to God for help and He would intervene by raising a deliverer to help them out.

We must read this book bearing in mind that Israel did not exist together as a whole nation in Canaan. The twelve tribes were scattered all over Canaan to live in different parts of the promised land among different hostile Canaanite tribes that existed long before they stepped into the land. The word “Israelites” that occurs in this book does not represent the whole nation of Israel. It often refers to one or several tribes of Israel which were encountering the challenge or oppression that came from different hostile Canaanites.

This book of Judges speaks of the repeated failure of God’s people. Having taken possession of the promised land, they did not obey the Lord’s instruction to drive out the hostile Canaanites. They allowed those hostile enemies to exist among them. As a result, they were influenced and enticed into worshipping Baal, the god of the Canaanites, and were led into oppression. When they could not stand the oppression and realized their sin, they would then cry out to God for deliverance. God would then raise up a judge or a deliverer among them to help them out of their oppression. When their situation returned to normal, they would stay good for a while only. Then they would again gravitate into sin and disobedience. The cycle of oppression would start all over. This book tells us how the people of God had failed Him repeatedly. But in their dire strait, they would cry out for mercy. God would intervene and sent them a deliverer each time. The Book of Judges clearly shows us the propensity and tendency of us, fallen men. Thankfully, it also reveals the mercy of the compassionate God who is ever ready to come to the rescue when His people call out to Him. Having such a compassionate and merciful God should inspire us to desire to please Him more than failing Him. Let us learn from this book on how to avoid the pitfalls that we will surely encounter in our spiritual journey.        

Lamentations 5:19-22 – Our Sovereign LORD is in control

Rounding up his prayer, Jeremiah made His final appeal to Yahweh who alone remained enthroned forever. The prophet recognized and declared that God’s sovereign rule would always remain even when all else has passed away. What happened to Jerusalem had in no way altered the sovereign rule of God. Though Jerusalem had fallen, the nation had been dominated and her citizens deported to Babylon, God was never threatened. If there is anything, all these prove that God is still in control and that He was working out His purpose in the life and history of Israel, His chosen nation. All that had happened to His people did not happen in a vacuum. They had all been foretold and predicted in advance by the prophet.

In the ebb of despair, Jeremiah voiced his thoughts aloud. He wondered if the Jewish people still had a place in God’s heart. So, he asked in verses 21-22:

Why do You forget us forever?
Why do You forsake us so long?
Restore us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored;
Renew our days as of old,
Unless You have utterly rejected us
And are exceedingly angry with us.

Out of the depth of the realization of the nation’s sinfulness and helplessness, the prophet appealed to the Sovereign Lord for grace and compassion. He knew that if that would to take place, it would be up to God. The restoration of the nation would require divine initiation. This book ended inconclusively. Jeremiah himself acknowledged that the question he had raised was beyond him. It was in the sovereign hand of God. Haven’t we also sometimes asked tough questions to which we ourselves have no answers? In the depth of our despair, haven’t we wondered if God realizes what we are going through? But unlike Jeremiah, we are blessed. Our answer is found in Jesus Christ. He came to redeem us. And His clear words for us in Matthew 5:14 are “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” To God be the glory!    

Lamentations 5:1-18 – The extensiveness of sin

This fifth lament of Jeremiah is a departure from the previous four. It is not written acrostically and is also not so much a dirge as it is a prayer. It is the prophet making a desperate cry for God to come and intervene. A closer look tells us that the first three laments in chapters 1-3 all ended with a prayer but not the fourth one in chapter 4. So, what’s missing in the fourth lament is now provided by the whole of chapter 5. Jeremiah began by calling on the Lord to remember their plight. It is a call for Him to come to their rescue. In verses 2-18, he recounted the desolation of Zion and in verses 19-22, he requested that the Lord restore and reinstate Zion.

Jeremiah began by asking God to look at their suffering. They were in utter disgrace. The city was in ruin and her people were in total shambles. None was spared. They were dominated by their enemy and abandoned by God and allies. They were bereaved of life. Every conceivable misfortune overtook them. Suffering from thirst and poverty, they were invaded and overtaken and had become slaves. Besides they were famished by the famine. Their women were degraded and raped. Totally exposed, they were humiliated, tired, and exhausted.

In verses 11-18, we see a delineation of the suffering of the people. Every segment of the populace was affected. Women were raped, princes were left hanging to die shamefully, and the elders were shamefully treated without compassion. Then the youth was forced to do what was normally done by animals. They were made to grind the mills and carry woods. The leadership of the elders no longer exist. The young had no more song, and dancing had turned into mourning. The glory, the crown that Zion had previously worn, had fallen off her head. Their hearts were sick and sorrowful. Their eyes became dim because of their incessant crying. Animals now inhabit the once beautiful temple of Zion.

This passage shows us that sin can be the undoing of a nation and her people. Proverbs 14:33 rightly declares that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Just imagine what devastation can be brought about by a nation of sinful people. Then imagine again what glory a nation can experience when a group of righteous people within her infiltrate the nation and shine as lights in a darkened world. Let us rise up and be the righteousness people who can influence the nation! 

Lamentation 4:11-22 – Where God leaders fails…

Having described the condition of Jerusalem as a result of the fall, Jeremiah went on to reveal the cause of the downfall. What they had experienced was God pouring out His wrath because of their disobedience and rebelliousness. Jeremiah made it clear in Lamentations 4:11. He was the one who had poured out His wrath upon them. Nothing would have happened to them if He had not allowed it. Here he gave reasons for the intense judgment of God that came upon them.

Verses 12-13 tell us why they failed. These verses indicate the negligence of their spiritual leaders. The prophets and priests had failed in their duties. As a result, the people were deprived of God’s Word as well as food. What they did had led to the shedding of innocent blood. Now they had to bear with humiliation and were rejected. What they did had brought about the wrath of God. Verses 17-19 suggest that the king had also failed. They turned the nation’s eyes to a foreign nation. They entered into an unholy alliance with Egypt and turn to her for assistance. King Zedekiah foolishly thought that the alliance with Egypt could help them resist the advance of Babylon. Finally, he himself was subdued.

What’s noticeable was the failure of three branches of the nation’s leadership. One key reason Jerusalem fell into the Babylonians was all these three offices forsook divine guidance. The prophet, priest and king had all failed in their callings. The kings became cowardly and apostatized. The prophets, except for Jeremiah, did not prophesy truthfully. They did not give them the direction from God. The priests also sabotaged the nation by abusing their sacred callings. Jeremiah was lamenting over the horrendous lack of spiritual leadership. The nation of Judah failed to see that theirs was a spiritual problem. They had rebelled against the Lord. And the spiritual problem could not be resolved politically. We too need to know that the difficulties we encounter in life can often be traced to a spiritual cause. It is pointless to try and resolve in any other way but to come before God and honestly confess and repent.  

In Lamentations 4:21-22, Edom, Judah’s traditional enemy was warned. They were sarcastically urged to enjoy the misfortune of Jerusalem. For their lack of compassion and treachery against Judah, Edom was also doomed to be judged. There is a lesson here. We mustn’t gloat over someone else’s misfortune and stand idly by and watch them suffer in their dire strait. God expects us to come to the assistance of those we are connected with.

In the midst of all the gloom, there was a glimpse of hope. In the first line of verse 22, the prophet said, “The punishment of your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion; He will exile you no longer.” God will never leave His people in utter despair forever. After He has dealt with us, He will provide a way out. This is seen in what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “…God is faithful, He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” We serve a compassionate God! So, let’s stay faithful and unwavering!

Lamentation 4:1-10 – The costly effect of sin

Lamentations 4 is the fourth lament. Like the first two laments in chapter 1 and 2, this is also an acrostic poem. But instead of three lines per stanza, there are only two lines each. Going by what he had already said earlier, Jeremiah in this lament was again describing the tragedy of the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. However, in this lament, he spoke about all that had happened factually with less emotional force. There are three parts in this dirge: verses 1-10 describe the catastrophic remains of Jerusalem; verses 11-20 explain the cause of the catastrophe and verses 21-22 predict the similar outcome for Edom, the people of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. In this reflection, we will go through the first segment covering the first ten verses of Lamentations 4.

Here we see the glory that once attended the city of Jerusalem was shattered.  The gold that once shone brightly to reflect God’s glory had its gross. It is described as dark because it was covered by the dust of ruin. Every category of her people was left shattered, distraught and confounded. The young men, once the pride, the strength and useful asset of the nation were seen as shattered pieces of clay and broken pottery. The famine was so intense that children were deprived of bread and milk. The once rich and wealthy who were used to fine clothing and delicacies were affected by hunger. They would have attested that they would be better off dead. So starved and deprived that they had to rummage for food in the city trash. Poorly nourished and exposed, their skin became blackened. They moved about as bags of bones and could hardly be recognized. The once tender mothers lost their motherly touches. They even murdered and ate up their own children. Unlike the destruction of Sodom that was instant and swift, Jerusalem’s was slow and prolonged. These are the pictures of what sin can do to us.

There is only one message. It does not pay to trifle with sin. It will make us pay much more than we can afford, and destroy us much more than we can anticipate. So be careful how we live, not as fools but as wise, understand what the will of God is. Live to please Him!   

Lamentation 3:55-66 – The Lord, our Deliverer

In Jeremiah 38 is an account of how the prophet was cast into a broken cistern for telling the people God’s direction for them truthfully. Refusing to heed his call to accept God’s dealing, they had him cast into a pit. But as be cried for deliverance from that pit of death, God intervened through some people and he was rescued. And as he recalled to mind, he could see that God’s mercies never failed to meet His people’s daily circumstances. Just as God reassured him, delivered and redeemed his life, he was confident that God would listen to his present plead for deliverance.

Here we can see that Jeremiah was playing the role of an intercessor. Though it looks as if he was praying for himself, he was, in reality, interceding for the people. These verses presupposed that God is all-knowing. They pointedly indicate that God could see all the wrong His people had to endure. He could see their enemies’ ruthless acts and provocative words against His people. In asking for deliverance, Jeremiah also called on God to judge their enemies who had dealt so cruelly with them and to eradicate them. He was not being vindictive but was pleading for divine justice for the cruelty they received at their hands.

Jeremiah, recalling the faithfulness of God in helping him deal with the difficult encounters he had in the past, and how God had helped him, led him to place his confidence in God. As he recalled them, he boldly prayed and trust God to show divine justice. In much the same way, God’s past interventions and deliverance in our life are there to help us in our present journey. No matter how trying our present circumstances may be, remember that He had brought us through our past, and He will do it again if we dare to trust Him. Just call on Him like David did. When he called on the Lord, he was saved. Surely, He will do it for us also!    

Lamentations 3:40-54 – Repentance - a step in the right direction.

Every action has a consequence. Right action will result in positive experiences. Needless to say, the wrong action will trigger negative experiences. Sometimes the consequence is a self-inflicted one. It is the result of sin that the person himself has committed, and he himself has to bear the brunt of the consequence personally. At other times, the consequence that the whole community suffers could be triggered by someone else or some people within the community which one is a part of. Whether personal or corporate consequence, there is always a cause and effect. That’s why Proverbs 26:2 says, “Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, so a curse without cause does not alight.” However, regardless of how the afflictions had been triggered, one can rightly appraise the situation and trace the cause. Then take steps to move in the right direction.

In Jeremiah’s case, the sin that led to the corporate and communal suffering was a national one. In his case, Judah suffered because her leaders had chosen not to listen to God. Jeremiah was then at the forefront, calling on the national leaders to submit to God’s will but they chose to listen to the false prophets. Hence the whole nation was led astray in rebellion against God. While the punishment was a corporate punishment, the effect was felt individually. As a result, the whole nation came under judgement, and every citizen was affected, including Jeremiah. We can say that his affliction was not self-inflicted. Though suffering terribly, as God’s spokesman, he was helping the nation to make sense of their suffering and goading them toward the correct direction.  

Here we see Jeremiah admonishing the people to conduct a careful self-examination and called on them to engage in a national confession of sin. Like it or not, sin always make people insensitive to God and cause a break in their relationship with Him. It would sever one’s communication line with God and stop His mercies from flowing. This would then result in divine wrath, bringing panic, humiliation and ultimate ruin. A step in the right direction would be in repentance, which is a radical change of heart and mind concerning sin. When sin and suffering are rightly appraised and seen in the right light, it always produces confession rather than complaint. In verses 40-47, we see two guiding principles. Firstly, there must be the frank appraisal and an honest acknowledgement of how they have contributed to the sin. Secondly, there must also be the acknowledgement and acceptance of the consequence of the sin. Jeremiah felt the people’s pains as he identified himself with them. He also felt the pain of the devastation of Jerusalem. This plus the people’s attacks which he received for telling the truth. In verses 53-54, we see an allusion to Jeremiah 38:6-13. It was the time when his life was endangered. He was thrown into a broken cistern for calling on the people to submit to the will of God.    

Belonging to the family of God, we cannot just isolate ourselves from the rest of the whole body. Like Jeremiah, we must identify with the community of God’s people. When we are aware of unrighteousness or sin in the community, we must identify with them, pray and encourage them to repent and turn to the Lord. 

Lamentations 3:19-39 – Lessons from sufferings

There are definitely two things that suffering and tribulations can do to us. They can either embitter us or drive us to take a deeper look, see the reason for the suffering, understand the purpose of God, know His character and praise His faithfulness, despite the suffering. Lamentations 3:19-39, show us that Jeremiah took the second path. He pondered over his afflictions and restlessness. No doubt they had brought much bitterness and misery and he was deeply humbled. And in his reflection, he recalled the depth of God’s many loving-kindnesses and his hope in Him was stirred up. With a burst of renewed hope, he looked upward to God. He saw hope. He saw God and how great His faithfulness truly was. The faithfulness of God is inexplicable. Our loving God is far too loving to leave us decaying in sin and rebelliousness. Hardships are often His way to cause us to pause and recalibrate. It takes a receptive person to come to this realization and Jeremiah was such a person.   

Come to think of it, for him to survive all the hardship he had narrated in verses 1-18 was no coincidence. The fact that he could withstand those harshest of conditions is evidence of God’s never-ending mercies. God’s faithfulness is so unfathomable that it’s hard for words to adequately describe it. Much as he had to endure all the relentless sorrow, anguish and grief, he could not forget the goodness of God. So instead of fretting, he just rested in His goodness. Inexplicably, a sense of confidence arose from deep within him. And hope in God was renewed and he turned and waited on Him. This is by way of saying that he placed his absolute trust in Him. He was assured that everyone who turned to seek and trust God would experience His goodness. The intention of God, as we have discovered, has never been to destroy us, but to drive us to Him. He wants to spare us from destroying ourselves. So, our hardships are often designed to cause us to pause before we destroy ourselves.

From Jeremiah’s reflection on God, he offers us some truths on suffering and hardship and choices. In verse 26 we can see trials have a way of creating the avenue for the deliverance of God. In verses 27-30, we learn that it is beneficial for us, especially when we are young, to endure discipline without murmuring or complaining. Just wait upon God and trust Him. Verses 31-33 tell us that God allows suffering which always comes with a purpose and is restrained. God takes no delight in seeing us hurt but He takes great delight in seeing our progress. When He comes through to us in our affliction, we will see and experience His comfort and compassion. In verses 34-36, God’s chastening is always just, determined, resolute, and focused. He does not approve of atrocities, injustice or inequalities. Verses 37-39 tell us nothing happens in our world without God’s permission. He had made us mankind with the capacity to make our own decision. We are even given the freedom to choose the path of disobedience that would definitely lead to punishment. Hence, no one can find an excuse and complain that he is being punished for the sinful path he or she chooses.  

Lamentations 3:1-18 - Divine chastening

The third lament of Jeremiah is 66 verses long. Like his first lament is also an acrostic poem but to be more exactly this is what is termed a triple-acrostic poem. What do we mean by that? In the first lament in chapter 1, every verse began with a letter in the Hebrews alphabets. The very first verse started with the alphabet “Aleph,” the very first letter and ended with “Tav,” the last of the 22 Hebrew alphabets. But in this third lament in chapter 3, an alphabet would a start off every third verse. This lament starts off with the alphabet “Aleph” in verses 1, the next alphabet “Beth” starts the fourth verse and so on and so forth until the last alphabet “Tav.” So, every third verse begins with a Hebrew alphabet. Hence this third lament is three times the length of the first. That’s why we call this a triple-alphabet-acrostic poem. This third Lament is a personal rather than a communal lament hence, it begins with the pronoun “I.” Here Jeremiah began with a cry of despair and ended up with a prayer for liberation. This is a long lament so we will break it up and meditate on it, part by part.

We begin with the first eighteen verses. Here we see the description of Jeremiah’s cry of deep anguish. He was suffering along with all his fellow Israelites and saw the intensity of his suffering as the outpour of divine wrath. The repetition of the Pronoun “He” tells us that it was God who had put him through all these. What he went through did not come in a few trickles; they came pouring upon him like a mighty torrent.  He vividly painted the despair of his spirit, the anguish of his soul and the affliction of his physique. The came upon him like a triple whammy.  

Jeremiah was a man at the receiving end of divine wrath. Using many figurative speeches, he portrayed the intensity of the suffering that he went through. He was driven and made to walk in darkness (verse 2). Repeatedly he was smitten (verse 3).  He described himself as a man experiencing the fragilities of an aged person and his g fragile bones were broken (verse 4). Like a city under siege, he was made bitter by the hardship (verse 5). He was thrown and imprisoned in a broken cistern because he refused to back away from his call to the people to accept God’s will. Verse 6-7 allude to that imprisonment. God seemed to have shut His ear and the prophet’s cry for prayer went unheeded (verse 8). Like a traveller He was made to make detours because stones were thrown on his way to force the route change (verse 9). Jeremiah saw himself attacked by ferocious beasts lying in wait to pound on him (verse 10). He was the target of the divine Archer (verse 12).  The prophet also became the laughing stock to everyone and was the butt of their jokes (verse 14). He was filled with bitterness and made to feel like a worm (verse 15). He felt that like a guest, God had invited him to a banquet, only to serve him stones and gravel till his teeth were shattered (verse 16). Disasters upon disaster overtook him that peace just fled from him. So devoid of peace and he couldn’t even recall what it meant to be happy (verse 17). He was at the lowest point of despair and his hope in God was fading.      

We need to understand that suffering is always a personal experience. While it was the nation of Israel that God was dealing with, the citizens are the one affected. Hence, while it was the nation as a whole going through the intense tragedy and hardship, the suffering always takes place at a personal level of each individual of the nation. The same with the church, when God deals with us as corporate, the effect of his dealing is always felt at the individual level. We shall see how Jeremiah came through from pessimism to optimism further down the chapter. Meanwhile, suffice to say that should hardship come calling in our life, we must bring them to God. Even when nothing seems to be moving, we remain steadfast. God is faithful, He who began His good work in us will complete His work in us when we stay trusting. Faithfulness is God’s nature, don’t forget it!        

Lamentations 2:11-22 – There’s hope in suffering

Continuing with the second lament of Jeremiah where the prophet’s focus was on the anger of God, as he thought of the fall of Jerusalem. He saw the hand of Yahweh coming against Jerusalem for her sin and rebellion. God’s dealing was severe! Walls, gates, rampart, palaces, and the Temple were all destroyed. Her kings and princes were captured, and her young men deported. In Lamentation 2:11-13, Jeremiah continued to express his unremitting distress at all that had happened. He was greatly grieved to see the women, referred to as “daughters of my people” and their innocent infants swept up in the judgement. Pitifully, they all suffered and were deprived of their basic necessities. Hit by famine, mothers could not find food for their innocent babies. Hence, the infants were abandoned and left to die in the streets. Some died on their mothers’ bosom. Jeremiah could find no word to comfort the people because he couldn’t recall another city that had suffered at such a depth. The devastation of Zion was as unfathomable as the depth of the ocean.

It saddened him to think that prior to the devastation, he had work untiringly to avoid such a catastrophe. But they were blinded by the false prophets who had spewed out so much lies and falsehood that had led the people astray. The false prophets who gave false vision and hope were nowhere to be found. They did not speak truthfully concerning their sin to turn them from the path of ruin. None of their allied nations could help them. Many of them even gloated and derided them scornfully. They mocked at the deplorable condition of the once beautiful city, the joy of all the earth. In reality, those “supposed friends” were eyeing the territory of Judah which now laid in massive ruin.  

Jeremiah now turns to give them a glimpse of hope. It’s true that God had brought about this tragedy as He had promised if they failed to walk in obedience. In the bleakness of the moment, the people now turned to God. The prophet encouraged them to join him as he travailed for the city. They were called to pour out their heart and tears to the Lord day and night. Jeremiah encouraged them not to give up but to relentlessly and earnestly plead with the Lord for the sake of those little ones who were suffering. In verses 20-22 we see a prayer of a deep cry of anguish to God. It was a plead to God to consider their suffering. This prayer shows us how each group of people has to endure the great trauma of the suffering of God’s judgement. Men and women of the city all suffered. The slaughter had no regards to gender or position. No one was spared, not even the babies. In this prayer, they described their suffering to God as a plead for Him to show mercy and spare them.

Know it or not, the judgement the people endured indirectly revealed God’s perfection. In His perfect justice, God had to deal with the rebellion. He did it not for fun. Remember, God is not a sadist who is thrilled by inflicting suffering on His people. He did what He had to do to chasten His people to get them to turn away for their sin. Through suffering God’s people will learn that God is true to His word. They will learn that nothing is dependable apart from God. In suffering, we see a clearer perspective that will help us realize that we have to place our absolute trust in Him. Let’s not allow pain to drive us away from God but to drive us towards Him.

Lamentation 2:1-10 – Let's learn from our past, but don’t camp there

Our mind is a powerful tool that God had given for each one of us. If we don’t find a settlement in our minds concerning the past, we can never move on to face the future. Many people would rather forget the past and try to move on in life. The reality is that without dealing with our past, it is hard to move on. If we are to find total healing, dealing with our past is inevitable. In Jeremiah’s second lament in chapter 2:1-10, we see him doing just that. He was recalling the past. Hence, we see him recounting again the calamities which he had described in chapter 1. He was honestly confronting that which had been lost. In so doing, it helped him to cope with his sorrow.    

Chapter 2 is the second lamentation of Jeremiah’s five laments. In the first lament in chapter 1, we discover that sin always brings about inexplicable ruin and that rebellion brings consequences. In this second lament, Jeremiah seemed to be recounting the tragic event that had taken place in 587 B.C. This takes us back to the fall of Jerusalem. Reading the verses of Lamentation 2 tells us how tragic that day of the fall was. Jeremiah recalled the glorious day of Jerusalem that was gone. Lamentation 2:1-1o describe for us the judgement that God’s people had to endure in that tragic event. Here, we cannot get away from the fact that it was Yahweh who had brought about those calamities. Three metaphors are used to show how God had dealt with them. He paralleled what took place in Judah as a solar eclipse. In God’s anger, he covered Judah with a cloud of anger. Then secondly, he depicted Judah’s fall to a falling star. He said God had cast the glory of Israel from heaven to earth. The third metaphor, Jerusalem, the footstool of God, had been forgotten in the day of His wrath. In what God had done, He had brought about Israel’s perplexity. He had brought them low and seemed to have abandoned them.

Everything in Jerusalem was not spared. The word ‘swallow’ was used repeatedly to show that nothing was spared. God had swallowed them all up. It appeared as if Yahweh had become their enemy. “The horn of Israel,” referring to their strength as a nation was demolished. Their dwelling places, the palaces, the rulers had all fallen. Youth who was once the delight of the nation was destroyed. God seemed to have refrained from assisting them in the face of their enemies and He had even come against His own people in hostility. Verse 6 tells us that the Temple was easily dismantled, like bringing down a booth in the garden. With the temple destroyed, everything ceased. Feasts could not be celebrated, the sabbath was no longer observed, the king and priest had no more roles. The celebration noises that once came from the Temple was no more. The noises that now hailed from their place of worship were noises made by their enemies. Yahweh had brought about the demolition of Jerusalem. Gates and bars that once protected the city had all been destroyed. They laid underneath the rubble and irreparably useless.

What about the kings and princes? They were carried into a foreign land. No longer could the laws that were given by God be obeyed. They were devoid of vision. The false prophets who foretell the deliverance from the hand of Babylon now had nothing to say. The elders had no word of comfort for the people. The calamitous situation had brought low the spirit. The absence of the song of joy from the maidens was deafening. Remembering the past dealings of God, though frightening, can be a good reminder of what not to do. Failing the Lord once is bad enough. To fail Him again would be foolishness. But we cannot change when there is no self-awareness. Recalling the past can be therapeutic. It drives us to do better. However, the needful thing is not to camp in our past. We should learn as much as we can from them, arising from the ashes of our past had to take place if we are to progress in God. So, let’s learn, repent and move on!

Lamentation 1:12-22 – Rebellion has consequence

Putting himself in the shoes of the devastated Jerusalem, the Prophet Jeremiah personified the lament of the city. In verses 12-16, the city is depicted as a pitiful, isolated, solitary and deserted widow crying out for sympathy. In deep anguish, she appealed to passers-by to take note of her plight and agony. No traveller seems to take note or care about what was happening to her. Indeed, no other city had undergone such great suffering like Jerusalem. The prophet identified what they were going through as the hand of Yahweh that had come against the city. Jerusalem was seen encountering the day of Yahweh’s fierce anger. He had brought the calamity upon Zion.  A series of imageries were used to illustrate the intensity of the suffering the city had to endure. Although these verses look as if the appeal was made to the passers-by to take pity on them, it was in reality, a complaint to God concerning their unbearable discomfort.  

In verses 17-19, the city is portrayed as appealing and soliciting for comfort from the neighboring nations. The nations which she went into an alliance with deserted her and had become her enemies. Hence their young men were deported into exile. The prophet had rightly identified the cause. What they were experiencing was the just desert dished out to her for her rebellion. Yahweh was executing His judgement upon that city. God chastises those He loves. His punishments are never intended to break us but to bring us to where He can build us all over again. They may be painful but they are often needful to break our rebelliousness.  

In verses 20-22, we see a petition to God. It is a realization of how rebellious the city had been. So, with a broken spirit and a contrite heart, Jerusalem accepted her punishment and cried to God. So even as the city prayed, she pointed out how the enemies whom the Lord had used to bring about the judgement gloated over her misfortune. She called on God to return to them what they had done to her and to inflict upon them similar judgement. These three verses should not be seen as a call for her enemies’ destruction but a plea for God to show mercy upon Jerusalem.

This poem is somewhat messianic in essence. Much like Jerusalem, Christ Jesus went through much more for us. He took the punishment of our sins so that we can be free from the guilt of our sin. The pain and agony he went through were unbearable yet He bore it for us. Let us live to please Him.

Lamentation 1:1-11 – Sin always brings about inexplicable ruin

Jerusalem, the once beautiful city, the joy of all the earth, was now in total devastation. The whole of chapter one describes her ruin. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote this dirge as an acrostic poem. A letter in the Hebrew alphabet, from its first letter “Aleph” to its last letter “Tav” would start in every fourth line of this dirge. The intention was to convey that Jerusalem, that once beautiful city had undergone tremendous suffering in every conceivable way because of her sin.

In verses 1-11, we see how this beautiful city had become so changed and devastated that it evoked a lament from the prophet. He went on to describe painfully the devastation and ruin of that city. If there was no cause, the situations would not have become what they had become. There is always a cause and effect. Thankfully, we can always repent and turn to the faithful God. That was what the prophet did when he was goaded to prayer asking God to take notice of the plight of the people.

In the first seven verses, the prophet described the pathetic situation Jerusalem was in. She, the once beautiful princess, had now become a forlorn widow. So, she sat there sorrowfully mourning the loss of her husband and children. Being captured by King Nebuchadnezzar and her people deported to Babylon, they had become forced labourers. The lovers, meaning the political alliances that they sought for protection, had deserted her and left her stranded. Her friends, referring to their once friendly neighbouring countries, had betrayed and dealt treacherously with her people. They had become their enemies. And as if it was not bad enough that they should have experienced disasters in their own country, yet now in their exile, they were still plagued by war and famine.

This pilgrim city, once buzzing with activities where the people congregated to celebrate the annual feasts and festivals, had now come to a standstill. All the celebration had ceased. The thriving business that once attended the celebration had dissipated and disappeared. Her priests were left jobless. They had no opportunity to attend to temple duties that they once officiated. Zion had become a joke to all the people.  

What was the cause? What led them to come into their present state? Verses 8-9 provided the answers. In their prosperity, they had forgotten about being pure and holy before God. Their sins were so well camouflaged that they were not apparent to men. They failed to realize no one can hide the filth from the eyes of the One whom they were accountable. In their prosperity, they had no consideration for God. It is worth noting that the condition of our life is a great indicator of the state of our relationship with God. Their pride led them into their self-serving, destructive habits. Seeing the consequences of their sin, the prophet turned to God in prayer in verses 9-11. He described their captor as arrogant, imperious and heavy-handed. In distress, the prophet asked God to take note of the plight of the people and the misery they had to endure.  

Here’s a lesson for us. We need to live a life related to God with consistency. We must love and trust Him all the time. This is best reflected in our obedience, whether in good or bad times. Never take our eyes off Him for a moment. Always live responsibly, bearing in mind that we are accountable to Him. Don’t ever forget that our sin will find us out! The consequence of sin will always be greater than what we can bear. So, stay focused on the journey and pray at all times!    

Introduction to Lamentations

We will take a short walk in the Book of Lamentation for a while. To better understand this book, we take a short peep into Israel’s historical past. Knowledge of Jerusalem is inevitable to our understanding of how God dealt with Israel. Jerusalem was a Jebusite city. It was King David who left Hebron and captured this little hill city and made it the capital of the tribes of Israel. In many portions of the Bible, Jerusalem was alluded to as the city of God. Hence it played a significant role in the history of Israel. However, this historically significant city had a tragic end. The Babylonian seized that city on three separate times. And in 587 B.C., it finally fell and was captured by King Nebuchadnezzar. Her citizens were deported to Babylon. People like the Prophets, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel and etc. were some of those deported. 

Jeremiah has largely been accepted as the author of this short but forgotten book, which he wrote shortly following the fall of that once great city. Hence, this book is closely related to the book of Jeremiah, which we will take a look at some point in time if God’s willing. The cause of Jerusalem’s fall was the result of the nation’s disobedience. From that very first verse of Lamentation, we can sense the morose and the gloominess of the situation. This book presents for us a desperate people in desolation, suffering childlessness, living as widows, and a life of slavery. The purpose of our short journey is to learn from their mistake so that we can avoid the pain they had to endure.

As we read this book, we will get a sense that what was written was an account given by an eye-witness who lived through it. It was probably written near the ruin of the city itself. The clue that Jeremiah was the author came from 2 Chronicles 35:25 where we are told, “Then Jeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations.” What we see in this book was a series of emotional outbursts. They were, in fact, a collection of dirges, formal poems written for a funeral. The book contains five well composed and deliberately thought through dirges, reflecting the meaning of human suffering. Through it, God is also explaining His ways to us. Hopefully, we can also see a perspective of suffering. In the book of Jeremiah, we are shown the desperate state of Jerusalem’s closing days, but in Lamentation, we will see an explanation of the meaning of the devastation. Unlike the book of Job that shows the suffering of an individual, Lamentation reveals the suffering of a whole community. Hence the message of this book becomes relevant to us as a community. Like them, we too must come to God in the time of our deepest sorrow. For it is only in Him that we can make sense of our suffering and appreciate what had gone wrong, and make amendments to set the course of our life aright.   

Exodus 40:34-38 – Divine guidance in our journey

What a befitting way to close our reflection on Exodus with these five verses of the book. They reveal to us about God’s presence in the journey with His people. God had stamped His seal of divine approval when the Tent of meeting was set up. Exodus 40:34 tells us that the cloud covered the Tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle when Moses had finished his work. They had experienced the glory of God throughout the journey. They experienced it through the cloud and the pillar of fire that guided them in their journey in the wilderness. They saw it in all the miracles God performed to bring about the mighty deliverance. Personally, Moses saw it on Mount Sinai when God even granted him the privilege to see the aftermath of His glory. Yet never had Moses or the Israelites experienced the glory in such a stupendous way. The glory of God came down and filled up every square centimeter of the space of the Tabernacle. The radiance of God’s very being was felt. The fullness of God came down – The Creator God who led them out of Egypt by miraculous performances. This God who sustained them throughout the wilderness journey and gave them the truth in the Law. This God who compassionately forgave their sin and set them apart as His own people. Yes, this God was present among them in all His glory. They could see it in the Tabernacle, the earthly dwelling that was just set up.

What’s amazing is that while the whole purpose of the Tabernacle was for God to be with them, yet when it came crunch time when the glory of God filled it, not even Moses could enter in. Why? This whole scene tells us that atonement was required for anyone to enter the presence of God. The brazen altar of sacrifice was the very first article within the fence of the courtyard. It tells us that atonement was needed for men to enter into the presence of the holy God. In much the same way, we can come into a relationship with God only through the atonement that Christ had completed for us at Mount Calvary.  

What’s encouraging is that this great and glorious God would come down and dwell among His people. He not only saved them but now would come among them to guide them.  The glory cloud was to show them when to break camp and move. As long as the cloud remained hovering over the Tabernacle, they would not break camp. But as soon as the cloud was lifted, they knew it was time to go. God was guiding them in their journey. God is not only great, but He is also near. This is a truth we must remember. He did not rescue us and then leave us to meander our way through life. He is gracious after saving us. He provides us with means of grace to sustain our journey with Him. The Holy Spirit is God’s glory cloud for us. We need Him in our journey. He is God’s provision for us to guide us in our walk with Him. Isn’t it comforting to know that God has sent the Holy Spirit to travel alongside us? He will guide us into all truth. The story of Exodus ends with God traveling with His people. Salvation begins when God took us out of the domain of darkness and set us on a journey with Him. This is only the beginning of a life-long journey. But while we are on the way, God, through the Holy Spirit, is walking alongside us to guide us, if we let Him. Be sure to make your journey in life with this glory cloud of God. Don’t leave home without Him!”   

Exodus 40:1-32 – Consecrated unto God

Set free from the captivity of Egypt by God’s mighty delivering hand, the children of Israel under the leadership of Moses was on the way to the promised land. It was an adventurous journey indeed. God was gracious to them throughout their journey. They, on the other hand, had shown themselves to be vacillating people. Repeatedly, they had failed God by sinning against Him. They rebelled, murmured, grumbled, threatened, and even made an idol of a golden calf and worshipped it. Had it not been for God’s faithfulness and mercy, they would have been destroyed. God wanted a faithful relationship with them. He had delivered them out of Egypt so that He could be their God and them, His people. His intention was to display His glory in their midst so that they would know and own Him as their God. So, He summoned Moses up Mount Sinai and gave Him the pattern of the Tabernacle and commissioned Him to have it built.

In Exodus 39 we saw how everything, from the Tabernacle to the priestly garment, was made according to specifications. Moses inspected each item and was fully satisfied that everything was made accordingly and he blessed them. In Exodus 40:1-16, God instructed Moses to have everything that was made anointed. He wanted the Tabernacle, all its furnishings, both inside and at the outer court, and even the fence and all the connections were anointed and consecrated. Even Aaron, the high priest, the garment and his sons in their tunics, were all to be anointed and consecrated. Everything must be all set apart for His glory. Moses did accordingly and obediently. In Christian life, we also need to dedicate everything to God. This is ours to make, and we leave the consecration for God to make. We can only give God all that we are and potentially can be. It is He who will consecrate and commission us for His service.       

Exodus 40:17-32, then went on to describe how Moses set up the Tabernacle and placed all the furnishings in the order as God had shown Him. Beginning from the interior of the Tabernacle to the outer court, he had all the furniture appropriately arranged and the fence aptly built. Thus, Moses set up and arranged everything completely according to the Lord’s instruction. The impression we get from these verses is that Moses did everything appropriately and correctly. Over and over again, we are told that Moses did everything as God had instructed Him. The point is this, we must live life according to all that God had prescribed for us to live. We must obediently follow His instructions and do what we can. God on His part can then come sovereignly with His grace and bring about the fulfilment of all that He has intended for us. The growth we want to experience can only come about through grace. We must prepare ourselves and obediently do what is required of us. God, on His part, will draw us to Himself and bring about our needful growth.     

Exodus 39:32-43 - We are God's dweling place

The Tabernacle was God’s brainchild. He gave the pattern to Moses at Mount Sinai. And He even provided the artisans and gifted them with the necessary talents and skills to have this very grand and intricate building done. The people were inspired to give. They overwhelmingly contributed the gold, silver ornaments, the linen material and, etc needed for the building. The skillful Bezalel and Oholiab led the workforce. Now the Tabernacle, all the furnishings and the priest garment were made and completed to its final detail. So, they brought everything for Moses to inspect. What a delight it must have been for Moses. Thus Exodus 39:43 tells us that he examined everything and “…behold, they had done it; just as the Lord had commanded, this they had done. So Moses blessed them.”

The Tabernacle is a pattern given by God and it reveals much about our glorious God and the way He wants His people to relate with Him. Even as accurate as the account given to Exodus 28 and 39, words fail us to describe how wonderful and magnificent our God truly is. The Tabernacle depicts God’s dwelling plan among men, whom he had called and drawn to Himself. In the New Testament, we see Christ as the Tabernacle where the fullness of God dwells. He was the temple that the Jews destroyed but was raised up again by God in three days. He was God dwelling among men. Through Him, we see the fullness of God. He is God tabernacled among men. 

Then we see the church as God’s Tabernacle on earth. Each one of us is a building brick of the church, where God now dwells in the person of the Holy Spirit to magnify Christ. We are told by Ephesians 2:20-22 that we believers have “… been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” Now we believers, each of us individually, has become the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. In us dwell the Spirit of God. In 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul asked, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” He implied that we individually are God’s Tabernacle. Each one of us can either demonstrate God or distort His image by the way we conduct our life.  

The Tabernacle that the Israelites built was completed with distinction. Moses, whom God gave the pattern, was fully satisfied with the work done, so he blessed them. Jesus Christ as God’s Tabernacle had fully met the requirement. God said that He was well pleased with Him. What about we the church, would God say that He is satisfied with this dwelling place? We must all continue to do our part to accurately, aptly and righteously portray Christ. Remember though we are many, we are one body, where God indwells. The church is truly God's dwelling place.

We cannot close this chapter without having a closer look at ourselves. Personally, God dwells in each one of us. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Our body is the temple of God. We must, therefore, take good care of it. Here’s the warning. First Corinthians 3:17 reads, “If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” Each one of us is God’s Tabernacle, how we live our life matters. Never forget it!  

Exodus 39:22-31 – Set apart for God

The last two pieces of the high priest garment were the seamless robe of the tunic and the turban. In addition, Exodus 39 also describes other accessories that the priest would wear.  In verses 22-26 the tunic is described and verses 27-31, the turban and the accessories are described.

Let’s first consider the tunic, the long seamless robe made entirely of royal blue color from one piece of cloth. This represents wholeness and integrity which God expects of the priest. Blue, purple and scarlet yarn were made into pomegranates and hanged around the hem. Because the pomegranate is a fruit full of seed, it was a symbol of fruitfulness. Interspersed in between the pomegranates, bells made from pure gold were hanged. These bells were for safety reason. Should the bells stop ringing, they would know that some mishap had happened to the high priest. While the pomegranates symbolize the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the bells speak of the work of the Holy Spirit.   

The turban and other accessories of the priest’s garment are described in verses 27-31. This is what these verses said, “They made the tunics of finely woven linen for Aaron and his sons, and the turban of fine linen, and the decorated caps of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twisted linen, and the sash of fine twisted linen, and blue and purple and scarlet material, the work of the weaver, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and inscribed it like the engravings of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” They fastened a blue cord to it, to fasten it on the turban above, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.”

The garment is full of significance. Whenever Aaron wore it for the service of the Tabernacle, he was a man set apart with a unique calling. He was set apart for holy service to God. The crowning glory of the priest was the turban with the golden plate that reads “Holy to the Lord.” Unlike the people, he was set apart in holiness to the Lord. The people were sinful and could not enter into the presence of God. But the high priest could enter in on their behalf. Because when he adorned the garment, he was totally set apart for God. This points us to Christ, our perfect High Priest. He alone is holy and glorious and pure. And now through Him, we can enter into the presence of the Holy God. He has taken us pass the outer courts into the Holy of holies, by tearing asunder the veil that prevents us from entering in. Let us take the time and enter in!