But the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon and the captivity of the Jews under Babylonian rule was not a surprise.  In fact, for years it had been foretold by the prophets.  It was the Lord’s judgment.  This idea isn’t far from our minds having just studied through the book of Hosea in which God pronounced the coming destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by the hands of the Assyrians which he warned would be his very own judgment against his people.  Well, if you replace Assyria with Babylon and the northern kingdom of Israel with the southern kingdom of Judah, then you will understand the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians in 587 BC.  

 

But what does that have to do with the book that we are looking at this morning – Lamentations?  Well, Lamentations was composed by someone (perhaps Jeremiah) from Jerusalem who had witnessed this great tragedy and wrote out some poems of lament, as he mourned the destruction of Jerusalem.  These laments are compiled into five chapters in our Bible that make up the book we know as “Lamentations.”  

 

And it is accurate to say these are poems of lament because there is a very clear structure to the poems.  Four of the five are acrostics in which each successive letter in the Hebrew alphabet is used to begin each verse.  This is why chapters 1, 2, and 4 all have twenty-two verses.  There are twenty-two verses in the Hebrew alphabet, and each letter is represented with a verse.  Chapter 5 does not follow this acrostic method, but it does provide for us twenty-two poetic verses that have been noted in our Bibles.  And chapter 3, interestingly, gives us what is perhaps best described as a triple acrostic.  In this case, the first three verses of the chapter begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the second three begin with the second, and so on.  Because of this triple repetition of each letter, chapter 3 contains sixty-six verses instead of twenty-two.  This probably also signifies that the heart of the book is given to us in this central chapter, which is not uncommon to do in Hebrew writings.  Often in the Old Testament we’ll find the main message being contained in the center of the book, and that is probably the case with Lamentations.  

 

But how can this book benefit us?  After all, that might not be obvious to us at first.  Why would it benefit us to read the writings of an individual who witnessed such terrible devastation that he recognized was nothing less than the Lord’s discipline?  

 

Well, perhaps asking the question in that way is already revealing an answer.  After all, if you were wanting a guide to know how to walk through seasons of the Lord’s challenging discipline, where better to look than at the writings of one who has witnessed and walked through such difficulty in his own experience?  And how much more helpful would it be to know that the one expressing his lamentation and serving as a guide as to how to walk faithfully through seasons of harsh discipline was inspired by the Holy Spirit so that his writings were the very words of God.  

 

So, perhaps this is where you are this morning.  You feel as if the Lord’s disciplining hand is upon you – whether in response to your sin you have not wanted to let go of or simply in order to more fully conform you to the image of Christ.  And maybe you feel that you can’t take it much longer.  Maybe no one can quite identify with your pain, or the circumstances of your suffering, or the heartache and confusion you’re experiencing.  If that is the case, we can be quite thankful that our God understands.  He knows our pain, understands our suffering, and is well aware of our heartache and confusion.  

 

But he is not simply one who has all knowledge but remains distant from us.  Rather, he has loved us enough even to provide us with help and guidance and care, even as we find ourselves facing his discipline.  Therefore, this morning, it will be fitting for us to consider how it is that Lamentations instructs us in walking faithfully as we suffer discipline under the Lord’s hand.  How does the author’s lament provide instruction for us?  Let me list a few ways this morning.

 

First, Lamentations teaches us to . . . 

 

Allow discipline to cause you to fear God

 

Throughout the poems of lament in this book, there is a theme that is seen constantly, namely, that God has brought about this destruction.  The book begins by picturing Jerusalem as a woman that sits lonely as she has become a widow (1:1), who weeps bitterly in the night (1:2), who is in great distress (1:3), and who mourns and groans as she has lost her children (1:4-5).  She is pictured as a woman who remember all the precious things of bygone days when things were so much better (1:7).  But now all of that has changed, and she has suffered the loss of all things.  

 

But notice how many times throughout chapter 1 alone the author makes clear that God has brought about this suffering.  We read, “The LORD has afflicted her” (1:5), “the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger” (1:12), “The Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot withstand” (1:14), “The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah” (1:15), and “the LORD has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes” (1:17).  

 

And if we miss it in chapter 1, then in 2:1-8 every verse has the Lord as the subject and judgment and destruction as its aim.  It seems to climax with a declaration in 2:17 that “The LORD has done what he purposed.”  And this continues throughout the book.  

 

Also, note the ferociousness of his judgment.  We read that he has acted “without mercy” (2:2), in his “fierce anger” (2:3), in “fierce indignation” (2:6), and “without pity” (2:17, 21; 3:43).

 

When we consider God’s judgment against sin and the merciless nature in which he pours out that judgment, it should cause us to fear God.  It should cause us to recognize that God is not one to be mocked or trifled with.  Isn’t that clear to the author when he writes, “My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city.  They cry to their mothers, ‘Where is bread and wine?’ as they as they faint like a wounded man in the streets of the city, as their life is poured out on their mothers’ bosom.”  This is not a scene that suggests God’s judgment is to be dismissed. 

 

I think that there are two verses which declare a foundation of Israel’s fate.  The first is in 1:9.  We read there, “Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter.”  Do you see that?  As she was acting in her sin and rebellion she never once stopped to give thought to her future.  

 

The other is in 4:12, where the author tells us, “The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world, that foe or enemy could enter the gathers of Jerusalem.”  If this was true of all the kings of the earth and the inhabitants of the world, how much is it reflected in the hearts of those who inhabited Jerusalem as well?  They gave no thought to their future and did not fear the judgment that had been declared for years.  But what they should have understood is that if the God who delivered them from Egypt and into the Promised Land and cause them to walk through the Red Sea and Jordan River and for the walls of Jericho to fall, if he determines to destroy their city, their city will be destroyed.

 

Is this not instructive for us?  There is a call for all of us to fear the Lord.  And when we find ourselves in the midst of discipline (again, whether for sin we won’t let go of or simply for our continuing fashioning into Christ’s image), it should cause us to fear the Lord.  

 

Now, by this I don’t mean two things.  One, I don’t mean that you should walk around in fear of condemnation.  It is for freedom from condemnation and freedom from striving to try to escape condemnation by our efforts that Christ has set us free.  Being justified by faith alone frees us not to have to feel as if God’s condemnation is always over us.  In fact, the opposite is true.  There is now therefore no condemnation toward those who are in Christ Jesus.  

 

Nor do I mean that you should always stop and if you don’t feel your heart trembling at all times when considering God’s judgment, you need to stop everything and try to get your heart to that point.  Our walk with the Lord is one in which if your faith is in Christ, you need not walk around with your heart trembling and consumed with God’s judgment.

 

What I do mean is that when you find your heart tempted to move toward sin, you need to have clear enough of an understanding of God that your heart leaps up and says, “Don’t trifle with that which is abhorred by the holy God.”  

 

My dad is a great dad.  While I was in his home, I believe he lived out fatherhood better than I have able to do in my own home in many respects.  As I grow in my experience as a dad I find myself appreciating what he did more and more.  And he was a loving dad to me.  It wasn’t uncommon for him to hug on me, kiss me, or even shed tears with me.  I’ve mentioned it before, but I remember going to preach at a church when I was only in high school and I told my dad how nervous I was.  He took me, wrapped his arms around me, held on to me tight, and started praying that God would comfort me, encourage me, and remove anxiety.  He has pictured for me God’s love.  

 

However, I also remember saying more than once when my friends enticed me to do something, “No way I’ll do that because I think my dad would kill me.”  I was afraid of his disciplining hand.  When he gave commands and laid out consequences, I knew he wasn’t to be trifled with.  And when temptation to disobey arose, fear gripped my heart.  

 

That is to be the response we have toward our heavenly Father.  We are to know a deeply warm and loving walk with him, and our hearts are to fear him when we are enticed by sin.  Consider God’s judgment, fear him, and let it drive you to turn from sin today.  

 

And that actually is the second lesson I want to note from the book of Lamentations:

 

We should confess and repent of our sins when we are disciplined

 

Notice how during this time of lament the author is quick to declare that Jerusalem is suffering because the people have sinned.  We read:  “the LORD has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions” (1:5), “Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy” (1:8), “Her uncleanness was in her skirts” (1:9), “My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck; he caused my strength to fail” (1:14), “The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word” (1:18), “I have been very rebellious” (1:20), “you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions” (1:22), “We have transgressed and rebelled” (3:42), and “Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities” (5:7).  

 

This is not a picture of decrying what God has done as if it is not just and right.  In fact, Jerusalem declares that God is right in judging Jerusalem, for the people have sinned.  

 

This too is instructive for us.  Especially in times when God’s discipline is on us because we won’t let go of sin, we must confess our sin and repent.  That is his desire.  He does not allow his hand to rest heavy upon us because he wants to crush us.  It is so that we might confess and repent.  Sadly, Jerusalem did not see this clearly until after judgment came.  And sadly many every day do not confess and repent before the Lord until judgment has come and it is too late.  But today, as long as it’s called “today,” if you can hear his voice calling for you to confess your sins and turn from them, please repent.  Do not stubbornly hold on to your sin and continue to walk toward the judgment of condemnation.  

 

Third, as we face the Lord’s discipline . . . 

 

Remember who our God is

 

This seems to be the centerpiece of the book.  In the midst of lamenting, God’s people were to remember who he is and find hope in him.  And that is seen most clearly in 3:21-42.  Therefore, in the midst of the Lord’s heavy discipline that has been witnessed and continues as the people are in exile, the author declares, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’  The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him” (3:21-25).  

 

And it continues in 3:31-33, “For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.” 

 

This last verse, I think, is even more powerful than it comes off in translation.  When the text says that the Lord does not willingly afflict the children of men, it is actually better translated “from his heart.”  That is, the Lord does not afflict us from his heart.  The idea is that our God does not bring harsh suffering and discipline into our lives because his heart just gets all excited at the sight of our suffering.  He doesn’t sit in the heavens and say, “Well, isn’t this fun.”  Rather, he knows it is a needed means shape us.  We are fashioned through suffering, and discipline is used to bring us to repentance.  But his delight is found in us, in our growth and maturity, in our fashioning according to Christ’s image.  

 

His love for us has not ceased in the midst of our suffering.  His willingness to extend mercy to us hasn’t somehow run dry.  His faithfulness hasn’t come to an end.  Rather, right now, in the midst of your suffering, pain, heartache, and confusion, you can hope in the reality that the God who sent his Son to redeem you, loves you, delights in showing your mercy, and is faithfully working all things to make you like his Son.  

 

You must not forget who is allowing this discipline to come upon you.  It is not one who delights in your destruction but one who delights in your good.  As Lamentations 3:38 reminds us, the good and the evil in our lives come through the hands of one who is our Father and loves us.  

 

Therefore, it is natural for us to transition to the next lesson from this book:

 

We should cry out to our God in the midst of our discipline

 

Notice how the author recognizes God has done this devastation in Jerusalem.  It is God’s judgment against his people.  Yet notice who it is that the author cries out to in these verses.  It is this same God.  

 

We read in 2:20, “Look, O LORD, and see!  With whom have you dealt thus?  Should women eat the fruit of their womb, the children of their tender care?  Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord.”  He is not afraid to express his pain and confusion to the Lord.  

 

He is also quick to plead with God to do something.  So, we read in 3:55-57, “I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’  You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear.’”  The psalmist cries to the God who has steadfast love, enduring mercy, and faithfulness that is renewed day by day.  He cries out to God because he knows who he is and knows he can be trusted.  

 

He also cries out to the Lord to act.  Chapter 5 is simply one long prayer to the Lord.  It begins, “Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace! (5:1), and it ends, “Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!  Renew our days as of old” (5:21).  

 

The God who brings discipline and suffering into your life to shape you, even painful and heartbreaking discipline and suffering wants you to call out to him.  This is why Paul reminds us in Galatians that we are not slaves but sons.  And it is why he reminds us that our Father has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts so that we might cry out to him as our Father.  God wants you to think of yourself as his Son.  He wants you to cry out to him, sharing your pain, asking for his comfort and relief, asking him to do good for you.  That’s why he put his Spirit in you.  He wants your reaction in the midst of pain to be like a child who wakes up scared from a dream and yells for his dad or mom.  He wants us to know we are his children and to cry out to him as our Father.  

 

He wants us to cry out to him, knowing that one day he will free us from all suffering.  One day he will send his Son to come and get us.  One day, even if we die, he will send his Son to command our bodies to rise from the ground, and they will.  We are his, he will ultimately deliver us, and he wants us to turn to him as our Father, as the one who has redeemed us, and as the one who will one day come and get us.  

 

So, how do we walk faithfully amidst discipline?  We learn to fear the Lord rightly.  We confess our sins and repent of them.  We remember who our great and good God is.  And we cry out to him.  

 

In 587 BC, Babylonian armies invaded Jerusalem as an act of God’s judgment.  About 600 years later God the Son took on flesh and came to those who had rebelled against him, living perfectly, dying for our sins, and being raised from the dead so that we might repent of our sins, trust in him, and have eternal life.  This morning we praise God as we have faith in his Son that we who deserve nothing less than his ferocious, pitiless, merciless wrath have heard our end-times judgment already proclaimed as he has credited us with the perfect righteousness of Christ.  Let us therefore come to the table this morning, remembering and delighting in what Christ has done for us.  Amen.