Old Testament for October 2, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Lamentations 1:1-6
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Lamentations is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, although there are some difficulties with that theory.  This book is a series of five laments that follow upon the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (although some scholars date the destruction at 587 B.C.) by the Babylonians.  Jeremiah was essentially ‘kidnapped’ by Johanan, one of the last governors of Jerusalem, and carried off to Egypt soon after the fall of Jerusalem.  So the jury is out on how much of the events described in Lamentations he might have witnessed.  On the other hand, Jeremiah would have been present to see the horrific events of the last days of Jerusalem, and certainly might have written his reflections even in exile in Egypt at a later date.

One thing is certain — Lamentations is a vivid poetic account of a grieving people as they see their capital city, its temple, and their very civilization in ruins.

The author of Lamentations personifies Jerusalem as a lonely widow who now sits solitary.  She is described as a princess who:

weeps bitterly in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks;
among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her:
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they are become her enemies.

Historically, we are reminded of the alliances into which Judah’s kings entered at various times with kingdoms and empires.  Where were her allies now?  She had been betrayed and oppressed by her former lovers.

The writer then explores the exile of Judah, while continuing to maintain the imagery of the widow/princess:

she dwells among the nations, she finds no rest:
all her persecutors overtook her within the straits.

There is a contrast between Judah (those who have gone into exile) and the desolation of Jerusalem left behind.  Where once there had been a bustling city and temple full of people, now there is desolation:

The ways of Zion do mourn, because no one comes to the solemn assembly;
all her gates are desolate, her priests do sigh:
her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness.

And then the author of the Lamentation says something rather daring — he draws a parallel between Judah’s enemies and Yahweh: 

Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies prosper;
for Yahweh has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions:

Here, the writer implies that there is almost another feeling of betrayal — that Yahweh himself is somehow in league with Judah’s adversaries!

We are reminded that the kings and kingdoms are used by Yahweh to accomplish his purposes.  Assyria was called the rod in the hands of God when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed, almost 150 years (721 B.C.) before the conquest of Judah (Isaiah 10:5).  And after Jerusalem has been destroyed and thousands carried off into exile in Babylon, it is the Persian king, Cyrus, who will be used by God in 537 B.C. to return the Jews to their homeland (Isaiah 45:1).

The author of Lamentations returns to his guiding metaphor — the widow/princess has lost even her children:

her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary.
From the daughter of Zion all her majesty is departed:

And finally, the writer shifts into another analogy, a simile comparing the royal sons of Jerusalem to deer who have been run down by the hunters:

her princes are become like deer that find no pasture,
they are gone without strength before the pursuer.

APPLY:  

One of the greatest strengths of the Holy Bible is its honesty about the human experience.  Suffering, whether deserved or undeserved, raises questions about the love and the goodness of God.  And the Biblical authors don’t shy away from raising the question about God’s justice.

We see this in Job, who declares in the face of his suffering:

Therefore I will not keep silent.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit.
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul (Job 7:11)

We see this in the Psalmist, who asks where the justice of God is when the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer:

But as for me, my feet were almost gone.
My steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant,
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked (Psalm 73:2-3).

There is a difference in the suffering experienced by Judah at the hands of the Babylonians.  Judah has been warned repeatedly about her offenses against God — idolatry, oppression of the poor, social injustice, violation of the Law of Moses.

Whatever the cause of suffering, our reaction to its scourge will be the same. And we are likely to experience the stages of grief that follow a terrible tragedy, even when it is our own fault — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

What the Scriptures help us to do as we read of such horrors as the fall of Jerusalem is to work through our own grief as we move toward renewed faith in God.

RESPOND: 

Years ago I visited a grieving church member who blamed God for the death of her husband.  He was, she said, “such a good man! Why did God take him?”  I thought of my previous visits with them, and remembered the volume of cigarettes that he smoked.  He had died of lung cancer.

I didn’t doubt that her husband was a good man.  But I thought it rather unfair to blame God for his death when the Surgeon General has clearly established that the use of tobacco is a likely cause of cancer.  In my opinion, God didn’t cause his cancer.

I have a personal view of God’s judgment.  It is not so much that God wishes to punish us for our sins — rather, we punish ourselves by our sins.  God doesn’t wish anyone to suffer.  Even here in Lamentations, we read:

For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men (Lamentations 3:33).

However, God does permit us to suffer the consequences of our own willful sin.  That may cause us to grieve as much as the suffering — realizing that we are responsible for our own plight.

Let me be clear — the Bible doesn’t teach that all suffering is our fault. Sometimes the innocent suffer along with the guilty.  But in today’s Lectionary reading, the people of Judah are experiencing the consequences of their sin.

God may use our suffering to turn us back toward our dependence on him, but I don’t believe he causes it.

Lord, we have seen so many tragedies and crises that cause us to weep — from the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York on 9-11, to personal tragedies in families around us.  So often these events are impossible to understand — and so we process them as grieving people comforting other grieving people.  You are our “Comforter” and our “Counselor.” Help us find our hope and healing in you.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“The Flight of the Prisoners” by James Tissot is in the public domain.

Old Testament for October 6, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Lamentations 1:1-6
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Lamentations is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, although there are some difficulties with that theory.  This book is a series of five laments that follow upon the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (although some scholars date the destruction at 587 B.C.) by the Babylonians.  Jeremiah was essentially ‘kidnapped’ by Johanan, one of the last governors of Jerusalem, and carried off to Egypt soon after the fall of Jerusalem.  So the jury is out on how much of the events described in Lamentations he might have witnessed.  On the other hand, Jeremiah would have been present to see the horrific events of the last days of Jerusalem, and certainly might have written his reflections even in exile in Egypt at a later date.

One thing is certain — Lamentations is a vivid poetic account of a grieving people as they see their capital city, its temple, and their very civilization in ruins.

The author of Lamentations personifies Jerusalem as a lonely widow who now sits solitary.  She is described as a princess who:

weeps bitterly in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks;
among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her:
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they are become her enemies.

Historically, we are reminded of the alliances into which Judah’s kings entered at various times with kingdoms and empires.  Where were her allies now?  She had been betrayed and oppressed by her former lovers.

The writer then explores the exile of Judah, while continuing to maintain the imagery of the widow/princess:

she dwells among the nations, she finds no rest:
all her persecutors overtook her within the straits.

There is a contrast between Judah (those who have gone into exile) and the desolation of  Jerusalem left behind.  Where once there had been a bustling city and temple full of people, now there is desolation:

The ways of Zion do mourn, because no one comes to the solemn assembly;
all her gates are desolate, her priests do sigh:
her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness.

And then the author of the Lamentation says something rather daring — he draws a parallel between Judah’s enemies and Yahweh: 

Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies prosper;
for Yahweh has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions:

Here, the writer implies that there is almost another feeling of betrayal — that Yahweh himself  is somehow in league with Judah’s adversaries!

We are reminded that the kings and kingdoms are used by Yahweh  to accomplish his purposes.  Assyria was called the rod in the hands of God when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed, almost 150 years (721 B.C.) before the conquest of Judah (Isaiah 10:5).  And after Jerusalem has been destroyed and thousands carried off into exile in Babylon, it is the Persian king, Cyrus, who will be used by God in 537 B.C. to return the Jews to their homeland (Isaiah 45:1).

The author of Lamentations returns to his guiding metaphor — the  widow/princess has lost even her children:

her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary.
From the daughter of Zion all her majesty is departed:

And finally, the writer shifts into another analogy, a simile comparing the royal sons of Jerusalem to deer who have been run down by the hunters:

her princes are become like deer that find no pasture,
they are gone without strength before the pursuer.

APPLY:  

One of the greatest strengths of the Holy Bible is its honesty about the human experience.  Suffering, whether deserved or undeserved, raises questions about the love and the goodness of God.  And the Biblical authors don’t shy away from raising the question about God’s justice.

We see this in Job, who declares in the face of his suffering:

Therefore I will not keep silent.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit.
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul (Job 7:11)

We see this in the Psalmist, who asks where the justice of God is when the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer:

But as for me, my feet were almost gone.
My steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant,
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked (Psalm 73:2-3).

There is a difference in the suffering experienced by Judah at the hands of the Babylonians.  Judah has been warned repeatedly about her offenses against God — idolatry, oppression of the poor, social injustice, violation of the Law of Moses.

Whatever the cause of suffering, our reaction to its scourge will be the same. And we are likely to experience the stages of grief that follow a terrible tragedy, even when it is our own fault — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

What the Scriptures help us to do as we read of such horrors as the fall of Jerusalem is to work through our own grief as we move toward renewed faith in God.

RESPOND: 

Years ago I visited a grieving church member who blamed God for the death of her husband .  He was, she said, “such a good man! Why did God take him?”  I thought of my previous visits with them, and remembered the volume of cigarettes that he smoked.  He had died of lung cancer.

I didn’t doubt that her husband was a good man.  But I thought it rather unfair to blame God for his death when the Surgeon General has clearly established that the use of tobacco is a likely cause of cancer.  In my opinion, God didn’t cause his cancer.

I have a personal view of God’s judgment.  It is not so much that God wishes to punish us for our sins — rather, we punish ourselves by our sins.  God doesn’t wish anyone to suffer.  Even here in Lamentations, we read:

For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men (Lamentations 3:33).

However, God does permit us to suffer the consequences of our own willful sin.  That may cause us to grieve as much as the suffering — realizing that we are responsible for our own plight.

Let me be clear — the Bible doesn’t teach that all suffering is our fault. Sometimes the innocent suffer along with the guilty.  But in today’s Lectionary reading, the people of Judah are experiencing the consequences of their sin.

God may use our suffering to turn us back toward our dependence on him, but I don’t believe he causes it.

Lord, we have seen so many tragedies and crises that cause us to weep — from the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York on 9-11, to personal tragedies in families around us.  So often these events are impossible to understand — and so we process them as grieving people comforting other grieving people.  You are our “Comforter” and our “Counselor.” Help us find our hope and healing in you.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“The Flight of the Prisoners” by James Tissot is in the public domain.

Old Testament for October 2, 2016

Start with Scripture:

Lamentations 1:1-6

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Lamentations is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, although there are some difficulties with that theory.  This book is a series of five laments that follow upon the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (although some scholars date the destruction at 587 B.C.) by the Babylonians.  Jeremiah was essentially ‘kidnapped’ by Johanan, one of the last governors of Jerusalem, and carried off to Egypt soon after the fall of Jerusalem.  So the jury is out on how much of the events described in Lamentations he might have witnessed.  On the other hand, Jeremiah would have been present to see the horrific events of the last days of Jerusalem, and certainly might have written his reflections even in exile in Egypt at a later date.

One thing is certain — Lamentations is a vivid poetic account of a grieving people as they see their capital city, its temple, and their very civilization in ruins.

The author of Lamentations personifies Jerusalem as a lonely widow who now sits solitary.  She is described as a princess who:

weeps bitterly in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks;
among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her:
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they are become her enemies.

Historically, we are reminded of the alliances into which Judah’s kings entered at various times with kingdoms and empires.  Where were her allies now?  She had been betrayed and oppressed by her former lovers.

The writer then explores the exile of Judah, while continuing to maintain the imagery of the widow/princess:

she dwells among the nations, she finds no rest:
all her persecutors overtook her within the straits.

There is a contrast between Judah (those who have gone into exile) and the desolation of  Jerusalem left behind.  Where once there had been a bustling city and temple full of people, now there is desolation:

The ways of Zion do mourn, because no one comes to the solemn assembly;
all her gates are desolate, her priests do sigh:
her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness.

And then the author of the Lamentation says something rather daring — he draws a parallel between Judah’s enemies and Yahweh: 

Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies prosper;
for Yahweh has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions:

Here, the writer implies that there is almost another feeling of betrayal — that Yahweh himself  is somehow in league with Judah’s adversaries!

We are reminded that the  kings and kingdoms are used by Yahweh  to accomplish his purposes.  Assyria was called the rod in the hands of God when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed, almost 150 years (721 B.C.) before the conquest of Judah (Isaiah 10:5).  And after Jerusalem has been destroyed and thousands carried off into exile in Babylon, it is the Persian king, Cyrus, who will be used by God in 537 B.C. to return the Jews to their homeland (Isaiah 45:1).

The author of Lamentations returns to his guiding metaphor — the  widow/princess has lost even her children:

her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary.
From the daughter of Zion all her majesty is departed:

And finally, the writer shifts into another analogy, a simile comparing the royal sons of Jerusalem to deer who have been run down by the hunters:

her princes are become like deer that find no pasture,
they are gone without strength before the pursuer.

APPLY:  

One of the greatest strengths of the Holy Bible is its honesty about the human experience.  Suffering, whether deserved or undeserved, raises questions about the love and the goodness of God.  And the Biblical authors don’t shy away from raising the question about God’s justice.

We see this in Job, who declares in the face of his suffering:

Therefore I will not keep silent.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit.
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul (Job 7:11)

We see this in the Psalmist, who asks where the justice of God is when the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer:

But as for me, my feet were almost gone.
My steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant,
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked (Psalm 73:2-3).

There is a difference in the suffering experienced by Judah at the hands of the Babylonians.  Judah has been warned repeatedly about her offenses against God — idolatry, oppression of the poor, social injustice, violation of the Law of Moses.

Whatever the cause of suffering, our reaction to its scourge will be the same. And we are likely to experience the stages of grief that follow a terrible tragedy, even when it is our own fault — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

What the Scriptures help us to do as we read of such horrors as the fall of Jerusalem is to work through our own grief as we move toward renewed faith in God.

RESPOND: 

Years ago I visited a grieving church member who blamed God for the death of her husband .  He was, she said, “such a good man! Why did God take him?”  I thought of my previous visits with them, and remembered the volume of cigarettes that he smoked.  He had died of lung cancer.

I didn’t doubt that her husband was a good man.  But I thought it rather unfair to blame God for his death when the Surgeon General has clearly established that the use of tobacco is a likely cause of cancer.  In my opinion, God didn’t cause his cancer.

I have a personal view of God’s judgment.  It is not so much that God wishes to punish us for our sins — rather, we punish ourselves by our sins.  God doesn’t wish anyone to suffer.  Even here in Lamentations, we read:

For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men (Lamentations 3:33).

However, God does permit us to suffer the consequences of our own willful sin.  That may cause us to grieve as much as the suffering — realizing that we are responsible for our own plight.

Let me be clear — the Bible doesn’t teach that all suffering is our fault. Sometimes the innocent suffer along with the guilty.  But in today’s Lectionary reading, the people of Judah are experiencing the consequences of their sin.

God may use our suffering to turn us back toward our dependence on him, but I don’t believe he causes it.

Lord, we have seen so many tragedies and crises that cause us to weep — from the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York on 9-11, to personal tragedies in families around us.  So often these events are impossible to understand — and so we process them as grieving people comforting other grieving people.  You are our “Comforter” and our “Counselor.” Help us find our hope and healing in you.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“The Flight of the Prisoners” by James Tissot is in the public domain.