LAMENTATIONS 5

LAMENTATIONS 5 - 'THE SURVIVORS TALE'

The final poem, again a lament of 22 verses (the same number as the Hebrew alphabet) but not a pure acrostic. Perhaps it reflects the chaotic state of the city? It is also shorter. Chapters 1-3 is made up of stanza's of three lines for each verse, chapter 4 has two line stanzas, now in chapter 5 each verse is just one line. There is a winding down. The second part of each line is never more than three words.

It is set in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem - v18. The suffering is not of the same intensity, but it endures and there is seemingly no end to it. Life will never be the same again, never as it once was. How do you live in the aftermath?

The answer is given to us in this lament.- LIVE BY PRAYER

The whole lament is a prayer, from the start -v1, to the finish v21-22.

Look briefly at other examples of laments -Psalms 44, 60, 74, 80, 83, 89.

A lament according to Westermann may comprise the following parts:

1. Address and cry for help

2. The lament

3. Confession of Trust

4. Petition

5. Vow of Praise

Lamentations 5 is written so that v2-10 the first person plural occurs almost 20 times; this is dropped for v11-14, and reappears in v15-22. This gives us a guide for dividing the lament up.

A. LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE BECOME -v1-10

v1 Someone has commented that this is perhaps the most insistent prayer in the whole Old Testament.

[1] We have lost our inheritance - v2-3.

The law of Moses did everything possible to ensure that each family kept it's inheritance - even down to the year of Jubilee.

Now the land that God promised to Abraham, gave to the people in the time of Joshua, reached it's greatest point under Solomon, now belongs to others. It continued to do so until Israel became a state in 1946.

The Babylonians destroyed all the houses in Jerusalem - 2 Kings 25:9 And he burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.

'The remaining inhabitants are without land, property, and without protection - like penniless paupers, widows and orphans' Walter C. Kaiser Jr.

[2] We are being exploited for the basic necessities of life - v4

The rich become richer, the poor become poorer!

[3] Our enemies oppress us - v5-10

v5 They are given no rest (the theme we have seen in Hebrews 3&4)

Why? v6-7 they made alliances with Assyria and Egypt when God had told them not to do so. They put their trust in man rather than in God. The prophets warned them against this:

Jerm 2:18 And now what do you gain by going to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what do you gain by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

Jerm 2:36 How much you go about, changing your way! You shall be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria v37 From it too you will come away with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper by them.

v7 They confess their sins. Do we give enough attention to this? Have we over reacted to the Roman Catholic confessional box image of confession such that we barely confess our sins to God at all?

Ps 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

v8-10 More details of the difficulties they are facing. These are some of the curses of the covenant the people were warned about if they were unfaithful:

Deut 28:48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.

B. LISTEN TO MY STORY - v11-14

People from all levels of society were suffering:

[1] v11 Women and virgins were raped - Angelina Jolie & William Hague have been highlighting this horrific aspect of conflicts occurring today.

[2] v12a Princes ill treated. Hung up to die.

[3] v12b Even the elderly are abused.

[4] v13 Young men and boys are used as slave labour.

[5] v14 Relaxation pastimes for young and old are no more. The old men would gather at the city gate and talk together, the young listened to their music - but these pastimes were now forbidden or not possible.

Everyone has a story of their individual suffering.

C. CONTINUE TO CALL ON THE LORD - v15-22

[1] v15 What a change has taken place in society. The party's over. No more laughter. The dance floor is silent and empty. Compare countries before the 1st World War and afterwards.

[2] v16 Our crown has fallen - we have lost our position and honour in the eyes of the world. Why? Because of our sin.

[3] v17 Look into our eyes. They are dull. The joy and laughter, the sparkle and brightness of life has faded. Our eyes reveal our heart. Our sick heart.

[4] v18 Mount Zion, the joy of the whole earth (see Psalm 48:2) is desolate. This is the city of the great King! Now it is the day of the jackals.

Where has the hope and faith gone from the high point of Lamentations 3:22-24? We have come along way down into the valley from that mountain top.

Grief is like that. There may be times when you soar on the wings of an eagle. Faith is strong. The Lord is near. The next day, or even the next minute you have crashed down to earth. You begin to learn to endure the pain. To live with it. You know that grace will come and lift you up again. This is what we find in the next verse:

[5] v19 We lift up our eyes to the Lord. He is unchanged. Everything else has changed, most for the worst, but not the Lord.

Psalm 102:12 But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.

We can come to him, even though we have sinned and are guilty - because of Jesus our great High Priest.

What can we say to the Lord?

[6] v20-22 A prayer for restoration and renewal. (Two terms that were hijacked by the charismatic movement and given a 'twist' in meaning. WE need to reclaim them and give them their proper meaning.

Restoration is not about spiritual gifts but about the Lord himself. It is a prayer for restoring our relationship with him. Restoring that sense of his presence that has been missing for so long as described in v20. It is about restoring us to that experience of the love of God. In an earlier study we saw:

(1) God's love of benevolence (big heartedness, giving out of generosity, kindness, grace,) seen in election and predestination.

(2) God's love of beneficence (a gift that is not deserved or earned, but is generously and freely given).

(3) God's love of delight or friendship in which he rewards his people for their holiness and obedience to his commandments.

It is the last that they are praying for Isaiah 62:4-5 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.

For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

What do you think of the ending of Lamentations?

It is not a happy ending.It seems an incomplete ending. That is so not just for Lamentations but for all the Old Testament. The Old Testament is incomplete. It needs the new Testament.

2Co 3:6 ..who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. 2 Co 3:14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.

Paul can speak of the new and old testaments. He was aware that what he and others were writing was scripture, the completion of the story.

QUESTIONS FOR HOME GROUPS HEAVEN AND HELL CHAPTER FOUR

1. How have these home groups on the subject of hell changed you? What could you have done to have made more of this time thinking about hell?

2. His section on putting sin to death, pages 49/50, ties in with what we are learning from the warning passages in Hebrews. Does the thought of hell make you take your fight against sin more seriously?

3. Ted's third point on pages 53/55 is a call to seriousness. As a church are we too serious, dour, and dull, or are we too frivolous, lighthearted and casual?

4. How can the bible's teaching on hell help us to a greater appreciation of the love of Christ? See pages 55/56. What can you add to what he says there?

5. How can we talk to a relative, a friend, a neighbour, work colleague, about hell when we have not said anything to them about it for years, if at all?

6. How can we remember what the bible teaches on hell without being broken (or driven mad) by the thought of people going to hell, or disliking the doctrine of hell, or having hard thoughts about God for there being a hell?

LAMENTATIONS 4

LAMENTATIONS 4

The book of Lamentations teaches us how to grieve.

The high point has been crossed (Lam 3:22-24). Now we must come down the slopes of grief. However, grieving does not suddenly end. The remaining chapters will bring us to a position that at the beginning of Lamentations seemed impossible, a place where we can live with the grief and life can go on.

Part of working through grief is to name what has been lost. To face up to the causes. To bring the real picture before God in prayer. Chapter four furthers this process.

Once again the Lament is in the form of an acrostic poem. This time each stanza (verse) is only two lines of which only the first begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This slightly loser structure signifies a lessening of the intensity.

The chapter divides into three:

[1] v1-11 The experience of suffering

[2] v12-20 The causes of suffering

[3] v21-22 The hope that grows from the ashes of suffering

1. WHO SUFFERS? 4:1-11

v1 The Temple is in ruins. It's stones scattered on the streets. It's gold plundered.

v2 The sons of Zion, worth their weight in gold, are treated as no better than a cheap kitchen pot.

v3 Mothers treat their children with unimaginable cruelty - worse than the jackals treat their young, more like the Ostrich.

Job 39:13-17 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love? For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labour be in vain, yet she has no fear, because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding.

Provan's commentary on Lamentations quotes Cramp's Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa notes: "Under certain environmental conditions...the family group may break up when chicks are a few weeks old, the adults renewing sexual activity and becoming highly aggressive towards all juveniles. Chicks fledged in small numbers outside the breeding season are frequently treated as outcasts and live solitary."

The Ostrich is called by the Arabs: 'impious' or 'the ungodly bird'.

v4 The poster (word) picture of a famine.

v5 The rich are not immune to this suffering. They die like the poor in the streets.

v6 The theological explanation - this is God's judgement. The punishment has been greater than that of Sodom. Sodom was destroyed in an instant. The people of Jerusalem suffered a long time before dying. Why the difference? Jerusalem had been given greater privileges and so had a greater responsibility.

Luke 12:48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

The same pictures we have just seen are viewed again, but this time the focus is on the princes (the leaders).

v7-8 The famine has changed their appearance. Beauty has become ashes. This is the reverse of revival described by Isaiah:

Isaiah 61:3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

v9 A quick death is preferable to this.

v10 Women have cooked and eaten their own children! (See 2 Kings 6:25-31 for an instance of this when Samaria was under siege.)

v11 The theological explanation - this is the wrath of God. Are you embarrassed by this? Never apologise for God's wrath.

Luke 13:4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

2. WHOSE TO BLAME? 4:12-20

When ever asking that question we need to begin by examining ourselves and confessing our responsibility and sins.

We need to remember that our flesh is loath to take any responsibility for anything that goes wrong. We are all blame shifters by sinful nature. We would rather blame someone else, our wives/husbands, even God (Adam blamed Eve and God, Eve blamed the serpent). It takes grace to confess and repent.

v12 It was well known that Jerusalem was the 'City of God'. They thought it was impregnable! God would protect Jerusalem.

The enemy had reached the gates only to be destroyed.

2 Kings 19:32-35 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it.

By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies."

v13 Whose to blame? Everyone for all have sinned, but not all are equally to blame. Here the religious leaders are singled out for a larger portion of the blame. It was the prophets and priests.

What did they do, or fail to do? They were guilty of shedding the blood of the righteous. They had told the people what they wanted to hear. They were guilty in two ways:

[1] Their failure to warn the people:

Eze 3:18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.

[2] Their opposition to those who were righteous. An opposition that led to the murder of some. They had wanted to put Jeremiah to death, he was spared but other prophets fared less well - see Jeremiah 27:7-24.

v14-15: The false prophets and corrupt priests were exposed by the destruction of Jerusalem for what they really were. They were treated by the people as vagabonds and lepers.

v16 Again a theological explanation - this was the Lord's judgement on the leaders (this time the elders are mentioned as well.)

v17-19: They looked for help from other nations, especially Egypt. The end drew near. There was no escape. No help came.

v20 Then king Zedekiah was captured and taken to Babylon - see 2 Kings 25:1-7.

3. WHAT HOPE FOR THE FUTURE? 4:21-22

v21 Edom, the descendants of Esua, far from helping their 'brother' rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem. Their day of judgement will come. They too will drink from the cup of God's wrath. See the book of Obadiah.

v22 The punishment of the Lord's people will come to an end. Their exile will be over. Here is hope. Their grief which they are now experiencing will not stop life from going on. Edom however will be punished.

Jeremiah 50:20 In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none. And sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

Only in the gospel is their real hope.

HEBREWS 4:1-11 - 'ENTERING GOD'S REST'

'ENTERING GOD'S REST'

Our passage is Hebrews 4:1-11

Towards the end of his life the apostle Paul was able to say: 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

He had not surrendered or been knocked out of the fight; nor had he pulled up, or retired from the race; and he had not given up, abandoned or denied the faith.

He was going to make it to the end. He had endured. He had kept going. He had persevered.

Here he was near the end of his life: still fighting, still running; still believing.

So he was able to say with confidence: v8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

The writer to the Hebrews was concerned that some of those to whom he was writing we in danger of giving up the fight; pulling out of the race and turning away from the faith. Or as he puts it in Hebrews 3v12 Falling away from the living God.

So he writes five WARNING passages in his letter. We are looking at the second of those warnings.

Hebrews 3:7-4v13 - expounds Psalm 95

1st half - 3v7-19 emphasis is on WARNING!

3v11 As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

3v12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

These are warnings that we must take seriously.

[a] The Bible teaches that God does not let his children fall away from salvation.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

30 I and the Father are one.”

Jesus and the Father are one in keeping the child of God.

[b] The bible also teaches that those who profess faith in Jesus Christ must persevere to the end to be saved.

Mt 10:22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

It is not enough just to talk about believing. Some people once professed faith. They know how to 'talk the faith'. They can say the right things. But they are no longer doing the right things! They are not living as a Christian should. They are not in fellowship with the Lord's people.

James:2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

James 2:17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

It is not enough to profess faith, we must live the faith. There must be the fruit of faith in our lives.

God keeps his people & his people keep going!

Hebrews tells us: 3v14 For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

These warnings are part of the means God uses to keep us from hardening our hearts and falling away from the living God.

We are all familiar with road signs in red triangles.

These are the hazard road signs for the pilgrims of faith that keep us on the narrow way that leads to life.

Another means is the fellowship of the Lord's people. Our ministry to one an other: v13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Chapter 3 closes with the picture of the wilderness as a cemetery! Every mile marked by burials - 3v17-19.

Now in chapter 4 his emphasis falls much more on the side of PROMISE. The promise of entering God's rest - v1. This he says in v2 is GOOD NEWS.

1. HOW DO WE GET FROM THE PROMISE GIVEN TO THE ISRAELITES OF ENTERING REST TO THE PROMISE OF REST FOR BELIEVERS TODAY?

[1] The promise to the Israelites:

Ex 33:14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

De 12:9 for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you.

De 12:10 But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety,

Jos 21:44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands.

Then we come to Judges. We see the rest was not permanent. It did not last.

Jud 3:11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Jud 3:30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

The rest that Joshua lead the people into was not a full or final rest.

Hebrews 4v8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.

The writer is quoting from Psalm 95. In the time of David the people lived in the land. But David is warning them that they, like the earlier Israelites may fail to know the promised rest - Hebrews 4:7

So he must be talking about something more than possession of the land.

v3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.

4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.”

It was not just rest from their enemies that God was promising. We see that REST is spoken of in the 4th Commandment:

Ex 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days you shall labour, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

This is taken from Genesis 2.

The rest that God promises is to share in his rest; the rest he entered into when he finished his work of creating. A rest he built into the law regarding the Sabbath day.

The writer makes this plain:

v9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, v10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

What is this rest?

[1] A rest from working to gain salvation?

Eph 2v8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, v9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

This is true, the Christian is no longer doing good works to earn salvation, to save themselves. They are resting in the gift of God, the finished work of Christ. But this rest doesn't fit with the point the writer to the Hebrews is making here.

[2] The promised rest that is to come?

Heb 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Heb 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

This rest that is to come must be at least a part of what he means by rest.

[3] The gospel includes this promise of rest: Jesus said:

Mt 11:28 Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Mt 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The Christian is now experiencing rest for their soul.

Rest we know now in part, and will know fully when we die and when Jesus returns:

Re 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!”

REST is a part of the gospel promises.

The writer to the Hebrews is saying it was not just rest from their journey through the wilderness, and rest from their enemies that God promised the Israelites. It was HIS REST. The rest he entered into on the 7th day when he had finished his work of creating.

A rest represented by the 4th Commandments' Sabbath rest'. A rest that was a part of the life God was offering his people; part of their salvation.

This rest applied to the people in David's time as he teaches them through Psalm 95. In David's time they already occupied the land. Clearly David is saying there is more to this promised rest than this.

This rest was still available when he wrote Hebrews, and is still God's promise today. The promise still stands.

2. HOW DOES THIS REST BECOME OURS?

[1] Negatively: We may fail to reach this rest he warns:

4v2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

The Israelites did not believe the promise!

Faith is more than just words! Faith acts. The Israelites did not obey, they refused to go up into the promised land when God told them to do so. Then they tried to go when he told them not to do so!

v6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,

v11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

We may fail to obtain this rest if when we hear the gospel we do not combine it with faith. We must believe the gospel.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

[2] Positively: We can enter his rest by faith.

You must believe in Jesus Christ and act on that belief. Martin Luther on faith in his introduction to Romans - John Wesley

LAMENTATIONS CHAPTERS ONE TO THREE

LAMENTATIONS 1-3

A. KNOW YOUR BIBLE AND KNOW GOD

[1] What are the five shortest books in the writings, the third section of the Hebrew OT? (The Law, the Prophets & the Writings)

[2] Which of these books are associated with each of the following five Jewish festivals:

Passover; the Feast of Weeks; the Ninth of Ab; the Feast of Tabernacles and the Festival of Purim?

[3] What is the theme of Lamentations?

[4] What is the method the writer(s) use to convey this message?

[5] Is there a climax (a high point) to the message of Lamentations, if so where?

B. CHRISTIAN COUNSELLING FOR GRIEF

Where have all the Christian counsellors gone?

David Powlison describes "counselling" as 'Intentionally helpful conversations -that's all counselling is-look different when you look at them from the perspective of seeing God.'

The best Christian counselling has turned away form secular psychology (Freud, Jung, Skinner and co.) and returned to the Bible. The best books on counselling now once again expound and apply passages of scripture. Our maker and redeemer has given us a reliable handbook for all of life.

Five stages of grief as proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying.”

(1) Shock/Denial and Isolation

(2) Anger

(3) Bargaining/Guilt

(4) Depression

(5) Acceptance

Most of the people she saw grieved as those without hope. Christians do not need to grieve in that way because we have the answer to death in the death and resurrection of Christ.

These five things may happen to people, although not necessarily all of them and nor always in this order. They are not stages and these are not the only things that happen. Other things include:

[1] The pain of the thought of what one's loved ones will go through.

[2] Peace - the struggle is coming to an end.

[3] Grief itself! The pain of loss.

[4] Thinking about the one you've lost every day.

For the Christian our treasure is Christ, not who or what ever it is we are grieving. We know we live in a fallen world where 'bad' things happen. We are looking for a better country. We have a loving heavenly Father. Christians can grieve without the messy tangles and distorted thinking that sin causes.

C. LAMENTATIONS AND GRIEF

Lamentations is about 'Ordered Grief'.

The mind of a person in grief sometimes goes around in circles, it keeps returning to the source of the grief, unable to leave it or find any resolution.

Lamentations has a clear structure. It explores grief from A-Z. There are limits to the grief and a conclusion. It goes over the grief five times looking at it from every angle and perspective. All that can be said has been said.

The fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC is recorded four times in scripture: 2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 39:1-11; Jeremiah 52; and 2 Chronicles 36:11-21.

The darkest moment is reached in Lamentations 3:18

so I say, “My endurance has perished;

so has my hope from the LORD.”

We believe that God is Sovereign. He is in control. How can it be then that we suffer? How can God's love and justice be reconciled with our pain?

Lamentations shows us a believer in grief and suffering encountering God.

Walter C. Kaiser comments: "Instead of sporting techniques, answers, slogans, Lamentations supplies: (1) orientation, (2) a voice for working completely through grief from a to z, (3) instruction on how and what to pray, and (4) a focal point in God's faithfulness and in the fact that he is our portion. Is that not what we need in the midst of trouble and calamity? Surely comfort, community, compassion, companionship, and conclusion to suffering are all found in this marvellous little book..."

D. THE STORY SO FAR

Lamentations 1: This is about the state of the City.

Jerusalem is personified as a woman forsaken, a widow. She has none to comfort her - v2, 9, 16, 17, 21. The tears flow throughout this chapter. Here we have a lesson in how to cope with grief.

[a] We see the loneliness of grief - v1-7; Pour out your grief before the Lord. Tell it as it is. We see Jerusalem the city, Judah the nation and Zion the centre of worship.

[b] We see the causes of grief - v8-11 In a word - sin!

Jeremiah 40:2 The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God pronounced this disaster against this place.

v3 The LORD has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you.

Twenty different words for God's anger and wrath are used in Lamentations. Job is about 'innocent suffering', Lamentations where there is an element of God's punishment or discipline.

[c] The purpose of grief - v12-17; To turn us back to the Lord.

[d] The confession grief makes - v18-22; The Lord has been in the right.

Lamentations 2: Suffering is always personal.

The book of Job teaches us that it is not always in a direct response to our sin, but it is always personal. God always has his purposes in our suffering. That is why we should never allow our grief to turn to despair.

2:17 is the key verse.

In the first ten verses there are 40 descriptions of God's judgement and anger. Lamentations teaches us to face up to God's anger.

What ever the reason for our suffering, for our own sin or not, we are always deeply loved by God. God calls the sinner back to his embrace.

In verses 2-17 the Lord is pictured as a warrior. It is the Lord who has done this, destroying Zion.

So cry to him - v18-19;

Zion's anguished cry - v20-22; Here we may learn how to pray in our grief.

Lamentations 3: Is about finding Hope.

The central part of the whole book, where the focus is.

3v48-51 strongly suggests Jeremiah is the author of this 3rd Lamentation and maybe all five. The opening section is cast as an individual speaking of his experience.

v22-24 is the focal point of this Lamentation and the whole book. Remember these verses are viewed against the destruction of Jerusalem and the slaughter of the people and exile of the survivors!

Imagine standing in Auschwitz and singing 'Great is thy faithfulness.' The book of Lamentations, including this passage, is read on Holocaust day.

In this chapter we see hope. There is a call in v40 for self examination, and returning (repenting) to the Lord v40b-66.

We all know we must not be Job's comforters (accusing someone of sins they have not committed) what is less well known is that we must not avoid the realities of guilt, or deny divine judgement. God wounds and binds up. We must not be too quick to reassure people that this cause of their grief is nothing to do with them. Not every person suffering is a Job! The man who speaks here is aware of his guilt, and that of his people, the deserved nature of what has happened.

v31 teaches us that grief will come to an end;

v32 the Lord causes grief but he will have compassion. His compassion will be greater than the grief.

v33 He does not afflict and grieve willingly.

What about what others do? That is in the control of God - v34-36.

HEBREWS 3:1-6 JESUS IS GREATER THAN MOSES

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.

3 or Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses--as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself.

4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)

5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,

6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Who is your hero? Who do you really admire? Who in your estimation is a really great man or woman?

British Man of the Millennium - Winston Churchill

A vote at the start of the new Millennium AD 1, man of the BC period there would only have been one winner - MOSES!

Moses had turned his back on a life of privilege as Pharaohs daughter's adopted son to be identified with the people of God.

He had Liberated them from slavery in Egypt, standing up to Pharaoh, performing many signs and wonders.

He then formed them into a nation at Mt Sinai

He had given them the LAW of MOSES

He had written the first holy scriptures: Genesis to Deuteronomy

He interceded with God for the nation saving them from God's anger. God said he was going to wipe out the people and offered to make Moses into a nation instead. Moses pleaded for God not to do so.

Moses was the nations HERO.

God declared Moses' greatness: Numbers 12:1-9

De 34:10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

Yes, when our author of Hebrews wrote this letter/sermon (a short word of exhortation) Moses would have won the vote for the man of the last 2 millennium's!

They didn't come any greater than Moses - or at least they didn't until Jesus Christ! Our writer invites us to consider Jesus, and in doing so to see and acknowledge that Jesus is greater than Moses!

Why does it matter who is greater?

It mattered to his first readers because they were being tempted to turn away from Jesus and all the persecution and suffering involved in being a Christian, and go back to Judaism. Rip the NT out of their Bibles and live by the OT. Join with the Jews in their, at that time, privileged position within the Roman Empire as having the freedom to practice their religion without being forced to adopt the pagan customs demanded of everyone else by the Emperor.

Why does it matter to us today whether Moses or Jesus is greatest?

Who wants to follow second best?

If Jesus really is the Son of God, then we should listen to him, believe in him, and follow him. We would be foolish not to do so.

That means we should be fearless in proclaiming Jesus to everyone, including those of other religions. If Jesus is greater than Moses then is he not also greater than Buddha, Mohammed; and all other founders of religions?

Our writer will say: If Jesus is greater than Moses then we should be confident in him and the hope that he gives.

He will go on to say that we too should be faithful and can be faithful because we have in Jesus a merciful and faithful high priest.

Well, is Jesus greater than Moses?

1. CONSIDER JESUS' TITLES

The Royal titles: The Prince's style and title in full:His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

Jesus' titles - King of Kings and Lord of Lords; the Lamb of God; Saviour of the world; the Word; Son of God; Son of Man; Lord of Glory; Teacher; The Good Shepherd; and many others...

Here the writer gives just two: apostle and high Priest.

[1] High Priest - links back to previous section - 2:17 so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God.

The writer links his passages by using common words so we make a smooth progression from one section to the next.

He expounds on this description 'merciful and faithful high priest in reverse order:

(a) 3v1-6 he shows us the faithfulness of Jesus; speaks about our need for faithfulness 3v6b-4v14;

(b) and then 4v15-5v10 shows us Jesus' compassion as our merciful high priest.

[2] Apostle - means one sent. This is the only place Jesus is referred to as an apostle, yet the fact that he was one sent is seen elsewhere, especially in John.

John 7:29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.”

John 8:42 ... for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.

John 20:21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

The writer says that Jesus' offices as apostle and high priest is part of their confession. It is part of their core Christian beliefs. It is what they were taught and what they confess.

The early church knew their theology! The apostles taught them all that Jesus had taught them and sent them to teach. Paul said Acts 20:27 ...for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

We need to know all this stuff in Hebrews!

The writer begins this section by saying: "consider Jesus,". Take time and meditate upon these things. Give Jesus your attention. Focus upon him.

Why is he saying all these things? Because he is concerned that they will not last the course; that they will give up the faith. They must remain faithful - and so must we. To do so we too need to consider Jesus.

He is our apostle and high priest.

Now Moses also acted as a priest - Ps 99:6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,

And Moses was sent: Ex 7:16 And you shall say to him,(Pharaoh) ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, Moses was an apostle, although the title is not used.

That's not all they have in common.

2. CONSIDER JESUS' FAITHFULNESS

[1] Moses And Jesus Were Both Faithful -

v2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.

The writer is teaching us from the OT scriptures. One of the great values of the book of Hebrews is how it helps us understand the OT.

God's covenant with David that he would raise up one of his descendants 1 Chron 17:14 but I will confirm him in my house. In the LXX "I will make him faithful in my house."

The writer has already quoted 1 Chron 17:13 in Heb 1v5b "I will be his father and he shall be my son."

He is also bring in another passage - God's word to Eli after his two sons proved to be unfaithful priests: 1 Samuel 2:35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.

Jesus is that Priest; and he is that descendant of David's.

Moses had also been a faithful servant of God in all God's house. This is an allusion to a verse from Numbers 12 that he will quote in v5; it comes from what God said about Moses to Miriam and Aaron when they challenged Moses' leadership.

Numbers 12v7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house.

[2] Jesus Is Worthy Of Greater Glory than Moses:

V3 or Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses--as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself.

V4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)

Moses was the greatest man of the last two millenniums; Jesus is the greatest of all time!

He makes this point by an illustration taken from the world of buildings and architecture.

What is greater: the building or the one who built it?

The answer is the builder.

Think of St Paul's Cathedral & Sir Christopher Wren.

"If you want to see my monument look around you!"

St Paul's Cathedral is a monument to the glory and honour of Christopher Wren.

The builder of the house should be given more honour than the house - God is the builder of all things. To him be the glory.

There is yet more in his comparison:

[3] Moses was a Faithful Servant In God's House; Jesus a Faithful Son Over God's House.

5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,

6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son.

Who is the greater - a Servant or a Son? The answer is obvious: A servant is in the house, a Son is over the house. A Son is greater than the greatest servant.

This is not to belittle Moses! He was faithful. He spoke the word of God as God gave it to him. He testified to the things that were to be spoken later.

Moses was a reliable witness

Numbers 12:8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19

Moses spoke about what was to come.

1 Peter 1:10-12

But Christ (first time he uses this title for the Son. Christ is Greek for Messiah, the anointed one.) He is over the house; he runs the house.

Moses is faithful in his position and task; the Son is faithful in his more exalted position and greater task.

Consider his titles - apostle and high priest.

Consider his faithfulness - as one over the house.

3. CONSIDER JESUS' HOUSE

What does he mean by house? We might at first think he is referring to the Tabernacle, the portable 'Temple'. But the writer helps us:

v6b And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

We are his house, we who are..v1...holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling,

We who are 'holy' set apart for God; we who share in a heavenly calling: a calling from heaven to follow Jesus and a calling to heaven.

2v10 - in bringing many sons to glory,

We are God's House. There is a condition - we must keep going! We must be faithful. We must endure.

We must hold fast - keep a tight grip on the Christian faith. Do not let it slip away.

A faith that doesn't keep going is not a saving faith.

We must keep our confidence. Christ is faithful. We can trust him. We can trust in the atonement he has made for our sins.

We must hold onto what we boast about and the hope we confess. We boast about Christ. We hope in what he has done, is doing and will do in saving us. He is taking us to glory! You cannot possibly turn away from him! How can you let him go! He is worthy of your confidence and that of the whole world!