Lamentations
4 reminds me of an expression being used very often today; “the new
normal”. We tend to adjust to change by resetting our internal
barometer. A pay increase is spent and a larger home is filled as we
quickly adjust. Loss, however, is not as easily accepted. Living
with only a memory can stab at the emotions and stir up nagging pain.
The widow who now walks alone has no one to lean against. There may
be nothing more pitiful than the one that has fallen away from
fellowship with God. Today’s chapter shows a snapshot of those
still lingering in the tatters of their former glory. I believe this
is written as an example to those that are being distracted right
now. The chapter begins, “How
the gold has lost its luster“.
It is clear that he is referring to the “the
precious children of Zion… once worth their weight in gold“.
Now God’s people live with the result of their rejection, “the
infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth…
the children beg for bread, but
no one gives it to them“.
People in poverty may not know they are missing out on “necessities”,
but these people “once ate
delicacies” wore “royal
purple” and “were
brighter than snow“.
These empty souls are full of
only want. “They
are blacker than soot… Their
skin has shriveled on their bones“.
Has your love grown cold?
He
explains why the people of Israel are now “racked
with hunger… for lack of food from the field“.
Jeremiah says, “The Lord has
given full
vent to His wrath“. These
people began to think THEY were great because of what they possessed
rather than knowing it was God’s Holy presence that made them
special. They worshiped themselves rather than the Lord. He
explains, “It happened because
of the sins of her prophets and
the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her the blood of
the righteous“. Every time a
nation throws off the authority of God, corruption flourishes. The
righteous become an uncomfortable reminder of God’s standards.
Without standards, “Now they
grope through the streets as if they were blind“.
Is your world becoming dimmer?
Jeremiah
says simply, “The
Lord Himself…no longer watches over them“.
After the glory of God departed, he writes “our
eyes failed, looking in vain for help“.
They looked inward and they looked outward, “we
watched for a nation that could not save us“.
Normal for mankind means, “People
stalked us at every step“.
The nation that was the pride of the Almighty now recognized, “Our
end was near, our days were numbered“.
The nation rejected God and God allowed them to be invaded. I am
reminded of the observation of Jerusalem 600 years later, just prior
to the Romans destruction of the rebuilt temple in 66 AD. Jesus
said, “Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how
often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing”
(Matthew 23:37). Yet a few days later He endured the humiliation of
the cross so that we could be restored. Are you tired of living in
tatters? Maybe it’s time to be abnormal and heed the Lord’s
call?