I really enjoy the Old Testament, and if you have been paying attention, the Old Testament lessons during this season after Pentecost have not disappointed. This Sunday, we get Lamentations 3:22-33.
Lamentations is not the first book people want to read in the Old Testament because it deals with communal suffering. In Lamentations we know exactly why God brings this suffering on the people of Jerusalem. They did not turn from their wickedness and sins. They did not seek God, but rather ran after other gods. God warned them this would happen through the many prophets He sent, but they would not listen. This is written for our learning.
Another question you might be asking is this: “So what’s God’s plan with this suffering?” Or another way to say it, “What’s God’s desired outcome?” It’s simple: Be brought to repentance and faith.
Jerusalem was in utter ruins. King Zedekiah watched his sons be killed at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. God’s judgement against Jerusalem was on full display. Tears filled the streets. But in our readings from Lamentations 3, Jeremiah remains confident in the compassion of God. The Lord does not destroy and kill to all eternity. This discipline Jerusalem receives is actually all about compassion. God shows His compassion through discipline on His people because He loves them and us. He does not want any to die, and this discipline will humble some and bring them to repentance and faith in Him. The Lord’s Law and discipline has this effect. The Lord disciplines those he loves. This is why we too discipline our children, because we love them.
The Lord’s wrath is not forever, but was actually poured out for us all on Jesus at the cross. Christ suffered the full weight of God’s righteous judgment and wrath once for all. Even in wrath the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. Jesus takes our suffering on out of love. He turns his cheek and receives the insults. He drinks the bitterness of God’s wrath for us. This is the mercy of God for you in action, and you get to receive this mercy anew every time you hear that your sins are forgiven on account of Christ. So do not be grieved by your sin, but receive the Love of God for you in Christ.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO
©2018 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com
Lemos esta passagem hoje no culto.
We also read it this morning. It is the text in the three year lectionary we use in the Missouri Synod. I suspect it is why Pastor Hercamp chose to write about it.
Yes, Lamentations 3 was the basis for my sermon this past Sunday. The lectionaries between church denominations (especially after Vatican II) are quite similar these days, so we probably hear the same readings or similar readings every Sunday of the church year, if our churches follow a 3 year lectionary cycle. Thanks for the note!