Lamentations 4 - The Way of Lament

0:00Life hands us hurt we never asked for, leaving us anxious and secure and stuck. But what if your healing is not only possible, but could actually bring healing to those around you? In her new book, Collide, Willow Weston invites you to start bravely stepping into the places you've avoided because Jesus meets us in our mess. If your past is still haunting your present, if being in self-protective mode is hurting you more than protecting you, if you're longing for wholeness, discover healing with Collide, available now at Amazon.com. Purposely Your life, God's purpose. Listen at Purposely.com Hey, this is Jen. You're listening to the Bible for busy people where we're reading the book of lamentations this week and talking about the spiritual practice of lament. Yesterday, we ended on a lighter note of change and repentance and hope. Today, we go back to the dark reality of exile for the Israelites and how that relates to us, too.

1:02We're reading today in lamentations chapter 4, starting in verse 1, which says, How the gold has lost its lustre, the fine gold become dull. The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner. How the precious children of Zion once worth their weight in gold are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter's hands. Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert. Because of thirst, the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth, the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them. Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those brought up in royal purple now lie on ash heaps. The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her. Their princes were brighter than snow and wider than milk, their bodies more ready than rubies, their appearance like lapis lazuli. But now they are blacker than sweet, they are not recognized in the streets, their skin has shriveled on their bones, it has become as dry as a stick.

2:02Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine, racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field. With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed. The Lord has given full vent to his wrath, he has poured out his fierce anger, he kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations. The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the peoples of the world, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem, but it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous. Now they group through the streets as if they were blind, they are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments. Go away, you are unclean people cry to them. Away away don't touch us. When they flee and wander about people among the nations say they can stay here no longer. The Lord himself has scattered them, he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor. Moreover our eyes failed, looking in vain for help, from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us.

3:04People stalked us at every step so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered for our end had come, our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky, they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert. The Lord's anointed, our very life breath was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations. Rejoice and be glad, daughter Edom, you who live in the land of us. But to you also the couple be past, you will be drunk and stripped naked. Your punishment will end daughter Zion, he will not prolong your exile, but he will punish your sin, daughter Edom, and expose your wickedness. Here we see the before and after, the good that was in Jerusalem before the destruction and the exile. This describes life under exile, some of which may be metaphorical while expressing the pain and extreme opposition in the comparison. I found it so compelling to watch the Bible project's video on exile. The link is going to be in the show notes for you, but I'm going to give you a quick overview of this.

4:05So their point through this video is that exile is a concept that is throughout the Bible and it starts with the Garden of Eden. The first people had everything they needed, life was as it should be, they were at peace, they had purpose, but their disobedience led to exile from the Garden of Eden. It happened again with the Israelites who were disobedient to the covenant of God, and they were exiled to Babylon, like we read about in lamentations. And then later when they returned, it was not the promised land that it used to be. Similarly, we as human beings are in exile from creation as God intended it, because of sin and brokenness we were separated from God. And because of Christ we are restored to relationship, even though we still live in this broken world. We are part of God's plan of restoration and bringing new life to this world. Reading through these atrocities is like reading the news today. Every day just feels like a new disaster.

5:06Some of them are natural and some of them are caused by other human beings. We also have access to this news like never before, 24-7, not to mention everybody's views on the topics. It can be overwhelming to consider everything that's going on, and all of the things that we just don't have control over. We empathize with others, and we feel the tug of wondering what we can do. Lament is how we process the brokenness of this world. It's how we pray and surrender what we don't understand to God. As Dr. Glenn Packiem wrote on NTWRIT's website, lament is how we participate in the pain of others. It goes alongside action and caring for people. It's not one or the other. It's helping them to keep them in our hearts and our prayers, and it also prompts us to do what we can to donate and to give. CS Lewis famously wrote, If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world. We were not made for brokenness, for death and destruction.

6:11We know that God made us to participate in life, to be well, to thrive in community with God and with others. That is what the kingdom of heaven looks like, and we participate by making it on earth as it is in heaven. God set the example for us by becoming a human being as Jesus Christ and coming to live among us to show us what it meant to live the way that God wanted us to live, and to restore the kingdom here on earth the way that God wants to do. So all of that said, I think it's really important for us to see the brokenness in this world as difficult as it can be, and to recognize that it's not what we were made for. None of this, especially those who suffer in ways that we've never experienced. I think about Jesus seeing his friend Lazarus die and weeping over him, because that's not what we were supposed to experience. We weren't supposed to experience death and destruction and brokenness. We weren't made for it. And Jesus feels that when he comes and lives among us. It's important to be affected by this, to engage our hearts, to have empathy for others,

7:13and to mourn what we've lost. Something I shared on Substack the other day was this, your sensitive and compassionate heart allows you to know God's heart better. In fact, it makes you reflect God. A soft heart is not a weak heart. How do you feel about being exiled in this world? How does lament help us to process this? And how does it help us connect with others and with God when we do practice lament? I'll leave you with that. And tomorrow, we will spend one more day looking at lament and limitations. If you're listening to this podcast, I'm going to assume two things about you. First of all, that you're a busy person, and second, that you are in need of a restful break. Canon Beach Conference Center is the place for a beautiful coastal retreat. Whether it's one of there enriching conferences or your own church or ministry event, you can find out more at 800 745 1546 or visit cbcc.net.

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