Introduction
In 586 B.C., the Southern Kingdom finally fell to the powerful Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar and his armies destroyed Jerusalem and took its people captive. That was the end of the glorious history of Judah. The temple was destroyed and Israel was slave to a Gentile nation. All this destruction was brought upon Judah because of its rebellion against God. 2 Chr. 36:15-21 – And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. Sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah cries over the ruins lamenting the city's tragic end. His cries, or laments, are recorded for us in the Book of Lamentations. Each chapter of this book is a different poem. In the beginning Jeremiah complains about the destruction God brought to Jerusalem. However, in the middle of chapter 3, he recognizes that God works all things for the good of those that love him and confesses his trust on the Lord. I. Momentary Depression, 18-20. A. Jeremiah reached the end of his rope, v. 18. 1. His strength had perished a. The word strength is translated by other ancient translations as "victory, splendor, and valor. b. Strength here means pride. B. Jeremiah had reached the end of his rope because of the constant remembering of what happened to Jerusalem, v. 19. 1. The destruction of Jerusalem left a bitter taste on the taste buds of his memory. a. Wormwood – very bitter, poisonous plant. b. Gall – bile secreted by liver. c. Both taste unpleasantly bitter. 2. The destruction of Jerusalem created personal agony in Jeremiah (my misery and affliction) a. The temple was gone which meant that God was gone. b. The way that the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem was terrible. c. The aftermath of the destruction was devastating, 1:3, 5, 11; 2:12, 15, 20. C. All these thoughts kept ringing in Jeremiah's mind and led into temporary depression, v. 20. 1. He spent they and night thinking about the greatness of Jerusalem and how terrible its destruction was. "They who fix their minds too much on the remembrance of their evils, by degrees open the door to Satan, who may fill their hearts and all their thoughts with despair." John Calvin 2. His soul was downcast within him (not humbled; perhaps humiliated). {TRANSITION: The thought of what had happened to Jerusalem had caused Jeremiah to go into a temporary depression. However, such depression only lasted till he took his eyes off of what had happened and put them on the Faithful Lord.} II. Out of Depression into Rejoicing, 21-23.
A. When Jeremiah focused on the Lord, hope was restored to him, 21. 1. "This" is referring to the content of verses 22-23 "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." ESV 2. Nothing had changed around Jeremiah, only his attitude and focus – "I RECALL TO MY MIND" 3. A lesson to all Christians a. All Christians will face adversity in their lives in varying degrees. b. All Christians will have moments of despair and doubt like Jeremiah. c. What you do in these moments of despair and doubt is what is going to make the different. 1) You can dwell in your despair and bury yourself in self-pity and blame God. 2) You can, like Jeremiah, turn your eyes upon Jesus and be strengthened in the hope of his faithfulness. 3) If you chose to dwell in your despair, it will lead into sinful, self-destruction. 4) If you chose to focus on Jesus, you will rejoice in the Lord always. Phil. 3:13b-14 – This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Rom. 8:28-30 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. B. The content of Jeremiah's hope, 22-23. 1. Jeremiah realizes three things: a. Jeremiah realized that Judah deserved all that had happened to it and much more. b. Jeremiah realized that the fact that God left a remnant is an undeserving blessing. c. Ultimately, Jeremiah realized the sinful, wretched nature of man. Rom. 3:23 – … all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. 2. Because of the Lord's mercy Judah was not consumed, 22. a. The word "mercy" means "covenant faithfulness" or "covenant lovingkindness." b. Because Israel's God was a covenant God, Israel was not entirely destroyed. 1) God's mercy toward Israel is based upon his covenants with Israel. 2) As long as these covenants stand, God will be merciful to Israel. 3. Our God is the same God of Israel. a. We too are not consumed because of his covenant faithfulness or lovingkindness. b. If you believe Christ, then God has made a covenant with you called the New Covenant and you will not be consumed. c. If you don't believe in Christ, then God has not made a covenant with you and you will be consumed. You will be the subject of God's wrath. 4. Because of God's compassion Israel was not consumed, 22. a. The word compassion is related to the word for womb. b. It describes the tender, caring love of a mother. c. God is the Father of those who believe in Christ and as a loving Father he sometimes chastens us. 5. This compassion and this mercy cannot be used up, 23. a. As long as there is a morning, God will be compassionate and merciful. b. No matter how much we grieve him; we can never exhaust his mercy and compassion. 6. Our God is compassionate, merciful, and he is also FAITHFUL, 23. 1 Thess. 5:23-24 … the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calls you, who also will do it. 2 Thess. 3:2 – The Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from evil. 1 Jn. 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Rev. 19:11 – I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. a. God is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to him. 2 Tim. 2:11-13 – It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he remains faithful: he cannot deny himself. b. The whole book of Hosea is about God's faithfulness to a wayward people. c. Another example of God's faithfulness when his people didn't deserve is found in Ezra. Ezra 9:5-15 – At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God. And I said: "O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. And now for a little while grace has been shownfrom the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.' And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve,and have given us such deliverance as this, should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would beno remnant or survivor? O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!" {TRANSITION: Jeremiah took the eyes of his mind away from what had happened to Israel and to himself and looked to God. As he did that his hope was renewed in him.} A. This new hope is based on God's sufficiency. 1. The word portion can be a little misleading. 2. When Jeremiah says the "The Lord is his portion" he means God is all he has. a. Everything else when compared to God is the same as nothing. b. God alone is sufficient for him. 3. If God alone is sufficient for us, then even in time of need or trial we will not be desperate because we have our God and that's all we need. 4. On the other hand, if God is our portion it means that he is for us. If God is for us who can be against us? B. Jeremiah's belief in God's sufficiency for him comes from the deepest part of his being (SAYS MY SOUL). C. What is this hope, anyway? 1. Jeremiah's hope was in the coming Messiah 2. This hope is a confident expectation. 3. For those that believe in Christ the hope is this 1 Pt. 1:3 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…. Rom. 8:24 – For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? c. It is a confident expectation of our Lord's return for us d. It is only for those that believe in Christ. If you don't believe in Christ you don't have any hope. e. The confession of our hope is that Jesus is Lord. Conclusion
Jeremiah wept over Jerusalem's ruins. He became so involved in what had happened to his beloved city that he lost all strength and all hope. However, he did not stay in that state for very long. He turned to God who is merciful, compassionate, and faithful. His turning to God renewed the hope within him because then he knew that what he needed was God. That's where our joy is: realizing that God in Christ is our hope. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2015/08/great-is-your-faithfulness-lam-318-25.html
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