Reply To: Jeremiah & Lamentations

[Victor Usher]

Jeremiah

For four decades Jeremiah was ridiculed for preaching the message to the people who rejected Gods authority over their lives. Who would’ve thought getting a message from God would bring so much opposition. God had informed Jeremiah to call the people out because of their pride. The message spoken was so raw that the people took offense and imprisoned, mocked, and even persecuted Jeremiah. Gods purpose was to create a new covenant. Babylon also destroyed Jerusalem.

Lamentations

God had promised to discipline Israel as a nation for refusal to keep covenant promises. God was really upset and expressed his anger on the people which in turn lead to repentance. This kind of opened my eyes a little bit on situations in my life. To see that even though Jeremiah was warning the people of what was to come, the anger of God came, and even though he wasn’t responsibile for any of it, he still suffered with the people. That’s shocking! In Lamentations 1:4 (NLT) it states, “The roads to Jerusalem are in mourning, for crowds no longer come to celebrate the festivals. The city gates are silent, her priest groan, her young women are crying, how bitter is her fate.” This looks like a very sad scene. Later on in the chapters we read that with honest and sincere repentance, the people then looked to God and prayed for mercy and restoration.