they kindled the fire

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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they kindled the fire

Lamentations 4:11-13 (JDV)

Lamentations 4:11 Yahveh has exhausted his wrath, poured out his burning anger; he has ignited a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.
Lamentations 4:12 The kings of the land and all the world’s inhabitants did not believe that an enemy or adversary could enter Jerusalem’s gates.
Lamentations 4:13 Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous within her.

they kindled the fire

The prophets and priests had a divine commission to lead and protect the people. Their sins removed the barrier of protection from the people and kindled the fire that God ignited in Zion. Even the inhabitants and kings of other lands did not believe it possible that Jerusalem could experience such defeat and invasion. It all happened because those in authority failed to defend the innocent.

Oh Father, give us leaders who have the courage to protect the righteous and condemn the wicked.

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worse than Sodom

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

worse than Sodom

Lamentations 4:6-10 (JDV)

Lamentations 4:6 The punishment of my dear people is greater than that of Sodom, who was overthrown in an instant without a hand laid on it.
Lamentations 4:7 Her dignitaries were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than coral, their appearance like lapis lazuli.
Lamentations 4:8 Now they appear darker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become dry like wood.
Lamentations 4:9 Those killed by the sword are better off than those killed by hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.
Lamentations 4:10 The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children; they became their food during the destruction of my dear people.

worse than Sodom

The Lamenter looks on the devastation of Jerusalem and concludes that it has suffered more that Sodom, which was destroyed by fire from heaven. It has suffered more than a city overtaken by an army with swords, because its pain has lasted longer. To die in battle is one thing. To die slowly from starvation is another entirely. Those who are wasting away from hunger lose all their compassion — even for their own.

We can turn our backs on those who are starving. We can devise all kinds of excuses. But our God challenges us to be his instruments of restoration for the communities around us suffering. He does not need any more instruments of suffering and judgment. But he challenges us to have compassion.

Lord, forgive us for ignoring the suffering. May this new year be one in which your people demonstrated your compassion.

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cruel neglect

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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cruel neglect

Lamentations 4:3-5 (JDV)

Lamentations 4:3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my dear people have become cruel like ostriches in the wilderness.
Lamentations 4:4 The nursing baby’s tongue clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst. Infants beg for food, but no one gives them any.
Lamentations 4:5 Those who used to eat delicacies are destitute in the streets; those who were reared in purple garments huddle in piles of garbage.

cruel neglect

The precious children starve, victims of cruel neglect. Will we allow God to speak to us with this ugly image? How many precious children around us are starving due to our cruel neglect? How many who could be reared in purple garments huddle in piles of garbage instead?

We have told ourselves that they are not our problem. We might even pray for them and ask God to help them. But what if our compassionate God wants us to intervene and restore them?

Lord, forgive us for our cruel neglect. Show us how to invest ourselves in the children and families around us who could benefit from our attention. May this coming new year be a year where we see the hurt and neglected around us, and take action.

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discarded jars

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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discarded jars

Lamentations 4:1-2 (JDV)

Lamentations 4:1 How the gold has become tarnished, the fine gold become dull! The stones of the temple lie scattered at the head of every street.
Lamentations 4:2 Zion’s precious children – once worth their weight in pure gold – how they are treated like clay jars, the work of a potter’s hands!

discarded jars

The destroyed temple was a symbol of the destroyed people — discarded like empty clay jars. Do you feel like that? Pray this prayer with me.

Lord, we feel discarded, deemed worthless by the world around us. We need your restoration. We long to be acknowledged as your precious children again.

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where the hurt should go

Posted on December 29, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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where the hurt should go

Lamentations 3:64-66 (JDV)

Lamentations 3:64 You will pay them back what they deserve, Yahveh, according to the work of their hands.
Lamentations 3:65 You will give them a heart filled with anguish. May your curse be on them!
Lamentations 3:66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them under your sky, Yahveh.

where the hurt should go

The hurt is real, and it has to go somewhere. We should all learn from the Lamenter and let God pay back those who have wronged us. If we choose the path of revenge, the hurt does not stop. It escalates.

Lord, we give top you our pain. Bring justice. We will wait on you, and trust you to right wrongs.

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there when we call

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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there when we call

Lamentations 3:57-63 (JDV)

Lamentations 3:57 You came near whenever I called you; you said, “Do not be afraid.”
Lamentations 3:58 You championed my cause, Lord; you redeemed my life.
Lamentations 3:59 Yahveh, you saw the wrong done to me; judge my case.
Lamentations 3:60 You saw all their vengefulness, all their plots against me.
Lamentations 3:61 Yahveh, you heard their insults, all their plots against me.
Lamentations 3:62 The slander and murmuring of my opponents attack me all day long.
Lamentations 3:63 When they sit and when they get up, look, I am ridiculed by their songs.

there when we call

The Lamenter’s God is not a distant, remote idea. He is a God who comes near when we call, who redeems the life of those about to die, who sees every wrong done, and hears every insult, plot, slander and murmuring.

That’s why the Lamenter can confidently draw near to God and request deliverance — not only for himself, but for his beloved city.

Lord, thank you for being there when we call — there to rescue.

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he heard our plea

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

he heard our plea

Lamentations 3:52-56 (JDV)

Lamentations 3:52 For no reason, my enemies hunted me like a bird.
Lamentations 3:53 They silenced my life in a pit and threw stones on me.
Lamentations 3:54 Water flooded over my head, and I thought, “I’m going to die!”
Lamentations 3:55 I called on your name, Yahveh, from the depths of the pit.
Lamentations 3:56 You heard my plea: Do not ignore my cry for relief.

he heard our plea

The Lamenter recounts his experience of deliverance from the threat of death, then reminds God of the experience. Why? Because he is now asking God for relief from suffering he has seen in Jerusalem. Surely the God who saved him does not want his city to continue to suffer.

When we pray, we should often go back to cross. God does not need the reminder that he bought us with the precious blood of his Son. But we need to remind ourselves that he has invested in us. Such reminders will bolster our determination to pray through our own struggles, because they keep us aware of his investment in our lives.

Lord, thank you for hearing our plea for deliverance. Deliver us again!

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unstoppable grief

Posted on December 26, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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unstoppable grief

Lamentations 3:48-51 (JDV)

Lamentations 3:48 My eyes flow with streams of tears because of the destruction of my dear people.
Lamentations 3:49 My eyes overflow unceasingly, without stopping,
Lamentations 3:50 until Yahveh looks down from the sky and sees.
Lamentations 3:51 My eyes bring me grief because of the fate of all the daughters in my city.

unstoppable grief

Even those of us who seldom get “emotional” feel the emotions. The closer we look at our life choices, and the lives we are left with as a result of them, the more we cry out to God.

The Lamenter did not have to look deep to find destruction, despair and a sense of hopelessness. His people and his city had reaped the consequences of their own failures, and their lives were a mess. Sadness overtook them.

Our God is there for times like that, and times like this. If you are crying out to God, you are in the right place, and doing the right thing.

Lord, only you can handle our times of unstoppable grief.

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access denied

Posted on December 25, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

access denied

Lamentations 3:40-47 (JDV)

Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine and probe our ways, and turn back to Yahveh.
Lamentations 3:41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in the sky:
Lamentations 3:42 “We have sinned and rebelled; you have not forgiven.
Lamentations 3:43 “You have covered yourself in anger and pursued us; you have killed without compassion.
Lamentations 3:44 You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.
Lamentations 3:45 You have made us disgusting filth among the peoples.
Lamentations 3:46 “All our enemies open their mouths against us.
Lamentations 3:47 We have experienced panic and pitfall, devastation and destruction.”

access denied

I am going through the Bible and commenting on the text, so I do not plan a special text for holidays. This passage depicts the terrible state of Judah and Jerusalem during the exile. It speaks of God covering himself in a warrior’s mantle of homicidal anger, and with a cloud so that no prayer can get through to bring reconciliation. Access denied.

If God had chosen to continue covering himself thus, we would all be hopelessly lost. But the good news of the gospel (and Christmas) is that he uncovered himself, and visited us in the form of a little child. Wise men and shepherds — and everyone in-between — benefit from God’s choice to come down from the sky, giving us access to himself again.

Lord, thank you for your grace, wrapped up in a little baby.

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cause for celebration

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

cause for celebration

Lamentations 3:37-39 (JDV)

Lamentations 3:37 Who is there who speaks and it happens, unless the Lord has ordained it?
Lamentations 3:38 Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
Lamentations 3:39 Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins?

cause for celebration

The prophets spoke of a coming Messiah who would be born king of Israel. He would be a savior. He would also suffer and die for our sins. They spoke of this coming Christ because God ordained it. You and I celebrate Christmas because a sovereign God could punish us all for our sins, but he chose to rescue those who put their faith in Christ.

If we were to suffer for our sins, we would have no reason to complain, because we deserve it. The fact that Christ offers us a way out, is cause for celebration.

Merry Christmas.

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