lost inheritance

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

lost inheritance

Lamentations 5:1-8 (JDV)

Lamentations 5:1 Yahveh, remember what has happened to us. Look, and see our disgrace!
Lamentations 5:2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners.
Lamentations 5:3 We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are widows.
Lamentations 5:4 We have to pay for the water we drink; our wood comes at a price.
Lamentations 5:5 We are closely followed; we are tired, and no one offers us rest.
Lamentations 5:6 We made a treaty with Egypt and with Assyria, to get enough food.
Lamentations 5:7 Our fathers sinned; they exist no longer, but we are bearing their punishment.
Lamentations 5:8 Slaves rule over us; no one rescues us from them.

lost inheritance

The Lamenter describes the disgrace of his nation at losing their inheritance to foreigners. He says it is because the fathers sinned, and the children are bearing their punishment. It would be that way until the nation repented, and came back to the covenant the fathers had broken.

The New Testament describes life in the flesh as a spiritual slavery. All of us are born into such a life. The good news is that there is an inheritance for all of us in Christ. We can choose to stay in slavery — even blaming God or our environment or our ancestors. But we can also choose to return to God in faith.

Lord, we choose repentance and restoration.

Posted in repentance, restoration, slavery | Tagged | Leave a comment

welcome us back

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

welcome us back

Lamentations 4:21-22 (JDV)

Lamentations 4:21 So rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom, you resident of the land of Uz! Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.
Lamentations 4:22 Daughter Zion, your punishment will be finished; he will not lengthen your exile. But he will punish your iniquity, Daughter Edom, and will expose your sins.

welcome us back

Two nations are described as delinquent daughters. Our heavenly father will punish both for their sins, exposing the world to their shame. But there will be a difference. The exile which Zion experiences will not be lengthened, which means the Father will welcome the repentant Zion back.

Lord, welcome us back. We feel the shame of our exile from you. We long for your approving presence again.

Posted in judgment, repentance | Tagged | Leave a comment

the captured king

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

the captured king

Lamentations 4:18-20 (JDV)

Lamentations 4:18 Our steps were closely followed so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end approached; our time ran out. Our end had come!
Lamentations 4:19 Those who chased us were swifter than eagles in the sky; they relentlessly pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.
Lamentations 4:20 Yahveh’s anointed, the breath of our nostrils, was captured in their traps. We had said about him, “We will live under his protection among the nations.”

the captured king

The Lamenter describes the day the unthinkable happened. God’s anointed king was captured. No one could imagine such a thing. After all, God’s king is untouchable — right? But God allowed his anointed king to be captured by the enemy. He was “the breath of our nostrils.” But God’s judgment upon his people for their sin falls on even him.

Such words remind me of the faithfulness of God to his own word. For a long time, God’s prophets warned his people of coming judgment. But they thought they were protected.

Lord, we come to you today, realizing afresh that we need your kingdom and righteousness in truth. We seek your protection by faith. We do not assume it.

Posted in dependence upon God, repentance, righteousness | Tagged | Leave a comment

we watched from our towers

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

we watched from our towers

Lamentations 4:14-17 (JDV)

Lamentations 4:14 Blind, they stumbled in the streets, defiled by this blood, so that no one dared to touch their clothes.
Lamentations 4:15 “Stay away! Unclean!” people shouted at them. “Away, away! Don’t touch us!” So they wandered aimlessly. It was said among the nations, “They can stay here no longer.”
Lamentations 4:16 Yahveh’s face has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are not respected; the elders find no favor.
Lamentations 4:17 All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help; we watched from our towers for a nation that would not save us.

we watched from our towers

In one of the Lord of the Rings movies, Pippin sneaks into the beacon at Minis Tirith and lights it, calling for help from neighboring regions. The steward of Minis Tirith had refused to light the beacons, believing that nothing could help.

The Lamenter recalls his people watching from their towers, but to no avail. In this case, there really was no nation to come to their aid.

Lord, forgive us and restore us. There is no one else.

Posted in deliverance, dependence upon God | Tagged | Leave a comment

they kindled the fire

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

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.

Posted in leadership, protection, sin | Tagged | Leave a comment

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.

Posted in compassion | Tagged | Leave a comment

cruel neglect

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

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.

Posted in compassion | Tagged | Leave a comment

discarded jars

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

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.

Posted in dependence upon God, restoration | Tagged | Leave a comment

where the hurt should go

Posted on December 29, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

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.

Posted in dependence upon God, justice, prayer | Tagged | Leave a comment

there when we call

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

Lamentations - 1

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.

Posted in dependence upon God, prayer | Tagged | Leave a comment