Have you ever found yourself speechless in the face of overwhelming tragedy, unable to find the words to express your grief?
In Lamentations 2, we enter into the profound silence that follows the devastation of Jerusalem, as the city’s inhabitants grapple with the unimaginable horrors that have befallen them. Join us as we journey through this poignant chapter, wrestling with the weight of sorrow and seeking solace amidst the silence.
Reconnect: As we delve into Lamentations 2, we are confronted with the stark reality of Jerusalem’s destruction and the profound silence that envelops the city in its aftermath. The once-vibrant metropolis now lies in ruins, its streets deserted and its people left to grapple with the agony of loss and despair. In this chapter, we encounter themes of mourning, lamentation, and the haunting echoes of a once-thriving city now reduced to silence.
(Summarized and continued after scripture)
God’s Anger over Israel
1How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion
With a cloud in His anger!
He has cast from heaven to earth
The glory of Israel,
And has not remembered His footstool
In the day of His anger.
2The Lord has swallowed up; He has not spared
All the habitations of Jacob.
In His wrath He has thrown down
The strongholds of the daughter of Judah;
He has brought them down to the ground;
He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
3In fierce anger He has cut off
All the strength of Israel;
He has drawn back His right hand
From before the enemy.
And He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire
Consuming round about.
4He has bent His bow like an enemy;
He has set His right hand like an adversary
And slain all that were pleasant to the eye;
In the tent of the daughter of Zion
He has poured out His wrath like fire.
5The Lord has become like an enemy.
He has swallowed up Israel;
He has swallowed up all its palaces,
He has destroyed its strongholds
And multiplied in the daughter of Judah
Mourning and moaning.
6And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth;
He has destroyed His appointed meeting place.
The LORD has caused to be forgotten
The appointed feast and sabbath in Zion,
And He has despised king and priest
In the indignation of His anger.
7The Lord has rejected His altar,
He has abandoned His sanctuary;
He has delivered into the hand of the enemy
The walls of her palaces.
They have made a noise in the house of the LORD
As in the day of an appointed feast.
8The LORD determined to destroy
The wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has stretched out a line,
He has not restrained His hand from destroying,
And He has caused rampart and wall to lament;
They have languished together.
9Her gates have sunk into the ground,
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her princes are among the nations;
The law is no more.
Also, her prophets find
No vision from the LORD.
10The elders of the daughter of Zion
Sit on the ground, they are silent.
They have thrown dust on their heads;
They have girded themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Have bowed their heads to the ground.
11My eyes fail because of tears,
My spirit is greatly troubled;
My heart is poured out on the earth
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
When little ones and infants faint
In the streets of the city.
12They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and wine?”
As they faint like a wounded man
In the streets of the city,
As their life is poured out
On their mothers’ bosom.
13How shall I admonish you?
To what shall I compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
To what shall I liken you as I comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is as vast as the sea;
Who can heal you?
14Your prophets have seen for you
False and foolish visions;
And they have not exposed your iniquity
So as to restore you from captivity,
But they have seen for you false and misleading oracles.
15All who pass along the way
Clap their hands in derision at you;
They hiss and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem,
“Is this the city of which they said,
‘The perfection of beauty,
A joy to all the earth’?”
16All your enemies
Have opened their mouths wide against you;
They hiss and gnash their teeth.
They say, “We have swallowed her up!
Surely this is the day for which we waited;
We have reached it, we have seen it.”
17The LORD has done what He purposed;
He has accomplished His word
Which He commanded from days of old.
He has thrown down without sparing,
And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you;
He has exalted the might of your adversaries.
18Their heart cried out to the Lord,
“O wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let your tears run down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief,
Let your eyes have no rest.
19“Arise, cry aloud in the night
At the beginning of the night watches;
Pour out your heart like water
Before the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to Him
For the life of your little ones
Who are faint because of hunger
At the head of every street.”
20See, O LORD, and look!
With whom have You dealt thus?
Should women eat their offspring,
The little ones who were born healthy?
Should priest and prophet be slain
In the sanctuary of the Lord?
21On the ground in the streets
Lie young and old;
My virgins and my young men
Have fallen by the sword.
You have slain them in the day of Your anger,
You have slaughtered, not sparing.
22You called as in the day of an appointed feast
My terrors on every side;
And there was no one who escaped or survived
In the day of the LORD’S anger.
Those whom I bore and reared,
My enemy annihilated them.
Summary Key Points:
- A City Laid Waste: Lamentations 2 paints a harrowing picture of Jerusalem’s devastation, describing the city as a desolate wasteland laid waste by the hand of God. The once-glorious capital now lies in ruins, its walls breached, its temple defiled, and its people left to wander the streets in search of solace.
- Divine Judgment and Desolation: The destruction of Jerusalem is seen as a manifestation of divine judgment, a consequence of the city’s rebellion and sin. God’s wrath is depicted as fierce and relentless, sparing no one in its path as it lays waste to the once-proud city and its inhabitants.
- The Silence of Grief: Amidst the ruins of Jerusalem, we encounter the profound silence of grief, as the city’s inhabitants are left speechless in the face of unimaginable tragedy. The streets that once echoed with the sounds of life and laughter now lie silent, haunted by the memories of what once was.
Call to Action:
- Sit in Silence and Lament: Take time to sit in silence and lament the brokenness and suffering in our world, acknowledging the pain and sorrow that exists both individually and collectively. Allow yourself to grieve honestly and openly, knowing that God hears the cries of the brokenhearted and offers comfort in times of distress.
- Seek God’s Presence in the Silence: In the midst of the silence, seek God’s presence and companionship, knowing that He is near to the brokenhearted and the downtrodden. Find solace in His promises of comfort and restoration, trusting that He is able to bring beauty from ashes and joy from mourning.
- Bear Witness to the Suffering of Others: As you lament the brokenness in our world, commit to bearing witness to the suffering of others and extending compassion and support wherever it is needed. Stand in solidarity with those who are marginalized and oppressed, advocating for justice and mercy in the midst of despair.
Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, we come before You with heavy hearts, mourning the brokenness and suffering in our world. As we sit in silence and lament, we pray for Your presence to surround us, bringing comfort and hope in the midst of despair. Help us to bear witness to the suffering of others, extending Your love and compassion to all who are in need. Amen.
May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you.
John Golda
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