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The book of Lamentations contains a powerful lesson in faith and hope, affirming that Yahuwah is a God who keeps His promises—all of them. |
A delivery truck driver, miscalculating the amount of clearance he had above his truck, managed to wedge it under a bridge. Police soon gathered. The city engineer was called. How to get the truck out without irreparably damaging the bridge was a complicated problem. A little boy, attracted by all the bustle and confusion, was puzzled when he heard what had the adults in such confusion.
“Why don’t you just let the air out of the tires?” he asked matter-of-factly. Such a simple solution to a challenging situation! We often become so focused on our own narrow point-of-view that we miss important lessons. At such times, we need to take a step back and shift our focus to a different perspective.
Times of trial challenge our faith. The loss of a child, the loss of a friendship or a marriage, even the loss of a job can leave us feeling confused, floundering or questioning the point of life. At such times, it is very easy to wonder whether Yahuwah really cares. Some people question if perhaps Yahuwah is punishing them for past mistakes. If we’re not careful, times of pain and vulnerability can have a negative impact on our faith. But it doesn’t have to! We just need to change our perspective, and that’s where the book of Lamentations comes in.
Jeremiah had spent his life warning Judah of the impending Babylonian invasion as divine judgment for forsaking Yahuwah. Finally, the long-awaited judgment had come, and Judah was in ruins, its people taken to a foreign land. Jeremiah’s heart-rending anguish is apparent in the opening words of Lamentations:
How deserted lies the city,
once so full of people!
How like a widow is she,
who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
has now become a slave.
Judah has gone into exile.
She dwells among the nations;
she finds no resting place.
Her foes have become her masters;
her enemies are at ease.
Yahuwah has brought her grief
because of her many sins. (Lamentations 1:1, 3, and 5)
If anyone had reason for feeling utterly forsaken by Yahuwah, it was the people of Judah.
And yet, in the night of her darkest trial, Jeremiah saw hope, and he saw it in the most unlikely of places!
Make no mistake, Jeremiah felt forsaken by Yah. He mourned, “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. Surely He has turned His hand against me.
Time and time again throughout the day. Even when I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer.” (Lamentations 3:1, 3, and 8.)
And yet, even in the midst of his anguish, Jeremiah clung to his knowledge of Yahuwah’s character. He knew he served a God of love.
I remember my affliction and … my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of Yahuwah’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “Yahuwah is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
Yahuwah is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of Yahuwah. (Lamentations 3:19-26)
Remembering Yahuwah’s character of love clarified to Jeremiah that the destruction of Judah was itself proof that Yahuwah keeps His promises!
Clear back in Deuteronomy 29, Moses had warned Israel what would happen if they turned to other gods. Their country would be so utterly destroyed, Moses predicted, that other nations would be aghast.
All the nations will ask: “Why has Yahuwah done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?”
And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of Yahuwah, the God of their ancestors, the covenant He made with them when He brought them out of Egypt. They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods He had not given them.” (Deuteronomy 29:24-26)
Jeremiah realized that the appalling destruction of Judah by Babylon was itself the fulfillment of Yahuwah’s promises! Shifting his perspective gave Jeremiah the assurance he needed to trust in Yahuwah, because if Yah kept His promises to destroy Israel for apostasy, then He would also keep His promises to restore Israel when they once again turned to Him.
For no one is cast off
by Yahuwah forever.
Though He brings grief, He will show compassion,
so great is His unfailing love.
For He does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone. (Lamentations 3:31-33)
The very fact that we’re living in a world of sin is a guarantee that, at some point in life, we’ll experience heart-breaking sorrow, confusion, and loss. The Word of Yahuwah warns us that “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) We’re not unique in suffering in a world of sin. Paul said, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” (Romans 8:22) Suffering does not always mean that we have been singled out to be punished by Yahuwah. Don’t fall for that demonic lie. Suffering is simply part of living in a sinful world; it is what Yahushua wanted to save us from in the first place! And the more we surrender, the more we bring our lives into alignment with His will, the happier we will be. (See Hebrews 12:1-8.)
But the very fact that sin has brought suffering—just as Yahuwah warned that it would—is itself proof that Yahuwah keeps His promises. Regardless of how bleak the future looks, regardless of the pain you’re in, you can trust Yahuwah to keep His promises. He will send Yahushua to set up His everlasting kingdom. “And [Yahuwah] will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
