“Honest to God” An Intro to Lamentations

~ Lamentations 3:19-24 ~

~ Lamentations 3:19-24 ~

A Sacred Sorrow

Studies in the book of

Lamentations

~ The Season of Lent 2017 ~

Finding Your Voice When Life Doesn’t Make Sense

“Honest to God” An Intro to Lamentations

~ Lamentations 3:19-24 ~

19 Remember my afflictionsand my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!

20 My soul continually remembers itand is bowed down within me.

21 But this I call to mind,and therefore I have hope:

Lamentations 3:19-24

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion” says my soul,“Therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:19-24

We need the book of Lamentations because...

……...we need to remember the pain of the past.

12 Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by,look and see,

if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which the Lord inflictedon the day of his fierce anger.

Lamentations 1:12

“Part of the horror of human suffering is to be unheard, forgotten and nameless… Lamenta-tions is a summons to

remember realities endured by real people like ourselves, to bear witness, and pay heed

to their voice.

Quick Fact # 1

God called Abraham and promised to bless the world through him and his family.

Quick Fact # 2

Abraham’s family became known as the nation of Israel—

a nation who was supposed to be a model society.

Quick Fact # 3

Instead of being a blessing, Israel became exceedingly wicked, even teaching the nations new ways to sin.

Quick Fact # 4

God sent prophets to call them back to God in repentance, but they were ignored (& worse).

Quick Fact # 5

Israel thinking herself invincible provoked Babylon to war, and

Babylon utterly destroyed them.

605BC

605BC

605BC 597BC

605BC 597BC

605BC 597BC 587/6BC

605BC 597BC 587/6BC

This was unquestionably the most traumatic moment

in the whole history of the OT.

”~ Christopher Wright The Message ofLamentations

“

“And it came to pass after Israel had gone into captivity, and Jerusalem was laid waste, that Jeremiah sat

weeping and composed this lament over Jerusalem….”

Introduction to the Septuagint(the Greek Translation of the OT in 2BC)

Lamentations helps us to remember and enter into

the sorrow of people just like us.

We need the book of Lamentations because...

……...we need to learn the language of Lament.

Woven throughout Scripture is an unguarded type of

prayer known as lament. To lament is to ask ‘Why?’ and ‘Why not?’ as well as ‘What

are you doing God?’ and ‘Where are you?’ To lament is to pour out our hearts, holding

nothing back. It is to pray without trying to be more full of faith than we actually are.

“Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”

~ Psalm 10:1

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from

saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my

God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by

night, but I find no rest.”~ Psalm 22:1

“Awake! Why are you sleeping Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do you

hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For our soul is

bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us

for the sake of your steadfast love!”

~ Psalm 44:23ff.

“It seems to me that we do not need to be taught how to lament.

What we need is simply the assurance that we can lament.”

~ Michael Card, A Sacred Sorrow

Lamentations helps us to find our voice when life doesn’t make sense.

We need the book of Lamentations because...

……...we need to wrestle honestly with God.

Is there a God? No. What is the purpose of the universe? There is none. What is the meaning of life? Ditto. Why

am I here? Just dumb luck…

Does history have any meaning or purpose?

It’s full of sound and fury, but signifies nothing.

Where are you, God?If you care, then why…?

Where are you, God?If you care, then why…?

Is God good?Can he be trusted?

Lament is prayer that honors the honesty of pain and anger while also honouring the truth

that God is the one who reigns and whose hesed love never fails. Lament holds in tension all the suffering that

seems to make no sense with a determination to believe

that God is just.

Lament draws us to God when we are tempted to turn away. Lament enables us to keep moving forward with

perseverance…; it is a way to remain deeply connected to the God who loves us and loves justice even when

injustice makes us ask the hardest questions of God.

Lamentations helps our troubled faith

to seek understanding.

Let’s walk with Jeremiah over the next 5 weeks leading up to Easter.

1

Let’s begin to practice the language of lament

2

“Why are Christians, of all people, embarrassed by tears,

uneasy in the presence of sorrow, unpracticed in the

language of lament? It certainly not a biblical heritage, for virtually all our ancestors in

the faith were thoroughly ‘acquainted with grief.’ And our

Saviour was, as everyone knows, ‘a Man of Sorrows.’”

~ Eugene Peterson, Author

Let’s long for Christ’s kingdom to come

3

“This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord

never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.”

other images used for educational purpose

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Image Credit

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