A Shepherd's Concern for the Future, Part 3

Learning from history is important to building our future. We should not ignore the mistakes of past leaders, nations, and people. They are tools for us; their destruction can be our instruction (Brian Simmons).

A Weighty Past

The past is a weight we can never truly escape. Like a "pick your own adventure" story, our past choices create an almost inescapable future. It is "almost inescapable" in that our present choices change the future. No decisions escape secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consequences, reflecting back to the Judeo-Christian God speaking of consequences flowing to the third and fourth generations (Exodus 20:5-6). English literature's great dystopian novels exist within this construct. Published in 1949, Orwell's 1984 examines a world where totalitarianism is allowed to reign free. Huxley's Brave, New World, published in 1932, imagines a world where science and efficiency are all that matter. The past impacts the future, and often in ways we cannot see.

A Call to Repentance

The Old Testament prophets understood this very well. Samuel warned the Israelites that their desire for a king and to be like the other nations would end poorly for them (1 Samuel 8:10-22). Isaiah and Jeremiah warned the Judeans that their continual practice of external worship and internal hypocrisy would bring God's wrath upon them, and they ... would ... lose ... it ... all. See Isaiah 5, for example. This is my fear for the American Evangelical Church, which is so caught up in a lust for power, a desire for God's Kingdom here and now in the physical realm, a warped view of a Jesus and what it means to be His followers that God's wrath MUST be delivered, or He is not a God of truth. Thankfully, He is also a God of mercy, and there is perhaps still time for us to repent and turn back to Him. Thus, this series of writings on Lamentations. I ask you to join me in praying that each member of the Christian Church (not the American nation!) repent, come to a true understanding of God's Kingdom and His Son, Jesus Christ, and turn from our wicked ways, that God will restore us once more.

Chapter 1 (A Shepherd's Concern for the Future of the Flock) is more of a plea that we remember how one should walk with God. Chapter 2 (A Shepherd's Concern for the Future, Part 2) is a reminder that God will not be mocked forever by His adulterous children and mercy is withdrawn. Chapter 3 is a vivid illustration of how God's judgement looks/feels/tastes/sounds/smells. It is gruesome. However, mixed throughout the chapter are reminders that God, like the father of the runaway son (Luke 15), awaits the return of His children. There is hope to be had, even in the midst of tragedy.

Lamentations 3

• 3:1-20, 43 highlights the author's personal sufferings, especially as they arise FROM THE LORD HIMSELF (let that sink in)!

  • The Lord has withdrawn His light and forced the writer to walk in darkness (v. 2);

  • The Lord has shut out the writer's prayer (v. 8);

  • The Lord IS the enemy of His own people! (v. 10);

  • The Lord's people are a laughingstock and mocked (v. 14);

  • The Lord's people are abandoned (v. 20);

  • The Lord has armored Himself with anger and is pursuing His people as a warrior! (v. 43).

    --This is a terrifying passage for any believer to read. God Himself has actively severed His relationship with His own people. He allows His reputation to be mocked as discipline for His people who had already made a mockery thereof! We sing of God's goodness, we boast of His blessings, we claim His mercies, all while actively pushing policies and promoting people 180-degrees away from His truth.

    
    

• 3:21-39 & 52-58 insert that most necessary of spiritual attitudes--HOPE! God withdraws Himself only for a season and always with intention.

  • The author draws upon 6 reasons to hope in the middle of destruction and destitution (v. 21-26)--

    • God's unceasing kindness,

    • His never-ending compassion,

    • His abundant faithfulness,

    • His character and promises,

    • His goodness,

    • His coming deliverance.

  • v. 27-39 answer one of life's most painful questions--"Why do bad things happen to good people?" The answer is this ... God's discipline is always purposeful.

    • We learn strength and working in unity with others (v. 27);

    • We learn to listen (v. 28);

    • We learn to experience God's compassion in due time (v. 32);

    • We learn to depend on the Lord for and in all things (v. 37-39).

  • v. 52-58 return back to hope based on the author's past experiences. God Himself came through in previous dire straits; the writer trusts He will do so again.

    --Humans cannot live without hope. Believers find our hope in a God who works with intention and purpose; He works for our good! So many who have fallen away from the faith have done so because they did not understand their own culpability or did not appreciate the opportunity to grow in faith. Hope is found in God's past actions (thus, the importance of the Old Testament and testimony for Christians) and in His promises.

• 3:40-51 are the author's call for penitence. God has acted; the people have suffered; there is hope to be found, but the stimulus is penitence, and the author highlights three steps of penitence:

  • examine self carefully (v. 40);

  • confess both personal & corporate sin and confess the extent of God's disciplinary actions [look how far He had to go to get our attention!] (vv. 41-47);

  • let your heart be broken for self and for your people (vv. 48-51). It's gotta get personal ....

    --Mom used to fuss because I would, as a child, inadvertently break something precious to her, and then flippantly say, "I'm sorry." She fussed because she knew I was not truly sorry and therefore my actions would not change and more stuff would break (of course, she could have taken dusting duty away from me, and that would have solved both our problems!). True repentance involves a change in behavior, and this is what the author is seeking. "Repent, so we can get out of this mess sooner!"

    
    

• 3:58-66 serve as a cautionary note for all modern-day believers. Too often, Christians are motivated by revenge. The other political party is at fault ... the President is incompetent and allowed x, y, and z to happen ... a Christian person or organization did not get its way and that's persecution ... beat them up! Put them in jail! Sue them! I do not in any way think Christians should simply be doormats, but Scripture is pretty clear--"Vengeance is mine, says the Lord" (Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:19). The Church too often concerns Herself with getting even and not enough with peace, love, faith, and letting God handle the business.

Prayer

Father, we are in danger of stepping so far away from You that You Yourself will turn against us, Your people! The very idea that You may withdraw our access to You, that You may turn off Your light and leave us stumble in darkness, that You may pursue us in armor of righteous anger is ... o Lord, may it never be! We could not survive, for You are life and light and mercy. And yet, so many seem to be asking for these things to happen. Please turn Your people back to Yourself!

O Lord, I confess to You my own sin. Too often have I turned my back on the poor; too often have I sought to cheat others; too often have I desired my neighbor's wife and goods; too often have I turned away from Your path in order to follow my own. I confess these to You, asking for Your forgiveness and mercy, recognizing that my stubbornness has driven You to anger.

Lord, I confess the sins of Your Church. She has committed idolatry, asking human beings to save. She has glorified sin and called it righteousness. She has lusted after power and cheered as the least among us have been dragged off of the streets. She has sought justice and forgotten mercy. She has abandoned You and followed false teachers, allying Herself with those openly opposed to Your ways. We have sought vengeance on our terms, usurping Your authority. We confess that this rebellion has driven You to anger and that You are allowing Your own reputation to be mocked and Your own character to be sullied. Lord, we ask for Your forgiveness.

Father, we cannot live without Your presence. Please do not withdraw that from us. We cannot live without Your spirit. Please do not take Him away. We ask that You remove lying spirits from church and political leaders. We ask that Your Church once more become the shining light that She is called to be and that She bring You all the honor and all the glory and all the majesty that She has sought for herself. May Your Name be kept holy by the People of God.

In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit we pray ... Amen.