Friday – Prophets

Reading – Lamentations 2

Highlight Verse:

“All the strength of Israel vanishes beneath his fierce anger. The Lord has withdrawn his protection as the enemy attacks. He consumes the whole land of Israel like a raging fire.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Most of this chapter is Jeremiah lamenting what God does to Jerusalem and Judea.

Jeremiah seems to be adding up the bad things God has done against Israel, like God was personally responsible for it.

What did God really do there?

He withdrew his hand of protection from the land.

And then Jeremiah writes about the terrible things God did.

Keep in mind that Jeremiah was a prophet.

As such, he could speak with the mouth of God. That is, God is speaking these things to and through him.

It is God’s broken heart that carries the pain of seeing Israel destroyed to the point of taking the blame upon Himself like a Father who failed to protect His children.

Only He didn’t fail. It was a painful part of His plan. Very painful, but it was still part of His plan of redemption.

As such, we get a glimpse of the heart of God, who was willing to go through the pain of being seen as hurting His children.

Lamentations are not just Jeremiah lamenting the fall of Jerusalem, it is God’s lament for Jerusalem’s fall.

Have you gone through times when it feels like God is attacking you?
Were you able to see the bigger picture of God’s hand on the plan for your life afterward?