Sunday, June 18, 2017

THE MYSTERY OF LAMENTATIONS IS LOST ON MANY PEOPLE YET IT OUGHT NOT BE. Every Person At Some Time In Life Laments Things Done, Whether Knowingly Or Unwittingly. Who has nothing to lament about? Are we not all in the same boat? Are we not all destined for the same end?

Harry Riches

Happy Riches, Answer requested by Jamar Grimsley

The author is unknown, but historically the book of Lamentations has been attributed to Jeremiah because what is written in chapter three aptly describes what he went through.

Jeremiah was leaving the city when he was taken prisoner and later thrown down a cistern that was filled with mire—or, maybe, sewage. Notice how Jeremiah says that he has become a laughingstock (Jer. 20:7) and the writer of Lamentations uses the same language (Lam 3:14). Also, it is clear that the writer of Lamentations could very well have been at the bottom of a cistern; walled in, everything was dark, and, sunk in the putrid mire, he felt enveloped and besieged with the bitterness of the people, as he suffered tribulation.
  • O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; every one mocks me. (Jeremiah 20:7)
  • So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchi′ah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mire, and Jeremiah sank in the mire. (Jeremiah 38.6)
  • I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;…he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light….besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago….He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has put heavy chains on me… I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the burden of their songs all day long. (Lamentations 3:1–14)
Although, Lamentations records what reflects the experience of Jeremiah, we can also appreciate the sufferings of Lord Jesus Christ being expressed in this lament, and even our own, as we share similar sufferings.
  • For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. (2 Corinthians 1:5)
The Bible is a book that has a historical and prophetic witness. The Bible is also a book that is a psychological and spiritual record of various individual’s perceptions when suffering. Even so, many readers still endeavor to uncover the hidden rather than understand the obvious and, because of this, are always looking for esoteric tantalizers. Not that there would be much to find of a tantalizing nature in a sewer.

However, if we are wise, we will realize that the historical elements, though relevant to the authenticity of the scriptural record, do not provide the insights of the devotional aspect that comes when meditating the moment that belongs to the now and realizing that “now never ends”. This esoteric appreciation is missing in too many expositions of Scripture because of its personal nature.

Those who attempt to prove that they are right and others are wrong, overlook what is recorded in the Bible, where the state of each individual is described, as here in Lamentations, chapter three. For unless there is a resurrection of the dead, then we may as well be cast into a walled-in sewer, consumed by the stench of bitterness that comes with the very hopelessness experienced by victims of evil tribulation.

Nonetheless, as we read in Lamentations, chapter three, there is always hope of something better while we are alive on planet Earth.

The Adventure Of Life On This Planet Is Discovering One’s Purpose For Existence

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