After ending the first
paragraph of the first chapter of the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah
turns his attention toward those who are looking upon Jerusalem and
its plight. In chapter one and verse twelve we read:
Is it nothing to you, all you that pass by? behold, and
see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto
me, wherewith the LORD has afflicted me in the day of his
fierce anger.
The
verse begins, “Is it nothing to you, all
you that pass by?” As Jeremiah
shares the question of Jerusalem's people, he employs the Hebrew word
“adar” which is this entire phrase “ Is it
nothing to you, all you that pass” and
means “to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring,
carry, do away, take, take away, or transgress”. The people of
Jerusalem want to know if there is no consideration from strangers or
their neighbors for their destruction as they look upon them while
they “pass” “by” or which means along the “way,
road, distance, or journey”.
The
verse goes on to say, “behold, and see if there be any sorrow
like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me,...” Jeremiah calls
them to “behold” or “look, observe, or take notice of”
the sorrows they endure. He challenges them to weigh out other
sorrows against theirs and determine whether anyone has had it a
horribly as they. In fitting desperation the people of Jerusalem
believe themselves to be enduring mental and physical pain which goes
beyond any compare.
Finally
the verse concludes, “wherewith the LORD has afflicted me
in the day of his fierce anger.” The
conclusion drawn by Jerusalem's people is that “the LORD”
which is “Jehovah or Yahweh” is responsible for their
“affliction” or
“grief and sorrow”. Notice too that they accuse “the
LORD” of doing this “in
the day of his fierce anger”
which is a reference to “burning heat” of his “nostrils or
nose”. It's as though they see God in the fury of His anger toward
them, and if His facial expression could be seen, He would be
snarling with His nose toward them as well.
When
we think about the words within this verse from Jeremiah, we might be
able to relate to the people of Jerusalem. When we have great
“affliction” we
like others to notice how bad we have it. We wonder if they care at
all as they “pass by”
us. It seems they are too busy or negligent to care, and we might be
inclined to hold a “pity party” when this occurs. Also, we might
blame “the Lord”
for our affliction as we picture Him with “fierce anger”
toward us rather than remembering that we were responsible for
bringing ourselves into this “affliction”
in the first place. Regardless of our thoughts about this and our
ability to relate, we know the reason God had Jeremiah write these
words was to inform us that He does care, He does see, and He always
stands ready to rescue us when we have times of affliction. Chapter
twenty-two and verse twenty-four of the book of Psalms may be helpful
to us when we are afflicted:
For he has not despised
nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither has he hid his
face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
Next
time we will see how the LORD afflicted Jerusalem, so read ahead, and
we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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