Zion's Beauty Departed Lamentations 1:6

The defeat of Jerusalem and Judah was executed by God as prophesied by Jeremiah, and now he was overlooking the destructive scene. The once thriving city was now desolate and like unto a widow in sorrow. The city weeps because she has been afflicted with servitude, and her enemies have become her rulers. In chapter one and verse six Jeremiah continues his lament over this once awesome city where we read:

And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.

The verse begins, “And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed:” “Zion” which means “parched place or sunny mountain” once had “beauty” or “ornament, splendor, and honor”, but now it was “departed” which means “gone, without, or delivered”. In other words Zion which once celebrated beauty, splendor and honor found herself abandoned and without any of these traits.

The verse continues, “her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.” Those who were royalty, “her princes”, were wondering like “harts” or deer that find no place for nourishing themselves. Where they used to have power, they have become weak against those who were known as the “pursuer” which are the ones who “persecuted, put to flight, and ran after” them. Like little deer that are being attacked by fierce predators, even those who were in royal power were weakened by the Lord's judgment.

When we consider the weight of this verse, we might be reminded of the book of Psalms in chapter seventy-five and verses six and seven where we read:

For promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he puts down one, and sets up another.

God Almighty chooses who will be in power and who will not. He is able to set one up, and He is able to bring one down. More than likely those within Jerusalem had no idea while they were ruling that one day soon they would be fleeing their enemy like a hungry and frightened deer. While we meditate upon these words of Jeremiah perhaps we will consider the leaders of our country. What if they were put to flight? What if they were stripped of their power, and what if they were no longer in positions of authority as they are today? Once we have considered them, what if we were stripped of our positions of power and authority? How would we respond to having our beauty, honor and splendor taken from us? May the Lord lead us to be grateful to the Lord Jesus for “all power and authority” has been given unto Him, and may we never forget from whom our positions of jurisdiction come.

Next time we will see how Jerusalem remembers her past, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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