Flesh, Skin and Bones Lamentations 3:4

As we continue through the third chapter of Jeremiah's lament, we have seen the affects that the devastation of Jerusalem has taken upon him personality. We have also seen the parallels to what Jesus endured when He suffered the consequences for our sin. In verse four of this chapter we see how Jeremiah said these judgments affected his own body. We read:

My flesh and my skin has he made old; he has broken my bones.

The verse begins, “My flesh and my skin has he made old;” Jeremiah said that his “flesh” or “body” and his “skin” or “hide or outer layer” of his body were made “old” or “wore out” by God. Though there is a natural aging process, the events seen by Jeremiah made him appear much older than he was. No doubt Jeremiah felt these effects even more rapidly than was usual for people.

The verse goes on to say, “he has broken my bones.” Herein lies another hint that Jeremiah's body ached. His very skeletal structure and essence were “broken” which means “rent violently, wrecked, crushed, or quenched”. It also means “to be broken, be maimed, be crippled”. In other words the destruction experienced by Jeremiah was as though his bones were crushed from within him.

The flesh created within the human body is a marvelous feature, and the skin is no less amazing. We know that some of the events within our lives have felt as though they aged us and crushed us from within. Let's face it, some things we go through are extremely difficult. Although Jesus never suffered a broken bone, He knew the crushing punishment on His body for our sins. Jesus was only thirty-three years old when he died, yet there are allusions to his appearing older than He was in the Bible such as written in the gospel of John in chapter eight and verse fifty-seven:

Then said the Jews unto him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?

Jeremiah suffered physically because of what he saw, and Jesus endured the cross for us because of what we did. As we ponder what Jesus endured and imagine what Jeremiah experienced as he watched the punishment of Jerusalem for their rebellion, perhaps we will consider to what extent Jesus suffered in His body just to have fellowship with us every day.

Next time we see more of how Jeremiah felt about God's judgment, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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