As a reminder for us about
this lament of Jeremiah, it is an acrostic poem that begins with each
verse containing a sequential letter of the Hebrew alphabet in
chapters one, two and four. The third chapter includes three verses
for each letter, and as Jeremiah wrote, the ideas conveyed were
either repetitive or contrasting. In chapter three and verse nine we
see Jeremiah feeling trapped and misdirected as he wrote:
He has enclosed my ways
with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.
The
verse begins, “He has enclosed my ways with hewn
stone,...” Once again Jeremiah
tries to describe how trapped or imprisoned he feels. He refers to
the Lord and said “He has enclosed” which
means “walled off, closed off or built a wall” against his “ways”
or “road, distance, journey, or manner”. He also refers
to the stones as “hewn” or “crafted and made in advance”
stones. These stones were meant with purpose from their artisan, and
they were intentional in development. No doubt with the devastation
all around him, Jeremiah's normal way of doing things was vastly
altered.
The
verse goes on to say, “...he hath made my paths crooked.”
Not only did Jeremiah feel
imprisoned by walls all around him, but he also credits God for
making his “paths crooked”
which means He has made his normal route “to bend, twist,
and distort”. Rather than being a straight path, Jeremiah feels
that his usual trodden pathway has been bent with all kinds of
contortions.
There are times when we feel
walled in and our paths seem crooked, and we need someone to free us
from our internal prison and to make our paths straight. Jesus Christ
came to provide both liberty to the captive and to make our ways
straight. In other words, in Jesus we have all the provision we need
when we feel like Jeremiah did. No matter what our circumstances, no
matter what our difficulties, and no matter how devastating our lives
may seem, Jesus is ready and willing to help all who call upon Him.
Let us call upon Him and find Him to be all the Savior He has
promised in His word.
Next
time we see animal examples used to describe Jeremiah's condition, 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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