The Lord has Done Lamentations 2:17

With the neighbors and enemies of Jerusalem taunting and ridiculing them by throwing their own titles into their faces, we might understand how the people who remained there would wonder why these things came to be. In chapter two and verse seventeen Jeremiah makes it very clear who the source is of their troubles. We read:

The LORD has done that which he had devised; he has fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he has thrown down, and has not pitied: and he has caused your enemy to rejoice over you, he has set up the horn of your adversaries.

The verse begins, “The LORD has done that which he had devised; he has fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old:” Without a doubt we know “The LORD has done” these things to Jerusalem. He “devised” or “had thought, planned, considered, and purposed” that this devastation would occur, and in keeping with the veracity of His word, He “fulfilled” or “completed, finished, and accomplished” everything he “commanded” or “charged, gave orders, laid charge, or ordered” in the days of old.

The verse goes on to say, “he has thrown down, and has not pitied:” When the destruction of Jerusalem began, the Lord did not “pity” or “spare or have compassion upon” any of those whom He “threw down” which means “to tear down, break down, overthrow, beat down, break, break through, destroy, pluck down, pull down, ruined, or destroyed utterly”. Though they were horribly dashed and defeated, the Lord did not intervene.

Finally the verse says, “and he has caused your enemy to rejoice over you, he has set up the horn of your adversaries.” Once again Jeremiah tells the source of Jerusalem's troubles – The Lord. The Lord caused their “enemy” to have the celebration over them. He “set up the horn of” their “adversaries” which means he made them have power over the people of Jerusalem. It was the Lord who tore Jerusalem's people and government down, and it was the Lord who set up the powers that replaced and ridiculed them.

When we consider the words to this verse we may wonder why God was so adverse to the people of Jerusalem. We may ask why God would allow such horror to come upon His own people? However, we must remember that for years Jeremiah called out, spoke to and warned the people of the judgment to come if they would not change their ways. He daily made appeals that they rejected, and was often made to suffer for even suggesting that such doom would be among them. Are their warnings in our lives that we do not heed? Are their pending penalties that we ignore or refuse because it seems that nothing is happening against us and all along we know them to be wrong? Maybe we should take a lesson from the people of Jerusalem and remember that when God allows judgment to fall, it falls hard, and in these cases, pity will not be one of His traits that is extended. May God have mercy upon our souls.

Next time we see the people of Jerusalem crying over their troubles, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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