July 7

“Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed:…” Lamentations 1:8

The city of Jerusalem which by its very name was meant to make known to the world the nature and character of God’s kingdom, has been labelled the ‘Holy city’, the place of righteousness, wholeness and peace! At least this is what God had always intended this city and its inhabitants to stand for and represent. Sadly time and again the people of Israel as a nation, both in Jerusalem and in the surrounding cities, turned away from God and committed grievous sin before Yahwah, totally disregarding His commands and disobeying His will. This text describes the persistence of their sin, and it emphasizes the fact that they ‘sinned sinfully’, an expression which communicates the magnitude of their wickedness. Their greatest failure in the eyes of Yahwah, was usually their penchant for idolatry and their fondness of copying the ways of the heathen, in practice, manner of life and worship. This was never tolerated by the Lord and the judgment poured on His people, after much warning and patient instruction, was severe. The description in this chapter is another sad re-run of what can be read many times as various prophets were sent to God’s people, with dire messages and ominous warnings. Jerusalem, instead of being God’s exemplary pattern of righteousness, had become an abomination to Yahwah because of the sin that bound its people. Spoken of in the terms of a woman, ‘she’ is vilified by the heathen people and idols she pursued, and as a result removed, from the land of promise, in which the Lord had established her. Quite often we are reminded in the scriptures of the conditional nature of our salvation and relationship with God. Our right standing in the Lord, which has been purchased by Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary, needs then to be maintained by true faithfulness and a walk of holiness in His sight. Anything less, grooms us for failure in our closeness to the Lord and unless we quickly repent, places us in danger of losing our right standing and provisions of blessing. Contrary to what some people believe and teach, there comes a time, if we persist in disobedience and disrespect God’s loving warnings, that God may cease to strive with us and allow us to have what we so clearly desire and insist on, to our own detriment, discomfort and ultimate judgment. Even in this God’s love is evident, for it is His desire that by feeling the ‘pain’ of our choices, we may repent, return to Him and make things right, before it is too late!   

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