The Weeping Prophet

Today’s Through the Bible Reading: Psalm 102, 120, 137; Lamentations 1-2

"...Happy is that people, whose God is the LORD." Psalm 144:15

Today we start the book of Lamentations. The word lamentation means “the passionate expression of grief or sorrow; weeping”. And that – passionate expression of grief or sorrow – is exactly what we find in this book penned by Jeremiah - also known as the weeping prophet.

Lamentations picks up where Jeremiah left off. For forty years Jeremiah prophesied and preached to the people of Jerusalem. But in those forty years, Jeremiah never saw a single convert! Not one person repented in response to his message. When God finally brought judgment, you’d think Jeremiah would have been shouting: “I told you so”. But that wasn’t the case! Instead, Jeremiah passionately portrays our Father’s grieving heart for His people. As if he were journaling, Jeremiah pours out his heart in these five chapters. In chapter 1, he cries as he remembers how the people provoked God. In chapter 2, he recounts God’s punishment. In chapter 3 Jeremiah finds his hope in the Lord. But in chapter 4, he is thrown back into despair as he recites God’s judgment on His people. Finally, in chapter 5 we hear a simple, but gut-wrenching prayer.

The Prophet Jeremiah’s weeping should remind us of another man’s weeping over Jerusalem. Jesus, the one who came to fulfill all the law and prophets, He, too, wept over Jerusalem.

“As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace…” Luke 19:41-42 NIV

But here’s the thing, the people of Israel should have known – both in Jeremiah’s day and in Jesus’ day. The Lord had spoken about judgment through Jeremiah and about salvation through Jesus. So too, we should be asking ourselves – are we receiving the Word of the Lord for us today? We have His Word! Keep reading, keep listening, keep responding to the Father’s Words to you all the way through the Bible, cover to cover.