~Old Testament Scenarios~

Lamentations

Lamentations

"How lonely sits the city that was full of people! She has become like a widow who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer!"
Lamentations 1:1 (NASB)

 

God Does Not “Coin” Your Sins

Jeremiah sits on top of a mountain peak looking below at his beloved city and cries out with a voice of anguish and outrage. He is a broken man, astonished by the complete desolation of the city. Jeremiah, as well as other prophets had warned the people with God's word at just what would happen to them if they continued in their sin of idolatry. And now, Jerusalem had fallen into the hands of its pagan enemy - Babylon. Where once stood a greatly feared nation “a nation of a thousand inhabitance”, now lay barren. Baring the mark of shame, the city and its people, now have been dominated and are subject to their enemy.

Do you sit on your mountain peak, looking down upon your own destruction, or the destruction a family member might have caused? Does your soul groan at the mess that lies before you? Are you wondering how you even got there? How did it ever get this far from God’s best?

decoration

Sin brings about isolation, secrets, shame, and even worse - slavery to our own lusts. You knew…you knew the consequences. You ignored your own warnings (your gut) and even silenced the Holy Spirit nudging your spirit with the truth. Then you chose the flesh instead. I’ve done it, you’ve done it, and now, just as Israel was brought into captivity, joining their northern brothers who had been taken years before, we find ourselves trapped in the enemy’s web. What have we given away so easily? Have we forgotten the fact that we already walk out “in victory”(FREEDOM WE ALREADY HAVE IN CHRIST) set free from sin? The enemy is a thief and a liar. He knows our bent towards idolatry and will use that very thing to try to enslave us. Hence, the word, “try”.

decoration

There is great hope in Christ for those who see their sin, taste its bitterness, then chose to turn from it and repent to the Lord. God is amazing. He forgives immediately and your soul is set free to walk in His victory. Now you, me, and that family member may still have to live with the consequences of our sins. Israel had to live in captivity for 70 years for there is a cost to choosing to live with our backs against God, but our eternal soul is back in good fellowship (right relationship) with the Living God. Our heavenly Father does allow His discipline to teach His children lessons, just like any good father would, but we can trust that discipline will not last forever, but will accomplish the holy life we seek.

decoration

The Jews of the Bible never again fell into the sin of idolatry-- a hard lesson learned. They followed after Qedosh Yisrael (Holy One of Israel). The Romans made a coin that depicted a widow sitting alone under an olive tree reminding them of their past history. The widow represented Israel as a nation without her "head”, with her husband and king. A widow in those days was considered the most wretched and detested of all human beings. The Jewish people read aloud the book of Lamentations once a year in order to remind themselves, and every generation, of the tragedy of what sin will do in our lives. God does not “coin” our past sins, He takes them to the bottomless sea floor and leaves them there forever forgotten!

This is your day; God has given it to you. What will you do with it? With what you’ve learned from lessons of the past, will you enlighten the next generation? Will you allow the bitterness of past sins to be an example to teach your own children or those around you of why to not live a life with your back against God?

decoration

“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
Luke 15:7 (NASB)