I’m so glad we’re together this evening to spend some time looking into God’s Word.   We come together to sit under the influence of God’s Word.   Many people in the world (when I say “in the world”, I’m saying outside of the church), but many people in the world are under the influence of other things.  I can stand in my own front yard, and I can smell this kind of skunky, smokey aroma wafting by.   I’m at the gas station getting gas and people pull up in their car and open their door to get out and a strong smell of skunk wafts out of their car.   So many people in the world are U.I. (under the influence).   We too are U.I., but we’re under the influence of God’s Spirit by reading His Word.   We aren’t being impaired, we’re being built up.   Jude 1:20 But you beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.

We will be in Lamentations 5 today, but one of the things I want to focus on is the tie-in with being built up in our most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.

Let’s pray…

Lamentations chapter 5

 New American Standard Bible version 1995

 1 Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us; Look, and see our reproach! 2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, Our houses to aliens. 3 We have become orphans without a father, Our mothers are like widows. 4 We have to pay for our drinking water, Our wood comes [to us] at a price. 5 Our pursuers are at our necks; We are worn out, there is no rest for us. 6 We have submitted to Egypt [and] Assyria to get enough bread. 7 Our fathers sinned, [and] are no more; It is we who have borne their iniquities. 8 Slaves rule over us; There is no one to deliver us from their hand. 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin has become as hot as an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected. 13 Young men worked at the grinding mill, And youths stumbled under [loads] of wood. 14 Elders are gone from the gate, Young men from their music. 15 The joy of our hearts has ceased; Our dancing has been turned into mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head; Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our heart is faint, Because of these things our eyes are dim; 18 Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate, Foxes prowl in it. 19 You, O LORD, rule forever; Your throne is from generation to generation. 20 Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long? 21 Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old, 22 Unless You have utterly rejected us [And] are exceedingly angry with us.

This chapter, like the others from this book of Lamentations, is poetic.  We don’t get the full literary effect, since this poetry was written in the Hebrew language.   Each verse in this chapter (in Hebrew), begins with a word starting with the next letter from the Hebrew alphabet.   So the poem is an acrostic in Hebrew.  That’s why there are 22 verses, because the Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters.

Let’s break this down…

Verse 1 “Remember Oh LORD…”   Does Jeremiah truly believe that God needs to be reminded of his nation’s predicament?   Does Jeremiah think God doesn’t see their sad situation?   Of course not!    Is this then just a throwaway statement that Jeremiah is making?   No, I believe there are two reasons for Jeremiah’s statement: 1) I believe this is all about mindset.  Jeremiah is acknowledging that God is right in the middle of their desperate situation with them.   He’s saying, “God this is really bad, but God you are here in the midst of it with us”.

2) This is a reflection on You God.   We’re supposed to be your people.   Everyone is looking at us as representing You, and all these bad things are happening to us (albeit it’s our own fault for ignoring You and Your commandments).

Shouldn’t we be this same way in our lives: 1) know that God is with us in the midst of our trouble (and we will have trouble, we’re promised that by Jesus, whether we bring it on ourselves or not).   I have to get this through my thick skull.   Just because you’re in trouble does not mean God has abandoned you.  2) know that by associating ourselves with Jesus Christ, our lives are a reflection on God.   So often I come away from a situation or something I’ve said, and I have to face palm myself, because I have so poorly represented the LORD.

Verse 2 “Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers…”   An inheritance is something you kind of expect.   It might be a lot or a little, good or bad; it might even be nothing, but normally you kind of have an idea ahead of time what’s coming to you as an inheritance.   Judah had this expectation of blessing and peace because they had been promised that by God.   Let’s look at a few of God’s promises to Israel…

The foundational promise is called the “Abrahamic Covenant”, and it was given in Genesis 12:2-3

[Gen 12:2-3 NASB95] 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

The Land of Canaan was promised to Israel in Genesis 15: 18. 

[Gen 15:18 NASB95] 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

There is the Mosaic Covenant which is based on Israel’s Obedience to the law in Deuteronomy 28:1-7.

[Deu 28:1-6 NASB95] 1 "Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 "Blessed [shall] you [be] in the city, and blessed [shall] you [be] in the country. 4 "Blessed [shall be] the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. 5 "Blessed [shall be] your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 "Blessed [shall] you [be] when you come in, and blessed [shall] you [be] when you go out.

The Davidic Covenant introduces a royal dimension to Israel's blessing, promising an everlasting dynasty through David's lineage. In 2 Samuel 7:16.

[2Sa 7:16 NASB95] 16 "Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."'"

Lastly, we really get to what Jeremiah is referring to as did Isaiah, in terms of the nation of Israel receiving  future blessings, envisioning a time of restoration and peace. Isaiah 49:6 

[Isa 49:6 NASB95] 6 He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

So Jeremiah is saying, “God you promised us this inheritance; You promised!  And look at the situation we’re in!”

Verse 3 “orphans without a father, Our mothers are like widows”   Oh my goodness!   Their situation was serious.   This is no joke.   People have been killed.   This has been a deadly circumstance.   Okay.  True Jeremiah.   Life is precious.   Death is sobering.   But I want to encourage you.   We know this verse, Shane, and others have quoted this verse a lot, so here it comes again.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said the same type of thing in his poem “A Psalm of Life”, Life is real! Life is earnest!   And the grave is not its goal;

Also as has been said, the funeral is not the finish line.

Our hope and future is not earthly.  It is heavenly and eternal. We have life that can’t be taken away.

Verse 4-6 4 We have to pay for our drinking water, Our wood comes [to us] at a price. 5 Our pursuers are at our necks; We are worn out, there is no rest for us. 6 We have submitted to Egypt [and] Assyria to get enough bread. 

Just by way of discussing topics from the scripture; I want to go straight to application for us in our day and age.   Israel experienced not only bondage and subjugation, but high prices due to destruction and diminished supply of goods.   This was part of the judgement from God.

This carries through to the end times.  We read in Revelation 6:5-6 (NASB95) 5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

We see high prices and inflation right now in our day and our nation as a sign that we as a nation are under God’s judgement.   The high prices may not be as much because of lack of supply, but because of monetary and financial policies of our government over the course of many administrations.   We have spent beyond our means and devalued our currency by what’s called “Quantitative Easing” I.E. printing money out of thin air, so we all get the joy of paying more for less.  I was born in 1960.   I wanted to compare the value of a  dollar in 1960 to the value of a dollar today in 2026.   For example, gas was around 25 cents a gallon in 1960.   Today, gas is let's say about $4.75 a gallon. So today’s dollar is worth about a nickel compared to 1960.  I see this as a judgement from God on our country for the sins we’ve committed.   The sad thing about sin and judgement, is that everyone suffers.    Oh that our nation would repent, and confess our guilt to God.  Things could be so different on so many fronts.

Verse 7 Our fathers sinned, [and] are no more; It is we who have borne their iniquities.

We’ve talked about this concept before in Jeremiah 31:29-30 “In those days they will not say again,
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

30 But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.

There was this thought that maybe the children would be held responsible for their parents' sin.  In John 9:2 we see the disciples ask about this very thing, “And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 

What was Jesus answer? John 9:3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 

We will each be held responsible for what we’ve done Romans 2:2-6 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: 

God’s judgment is so complete that Matthew 12:36 (NASB95) “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

Here we have meek mild nonjudgmental Jesus again speaking about God’s judgment and how to avoid it 

Matthew 21:43“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44“And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

Verses 8-13 Slaves rule over us; There is no one to deliver us from their hand. 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin has become as hot as an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected. 13 Young men worked at the grinding mill, And youths stumbled under [loads] of wood.

Under the judgement of sin, life is hard.   God did not originally intend for life to be hard, and yet hard work isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

Genesis 2:15 (NKJV) Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

  You can build muscles through hard work.   You can build skills through hard work.   You can build memories and experiences through hard work.   You can build relationships through hard work (I think of mission trips where we go and do a building project; like in Mexico).

Verses 14-18 14 Elders are gone from the gate, Young men from their music. 15 The joy of our hearts has ceased; Our dancing has been turned into mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head; Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our heart is faint, Because of these things our eyes are dim; 18 Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate, Foxes prowl in it. 

Under judgement, stuff is taken away.   You know, when my sons were young, one of the worst punishments I could inflict on them was to take something away.   Okay, video games are gone.

It is because of sin that our physical prowess is stolen (our eyes grow dim).

It is because of sin (again maybe not something we’ve done), but our stuff gets stolen and misused (Mount Zion lies desolate and foxes prowl in it).   Have you ever had something stolen and later on gotten it back and it was all broken and misused.   I attended Christian schools through the ninth grade.   I remember getting things stolen from my locker, gym clothes, books…   and later on finding the items and they were all torn up and destroyed.   That is such a picture of what sin and judgement does.   It steals our rightful possessions.

Verses 19-22 You, O LORD, rule forever; Your throne is from generation to generation. 20 Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long? 21 Restore us to You, O LORD, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old, 22 Unless You have utterly rejected us [And] are exceedingly angry with us.

The things of this world are temporary, 

James 4:14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

but God is sovereign FOREVER.    When everything seems to fall apart (and everything in this world will fall apart), God is still in control.

This chapter is not only poetry, but it is in actuality a prayer.   This is a prayer for restoration and renewal.   You guys know that the word prayer (or pray) just means to ask, request, beseech, beg, plead.

I want to take some time and ask for prayer requests.   Is there something that has been stolen from you that you want to ask God to restore?   Is there something that has grown old that you want to ask God to renew?   Is there something you want to confess where  God has not been on the throne, and you want to ask God to take his rightful place on the throne of your life?