The Funeral of a City

I had the privilege of attending a funeral yesterday.  It may seem strange for me to call it a privilege, but it's an honor for me to be present with and for a friend who has lost a loved one.  I want to give them a big bear hug and let them know that I love them and am standing with them.  A funeral is also a good time for me to reflect on the brevity of life and to remember what my priorities are and should be.

My "Talk Through the Bible" study book states that "Lamentations describes the funeral of a city."  Jeremiah was the likely author of this book and as we know, he had a VERY tough job to do for God.  He also witnessed first-hand the horrific destruction of the city of Jerusalem including the temple.  God had to punish the Israelites and take them through this process.  It was his promised judgement and punishment for sin of His people. 

I have found some interesting facts about the writing itself, but I want to share how one of my study books breaks down the five chapters of Lamentations:

• Chapter 1 - The grief
• Chapter 2 - The cause
• Chapter 3 - The hope
• Chapter 4 - The repentance
• Chapter 5 - The prayer

As I saw this book compared to a funeral and that there are five chapters, I thought about the process of grieving and the five stages of grief that are sometimes recognized during the process.  It's interesting to me how closely they line up with the five chapters of Lamentations:

• Denial - Chapter 1 conveys shock and unbelief of the circumstances
• Anger - Chapter 2 conveys the anger of the Lord (instead of the mourner)
• Bargaining - Chapter 3 transitions from words of devastation to recognition of God's compassion
• Depression - Chapter 4 describes the sad, helpless state of the nation of Israel
• Acceptance - Chapter 5 conveys acknowledgement of their state and a plea to God for restoration

We may not have to experience death of a loved one to go through the grieving process.  We may experience similar feelings and "stages" after a close friend moves away, or we leave one job and start another, or we come home from a much anticipated and wonderful mission trip. OR there may be sin in our life that needs to "die".  We may like it and not want to let it go.  But, God commands obedience and promises that He will give us the strength.  We may need to go through the painful process of grieving for our sin or life changes that need to be made to remove ourselves from a sinful situation or choices.  However, we can trust in God's promises for restoration.

As I read through these passages, I can only imagine the humility and other emotions the Israelites were experiencing.  The translated Hebrew title for this book is "Why...!".  I think that is so fitting.  What a time of reflection and deep soul searching this must have been for them.  As Pastor Chris has just begun a sermon series on prayer at Oak Hill, I am challenged to spend more time just "being" with God.  He desires for us to be in close and constant fellowship with Him.  Through that close relationship with God, He will show us areas of our life that need to be cleansed of sin and he gives us the instructions and strength to deal with that.

We can be honest with God like Jeremiah was:

"See, O Lord, how distressed I am!

I am in torment within,

and in my  heart I am disturbed,

for I have been most rebellious."

~Lamentations 1:20

We can (and should) be humbled before God over our sin:

"My eyes fail from weeping,

I am in torment within,

my heart is poured out on the ground

because my people are destroyed,

because children and infants faint

in the streets of the city."

~Lamentations 2:11

We can have hope by believing in God's promises:

"Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him."

~Lamentations 3:21-24

The last verses of our reading today are so encouraging and uplifting to me.  Even when we don't feel like it or believe it ourselves... He has great love for us! He is good! He is compassionate! He is faithful! "Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love." (3:32)