David Bahn – Reflections

Today’s readings are 2 Corinthians 13; Deuteronomy 19; Lamentations 3. I’ll be away for the next few weeks. I will, however, attempt to post a link to the readings for the 49 Week Bible Challenge so you can follow the plan easily. During this time there will be no audio versions of these blog posts.

Lamentations 3:16-24

He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
    and made me cower in ashes;
¹⁷ my soul is bereft of peace;
    I have forgotten what happiness is;
¹⁸ so I say, “My endurance has perished;
    so has my hope from the Lord.”

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
    the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰ My soul continually remembers it
    and is bowed down within me.
²¹ But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

The message of Lamentations 3 is confusing, but the foundational truths are profoundly important. On the one hand Jeremiah describes God as causing his teeth to grind on gravel. God is pictured as a bear lying in wait and a lion in hiding ready to tear him apart. These are not the actions of a meek and mild Jesus.

It is vital to keep in mind that God’s truest intention is mercy. His alien work is judgment. And his proper work is compassion. God’s absolute prerogative is to weigh the actions and thoughts of man. We do not have the right to call him into question. It is he who judges, properly, justly, and finally.

God’s proper and greater work is that of compassion. That’s why Jeremiah – after recounting all the hard things God has visited on him – speaks of God’s great mercy and compassion. He writes, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; ²³ they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Whatever trouble we may face and however we may wonder about God’s treatment of us, we can come back to God’s steadfast love, merch, and faithfulness.

This is all most fully seen in the life and death of Jesus. He was sorely afflicted by God (cf. Isaiah 52:13). Yet on the third day Jesus stood vindicated for his faith in his Father, and his faithfulness in humble obedience.

So we say,  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, therefore I will hope in him” – no matter what may come.”