King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Saturday, August 26, 2023
Chapters: LAMENTATIONS 3-5
Study: The Compassion of God
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
I have new responsibilities at work and on top of all the other work that I do, I am now the departments go to girl when they need something done. Well, I had my monthly evaluation only to discover that my quality score was in the eighties, which plays a huge part in the schedule that I am able to pick as well as raises. That aggravates me to no end because those people who listen to three phone calls every two months to determine that score have no idea what I do all day. I really do not want to leave my job because I like it even with all the responsibility, I just do not want a number score to determine my worth, which is all we are to the world anyway, just a number. I am so glad that I am not just a number to Christ, in fact, He knows me by name as well as every other soul that belongs to Him, [John 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.]
I do not think that any saved, born again Christian gets the recognition they deserve for their job well done, but then again, are we really supposed to be seeking praise from man? Are we not supposed to be seeking praise from God and giving Him the glory for what we have done? Jesus said something about it being our duty to do a job well done and not get recognized for it, [Luke 17:9-10 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.]
Of course, Jesus, can fully account to what it feels like to not be recognized for a job well done, and in fact, get reprimanded for it. I am not going to lie, there are times when I do feel like just a number with God and that nothing I do matters. Of course, I do get behind in my work for Him as well as get slack in my praying and that causes a lot of guilt, shame, and feelings of letting God down and that He could take my ministry from me at any moment. As we complete the reading of the Book of Lamentations, Jeremiah, continues to lament over the state of Israel and now recalls his time in the dungeon, his feeling of being all alone, and as though God was not even hearing him.
[Lamentations 3:1-9,17-19 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. 2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. 3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. 4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. 5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. 6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. 7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. 8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. 9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. 17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. 18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: 19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.]
[He hath led me, and brought me into darkness,] We may not realize it, but sometimes when we are being afflicted we fail to speak about Jesus because we cannot see His Light shining through us. Maybe it is out of fear, anger, or we do not understand why we are suffering. Maybe it was some sin that we had to deal with and felt afraid of it getting out. Sin, of any kind, even living in doubt and fear of our afflictions not ending will darken our path, but confession will always lead us to His Light, [1 John 1:7-10 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.]
Jeremiah, is no different than the rest of us, we have our pity party, then are reminded that we are saved by grace, and we may not get it right all the time, but we are not heathens, we are the sons and daughters of the Almighty God Himself, through our faith in Christ alone. Remember, that Jesus suffered much more than we ever will suffer and He lived to tell about it, well, he died, then arose, and now lives to tell us about it, and we will also. After Jeremiah thought about what he was saying, he remembered where his hope was.
[Lamentations 3:21-29 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. 28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. 29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.]
[because his compassions fail not.] We can never be more grateful to God than for His compassion on His people, for without it we would all be in hell right now over some of the things we have gotten ourselves into. It does not matter how many times we mess up as long as we cry out to Him in sincere confession and repentance, He will always have compassion on us, [1 John 3:16-18 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.]
[should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.] The hope that every saved, born again Christian has of one day never having to worry about enduring trials, tribulation, sin, or even death is not the same as the world’s hope. Our hope rests in our faith in Christ alone, [Romans 8:24-25 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.]
As Jeremiah was contemplates his afflictions he began to realize something, things could have been a lot worse had it not been for God’s mercy and compassion to save those who wanted to be saved. Let me tell you, the closer you walk with Jesus the more vile you are going to feel, wondering why He is so good to you in the first place. And that is exactly the humbleness God uses to show us just how great His faithfulness is toward us, and that our only hope to endure the affliction is Jesus. That is what Jeremiah realized.
[Lamentations 3:31-40 For the Lord will not cast off for ever: 32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. 34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, 35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High, 36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not. 37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? 38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? 39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? 40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.]
[nor grieve the children of men.] The children of men are those who reject God, deny Christ, and come up with their version of Him to believe in, what salvation is, and who gets to go to heaven. While God does have great compassion on the lost, He does not grieve for them as He does His children because they are not His until they fully accept the Gospel of Christ, [Galatians 1:6-8 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.]
[Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?] We cannot blame God for all the evil in the world, we cannot even blame Satan for this one. Yes, he introduced sin to man, and will pay dearly for it, but man is to blame, we are the ones who give in to every temptation known to man, [James 1:13-14 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.]
Does it seem fair that we suffer along with those who are unfaithful? Sometimes it does, but when you stop to think about what they are going through, which has to be much more than you are suffering living right, then there is no comparison. Jeremiah, also recognizes this as he begins to understand that we are redeemed.
[Lamentations 3:55-59,61-66 I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon. 56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. 57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. 58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. 59 O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. 61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me; 62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. 63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick. 64 Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. 65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. 66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.]
[thou hast redeemed my life.] Jesus, does more than just redeem our soul when we fully accept the Gospel and ask Him to save us, He redeems us from our lives. I do not know about you, but my life was not the greatest before I knew Him as my Saviour. I recall all the foolish things I did when I was lost, and it was not pretty, I really cannot understand why Jesus pulled me out of the mire that I dug myself into, but then again, I did get to a point when I did cry out to Him and that was when He heard me for the first time. We must call upon Christ if we want to get out of the dungeon, [Romans 10:12-13 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.]
[judge thou my cause.] Once we receive Christ as our Saviour, that is when He begins to work in us, first with believers baptism, then with our walk with Him. Think about it, we are representatives of God, what type of life are we living that reflects that? If what we are doing is worse than the world, then you can be sure that judgment will come. Jeremiah, reminds the unfaithful Jews that they are where they are because their sins were worse than those who were living in the world.
[Lamentations 4:1-6 How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! 3 Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. 4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. 5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. 6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.]
[like the ostriches in the wilderness.] Ostriches, lay their eggs in the sand, and just lightly cover them, then leave them to be easily crushed. Those who manage to survive are ignored by their mother, left to fend for themselves. This was the state of the women back then and when you think about it things are not far from that today. Abortion is the number one killer of babies, and those who do manage to survive are neglected. I will be the first to tell you that I do not understand why God even gives children to women who have no value of their own lives let alone a child, but I will tell you that God has a special place in His heart for those precious children, [Luke 18:15-17 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.]
[greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom,] Think about Sodom and the state it was in before God sent fire down upon it and turned the people who refused to leave into pillars of salt. Judah’s, sins were even greater than that if that were even possible. Do you know what made them greater than the sodomy, immorality, and lawlessness of life that consumed that city? Judah, knew God, and actually worshiped Him while living in those very sins that Sodom was guilty of. Through Jeremiah, we learn what was going on with the prophets and the priests that was worse than the worlds sins.
[Lamentations 4:11-15,17-18 The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof. 12 The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem. 13 For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, 14 They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments. 15 They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there. 17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us. 18 They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come.]
[in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.] We are all guilty of this, expecting man to come in and save us, instead of trusting God to get us through. While this country continues to face the fallout of a pandemic that does not want to end, more and more people are crying out to the government for help. And what are they doing to help? Taxing the ones who actually do want to work until they have nothing, while basking in their luxuries. Wake up people! Our hope is not in man, it is in Christ! [Psalms 118:7-10 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. 10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.]
Since we live in the midst of a wicked world we can expect that we are going to get caught up in judgments that God has placed on His nations that turn His back on Him. We who are saved need to be praying for them and have companion on the lost just as God does. Now, as Jeremiah ponders the destruction of Jerusalem, he laments over the state of their captivity, but pleas with God for the return of His mercy.
[Lamentations 5:1-5,8-10,16,20-21 Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. 2 Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. 3 We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. 4 We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us. 5 Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest. 8 Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand. 9 We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness. 10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine. 16 The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! 20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? 21 Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.]
[Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever,] Think about all the suffering that an unsaved person or even a Christian that has backslidden faces and how hopeless they feel. We cannot escape affliction, it is inevitable, but we can endure it if we keep our eyes on Christ, [1 Peter 4:14-16 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.]
[and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.] God’s mercies renew every single day, great is His faithfulness to those who put their faith and trust in His Son, no matter how many times they fall, repent, and get back up, [Proverbs 24:15-16 Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: 16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Of all the people that have come and gone in the world, You had a purpose for every one of them. Sadly, not everyone fulfills that purpose and not only do they suffer judgment, we suffer the repercussions of their judgment. While we do not want to face affliction, often You place difficult situations in our lives in order to show us that You do have a purpose for us and that through our suffering true joy and happiness will come out of it. Lord, lead us and guide us, give us Your power, mercy, and grace. Strengthen us, and help us to look to You for hope out of every situation, and do what is necessary on our part to be a witness and a testimony that You do hear us, and are our hope. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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