Lamentations is no shallow read. Written in response to the fall of Jerusalem and the exploitation of her people, the author (thought to be Jeremiah) expressed frustration and pain. The book starts with a deserted city and ends in rejection and anger.

It’s best to read the book in one setting, to gain a full appreciation of the arc of Jeremiah’s laments. He grieves as he pours out to the Lord, my groans are many and my heart is faint. When only silence echos back he accuses, you have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.

Lamentations delves deeply into the ways of the Lord, his hatred of sin, and the punishment of his people who turn their backs on him. The writing disturbs—why the lash from a loving God? The arguments clarify the holiness of our Lord and the danger of flaunting his patience.

But in the middle of the mess Jeremiah discovers hope. Because of his 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.”

Confidence swells. Jeremiah looks to the heavens and writes, The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Amen and amen. Even in the depths of our despair we can trust in the goodness of the Lord, as we wait, and wait, and still wait, for his compassion and salvation.

Lamentations 3 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Samuel Ferrara

A few weeks ago I ordered some copy paper online and within two hours a deliver van pulled up in front of the house and set the paper in the porch. Amazing. I don’t wait long for anything. Our world of immediate delivery and instant gratification spoils me, and now if I cannot get my copy paper until tomorrow I’ll walk around and pout.

Quite the opposite, the biblical prophets waited thousands of years for the culmination of God’s work in this world. Peter wrote: the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

Peter followed with this remarkable sentence: It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told to you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

The hope and study and prayers of the prophets reached their pinnacle in the person of Jesus Christ. This message preached to the early Christians and repeated all the way to our day anticipates the coming of the Chosen One. Even angels longed for a glimpse.

In this era, the Holy Spirit reveals truth to all who follow Jesus. People say that the long arc of history points to justice. Actually, the long arc of history points to Jesus. Enjoy this end of the arc.

1 Peter 1 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Wade Allen

The long-suffering of the Lord shines from the pages of the Bible. God gives men and women great latitude to turn to him, even after years of wandering and egregious bouts of sin. But occasionally someone reached his limits.

Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, achieved such dubious status. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord…He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.

Notice the patience of the Lord, even with this defiant, middle-finger flipping king. The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.

You’re in a bad spot when no remedy remains between you and the Lord. Zedekiah met a particularly grizzly end, his sons executed before him and his eyes gouged out. Perhaps he should have listened a little closer to Jeremiah.

Zedekiah spent the rest of his days in a Babylonian prison, reflecting on his failures. Who knows, maybe he humbled himself as he wallowed in dark and filth? If so, we know even then the Lord took him back.

No one is too far gone for the Lord’s grace, but I can get too far gone for the Lord’s benevolence. Mocking, self-centeredness, and evil find their limit, beyond which lies no remedy. Not all who do evil flourish, and the story of Zedekiah reminds me that even the most powerful face the judgement of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 36 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Egor Myznik

For several years I lived with a houseful of pagans. They remorselessly raided the refrigerator, bathed irregularly and overran the furniture. But then my teenagers grew up and moved away, and now I miss them. I grew comfortable living among the pagans.

Peter encouraged followers of Jesus who lived among a pagan population to keep the faith. He wrote, live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

These church members embraced widows, took in orphans, and shared their food with the needy. As they lived their faith, neighbors noticed. It grew harder to accuse the Christians of misbehavior as they served the community.

The pagans didn’t all rush to Jesus. Most still considered these small communities of believers dangerous. But over years and years, the gospel soaked into society. Pagans took notice and many converted. Good lives pointed to a good God.

You and I live among a pagan culture, as people turn away from the church and orthodox Christianity. Some wounds are self-afflicted, like clergy abusing parishioners sexually and financially. But biblical teachings increasingly appear out-of-date and even dangerous, especially in the areas of sexuality and gender. A pagan wishes to do whatever he wants, while the Scriptures place walls around behaviors. Such conflicting beliefs don’t mesh.

Like this example from the early church, I need to attempt to live a good life among the pagans. Keep my commitment to God’s Word and love my neighbors as I love myself. Kill people with kindness and sincerity. As I live my life as an instrument of the Lord, perhaps the pagans will take notice again.

1 Peter 2 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Claudia Raya