Lamentations 5:1-22 Restore Us
The people cry out in distress. They want what they used to have. “Restore us O Lord” but it isn’t in repentance; or at least not at first.
This is the last of the laments that are recorded. This one certainly didn’t come from Jeremiah’s lips but it may have been spoken repeatedly in his presence. Speaking of Jeremiah and Lamentations, I have to apologize. I always believed that the author of Lamentations was a foregone conclusion. I learned that it was Jeremiah who wrote this book. That is not a foregone conclusion after all. No author is precisely identified either within or without this book. Jeremiah is the most likely author, according to scholars.
The reason I even wondered about the authorship of the Lamentations is because this one in particular doesn’t sound like something Jeremiah would be praying on behalf of the people. He KNEW their sins. God had impressed on him exactly what it was Judah was being disciplined for, as well as how that discipline would take place and end. I don’t believe Jeremiah would say “Our fathers have sinned and we are paying the price of that sin.” The current generation was just as guilty as their predecessors. It was their own sins that they were being judged for. IF it were ONLY those of generations past, God would NOT have given them MULTIPLE chances to repent over the lifetime of Jeremiah. He also wouldn’t have sent His judgement after them in Egypt where some of them fled for safety.
I can hear the breaking heart in this lament, no matter who wrote it. They are about as low as they can get. They are considered even lower than slaves. “Slaves rule over us; there is none to deliver us from their hand” (verse 8). They even had to pay for the things they believed were free to all men who would gather them. “We must pay for the water we drink; the wood we get must be bought” (verse 4). I wonder what they would think of us paying for air at the service station.
Yet, in their plea, I don’t hear their hearts breaking for anyone or anything but themselves. They are crying out for what has been taken from them. They speak of how they have turned to others for their help but received little to none. They don’t speak of seeking the Lord or His forgiveness. It takes them up until verse 16 to even admit that their plight is of their own making. “Woe to us, for we have sinned!” (verse 16b).
Even when they do admit their fault, they don’t directly ask for forgiveness. They ask for a restoration of what once was. And the reason they give for it not happening is because of God; NOT their own rebellious hearts. “Renew our days as of old – unless you have utterly rejected us, and You remain exceedingly angry with us” (verses 21b-22).
God DOES forgive us! When we come to Him and repent of our sin. He does NOT accept “The devil made me do it” excuses. Our hearts have to KNOW it is our own sin that is separating us from God. AND we have to CHANGE our ways. God does NOT forgive us just so we can go out and commit the same sin again without consequences. We may fall into the same mess MANY times but repentance means that you are CHOOSING to NOT continue in a lifestyle of sin.
Father God, I KNOW I have sinned in my life. I THANK YOU for ALL the times of forgiveness You have given me. I PRAY I NEVER choose a lifestyle of sin again, as I did at least twice in my life. THANK YOU for loving me even then! You called out to me and brought me back to You. It was NOT the fault of anyone but myself.
Thank You for restoring our relationship and growing it even deeper since those days. Our relationship is a work of YOUR hands and I value it more than ANYTHING in my life. Help me protect it with fierce vigilance!
Thank You for inspiring curiosity in me too. Curiosity that makes me dig deeper into Your word. I LOVE seeing where You will take me. The season of celebration of Your GREATEST gift of all is being celebrated now. I want to honor that time by stepping into something a little different instead of moving onto the next book in Your word. I don’t know at this very moment EXACTLY what that ‘something different’ will be, but I want whatever it is to honor You. I want it to speak deeply of Your love and my appreciation of that love.
