Our Daily Scripture – 10/19/24 (Saturday)

SCRIPTURE:  LAMENTAIONS 4

DESCRIPTION OF ZION:

  1.  The nation has lost its luster. (v.1)
  2.  It became a pot of clay. (v. 2)
  3.  The people became heartless like ostriches in the desert. (v. 3)
  4.  No one gave bread to the children’s hunger. (v. 4)
  5.  Those who ate delicacies before are destitute in the streets. (v. 5)
  6.  Their princes cannot be recognized because its appearance are black and dry with skinny bones shriveling in the streets.  (v. 8)
  7.  They die of famine for lack of food. (v. 9)
  8.  They cook their own children as food. (v. 10)
  9.  Her foundation was consumed by fire. (v. 11)
  10.  Enemies and foes entered the gate of Jerusalem. (v. 12)
  11.  They were like blind men in the streets with garments defiled with blood. 9v. 14)
  12.  People among the nations drove them out. (v. 15)
  13.  Their priests and elders are not honored. (v. 16)
  14.  No nations could help nor save them. (v. 17)
  15.  They could no longer walk in their streets as their end has come. (v. 18)
  16.  Pursuers chased them over the mountain and lay in wait for them in the desert. (v. 19)
  17.  They were caught in enemy’s trap. (v. 20)

THOUGHTS:

The people of Israel has been like gold and precious gems but now they were of cheap clay pots.  People accustomed to luxuries could no longer find the necessities of life.  Healthy young men were like dead corpes.  The sights and sounds of prosperity were gone.  And that was all because of the consequences of sin.

When the city was under siege, the enemy camped arounds the city.  The people could not go to the fields to get food and water.  For two years, life had became so hard that the people even ate their own children.  Dead bodies were left to rot in the streets as all hopes were gone.

Jeremiah warned Judah not to ally itself with Egypt.  He told the leaders to rely on God but they refused to listen.  King Zedekiah had fallen into spiritual bankruptcy by listening to false prophets.  The people chose the path of complacency wanting to feel secure rather than to follow the direction of God.  This should teach us to put our faith in God by listening to His Word.