A Cry for Help from the Pit
August 10, 2021
Commentary
Suffering should lead people to repentance, prayer, and renewed devotion to God. This was the message Jeremiah gave to Judah in this passage. He urged the people to confess their sins and turn back to the Lord because of their suffering (vv. 41–47). Then he called upon God to bring justice against those who opposed His people (vv. 48–66).
Just as God had rescued Jeremiah in the past, He was able to rescue Judah if the nation would return to Him. Their restoration would begin with prayer. They needed to lift their hearts and hands, admit their sin, and acknowledge their rebellion against God. Judah’s troubles included God’s discipline, unanswered prayers, and rejection by other nations. These hardships were the result of their disobedience. When they recognized the seriousness of their sin, they could come before the Lord in genuine repentance and seek His mercy.
The focus then shifts from the nation’s confession to Jeremiah’s personal example (vv. 48–66). Though he had faithfully delivered God’s message, his enemies hated him. They hunted him down, threw him into a pit, and tried to take his life. Jeremiah used his own experience to illustrate the suffering that Judah was enduring. His pain and hardships helped him identify with the struggles of the people.
Even in his affliction, Jeremiah did not stop praying. He wept for his people and continued calling on the Lord to look down from heaven and restore them. He remained faithful while waiting for God to act. Through his example, the people could see what it meant to trust God during suffering. As Judah endured hardship because of sin, Jeremiah also suffered. Yet he continued to seek the Lord, believing that God would answer and bring restoration in His perfect time.
Application
Suffering should draw me closer to God, not farther away. When I face difficulties, do I honestly confess my sins and seek His mercy? Am I faithful in prayer while waiting for God to act? Do I trust Him even when answers seem delayed? How can I follow Jeremiah’s example and continue seeking the Lord with hope and perseverance today?
Lamentations 3:41–66 (NET)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven:
42 “We have blatantly rebelled; you have not forgiven.” ס (Samek)
43 You shrouded yourself with anger and then pursued us; you killed without mercy.
44 You shrouded yourself with a cloud so that no prayer could get through.
45 You make us like filthy scum in the estimation of the nations. פ (Pe)
46 All our enemies have gloated over us;
47 panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction.
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed. ע (Ayin)
49 Tears flow from my eyes and will not stop; there will be no break
50 until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees what has happened.
51 What my eyes see grieves me — all the suffering of the daughters in my city. צ (Tsade)
52 For no good reason my enemies hunted me down like a bird.
53 They shut me up in a pit and threw stones at me.
54 The waters closed over my head; I thought I was about to die. ק (Qof)
55 I have called on your name, O Lord, from the deepest pit.
56 You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!”
57 You came near on the day I called to you; you said, “Do not fear!” ר (Resh)
58 O Lord, you championed my cause; you redeemed my life.
59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord; pronounce judgment on my behalf!
60 You have seen all their vengeance, all their plots against me. ש (Sin/Shin)
61 You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me.
62 My assailants revile and conspire against me all day long.
63 Watch them from morning to evening; I am the object of their mocking songs. ת (Tav)
64 Pay them back what they deserve, O Lord, according to what they have done.
65 Give them a distraught heart; may your curse be on them!
66 Pursue them in anger and eradicate them from under the Lord’s heaven.
How Children Often Pray
Dear God: Please send a new baby. The one you sent last week cries too much. – Debbie, 7Dear God: Who did you make smarter? Boys or girls? My sister and I want to know. – Jimmy, 6Dear God: Could you please give my brother some brains. … Continue