Hope in the Lord’s Faithfulness

“Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!  My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.  But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion’, says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” –Lamentations 3:19-26.

Even though the book of Lamentations is a long poem recounting the destruction and devastation of Jerusalem’s fall in 587 B. C. under Babylon’s attack, still the major theme is God’s mercy and faithfulness through the judgment of God.  Hope permeates the whole poem, and the anticipation that God will restore again and renew the nation to God’s favor and purpose is very evident throughout.  Hope, not despair, is the theme of this book.  Our cited verses for today give the theme of Lamentations.  The writer remembers the afflictions, wanderings “wormwood and gall” (bitterness) that has been a part of the people’s penalty and suffering for wrongdoing.  But still this truth is paramount:  God’s love is steadfast; His mercies are endless; every morning blessings come anew for that day!  And waiting for the Lord is good, for in due time His mercies will be revealed.  They who wait quietly for the Lord’s salvation will surely experience it and be renewed and restored.  We can but say that even this beautiful poem by the writer (or writers) of Lamentations is Messianic in nature, looking forward to the time when God will send the one who has the power and might to restore His people unto Himself.  And we, today, living in a time after the Messiah,  know this to be true.  “When the time was right”  God sent His Son to fulfill His promise of Hope!  Hear that anticipation, even in Lamentations 3:24:  “’The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul; ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’

Lamentations is sometimes a neglected book in that we do not hear a lot of sermons based on its texts nor do we often have Sunday School lessons from it.  This is unfortunate, because Lamentations is rich in both theology and history.  Here are seven summary teachings from Lamentations:  (1) Prayers expressed in Lamentations confess sin, express hope and declare dependence on God’s grace.  (2) Its author (or authors, if more than one poet wrote its contents) gave an eye-witness account of “the day of the Lord,” meaning the judgment of the nation because of its rebelliousness.  (3)  Its contents underline the nature of pain, the causes of that pain  (sin) and point toward redemption.  (4)  Jeremiah agrees with other books (like Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Kings and Jeremiah) that Jerusalem fell as a result of sin and the people’s not heeding repeated warnings.  (5)  Despite sin, repentance is possible, and when that occurs, God is faithful to forgive and restore.  (6)  Lamentations shares with the Psalms in confession and honest expressions of pain and suffering—and turning again to God for forgiveness.  (7)  “The day of the Lord” is a firm emphasis in Lamentations, meaning both the time in 587 B. C. when Babylon overcame the nation, and in the end-times “day of the Lord.”  Both are times of judgment; both give serious and solemn warnings about what the people of God are to do.

Let us prayerfully read and think about the message of Lamentations.  In view of world and national events, we stand in need of the timely and urgent message from Lamentations.  ”But you, O Lord, reign forever; Your throne endures to all generations… Restore us to Yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!”  (Lamentations 5:19, 21).  May this be our sincere prayer.

God’s Goodness to the Seeker

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  The Lord is my portion, says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him’. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.  It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” –Lamentations 3:22-27 (ESV).

The focus of the laments in the book of Lamentations was the fall of Jerusalem in the year 586 B. C.  The structure is in the form of five lyric poems.  The first four of these are acrostic poems, using the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  The exception is the third one of the poems in which each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is used three times, making 66 verses. Although chapter five has twenty-two verses, it is not an acrostic poem like the others.  The book of Lamentations does not name its author.  However the Septuagint (Greek) version had an introduction translated thus:  “And it came to pass, after Israel had been carried into captivity and Jerusalem had been laid waste that Jeremiah sat weeping and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem and said,”  and then come the five poems..Scholarly arguments on authorship to the contrary, the fact remains that the book and its laments have been preserved for us, and these are the inspired words of God with application not only for the time written but for any age.

Today’s focus verses are from the section in the third poem when the author of Lamentations (and I personally tend to believe the author was Jeremiah the prophet) remembered the mercy and grace of the Lord rather than the miserable conditions of the times.  Even in times of gravest troubles, “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”  A little anonymous poem shows how important it is for us to consider the love and mercy of the Lord for our hope despite circumstances:

                        “Look at yourself and you’ll be depressed.

                        Look at circumstances and you’ll be distressed.

                        Look at the Lord and you’ll be blessed.”

A secret to overcoming is drawing each morning upon the mercies of the Lord.  Someone has aptly observed that attitude is imperative to winning in life.  A still popular book with children is “The Little Engine that Could.”  From our youth onward throughout life, if we can learn to look to the Lord, depending on Him for direction and strength, we can be victorious in overcoming obstacles and pressing toward worthy goals.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him” (Lam. 3:25).  Waiting upon the Lord to work out His will and seeking Him whatever the circumstances constitute the basis of a vital trust in the Lord. This is not passive, listless waiting, but positive service and sincere seeking.  Indeed, with this attitude, we will find, every morning—and all day long—“mercies new.”  And what could be more motivating than to know assuredly that God is our portion and our strength, “a very present help in trouble”?

Sharing All Things in Common and Some Remarkable Happenings

“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.  And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.  For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need…However, the people held them in high esteem.  And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number.” –Acts 4:32-35; 5:13b-14 (NASB.  Read Acts 4:32-5:16).

Today we look at a long passage, especially if we read all twenty-two verses suggested.  Remember we are studying a summary of the early church, and as Luke wrote Acts he gave very pertinent and memorable information to give us an insight into how the Holy Spirit worked to lead the apostles and add to the church “multitudes of men and women who were constantly added to their number” (5:16).

This passage is hard to explain and raises the question of whether Christian groups should share all things in common as the early church did.  Dr. William Barclay, Bible scholar, reasons that the early church was progressing well, with the proclaimers and teachers filled with the Holy Spirit and persons being converted and added to the church daily.  But then practical matters entered in and had to be dealt with.  Where would money for food and shelter come from?  No one seemed to have the power, like Jesus, to turn a few fish and loves into enough food to feed thousands.  The apostles and other believers did have an intense sense of responsibility that all fare well.  This sharing all things in common was not socialism or communism—not a legal act of law-passing.  Sharing was spontaneous and voluntary as the needs arose.  Dr. Barclay notes:  “When the heart moves us to share…society becomes really Christian…not when law compels it.  The charity of legislation can never be a substitute for the charity of the heart.”  (William Barclay.  The Daily Study Bible.  Acts of the Apostles.  Philadelphia, Westminster, 1953, p. 41).

Notice how many things happened.  We can learn spiritual lessons from each of them:

(1)  They voluntarily brought what they had and shared with each other, laying it at the apostles’ feet.

(2)  Joseph, a Levite, also named Barnabas (an important later missionary with Paul and on his own) sold his land and brought the proceeds to the common treasury.  This is the first mention of Barnabas in Acts.  His name means “son of consolation.”  He would become an asset to the spread of the gospel.

(3)  Ananias and Sapphira, man and wife, sold a piece of property.  They, as Barnabas, brought proceeds of land sale to the apostles, but they used subterfuge in their transaction, pretending to bring the whole amount but keeping back for themselves.  The sin was not keeping back some for themselves; it was in pretending they had brought the whole—first Ananias, and then Sapphira.  Peter insists that Ananias’ sin is against God.  Ananias dies on the spot and is taken out and buried.  Sapphira, coming three hours later, and still holding to giving the whole to the Lord’s treasury, dies, as had her husband.  Is death not severe punishment for telling a lie, for pretending?  Why did Luke include this story in the account of the early church?  To brand religious hypocrisy for all time seems to be the object of this miracle.  “Their sin was vanity and ambition.  They wished to have a greater reputation for liberality than they were entitled to.”  (J. R. Dummelow.  A Commentary on the Holy Bible.  Philadelphia:  Westminster, 1958, p. 824).  No doubt, this couple wanted praise for their giving.  Their claim was not the truth; we might say they embezzled from God.  Such radical judgment as death is not the usual way to deal with the sin of pretense.  Theirs was a prime example of “seeming” and “being.”  Jesus warned severely against hypocrisy. They should have known the Old Testament warning as well on hypocrisy:  “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40).  Dr. George MacDonald wrote:  “Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look instead of trying to be what one is not.  (Quoted by Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe.  An Exposition of the New Testament.  Acts.  Colorado Springs:  Cook, 1989, p. 421).

(4)  “Great fear” came upon believers.  This followed immediately after the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, certainly an event of great magnitude and a somber example for all believers.  But fear here indicates “a healthy respect for the power of God.”  They had seen God’s power manifested in marvelous ways and they stood in fear, awe and reverence of Him and of what He was doing in their midst.  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7a).

(5)  “Ecclesia” (church) is used first in Acts 5:11 to indicate the body of believers.  And within the church, signs and wonders were taking place.  The church continued to meet at the Temple on Solomon’s Porch.

(6)  The “rest” (meaning the orthodox Jews who were not accepting Christianity) did not associate with Christians.

(7)  Favor of the church and of the preached word grew among the people.

(8)  Many brought their sick so that Peter could heal them.  Many thought that even if his shadow fell upon the sick, they would be healed.  This is similar to those in Corinth later who thought to touch the garments of Paul would bring healing.  But there is no indication given by Luke here that any such superstitious beliefs came true.

There was not magic to what Peter, John and the others were doing.  Through the Holy Spirit they had the power to preach and heal.

(9)  Word spread out and people came to hear from towns surrounding Jerusalem.

(10)  “Multitudes” of men and women were added to their number. The church grew!

How exciting and marvelous that the early church grew so.  And that impetus has continued with varying degrees of growth through the centuries to our own day.  A study of Acts behooves us to ask:  “How is our church growing?”  Dare we pray for the Holy Spirit to move us, as it moved the early ecclesia (church) so that we may reach out in power to share the gospel and see a harvest of souls for the Lord?