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1.
How deserted lies the city, once so full
of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.
2.
Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are
upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her. All her
friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
3.
After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile.
She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue
her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
4.
The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes
to her appointed feasts. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan,
her maidens grieve, and she is in bitter anguish.
5.
Her foes have become her masters; her
enemies are at ease. The LORD has brought her grief because of her many
sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe.
6.
All the splendor has departed from the
Daughter of Zion. Her princes are like
deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursuer.
7.
In the days of her affliction and
wandering Jerusalem remembers all the
treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy
hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed
at her destruction.
8.
Jerusalem has sinned greatly and
so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen
her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away.
9.
Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she
did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to
comfort her. "Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed."
Commentary from NIV:P.1642
1:1 This is the prophet Jeremiah’s song of
sorrow for Jerusalem’s destruction. The nation of Judah had been utterly defeated, the temple destroyed, and captives taken
away to Babylon. Jeremiah’s tears were for the suffering and humiliation of the
people, but those tears penetrated even deeper into his heart. He wept
because God had rejected the people for their rebellious ways. Each year
this book was read aloud to remind all the Jews that their great city fell
because of their stubborn sinfulness.
1:2 The term lovers refers to nations such as Egypt, to whom Judah kept turning for help. As the Babylonians closed in on Jerusalem, the nation of Judah turned away from God and sought help and protection from other
nations instead.
1:9 The warning was loud and clear: If Judah played with fire, its people would get burned. Jerusalem foolishly took a chance and lost, refusing to believe that immoral
living brings God’s punishment. The ultimate consequence of sin is
punishment (Romans 6:23). We can choose to ignore
God’s warnings, but as surely as judgment came upon Jerusalem, so will it come upon those who defy God. Are you listening to God’s
Word? Are you obeying it? Obedience is a sure sign of your love for God.
B. The Suffering Sin Brings: Read Lamentations1:12-14
12"Is it nothing to you,
all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like my
suffering that was inflicted on me, that the LORD brought on me in the day
of his fierce anger?
13 "From on high he sent
fire, sent it down into my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me
back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.
14 "My sins have been
bound into a yoke ; by his hands they were woven together. They have come
upon my neck and the Lord has sapped my strength. He has handed me over to
those I cannot withstand.
The grieving widow acknowledged that
Jerusalem had fallen into the hands of an angry God. Although it
was the Babylonian army that besieged the city, it was God who was
responsible for the death of her warriors. It was God who caused the young
men and young women to be carried off into exile. The widow knew that they
suffered because of their own sins. They refused to keep the command-ments of their covenant with God.
God gave His laws so that people would learn
to live together in peace. Jesus healed the sick, opened the eyes of the
blind, and wept with those who had lost a loved one. We also should be
moved to respond compassionately by the needs of people.
C. God’s Response to Sin: Read Lamentations1:15-18
15"The Lord has rejected
all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush
my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of
Judah.
16"This is why I weep and
my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comfort me, no one to
restore my spirit. My children are destitute because the enemy has
prevailed."
17 Zion
stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The LORD has
decreed for Jacob that his neighbors become his foes; Jerusalem
has become an unclean thing among them.
18 "The LORD is righteous,
yet I rebelled against his command. Listen, all you peoples; look upon my
suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into exile.
During the Middle Ages life was difficult.
There were the constant wars, short life spans, and no “social network” to
relieve suffering.
People want a God who is all forgiving and who
always helps us in difficult situations. Thankfully, God is patient with
us, not bringing judgment immediately, but extends mercy in order to bring us to repentance.
Jerusalem had many righteous persons, such
as Jeremiah, Baruch, and those who listened to the prophet’s words. Still
the city was taken by the Babylonians and even the righteous suffered. The
sins of the community brought destruction on all its residents.
The good news is that God not only forgives
us, as we walk with Jesus, the Holy Spirit guides us into peaceful paths
that avoid the consequences of sin. The question is, do we listen?
Questions: Old Saying, “Sin will always take
you farther than you wanted to go; sin will always keep you longer than you
wanted to stay; sin will cost you more than you intended to pay.”
o
Is
there any reason, by what you read in this lament, to be hopeful for the future of God’s people? Why?
D.POINTS:
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- 先前滿有人民的城、現在何竟獨坐、先前在列國中為大的、現在竟如寡婦．先前在諸省中為王后的、現在成為進貢的。
- 他夜間痛哭、淚流滿腮．在一切所親愛的中間、沒有一個安慰他的．他的朋友、都以詭詐待他、成為他的仇敵。
- 猶大因遭遇苦難、又因多服勞苦、就遷到外邦．他住在列國中、尋不著安息．追逼他的都 將他追上。
- 錫安的路徑、因無人來守聖節就悲傷．他的城門淒涼、他的祭司歎息．他的處女受艱難、自己也愁苦。
- 他的敵人為首．他的仇敵亨通．因耶和華為他許多的罪過、使他受苦．他的孩童被敵人擄去。
- 錫安城〔城原文作女子下同〕的威榮、〔城原文作女子下同〕全都失去．他的首領、像找不著草場的鹿、在追趕的人前、無力行走。
- 耶路撒冷在困苦窘迫之時、就追想古時一切的樂境。他百姓落在敵人手中、無人救濟．敵人看見、就因他的荒涼嗤笑。
- 耶路撒冷大大犯罪．所以成為不潔之物．素來尊敬他的、見他赤露就都藐視他．他自己也歎息退後。
- 他的污穢是在衣襟上．他不思想自己的結局．所以非常的敗落、無人安慰他。他說、耶和華阿、求你看我的苦難、因為仇敵誇大。
靈修版解經:P.1356
1:1 這卷書是耶利米為耶路撒冷滅亡所寫的哀歌。整個猶大被徹底的打敗，聖殿被摧毀，人民也被巴比倫人俘虜。耶利米為受苦難和被侮辱的人民哭泣，淚水透入他的心。他痛哭是因為上帝拋棄了那些背離祂的人。這哀歌每年都要大聲的朗誦給所有的猶太人聽，提醒他們，當年耶路撒冷的毀滅亡就是因為人民固執地犯罪所導致的。- 昔日繁華興盛，今日滿目瘡痍，此情此景，怎不令人哀泣呢？
1:2句中〝親愛的〞是指埃及等一些國家，因為猶大一直盼望他們能施以援手。當巴比倫軍隊靠近耶路撒冷時，猶大不但不祈求上帝的保護，反而背棄上帝去求他國的援助。- 在您遇難時朋友卻落井下石，是怪人心詭詐，還是怪自己交友不慎呢?
1:9 這個警告不僅響亮而且清楚。如果猶大玩火必然自焚，但是猶大真的愈蠢地冒險並輸了。他們拒絕相信不道德的生活會導致上帝的懲罰，但犯罪的最終代價就是受懲罰 (參羅6:23)。我們可以選擇不顧上帝，但正如審判一定會降臨耶路撒冷一樣，它也會降到我們身上的。您聽從上帝的話嗎？服從上帝就是愛上帝的表現。
B. 罪帶來受苦： 耶利米哀歌 1:12-14
12
你們一切過路的人哪、這事你們不介意麼．你們要觀看、有像這臨到我的痛苦沒有、就是耶和華在他發烈怒的日子使我所受的苦。
13
他從高天使火進入我的骨頭、剋制了我．他鋪下網羅、絆我的腳、使我轉回．他使我終日淒涼發昏。
14
我罪過的軛、是他手所綁的、猶如軛繩縛在我頸項上．他使我的力量衰敗。主將我交在我所不能敵擋的人手中。
悲傷的寡婦認知耶路撒冷已經落下在上帝生氣的手上；雖是巴比倫人的軍隊圍攻了城市，是上帝的責任決定戰士的生死，也是上帝造成年青人和婦女之被放逐。寡婦認知因她們的罪在受苦，因他們拒絕與上帝守其誡律呀！
上帝的律法給人民學到和平相處，耶穌醫治病人，打開瞎子的眼睛，與失去親人的人同泣。我們應對須要的人有同理心。
C. 上帝對罪的回應： 耶利米哀歌 1:15-18
15 主輕棄我中間的一切勇士、招聚多人〔原文作大會〕攻擊我、要壓碎我的少年人．主將猶大居民踹下、像在酒醡中一樣。
16 我因這些事哭泣．我眼淚汪汪．因為那當安慰我、救我性命的、離我甚遠．我的兒女孤苦、因為仇敵得了勝.
17 錫安舉手、無人安慰．耶和華論雅各已經出令、使四圍的人作他仇敵．耶路撒冷在他們中間、像不潔之物.
18 耶和華是公義的．他這樣待我、是因我違背他的命令。眾民哪、請聽我的話、看我的痛苦、我的處女和少年人、都被擄去。
中古時代的生活是很困難的，有不段的戰爭，生命平均不長，沒有社會網路可放清鬆些。
人民希望上帝是一位全然的赦罪我們的神，並總是在有困難時幫助我們。感恩的是上帝並不立刻處罰我們，而是忍耐待我們，總是括大祂的憐愛，為的是要我們悔改。
耶路撒冷有許多的義人，如耶利米、巴錄，和其他輕聽先知話的人。但仍然被巴比倫人取去，甚至於義人也吃苦，公眾社區的罪帶來破壞所有居民。
好消息的是上帝不只是原諒我們，如我們與耶穌同行，聖靈領導我們進入平安的路，並且避免這些罪的處罰，問題是您住意聽嗎？
問題：英文俗話說：
“罪總將你帶遠到你不想到之處； 罪總將你留到你不想留下還留你；罪總將用過於你的實際預算。”
o
您讀了這輓歌，有任何理由說出上帝 的子民對將來是有盼望的嗎？為什麼？
D.要點:
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`赦罪並不能擦去罪的影響’‘Forgiveness Does Not Erase the Consequences of Sin’
