The second half of chapter 4 is if anything more overwhelmingly dark than the first half. But once again it is worth moving ourselves mentally to the wreckage of Jerusalem so that we can see the world through the eyes of the Lamenter. He begins with the impossibility of God’s people coming to such a state.
Jerusalem was the place where God placed his presence among his people. The place where he placed his king on the throne. And yet Jerusalem was rubble overrun by enemies:
12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor did any of the peoples of the world,
that enemies and foes could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
Whether the nations literally believed that Jerusalem could not be destroyed is irrelevant – the Lamenter is speaking from the perspective of one who believes in Yahweh, and knows that Psalm 46 is true – that Yahweh himself is Zion’s strength and refuge. So the idea that Jerusalem, Zion’s city, can fall is an impossibility.
And yet. Nebuchadnezzar has marched in, burnt the walls, carried off the gold from the temple and taken the cream of the city into exile. How? How can this be? The answer is in the next verses:
13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her
the blood of the righteous.
14 Now they grope through the streets
as if they were blind.
They are so defiled with blood
that no one dares to touch their garments.
15 “Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them.
“Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”
When they flee and wander about,
people among the nations say,
“They can stay here no longer.”
16 The Lord himself has scattered them;
he no longer watches over them.
The priests are shown no honour,
the elders no favour.
The answer is a crisis in leadership – and it is not first a crisis of political leadership or policy – although the chapter will move in that direction later. No, first of all it is a crisis of spiritual leadership – prophets and priests together have gone astray – they have shed the blood of the righteous.
Prophets are supposed to speak God’s words – but instead they have declared ‘peace, peace – but there is no peace’. Priests are supposed to stand between God and people – but instead they shed the blood of the innocent.
And so both priest and prophet become unclean. Both are despised by the people. Both perish. This feels strikingly contemporary. In recent years we have had so many exposures of respected Christian leaders. Leaders who were bullies, leaders who lied, leaders who abused, leaders who covered up abuse.
In such times where do we turn, where do we look:
17 Moreover, our eyes failed,
looking in vain for help;
from our towers we watched
for a nation that could not save us.
18 People stalked us at every step,
so we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near, our days were numbered,
for our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
than eagles in the sky;
they chased us over the mountains
and lay in wait for us in the desert.
Perhaps like Israel we are tempted to put our trust in princes. With eyes looking in vain for help from the sources of strength in the world around us. But it is all in vain. For Israel and Judah it was the temptation to trust in military resources and political alliances with Egypt and others. For us it might be the temptation to trust in our financial resources, or our knowledge, or our connections. But ultimately all of those things will fail and fall.
20 The Lord’s anointed, our very life breath,
was caught in their traps.
We thought that under his shadow
we would live among the nations.
21 Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,
you who live in the land of Uz.
But to you also the cup will be passed;
you will be drunk and stripped naked.
22 Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion;
he will not prolong your exile.
But he will punish your sin, Daughter Edom,
and expose your wickedness.
And then the hardest section of all – the Lord’s anointed has been caught in the enemy’s snares, when they had thought that he would enable them to live in safety. And so the chapter ends in despair for the present, but in the hope that one day Edom who laughs at Jerusalem’s fall will one day be punished, and Zion’s punishment will on day be ended.
Their hope in the Lord’s anointed was a good one, but the hope was only as strong as the Lord’s anointed was strong. Judah’s kings were all “the Lord’s anointed” – each in the line of David, but each weak and fallible, as was David before them. Each was only a pale shadow of the King to come, who though descended from David, was the perfect King.
The King who would establish his people, and who would punish his enemies. The King who would achieve this by bearing the people’s exile in his own body on the cross. This King is the hope for us as individuals, and for God’s people as a whole, and for all the nations of the earth.
This King is a perfect ruler. The perfect prophet speaking God’s word in truth, to build his people up. He is the perfect priest, entering into the Holy Place and bearing us into the Father’s presence. He is the perfect King, dispensing justice with mercy and grace for weak sinners like us.
He doesn’t use his privilege to lord it over others. He doesn’t abuse his position of power. He doesn’t bully others into submission. Instead he stoops to wash the feet of weary disciples. This Sunday in the churches year was Christ the King Sunday – a Sunday to remember the sort of King Jesus is at the end of the churches year.
In a world where it feels so often that we live in the ruins of Jerusalem trampled on by Babylon let us remember that we have a King who does rule, and whose rule will one day be seen by all. Let us trust him, and let us look to him as the pattern and example for our attempts to follow him and serve others.
Joshua's Tree Rooted 