*Pastor David Greene - Lamentations*
As the Old Testament unfolds, the Israelites continuously show their unfaithfulness and sinfulness. God calls them back to himself through calling them to repentance. One of the ways that God revealed his wrath on the unfaithfulness of Jerusalem was by the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 586 B.C. This was a hard time for Jerusalem as they were overthrown by their enemies and they became captive to Babylon. The book of Lamentations describes the sorrow expressed by the people of Jerusalem. This was a national disaster and a rightfully deserved judgement on Jerusalem. This judgement exposed the sinfulness of man even more. This judgement though, brought about a repentance that brought Jerusalem back to God.
God hands man over to their sin and exposes the sinfulness of man in order to draw people to repentance. This darkness that confronts each one of us on a daily basis should not draw us to have pity, rather it should draw us to a lamenting/mourning of the sinfulness of man, which then will lead many to repentance. God is a merciful God, and a God who desires that none should perish. God desires for us to be reconciled to him, but this only comes through Jesus Christ.
