Funeral Songs

November 10

Daily Bible Reading: Lamentations 1 - 2

Verse of the Day: Lamentations 2:11 – “Mine eyes do fail with tears, my heart is troubled; My liver is poured upon the earth, because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, Because the young children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.

This may rank as the saddest book in the Old Testament. It is five funeral songs that express the horror and hopelessness that is seen in the rubble of the Jew’s proudest city. Destroyed by the Babylonians.

Jeremiah (the “Weeping Prophet”) shows us his broken heart, and yet in the very center of this dirge, he issues a statement of hope and praise – that God goodness and mercy will bring renewal and restoration.

The book of Jeremiah looks toward the destruction of Jerusalem, and this book looks back in mourning to the destruction.

Prayer: Gracious God, we can see that even in Your hand of judgment can be mercy and hope for the future. We trust You. Amen.