Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! (Jeremiah 9:1 ESV)
In 2023 I proudly read through the whole Bible in a year using the Bible Recap program. In 2024 I began the program again, but got really bogged down in Isaiah and never finished. In 2025 I decided to try again and, thankfully, was able to finish again. But those last 55 unfinished days from 2024 bugged me, so I decided to finish those off in 2026. These last few days I have been reading in Ezekiel, a prophet who was among the first wave of exiles taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. Ezekiel saw some memorable visions, did some strange but notable things, and gave strong warnings to Israel and other nations. As I’ve read through Ch. 25-32 I have been struck again by God’s heart for people.
After very harsh warnings to the Israelites about their forthcoming punishment for idolatry and sin, one by one God warns Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia, Egypt, and Tyre that they will be judged for their idolatry, arrogance, and harm to Israel. Chapter after chapter Ezekiel warns these nations and the kings of Egypt and Tyre about God’s upcoming judgement.
The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Wail, ‘Woe to the day!’
For the day is near,
Even the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
The sword shall come upon Egypt,
And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt,
And they take away her wealth,
And her foundations are broken down. (Ezekiel 30:1-4 NKJV)
Then I was caught by God’s heart of mercy.
The same God warning all these people and nations about judgment for idolatry and harm to Israel, was lamenting over his actions. Even before the destruction he promised, he was grieving what was to come, sorrowful for the nations’ actions that had led to this expression of God’s justice.
What god does that? What god is sorrowful and lamenting that they are going to execute justice?
Our God.
To me this is another look at God’s heart of love and justice. He is absolutely sovereign and, when nations and people to refuse to repent and turn to him, he acts with justice. But in that justice, there is sorrow for the necessary actions he must take to satisfy the perfection of his nature. God does not rejoice in destruction. He laments – expresses sorrow – for the pain and suffering these other nations and their kings will endure.
If you are a parent who has ever had to discipline a child, you know the truth of statements like “this will hurt me as much as it does you.”
Lament in the Bible gives voice to grief, loss, repentance, and longing. When we lament, we reach toward God.
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1 NIV)
My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen on me.
Fear and trembling have beset me;
horror has overwhelmed me. (Psalm 55:4-5 NIV)
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. (Lamentations 3:19-20 ESV)
Even Jesus knew lament because he knew in the Garden of Gethsemane what was to come the next day: My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. (Matthew 26:38 ESV)
Today, may we remember the heart of our good and perfect God, just and righteous, who loves his created ones so much he laments when he has to judge them for their sins.
AMEN
O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? (Habakkuk 1:2 NIV)
We ourselves… groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23 NIV)