Introduction
Lamentations 3:1–24: The book of Lamentations is collection of raw but poetic laments for Jerusalem after its destruction in 586 B.C. Today’s reading deals with punishment, repentance, and hope, proclaiming the LORD’s steadfast mercy.
Today’s Key Verse: Lamentations 3:24 GNT
The LORD is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.
Read
3 I am one who knows what it is to be punished by God.
2 He drove me deeper and deeper into darkness
3 And beat me again and again with merciless blows.
4 He has left my flesh open and raw, and has broken my bones.
5 He has shut me in a prison of misery and anguish.
6 He has forced me to live in the stagnant darkness of death.
7 He has bound me in chains; I am a prisoner with no hope of escape.
8 I cry aloud for help, but God refuses to listen;
9 I stagger as I walk; stone walls block me wherever I turn.
10 He waited for me like a bear; he pounced on me like a lion.
11 He chased me off the road, tore me to pieces, and left me.
12 He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows.
13 He shot his arrows deep into my body.
14 People laugh at me all day long; I am a joke to them all.
15 Bitter suffering is all he has given me for food and drink.
16 He rubbed my face in the ground and broke my teeth on rocks.
17 I have forgotten what health and peace and happiness are.
18 I do not have much longer to live; my hope in the Lord is gone.
19 The thought of my pain, my homelessness, is bitter poison.
20 I think of it constantly, and my spirit is depressed.
21 Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing:
22 The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue,
23 Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.
24 The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.
Reflect
Imagine yourself as the author of today’s reading—living in exile after witnessing the traumatic destruction of the city and its place of worship. What emotions does the author express? Which verses resonate with you the most? Do any offer comfort? Which ones speak of hope?
Pray
Lord God, thank you for your tender mercies that are fresh each morning. You assure me with your unfailing love, and in you I place my hope. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
Haggai 1:1–15: Haggai encourages the people who returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple.
