The sermon by Eric Bechler at Barnet Bible Church discusses the Book of Lamentations, focusing on the fall of Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of the people of Judah as a result of their disobedience to God. The sermon highlights the significance of the date Tisha B'Av, a day of calamity in Jewish history, and examines the literary structure of Lamentations, which includes acrostics based on the Hebrew alphabet. Jeremiah, the author, is portrayed as a 'weeping prophet' who laments the destruction and urges repentance. The sermon draws parallels between the sufferings of the Jews and the sufferings of Christ, emphasizing themes of divine wrath, sorrow, and the hope of comfort through repentance. It also reflects on the historical context of biblical prophecies and the consequences of ignoring God's commandments. The sermon encourages self-examination and repentance to avoid similar spiritual desolation.

Thanks for joining us at Barnet Bible Church. This week Mr. Beckler continues his teaching series in the Book of Lamentations. So our reading, our lesson today is from the Book of Lamentations. Why don't we stand and we'll read together Lamentations chapter 1 verses 10 through 17.

The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things for she has seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary whom now didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation. All her people sigh, they seek bread. They have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul. See O Lord and consider, for I am become vile. Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by, behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

From above hath he sent fire into my bones and it prevaileth against them. He hath spread a net for my feet. He hath turned me back. He hath made me desolate and faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand.

They are wreathed and come upon my neck. He hath made my strength to fail. The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up. The Lord hath trodden underfoot all my mighty men in the midst of me. He hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men.

The Lord hath trodden a virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a wine press. For these things I weep, mine eye, mine eye, run it down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me. My children are desolate because the enemy prevailed. Zion spreadeth forth her hands and there is none to comfort her. The Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob that his adversaries should be round about him.

Jerusalem is as a monstrous woman among them. Amen. Let us pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, We thank you Lord for this day. We we thank you Lord for your holy scriptures We thank you for all the books and all the words, every letter here, Lord, is such a special gift with a special purpose.

Lord, we thank you for our time in the Book of Lamentations. It's not a common book that we read or study, but Lord, your hand is in it. It is God-breathed and we should be interested, Lord, in what you have to say. I pray, Lord, your spirit would be upon me as we go through some of these verses that they would become more Meaningful to each of us in Jesus name. We pray.

Amen. You may be seated It's been a while since I've covered Lamentations, but the last time we looked at Lamentations, we looked at some interesting details surrounding the book. One of them included the significance of the actual date, the ninth day of the Hebrew month Av. It's called Tisha B'Av. This is particularly a tragic date for the Jews.

Some of the many events on this day include the spies returned with a bad report to Moses. Both temples were destroyed on that date. The Jews were expelled from England, they were expelled from Spain. Both world wars began on that date. There are many, many other dates.

If you look it up, it's quite remarkable. Every year on the 9th of Av, this particular book is read in the Jewish synagogues. Another interesting detail with this book is respect to the unique literary structure. In chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5, they have 22 verses. Chapter 3 has 66 verses.

This ties in with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet in chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4. It's an acrostic with those letters in the alphabet. And in chapter 5, it doesn't have an acrostic for all the letters, but We'll call a miniature acrostic in the middle of that particular chapter. We're a little bit familiar with that from Psalm 119, which uses groups of eight verses for each letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Some people's Bibles actually have subtitles in each group of eight with each letter in the Hebrew alphabet.

The title of the book, The Lamentations of Jeremiah, comes from the first Hebrew word of the book, Echa, which means in English, alas, or how sad it is. Interestingly, this word is also found to be the first word in Chapter 2 and Chapter 4. In later versions of the Old Testament, the Greek word thraenoi was used, which translates to the word Lamentations. And there are a number of other interesting features of the book. It's quite an amazing and interesting book.

And as I mentioned, unfortunately, it's very much overlooked by many Christians today. The book of Jeremiah prophesies the fall of Jerusalem. The Book of Lamentations which follows that book conveys the expression of pain, grief, sadness, all related to the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple in the exile of the people of Judah out of the land. It comes from a heart filled with the love for the people of God, a people punished for their sins. Jeremiah is the author of the book, both books, Jeremiah and Lamentations.

He was a prophet in the years leading up to the exile and witnessed firsthand the fall and destruction. Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. The commentator Aaron Rimmers notes, similar to the Psalms, we may also see in Lamentations a prophetical preview of the sufferings of the Jewish remnant in the last time of trouble before Christ's appearing. As Jeremiah identified himself with the sad condition of the people under God's judgment, so will also the Lord Jesus have compassion with Israel's woe and especially so with the remnant's woe. This is why various parallels are to be seen.

Jeremiah lamented over Jerusalem and the Lord Jesus did so as well. You can look in Matthew 23 and Luke 19 for some of that. Jeremiah's ministry began in the 13th year of King Josiah of Judah and lasted until the exile in 586 BC. Josiah was the last of Judah's good kings, the four following kings were all wicked in the sight of the Lord. If you'll remember back in Deuteronomy 28, the covenant ritual at Mount Ebal and Gerizim, where Moses called the people to obey God's commands, He listed out the blessings to expect if they obeyed and listed out the curses to expect if they disobeyed God's commands.

Despite the many calls to fear the Lord and to serve him with all your heart, The history of Israel is one of rebellion. I don't think this is a unique quality and it's certainly evident in our world today. Israel, the northern kingdom, had 19 evil kings spanning 200 years. Assyria conquered and exiled the northern kingdom, never to return. Judah, the southern kingdom, also had 19 kings.

All but eight were evil. Judah lasted 340 years, proving what God had promised to Solomon in 1 Kings 3.14. If thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days." We see that between the two kingdoms almost twice the duration. Yet with twelve evil kings leading the people astray, the promised curse for disobedience became a reality. This particular curse was foretold in Deuteronomy 28 verse 25.

The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies. Thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth." The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and carried away the people into exile. Finally, God did not step in to save his people as he had done so many times in the past. Jeremiah was there, a first-hand witness of the events. The book of Lamentations are his expressions of sorrow and grief at what he saw.

It also records the acknowledgments of the people's rebellion, a call for repentance, and a plea for mercy. It's a wonderful progression to study. It has a lot of lessons that we can take to heart. Last time we didn't finish the first section of 11 verses, so we'll finish those two verses in the first section and move to the second section. The first section focused on Jerusalem's pleasant things.

In verse 7, we see Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old. She's reflecting back on better times, so to say the glory days, the days of David and the days of Solomon. In verse eight, Jeremiah admits the sin and consequences of sin. Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore she is removed. These were sins against God himself and his sovereignty.

In verse 9, her filthiness is in her skirts. She came down wonderfully. Jeremiah had proclaimed to the people of Jerusalem and prophesied what would be the Lord's response. Back in Jeremiah 13, 24 through 27, Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passes the way by the wind of the wilderness. This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord, because thou hast forgotten me, entrusted in falsehood.

Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face that thy shame may appear. I've seen thine adulteries and thy nays, the lewdness of thy whoredom and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made clean? When shall it once be? This brings us to where we will begin today in verse 10 of chapter 1.

The adversary has spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things, for she has seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom now didst command, that they should not enter into thy congregation. The adversary here is Nebuchadnezzar and his Chaldean army. They are the heathens, the enemies of Judah, and the conquerors of Judah. They were used as an instrument by God to punish the Jews. He spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things.

Historically an invading army will plunder, taking all the goods, the furnishings, the clothing, the jewelry, and any other wealth of the defeated people." Because we have the phrase in this verse, the heathen entered into her sanctuary, it's more likely here that the pleasant things mentioned are actually the precious things of the temple. These things would include the ark, the table, the altar, the priestly garments, and any other vessels of the sanctuary and any other valuables found in the temple. Many of these items were gold or gold plated covered in jewels. There would be tremendous wealth found there in the temple and not only had the wealth of the temple been plundered, but this act was witnessed. We see in the verse it says she has seen.

What intense grief it must have been experienced by the Jews as they witnessed not only the destruction of their city and armies, but also the violation of their precious temple, the temple built for their use, and the temple where they would worship the Lord. To see the wicked army enter, to plunder and ravage the holy places of God. The last phrase there, whom now didst command that they should not enter into the congregation. This phrase indicates that not everyone could go into the temple from Ezekiel 44 verse 9. Thus saith the Lord God, no stranger uncircumcised in heart nor uncircumcised in flesh shall enter into my sanctuary of any stranger that is among the children of Israel." Of course, here Nebuchadnezzar and his army, their wicked heathens, they paid no attention to God's commands respecting to his temple.

They had no hesitations to enter, to plunder, and destroy the temple. In her next verse, verse 11, all her people sigh. They seek bread, they've given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul. See, O Lord, and consider, for I am become vile. If we look back in verse 4 we see her priests sigh.

They're sighing because there's no temple in existence. They can't serve, they can't lead the solemn feasts, they can't worship. In verse 11 here we see that all her people sigh. They are a conquered people. They watched the Chaldeans defeat their armies, destroy Jerusalem, and destroy their temple.

Their grief is unbounded. All they can do here is sigh. Commerce, if not completely halted or destroyed, at least would be disrupted. Where would the people get their food? We read here again in this verse, they seek bread.

Well they have no food, that's why they're seeking bread. Remember this was at one time the land flowing with milk and honey. Times have changed for them. Tired, defeated, weary, starving, they needed to eat. They seek bread perhaps from those Jews who had stockpiled food secretly or perhaps from the Chaldean army.

We don't know. What we do know is what we read next. They have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul. What would be their pleasant things? For the people, anything of value, a ring, a coin, clothing, anything that they could trade for meat to keep up from fainting or dying.

They needed food to refresh and revive their spirits. We see in the last part of this verse, See O Lord, and consider, for I have become vile. The Jews cry out to God look here oh God take a look don't you see what what a mess we're in we've become vile scorned God take a look see us they're pleading to God that God would notice their distress and do something, respond, that God would show pity, he would show mercy, he would show compassion on the suffering of his people. Their pride, their disobedience has led them to this condition. In David and Solomon's time, they were the leading nation in that part of the world.

They conquered everybody. Now they're a dunghill, a nobody. How do we look at that? Do you struggle with pride? Do you find yourself in rebellion, disobeying God's commands?

Don't wait until you find yourself in a similar condition as the Jews found themselves. Rock bottom. Repent, humble yourself before God and ask for forgiveness. In the next section, my Bible's titles at the yoke of my transgressions in verse 12 through 17. In the previous verses, the one through 11, Jeremiah was complaining to God about all the suffering and ends with a plea to show mercy and compassion.

In these next 11 verses Jeremiah complains to other people to others and ends with a plea for payback. We'll start with verse 12. Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger you can sense here the grief as he cries out is it nothing to you don't you see this tragedy don't you see our suffering our army was conquered our city was destroyed our holy temple of God was desecrated, it was violated, it was destroyed. We can no longer gather to worship our God there. We can no longer celebrate the required feast.

Can you even imagine something so terrible? All your world in shambles. Jeremiah declares, behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. Who is Jeremiah speaking? Two here, all ye that pass by.

This would include perhaps the Chaldean army, perhaps the Mobites, perhaps the Ammonites or other neighboring people that had joined in with the Chaldean army, and perhaps just local spectators to witness this particular tragedy. Despite all of these witnesses you get the sense there is no sympathy, there's no pity, no compassion. Remember from verse 2 in chapter 1, all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies. And from verse 7, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her, The adversaries saw her and did mock at her Sabbaths, at her downfall. Matthew Henry has a nice comment on this passage.

Jerusalem, sitting dejected on the ground, calls on those that passed by to consider whether her example did not concern them. Her outward sufferings were great, but her inward sufferings were harder to bear. Though the sense of guilt, through the sense of guilt, sorrow for sin must be great sorrow, and must affect the soul. Here we see the evil of sin and may take warning to flee from the wrath to come. Whatever may be learned from the sufferings of Jerusalem, far more may be learned from the sufferings of Christ.

Does he not from the cross speak to every one of us? Does he not say, is it nothing to you? All ye that pass by, let all our sorrows lead us to the cross of Christ and lead us to mark His example and cheerfully follow Him. Really like that passage. As we move to the last part of verse 12, we finally get to an acknowledgement to who is behind this great suffering and the punishment, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

Let's focus on this a minute. We get that the Jews and all they held precious have been taken from them as punishment. We get they're afflicted. Now, however, we finally hear that this is coming from God. God is pouring out that cup of wrath on his people.

Judah, time and time again, rebelled and rejected God. The last four kings were wicked, wicked in the sight of the Lord. They are now experiencing the consequences of their disobedience to God, their rebellion, their sin. And this should not have come as a surprise as it was foretold by Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 4 verse 7 through 8. The lion has come up from his thicket and this destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way.

He has gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate and thy cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant, for this gird you with sackcloth lament and howl. For the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us, and it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes, and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder." So I have a pretty good prophecy, very descriptive of what actually was going to happen to the Jews by Jeremiah. Moving on to verse 13, From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it profaileth against them. He hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back, he hath made me desolate and faint all the day. We see from the first two words from above means that it's coming from God, God himself.

He sent fire into my bones and it prevails against me. To me this was interesting. I didn't really understand what that meant. It's actually a phrase Jeremiah had used before. Jeremiah had been smote.

He'd been put in stocks for prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem and all within. He was tired of always being the bearer of bad news and he was ready to hang up his being a prophet. Back in Jeremiah 20 verses 7 through 9, Oh Lord thou hast deceived me and I was deceived. Thou art stronger than I and hast prevailed. I am in derision daily.

Everyone mocketh me, for since I spake I cried out. I cried violence and spoil, because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me in a derision daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." And the ESV translation that ending there says, weary with holding it in, and I cannot. So we see that the Lord prevailed on Jeremiah who wanted to stop being a prophet because he only brought bad news and nobody liked him.

Here also the Lord prevailed in Jerusalem. There's something in the Jewish world called the Targum. The Targum is a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic. This was the common spoken language in the synagogues during the early church period. It is a translation more with commentary, so not a strict word-for-word.

John Gill references the Targum as indicating that the bones mentioned in the verse refer to Jewish fortified cities, towns, castles, and with respect to Jerusalem, the temple, and the palaces of the king and nobles. So the picture we have here is that from above, God sent down fire to destroy the towns, to destroy Jerusalem, to destroy the temple. There was no defense that could withstand the wrath of God poured down upon them. God's punishment, his wrath prevailed. As a hunter would catch a prey in a net, this prey is caught, is trapped by the net.

There's no escape, there's no turning back. Similarly, God hath spread a net for my feet, the Jews' feet. He hath turned me back, he hath made me desolate and faint all the day." This time for Judah there was no escape. There was nowhere to hide. There was no turning back.

If we refer back to verse 3, all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. And in verse 5, her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. Jeremiah acknowledges the source of all of this in verse 12, the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. The next two verses will take together. Jeremiah continues his lamentations with very descriptive language here.

He uses a picture of a yoke and a wine press to aid our understanding and to better relate. Although in our culture today, we're not as familiar with yokes and wine presses it's not part of what we experienced each day in verses 14 and 15 the yoke of my transgressions was bound they were woven together by his hands and thrust upon my neck he made my strength fail The Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand. The Lord has trampled underfoot all my mighty men in my midst. He has called an assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord trampled as a wine press the virgin daughter of Judah.

We'll start with a yoke. A yoke is a curved piece of wood fitted on the neck of an oxen for the purpose of binding them to the traces where they might draw the plow or any other load. We might be familiar with that from reading books or seeing this in a movie. The word yoke can be used figuratively to express severe bondage, affliction, or subjection, which is what we see here. Who made this yoke?

God did. They were woven together by his hands. Why were the people of God yoked? Again, Jeremiah tells us that this is the yoke of my transgressions. This affliction, this subjection is a consequence of the years of rebellion, rejection, and disobedience to God's commands.

Where it says the Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand. The wine press. This is usually a couple of tubs, or they call them vats. One sits a little higher than the other. They place the grapes in the higher one.

They get in and step on them, crush them, or use some other device to stomp on them. The juice drains in from the upper vat to the lower vat and collects the juice. Figuratively, the winepress indicates judgment and destruction. The crushing of an army or people, as we see referred to in the book of Revelation in chapter 14 verses 19 through 20. So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

And the wine press was trampled outside the city and blood came out of the wine press up to the horses bridles for 1, 600 furlongs." So it's pretty dramatic. The Lord has trampled. Here the Lord has trampled the mighty men and the soldiers, the heroes of Judah. Unfortunately, they're not defeated gloriously in the field of battle. They're, what we have in the verse here says, in my midst.

This is, they're in the city. They're trapped like caged animals and they're killed. For soldiers this is not a glorious way to end, it's only shame and derision. To crush my young men, the young men of Judah being crushed and slaughtered, blood being squeezed out by the armies of the Chaldeans. The Lord trampled the virgin daughter of Judah.

Young women were ravished and defiled by the enemy. Both with the yoke and the winepress we see a picture of that the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. The wrath of God had finally come to the people of Judah. In verse 16, for these things I weep, my eye, my eye overflows with water, because the Comforter, who should relieve my soul, is far from me. My children are desolate because the enemy prevailed." Yes, Judah, God's people were humbled.

They were chastised very strongly. Reflecting on the past three verses, from the fire into my bones, their cities, buildings, and temple were destroyed. The yoke of my transgressions, the people are taken away in bondage as slaves the Lord has trampled the mighty men the young men the virgin daughters of Judah crushed for these things I weep Tremendous misery finally finds a vent in a flood of tears, bitter tears. My eye, my eye overflows with water because the comforter who should restore my life is far from me. My eye, my eye.

I read one commentary here that suggested that this was actually an error for a scribe. In the Hebrew language, the actual meter of the poem is altered because of the second my eye. I thought that was interesting. Whether that's true, I don't know. Normally in Scripture when you have a repetition like that it's to emphasize a point, to draw your attention to that.

When I read this particular verse I immediately thought of Christ's words on the cross. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? We see that Matthew 27. Christ alone on the cross bearing the sins of his people. He was separated from God.

These were also the words from David in Psalm 22. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me? And from the words of my roaring, Oh my God, I cry in the daytime but thou hearest not." We get a real sense there from that psalm with what we have here, my eye, my eye overflows with water, the Comforter is far from me. Because the Comforter who should relieve my soul is far from me.

Who is the Comforter? The Comforter is the Lord. The history of Israel is filled with examples of God's people rejecting God, getting into troubles, crying out to the Lord, and the Lord responding, saving his people, and comforting them. We read from the Gospel of Matthew 5 verse 4, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. And from Paul's letter to the Corinthians in 2nd Corinthians 1 verses 3 & 4 blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort who comforteth us in all tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

This time, however, God's people are judged, they're punished, they mourn, but God is far from them. There's no one now that will relieve their soul. He doesn't comfort them, he doesn't shield them. It is he that poured out the wrath from his fierce anger. In our last verse, verse 17, Zion spreads out her hands, but no one comforts her.

The Lord has commanded concerning Jacob that those around him become his adversaries. Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them, is as a minstrous woman among them in the King James. The picture I have here in my mind is one of a small child that fell down or hurt himself. He stands up to his mom or dad, opens his arms wide, kind of pleading to be hugged, to be comforted, and they walk by not noticing their child or they're busy doing something and don't have time. There's that emptiness the child is left with.

Maybe they're preoccupied with their cell phone or something else. Here we have Jerusalem, hands wide out, praying for relief and consolation. But there's no one to comfort them. Not God, for He is the one chastising Him. Not her neighbors, for they have dealt treacherously with her and they are become her enemies.

She has become an unclean thing. John Gill notes, she is reckoned filthy and unclean, abominable and nauseous, whom none cared to come near, but shunned, despised and abhorred, as the Jews separated from the Gentiles and would not converse with them. So neither now would the Chaldeans with the Jews, but treat them as the offscoring of all things. These lamentations describe the grief experienced by Jeremiah and the Jews who live through this calamity. These calamities are a result of the continual disobedience to God by the people of Judah.

God has chastised his people. He has poured out His wrath upon them. Are there times where you experience God's chastisement? Are you suffering? Do you find yourself crying out to God, arms spread wide, looking for comfort, comfort only that the Lord can provide?

We know that we are not alone. From John 14, 15 through 16, if you love me, keep my commandments and I will pray the Father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever. And I'd like to end with the words from Psalm 46, very comforting words that might be a good thing to meditate on from time to time, especially if you're suffering or experiencing difficulties. Psalm 46 is a wonderful place to read and just cry out to God with. Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, say la. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved.

God shall help her and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge, say la.

Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow. He cutteth the spear and sunder. He burneth the chariot in the fire.

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Say love. Amen.