Today's Passage: Lamentations 4-5

Sin brings death, destruction, separation, suffering. These chapters (this book)  is an expression of what happens when sin takes over (James 1: 15). What is interesting to me is that Jeremiah is lamenting when he is not responsible for a lot of the sins that brought them to this place.  He had not sacrificed things to other gods nor had he participated in some of the other immoral acts that brought God's judgment on these people. This is one of the things that separated prophets from the other Israelites--humility.  Jeremiah may not have committed what we would call serious sins, but he was still a sinner.  He knew this and he was broken-hearted over his sin and the sin of his people; this is what fueled his lament.  Ezra and Nehemiah both had similar experiences when their sin and the sin of the people drove them to mourning.  Are we broken hearted over the sin in our lives, in the lives of our families, our church families, our communities?  We should be--but in that brokenness we should embrace the hope of Jesus Christ and intercede with expectation for our families and surrounding communities!