Reigning and Restoring

“But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.

Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?

Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—

Unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.”

- Lamentations 5:19-22

This week we come to our epic conclusion of Lamentations, with a chapter that follows a different pattern but all the same despair and faith as the previous poems. The author here breaks the previous patterns perhaps because of the overwhelming emotion that is beyond containment. The Lament lists off the many things that have come to afflict Jerusalem and its people and wraps everything up with these 4 verses, words of great hope and great despair.

The list of afflictions is a long one, and this poem only captures some of the general experiences of the people. Their inheritance in the land is overturned, people become widows and orphans, and people must pay for their basic necessities. There is famine, slavery, and rape. The leaders have all disappeared and there is great mourning among the people.

Yet the author recognizes that all this is because of their sins, how their hearts have gotten infected with desires, and their eyes have gone dim to the light of the Lord. The desolation of the land and the fragmentation of their relationship with God is all due to their sinfulness. Of course, if you have been reading with us through Lamentations that has been abundantly clear. Closing us out are the honest confessions and almost acceptance of what they have suffered; hope in the reigning and restoring work of God, but also despair that God may forsake them and remain angry.

Forsaken and Anger:

Let’s start with the negative!

“Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?...

… Unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.”

Let’s deal with some obvious things first, can God forget? What does this mean about God’s anger?

God cannot forget things. We have a fancy term called omniscience. Essentially meaning that God is all-knowing! He knows every fact and every lie; He knows every reality and possible reality. He is so very aware of His chosen people’s despair. Forgetfulness here is not a matter of knowledge, as if anything could pass by God’s mind. Forgetfulness here is more about withholding compassion and care, like turning away from a situation. Does this mean God isn’t compassionate? No, but God also needs to exercise justice where justice is needed.

Then we encounter God’s anger. The author laments the idea that perhaps they have sinned so immensely that God’s anger might totally reject them, and lose any hope of a relationship. Remember though, this is not saying that God will utterly reject them, or that it is in His nature to do so. Rather, they are speaking honestly from a human perspective of fear, that God might leave them forever. If we are honest with ourselves, we probably know that feeling all too well. Frequently we may feel the anxiety and fear that God rejects us when we continue to struggle with sin after we have been baptized. We must move past this idea of a God who is emotionally volatile, and instead, recapture Him as the God who is reigning and restoring.

Reigning and Restoring:

Part of the problem with our sinful nature is that it leads to pride. We self-justify our thoughts, words, and deeds because it is “good” to us. It’s the idea that we can reign over ourselves. Then we slowly deconstruct the image of God within us until it is but rubble. In its place, we build up other idols, statues of ourselves, other people, or other ideals. We must be careful to watch with an ideal concept becomes over-prioritized, at that point, the ideal is an idol.

This is reversible though, through Christ whose active job is reigning and restoring!

“But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations…

…Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old…”

Even while we feel covered in the muck of life, the evils we encounter, and the sins we commit, we have a hope so pure and so great, literally, nothing can deter it from happening. Jesus Christ is on the throne and is ready and willing to reconstruct the image of God. To enable Him to be central to our lives once again. You may even find that as you continue to lean into Him above everything else, temptations become easier to fight. Struggles and temptations will still come, but with Christ, we may find a whole new strength in dealing with them.

Final Blessing:

So in light of this text, let us learn to repent of our sins, acknowledging where we have walked away from God’s ways. Then boldly approach the throne, where Christ reigns endlessly. Let us seek restoration to God’s intentions for us, a willingness to draw on His strength and follow His ways. May the King restore in you a clean heart.

Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breath, and every heartbeat of your journey!