Lamentations: Loneliness
Notes
Transcript
Lamentations Background:
written by Jeremiah
Close the 587 BC
It is the emotional reaction to the seige and fall of Jerusalem
We learn 2 things in Lamentations:
we can accept despair and sadness
we can worship is despair and sadness
We will cover 9 subjects in Lamentations:
loneliness
Depression
Weariness
Embarrassment
Abandonment
Anxiety
Abuse
Suffering
Hope
Lamentations starts with loneliness
Lamentations starts with loneliness
Lamentations 1:1–2 (ESV)
How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.
She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.
We were not meant to be alone
We were not meant to be alone
Genesis 2:18 (ESV)
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
God was concerned with our human relationships
God also used to walk with man in the Garden
But sin severs relationships
But sin severs relationships
Loneliness is the result of relationships being severed
Loneliness is the result of relationships being severed
3 types of loneliness
Situational
Emotional
Chronic
Situational Loneliness
Situational Loneliness
Lamentations 1:1–2 (ESV)
How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.
She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.
Lamentations 1:16–17 (ESV)
“For these things I weep;
my eyes flow with tears;
for a comforter is far from me,
one to revive my spirit;
my children are desolate,
for the enemy has prevailed.”
Zion stretches out her hands,
but there is none to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
that his neighbors should be his foes;
Jerusalem has become
a filthy thing among them.
Emotional Loneliness
Emotional Loneliness
Lamentations 5:3 (ESV)
We have become orphans, fatherless;
our mothers are like widows.
Chronic Loneliness
Chronic Loneliness
Usually involves extreme beliefs
Person loses hope of connecting again
Is loneliness useful?
Is loneliness useful?
2 Corinthians 4:17 (ESV)
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
Hebrews 10:24–25 (ESV)
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
What do you do to overcome loneliness?
What do you do to overcome loneliness?
Finally, ask honestly:
how is your relationship with God?
how is your relationship with others?