April 25, 2021 A Plea For Restoration Lamentations 5

[Music] have you ever cried out to god for help i mean really really really cried hi i'm dr laverne tober welcome to sunday school made simple your online community of christian education teachers and students of the word and thank you for joining us as we continue to explore the word of god using the precepts for living commentary based on the international uniform lesson series and it's edited by dr melvin banks senior remember to ring the bell at the bottom of this video to subscribe to our show so that you don't miss out on any new lessons and teachers and serious students of the bible are invited to subscribe to preceptsforliving.com for complete lesson plans videos the word made simple and additional resources and when you subscribe you'll have access to precepts on your tablet phone or laptop so go to precepts for living dot com and get those resources today each week we make sunday schools simple with an easy to understand format the text for you students of the word and teaching tips for those of you who teach are you ready let's pray father we cry out to you for your forgiveness and we thank you for your grace and mercy in jesus name amen we are continuing our quarter which is focused on the biblical theme of covenant in the lives and ministries of the old testament prophets the second unit which is called prophets of restoration reveals the compassion of god expressed through prophets and leaders so far we studied the prophets moses and joshua the prophetess halda the prophet elijah jesus christ the ultimate prophet ezra the priest and nehemiah cuphera that's a lot isn't it well today's lesson examines jeremiah's prayer for restoration and lamentations 5. let's explore the text beginning with our lesson a by the end of the lesson we will examine or evaluate why the writer of lamentations pleaded with god for the restoration of israel sense the writer's feeling over the oppression of his nation and pray for and engage in the restoration of broken relationships with god after reading our scriptures we will discuss what's important to know cognitive feel effective and do psychomotor the first scripture verses for this lesson is lamentations chapter 5 verses 1 through 6 and i'm reading from the new living translation lord remember what has happened to us see how we have been disgraced our inheritance has been turned over to strangers our homes to foreigners we are orphaned and fatherless our mothers are widowed we have to pay for water to drink and even firewood is expensive those who pursue us are at our heels we are exhausted but are given no rest we submitted to egypt and assyria to get enough food to survive well doesn't that sound a little sad oh my there are two key points from the verses in this lesson israel's sin has consequences and because of sin jerusalem and judah were conquered let's examine the background in context to better understand our lesson we usually begin with an explanation about the book's author but we're uncertain scholars are uncertain about who authored the book of lamentations tradition ascribes authorship to jeremiah because of its themes and content which are cries of lament about the condition of israel and judah while they are in exile lament lamentations means a cry out to god when the northern kingdom of israel went into exile in 722 bc after being conquered by assyria they're scattered throughout the empire and never rebuilt as a nation but when the southern kingdom of judah is conquered by babylon in 586 bc they remain a culturally united nation while they're in exile eventually they return from exile about 70 years later and begin to rebuild lamentations is written with the second group in mind the prophet is lamenting or crying out to god about judah's suffering the horror of living as slaves in captivity and the urgent need for god to answer because of judah's overwhelming sorrow and disgrace even in captivity jeremiah remembers that god is merciful and faithful to keep his covenant promises he invites the children of israel to also remember our scripture today begins in chapter 5 where the struggles of the people are explicitly listed these struggles are the result of israel's sin which has consequences to read deuteronomy 28 which details all of the consequences of breaking the covenant well this has come to pass because of israel's repeated sin of idolatry and more and it's compounded by their refusal to repent over and over and over again the prophets urged the children of israel to repent but they wickedly refused to obey the lord the result was a calamity for the nation because of sin jerusalem and judah were conquered our next set of verses is lamentations chapter 5 verses 7 through 16 and again i'm reading in the new living translation our ancestors sinned but they have died and we are suffering the punishment they deserved slaves have now become our masters there is no one left to rescue us we hunt for food at the risk of our lives for violence rules the countryside the famine has blackened our skin as though baked in an oven our enemies raped the women in jerusalem and the young girls in all the towns of judah our princess of being hanged by their thumbs and our elders are treated with contempt young men are led away to work at millstones and boys stagger under the heavy loads of wood the elders no longer sit at the city gates the young men no longer dance and sing joy has left our hearts our dancing has turned to mourning the garlands have fallen from our heads weep for us because we have sinned there are two key points from these verses the people in the land are suffering and those who are left struggle to survive verses are so sad and and they're particularly graphic in describing the terror that was taking place in the lives of the people who are left behind in judah after the con conquest by babylon it's important to be sensitive to those who may be dealing with trauma or healing from trauma as we read these verses these people in our lesson today blame their parents and their ancestors for the consequences of sin they were experiencing but as jeremiah and ezekiel also clarify everyone is responsible for his or her own sin and please note that the references are not about the israelites being or becoming black people that's not what it's saying although there are definite similarities between the emotions experienced under slavery and those experienced in exile the israelites skin is being baked because they are slaving in the hot sun and they lament because they are suffering from the oppression trauma and violence they are experiencing in babylon now not everyone was taken to babylon some were left behind when babylon conquered israel but these were the poor the vulnerable and the disadvantage the royal family priests and elites were the ones carried away to the capital and separated from the land this means that those who were left behind were already suffering the greatest hardships before the exile and now they are struggling to survive the sins of the nation caused chaos for everyone and those who were already vulnerable felt it worse than ever the garlands which represent symbols of honor with which they were crowned have disappeared well let's read our final set of verses from lamentations chapter 5 verses 17 through 22 our hearts are sick and weary and our eyes grow dim with tears for jerusalem is empty and desolate a place haunted by jackals but lord you remain the same forever your throne continues from generation to generation why do you continue to forget us why have you abandoned us for so long restore us o lord bring us back to you again give us back the joys we once had or have you utterly rejected us are you angry with us still there are two key points from this final set of verses the writer cries for jerusalem and the writer calls for god's mercy the writer of lamentations sees the emptiness of jerusalem a city that was once filled with joy once they were happy crowds enjoying the abundance in the land and now they're gone wild animals walk through the streets instead and they're looking for scraps of food to eat in this dismal picture of desolation the poet cries out to god remembering that god never changes the lord has been merciful in the past and he is always faithful to redeem his people so the poet calls on god to restore to israel the joy of his presence his peace his abundance his healing and deliverance his wisdom and everything that people need the writer asked god to show mercy and restore them not because they deserve it but because of who god is however as they look at the destruction the question remains will god forgive them or will he continue to punish them well of course we know how the story ends god does extend his forgiveness and the survivors do return to rebuild the land but this doesn't happen for decades and while the people wait they lament for believers this book of lamentations is a reminder that it's okay to cry out to god and be honest about the sorrow we feel in our suffering god sees and god will respond even though he may have to wait well that's what's important to know how should we feel in response to today's lesson we should feel sorrow for the way sin destroys lives sin is anything that is not in the will of god and it's sad to see how personal sin impacts those to whom we are connected our loved ones our families collective sins harm our churches and communities when leaders are wicked and selfish those who are the most vulnerable suffer from violence and exploitation it's terrible to see the destruction that sin causes and it's it's right to cry out to god when we experience trauma of violence and loss in crying out we lament and repent that's what's important to feel what should we do in response to today's lesson we should repent and pray for the restoration of broken relationships with god it doesn't get any more simple than that without a relationship with god we're vulnerable to attacks from the enemy and we live defeated lies without hope of restoration we need god's presence daily to live an abundant life the life that jesus died to give us god created us to enjoy his presence and direction to live in peace with justice in our communities and so we need god's presence to help us love and receive love so let's pray for reconciliation in our families churches and communities as we lament to god as a nation and return to him that's how scripture for today made simple we evaluated why the writer of lamentations pleaded with god for the restoration of israel we sensed the writer's feelings over the oppression of his nation and we are praying for the restoration of any broken relationships with god when we lament we don't look pretty or dignified or sophisticated or all of that to lament is an act of humility as we cry out to god some people say it doesn't take all that oh but it does just as jeremiah did we too need to plead with god to cleanse us from sin and restore us to a right relationship with him there's no place for pride in lamenting how can we repent if we don't lament that's our text for today now let's talk about how to effectively teach this lesson don't forget to pray don't forget to pray for your students that they will have receptive hearts and minds and spirits to receive god's word that they'll receive the revelation of this lesson and pray for yourself that you'll be creative and you'll have sensitivity discernment and oh my goodness so much more and if you're teaching digitally that you'll be able to navigate the digital platform easily and pray for grace as you teach as well and remember we want students to apply what they learned to their lives and teachers too so pray pray pray now hook or open this lesson by asking your students to respond to this question how does one cope with the loss of that which is so very very important and teacher do download the in focus video from preceptsforliving.com and invite students to answer the question at the end or let me pause and say this not only teachers but students of the word you might want to download that video from precepts for living.com because it's an excellent way to think about the lesson that you're going to study okay well here's the question at the end of that video how has god's word given you hope amid a crisis for children ask them why is it okay to cry when we're hurt what a sweet discussion that should be and as teens and pre-teens as we get older we want to bury our feelings so that others can't see that we're hurting how does pretending keep us from being honest with god oh my goodness teacher you're going to have a good discussion with that and it's going to be very important to help teens process the importance of telling the truth to themselves and being vulnerable and being open and let me say this if you're meeting in person sometimes other students in the class might laugh or make fun of students as they begin to share and let the students know that's not acceptable in this class everyone is respected and we value everyone's opinion and we feel comfortable sharing our feelings here and teacher it's up to you to create an environment where students can learn and be vulnerable and be true to their feelings but also say this don't take say anything in the class that your parents don't want you to discuss so that's another discussion with your teacher we'll talk about that in one of our teacher training videos so now let's transition to book or present the scriptures by inviting volunteers to read the scriptures either in portions at a time or all at once depending on your preference ask them what stood out to you what resonated as you read these verses and then transition to reading the in-depth paragraphs teacher you read the in-depth paragraph and you might want to read that out loud there were three power pack titles a plea for consideration a plea for sins and a plea for mercy well after you discuss that with your students transition to look or explore the meaning with these questions and questions help learners learn which is why there are so many questions in the lesson choose a few from from in-depth search the scriptures or discuss the meaning and one of those great questions is how has god made his love and mercy known to us when that discussion ends transition to took or next step for application by inviting a volunteer to read liberating lesson which is about working together for economic justice in our communities for application for activation ask each person to read this paragraph silently and journal their reflections as they hear what the holy spirit is saying now here's a final exercise ask students to examine themselves is there a habitual deliberate sin in their lives about which they need to repent are they experiencing sins consequences invite them to set aside a time to lament before god and then end the class in prayer and i say that men before god because you don't want them well maybe not depending on how large your class is or how long you've been together but you'll know teacher you'll make good decisions so end the class in prayer god bless you as you teach this lesson now let's talk mailbag and welcome to mailbag minister alan reynolds is joining us again with this very very deep very sad lesson and minister alan i've heard it said that if we don't lament we can't repent would you mind commenting on that sure it's something that's important that we honestly don't talk enough about as believers that a lot of times there is a rush to feeling good there's often a rush to have people uh repent or rush to change things uh you know and a lot of times we are uncomfortable with the difficulties of life uh the difficulties of scripture and certainly the difficulties of sin right the suffering that sin causes and lamentations gives us not only a window into that with very descriptive uh at times graphic language as you noted but also a good reminder for us that we have an opportunity to lament to cry about sins impacts and um it's important for me uh that we allow space for that as believers um that perhaps i i've been to many services where we have public lament right and and one of the ways that we do that uh in many traditions is with uh linton service right as we are um looking at the time of lent that just passed for us here that lent is one of those opportunities that for a lot of people in church there's this this this opportunity to lament to recognize that we're going to fast because we are turning and examining ourselves as we anticipate christ going to the cross uh it's an opportunity for us as believers as other opportunities present themselves to collectively recognize that sin and suffering exists in our world that this world the way that we see it is not the way that god intended that god did not desire for sin to rule over our lives or communities to cause there to be these broken homes and broken communities and violence and hatred and greed and all of these things that we see and that those things are painful to us they hurt us but what god desires is for us to recognize them to see them and to have sorrow for them to cry out or lament so that we can repent so that um as we we often think about that that text in chronicles where it says that you know if my people who were called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then i will hear from heaven and heal their land but what happens right before that is solomon is giving this prayer that if the people go away from god if they get far away from god's will if they sin against god that they will see what they have done they will be sorrowful about it that they'll they'll recognize that they have sinned against god as they've sinned against one another and then they'll repent right then they'll turn then they'll pray and i think that in this moment where we see so much need for rebuilding so much need for a renewal in our communities we have an opportunity to repent uh but first to lament to say that that we're seeing this sadness and to feel that uh and cry out about it so that we can be restored by god my goodness you said that so well because you focused on the core of lament and what it means you said to feel it and often we get so intellectual we don't want to feel deeply and that's not necessarily having an honest relationship with god well well said thank you thank you thank you please read our keep in mind verse for today's lesson absolutely and our keep in mind verse comes from lamentations chapter 5 verse 21 and i'm reading in the new living translation and it says restore us o lord and bring us back to you again give us back the joys we once had and again that's lamentations 5 21 in the new living translation child of god cry out to god he will hear he will heal and he will restore you have a blessed week [Music] are you 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Length: 28min 7sec (1687 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 18 2021