Suffering: Where Is God When I Hurt? Jeremiah 39:1-14; Lamentations 5:19-22; Psalm 137
A few months after a bomb destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building, a book about the bombing appeared in our local bookstore entitled Where Was God at 9:02 A.M. ? That's a good question. One morning in July, 587 B.C., a lot of Israelites asked the same thing. On that day, Jerusalem fell. It was a day that none would escape and few would survive ... a day not unlike the days that the Jews endured in Hitler's Germany ... a day shockingly similar to the days that defiled Bosnia and Croatia a couple of years ago.
In some ways, I'd like to avoid the accounts of Jerusalem's destruction. They're haunting ... offensive. But these stories of suffering remain in the Scriptures for a reason. Through them, we can gain a glimmer of insight into dealing with our own sufferings. So, let's look at the men and women who suffered in Jerusalem. Let's learn about their sorrows -- and about our own.
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Everyone in Jerusalem knew that the Babylonian army was coming. Jeremiah, God's prophet, urged King Zedekiah to surrender. But Zedekiah believed that God would again rescue Jerusalem (
Jer. 21:2;
38:17). For over a year, Jerusalem held out. Food ran out. But, this time, God didn't bail the people out. One poet lamented, "Those who feasted on delicacies perish in the streets. The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children" (
Lam. 4:5a, 10a).
After nineteen months, the Babylonians breached the walls. Within minutes, the temple and the palace had been plundered. But it wasn't only buildings that suffered: Women are raped in Zion, virgins in the towns of Judah. Princes are hung up by their hands; no respect is shown to the elders. (
5:11-12).
For a month, terror rushed unchecked throughout the city. Finally, a Babylonian official arrived, and the exile began. As they left, the Babylonians burned everything -- the temple, the palaces, the homes. It was over. And God hadn't intervened once. The proud citizens of Judah became a pain-wracked procession of exiles. They were prodded northeast, toward Babylon.
The Babylonians did allow Jeremiah and his friends to choose their dwelling-place. They chose to stay in Jerusalem. With them, the Babylonians left a governor and a few poor farmers (
2 Kings 25:12).
Still, Judah's stubborn streak remained intact. A hot-tempered rebel murdered the governor. Realizing how Nebuchadnezzar would respond, the rebel's followers prepared to flee to Egypt. But the refugees wanted God's blessing. So, they asked Jeremiah to seek God's will for them. They even promised, Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord. (
Jer. 42:6a). God waited ten days before telling them to stay in Jerusalem. The people refused to listen anyway. Worst of all, they forced Jeremiah -- now nearly 70 years old -- to go to Egypt too. In a haunting reversal of the Exodus, Israel returned to Egypt.