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What shall I take to witness for thee? What thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? For their breach is great like the sea; who can heal thee? Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment. All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth? All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash their teeth; they say, We have swallowed her us; certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it. The Lord hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old; he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee; he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries.

 

I had four selections of scripture to choose from for this devotion. Three were straight forward and somewhat simple to write about. I chose this one. Why? Very seldom does the opportunity to write about the word of God through Lamentations comes up in the cycle for me. And this is one of the books of the Bible I have limited study of over the years. Henceforth, I prayed about which to write and the Spirit led me to this scripture.

Jerimiah starts with a simple question in this section. "What shall I take to witness for thee?" he asks to the Lord God almighty. Have you ever asked this question to the Lord when talking about your faith in Jesus? What shall I take? And how can I witness for Jesus? How does one witness for Christ? And do so without being seen as boastful?

What shall we take? We can only take ourselves to witness for Christ. That would be the correct answer in my opinion. We may be the only "Bible" anyone will ever see in their lives. Jesus tells us to be "witnesses" for him to all the ends of the earth. The second question is asked by Jerimiah is what can be likened to God. There is nothing like God by comparison. There is nothing equal to God. All power is from Him. Since God raised Jesus from the dead, created all things in the universe; what could possibly be compared to the Lord? Even in our lives, he shows us new life in Christ.

Also, in these scriptures is written how people have hissed and gnashed their teeth towards God. Keep in mind God is not to be mocked. People have done vain and foolish things in the name of the Lord. And the consequences that follow from their actions question even further whether the truly is a god. This happened in the time of Jerimiah, and it still happens in our age.

Then verse seventeen comes up with the opening statement, "The Lord hath done that which he devised". God is in control. Every day today as well as back then in those times. God is the same. Everything is part of his plan. Take it on faith.

Lord, keep is steadfast in your love and give us the words and actions to be witnesses for Christ. Amen!

Russ Nixon

rwnixon57@yahoo.com