God is just
Lamentations 2:1-10, Psalm 45:6-7
In other stories in the bible, it’s common to hear how God worked for his people; we hear about this a lot in the New Testament! Although, in Lamentations 2, we read how God acted against the people of Jerusalem. Jerusalem had sinned against God in a way that provoked Him to work in wrath and justice.
This isn’t the first time God worked against a nation to show his righteousness. Some other examples include when He sent a flood over the earth (Genesis 5: 11-13) or when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). God is righteous (Psalm 145:17); in all He does, he brings people back to Him. In Him, there is mercy and grace. Apart from him are destruction and pain. The world is separated from Him, so the fall in Genesis 3 changed everything. Now we have Jesus, who restored the world to God through His sacrifice and paid the debt of our sins, but we still act in sinful ways.
We can look at what happens in Lamentations, especially Lamentations 2, and think God is cruel or unjust. But God is the exact opposite - He is fair, just, and righteous. He is the one who upholds His law, and that is good news. The God in the Old Testament is the SAME as the New Testament – and we get to see the fullness of who He is and His goodness in the scriptures.
When reading, consider these questions:
What is difficult or weird to read about in this passage?
How does God’s righteousness bring hope to you?
Who can you talk to about this?
