The Rebel

A Series on Lamentations
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Lamentations 5; Jeremiah 29:10-14; Luke 15:11-24 

 

[The book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah to the Jews in Babylon who had been exiled and were lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem. Known as the “weeping prophet”, his tears flowed from a broken heart for Jerusalem – the “City of God” – and her people. In this series we will look at Lamentations to learn about God’s justice and mercy, the consequences of sin and the hope for redemption.]

  

When I was a little boy, Westerns were the staple of TV. One show that I used to watch was called The Rebel with Johnny Yuma. I can still remember the theme song, sung by Johnny Cash. ♫ “Johnny Yuma was a rebel; he wandered alone” ♫.

 

As a former Confederate soldier, not only was he a rebel in that sense, but also, he was a loner that didn’t fit well with the establishment. In fact, the character of Johnny Yuma was often described as a symbol of rebellious youth.

 

The people of Jerusalem were rebellious. But the difference was that they didn’t rebel against the status quo, they rebelled against the Lord. In the opening verses of Lamentations 5, Jeremiah prayed for the shattered nation.

 

¹ Remember, Lord, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace. ² Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.                             NIV            Lamentations 5

 

Jeremiah also prayed about: their daily necessities like firewood and water, which at one time was free, but now had to be bought; their enemies who pursued and oppressed them; their food which required risking your life to get it; their women who were raped; and their princes who were killed.

 

But Jeremiah realized that the Lord hadn’t shut the door on them completely.

 

¹⁹ You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. ²¹ Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old.                                                 NKJV      Lamentations 5

 

In fact, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah telling him that after seventy years he would bring his people back home from Babylon to Jerusalem.

 

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.      NIV    Jeremiah 29

 

No matter how much we rebel against the Lord, he still desires to redeem us; to bring us back into relationship with him; to bring us home. Jesus told a parable illustrating this principle – the prodigal son.

 

In the context of Jesus’ parable, the word prodigal means wastefully extravagant or recklessly spending. In his story, a father’s youngest son asked for his inheritance. Once received, he went to a far land where he spent it all on wild living.

 

When he had nothing left and became desperate, he realized that his rebellion was a sin against his father and returned asking for forgiveness. He even went so far as to say that he didn’t deserve to be called his son. But his father wouldn’t hear of it. Instead, he set into motion a big celebration.

 

²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So, they began to celebrate.                      NIV    Luke 15

 

Like the prodigal son, we’re all lost without our Heavenly Father who happily embraces us to welcome us home.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Fall from Grace

A Series on Lamentations
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Lamentations 4; Jeremiah 20:7-18 

[The book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah to the Jews in Babylon who had been exiled and were lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem. Known as the “weeping prophet”, his tears flowed from a broken heart for Jerusalem – the “City of God” – and her people. In this series we will look at Lamentations to learn about God’s justice and mercy, the consequences of sin and the hope for redemption.]

 

My junior year of high school, I was elected as our class president. It was pretty heady stuff for me to think that I was so popular. The truth is that I didn’t deal with it very well, as it resulted in me getting 4’s for my citizenship grade in several classes.

 

I still remember a classmate telling me that a 4 was not appropriate for the class president. His observation became prophetic when I ran for senior class president and lost. My bad behavior resulted in me falling from grace with my classmates.

 

Of much greater significance, the people of Jerusalem had fallen from the grace of God. Because of their sin, God had sent the Babylonians as judgment. The siege that they placed around Jerusalem lasted two years causing extreme famine and desperate behavior.

 

⁴ The parched tongues of their little ones stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst. The children cry for bread, but no one has any to give them. ⁵ The people who once ate the richest foods now beg in the streets for anything they can get. Those who once wore the finest clothes now search the garbage dumps for food. ¹⁰ Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege.               NLT            Lamentations 4

 

Not only did the people of Jerusalem fall from grace, but so did the priests and prophets. Their sins contributed to the destruction of Jerusalem. Their fall was great!

 

¹⁵ “Get away!” the people shouted at them. “You’re defiled! Don’t touch us!” So, they fled to distant lands and wandered among foreign nations, but none would let them stay. ¹⁶ The Lord himself has scattered them, and he no longer helps them. People show no respect for the priests and no longer honor the leaders.       NLT   Lamentations 4

 

Even Jeremiah came close to falling from grace. On one occasion, he was beaten and put in stocks just because he was speaking the word of the Lord. People mocked him every day for his obedience.

 

As a result, Jeremiah felt used and misled by the Lord. He was so emotionally distraught that he cursed the day he was born. Yet his faith prevailed.

 

⁹ But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!        NLT   Jeremiah 20

 

God’s grace is greater than our sin. To confirm this, you need look no further than some of the main people in God’s plan of redemption. Moses, David, Peter and Paul all had a checkered past. Yet God’s grace looked beyond their sin.

 

Paul reminded the Roman church that there is NOTHING that can “separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. He also wrote to Timothy to remind and inspire him about the “fire in my bones” that Jeremiah wrote about.

 

⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.           NIV                2 Timothy 1

 

Therefore, let us “fan into flame” God’s gift to us – his word and Spirit.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

The Pit of Life

A Series on Lamentations
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Jeremiah 38:1-13; Lamentations 3 

[The book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah to the Jews in Babylon who had been exiled and were lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem. Known as the “weeping prophet”, his tears flowed from a broken heart for Jerusalem – the “City of God” – and her people. In this series we will look at Lamentations to learn about God’s justice and mercy, the consequences of sin and the hope for redemption.]

  

We’ve all faced painful circumstances in our lives. For me, the most difficult one was when our first child was stillborn. We had done everything we could to prepare for our much-anticipated baby. No detail was too small.

 

Her nursery was ready with new paint and wallpaper, a crib and a new rocking chair. My Mom had given us her first toy – a little stuffed smiling sun that when squeezed it played “You are my sunshine”.

 

But it sat unused on the crib. There was no sunshine; no crying baby; no midnight feeding; no first steps and giggles.

 

Jeremiah knew what it was like to deal with painful circumstances. In fact, the very first verse of Lamentations 3 states, “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord’s wrath”.

 

The affliction that he spoke of was twofold. First, the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, which was the result of the Lord’s judgment of the people’s sin. Having both seen and experienced the siege, Jeremiah was the personification of its effects. Speaking of the Lord, he wrote this.

 

³ He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. ^10a-11 …like a bear or a lion… He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated. ¹⁵ He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.     NLT

 

Jeremiah also experienced his own personal suffering when he was arrested for his message from the Lord which was considered “discouraging the soldiers”. Later, they lowered him using ropes into a muddy, bottle-shaped cistern to die. Dark and damp, Jeremiah sank into the mud at the bottom of the pit.

 

⁵³ They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me. ⁵⁴ The water rose over my head, and I cried out, “This is the end!” ⁵⁵ But I called on your name, Lord, from deep within the pit.                NLT

 

Completely alone and without hope, Jeremiah was literally stuck in the pit of life... until he remembered.

 

²¹ Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: ²² The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. ²³ Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.       NLT

 

What he remembered was that it’s good to wait quietly for the Lord; it’s good to search for him, to see how he is at work. He remembered that the Lord has unfailing love for us; that the Lord always provides redemption; that the Lord is our portion, our inheritance.

 

From the pit of life comes life lessons, spiritual renewal, discipline and a greater understanding of who the Lord is. The Lord is waiting for you and me to call him from deep within the pit of life. It doesn’t matter what kind of pit, he hears us.

 

The words of Jeremiah are still true today for us: “Great is your faithfulness”!

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Little Men

A Series on Lamentations
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Lamentations 2:1-22; Jeremiah 19:1-15 

[The book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah to the Jews in Babylon who had been exiled and were lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem. Known as the “weeping prophet”, his tears flowed from a broken heart for Jerusalem – the “City of God” – and her people. This series will look at Lamentations to learn about God’s justice and mercy, the consequences of sin and the hope for redemption.]

  

When I was about eight years old, I loved playing with my “little men”. One time I had a good western story going. It included a prairie home built with Lincoln Logs, fences, horses and “little men” cowboys.

 

However, when mom called me to dinner, I wasn’t quite ready to stop. After the third time and no response from me, my dad took charge. He stomped into the living room and, with one swift kick of his foot, destroyed everything that I had built.

 

I was devastated. It hurt more than if he had spanked me. Not only was he angry at me, but I felt like he didn’t love me.

 

The people of Jerusalem may have felt the same way towards the Lord. They had been disobedient by worshiping the false god Baal. They’d even sacrificed their own children by fire.

 

The Lord told Jeremiah to take a clay jar and meet with the elders and priests at the Potsherd Gate. This is where people would throw away their broken and worthless pots. It was also adjacent to the Valley of Hinnom, which in the New Testament was translated as hell. It’s where the people sacrificed their children.

 

Standing on broken shards of pottery, with the memories of dying children in his mind, Jeremiah gave them one last opportunity to repent. They refused. Therefore, as a metaphor of the judgment that the Lord would bring upon them, the Lord gave Jeremiah the following instructions.

 

¹⁰ “As these men watch you, Jeremiah, smash the jar you brought. ^11a Then say to them, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: As this jar lies shattered, so I will shatter the people of Judah and Jerusalem beyond all hope of repair.     NLT   Jeremiah 19

 

When I was disobedient as a little boy, the only thing that I lost was the story of my “little men”. But the people of Jerusalem? They lost everything!

 

^1b In his day of great anger,
    the Lord has shown no mercy even to his Temple.

 

^2a Without mercy the Lord has destroyed
    every home in Israel.
In his anger he has broken down
    the fortress walls of beautiful Jerusalem.  

^11b Little children and tiny babies are fainting and dying in the streets. ^12a-b They cry out to their mothers, “We need food and drink!” … They gasp for life as they collapse in their mothers’ arms.     

 

^21a “See them lying in the streets—
    young and old, boys and girls,
    killed by the swords of the enemy.     NLT   Lamentations 2

 

We are all disobedient to the Lord. We may not sacrifice our children, but our sin is still detestable to him. Just like it did for the people of Jerusalem, sin brings death and destruction. Thankfully, the Lord sent his son Jesus to take our punishment.

 

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!     NIV    Romans 7

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com