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

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