Our
Eyes Grow Dim
Servants
rule over us; there is none to deliver us from their hand.
We
get our bread at the risk of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.
Our
skin is hot as an oven, because of the fever of famine.
They
ravished the women in Zion, the maidens in the cities of Judah.
Princes
were hung up by their hands, and elders were not respected.
Young
men ground at the millstones; boys staggered under loads of wood.
The
elders have ceased gathering at the gate, and the young men from their music.
The
joy of our heart has ceased; our dance has turned into mourning.
The
crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!
Because
of this our heart is faint; because of these things our eyes grow dim; because
of Mount Zion which is desolate, with foxes walking about on it.
You,
O Lord, remain forever; your throne from generation to generation.
Why
do You forget us forever, and forsake us for so long a
time?
Turn
us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored; renew our days as of old, unless
You have utterly rejected us, and are very angry with us!
Lamentations 5:8-22
For
years the Tiferet Yisrael
Synagogue lay in ruins. It was built in the 19th century and
destroyed by commandos in the1948 Arab-Israeli war. In 2014, rebuilding began.
City officials set a piece of rubble as the cornerstone, and one of them quoted
from Lamentations: “Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our
days as of old.”
Lamentations
is Jeremiah’s funeral song for Jerusalem. With graphic imagery the prophet
describes the impact of war on his city. There is a heartfelt prayer for God to
intervene.
Our
lives may also seem to be in ruins. Troubles of our own making and conflicts we
can’t avoid may leave us devastated. But we have a Father who understands.
Gently, patiently, He clears away the rubble, repurposes it and builds
something better. It takes time, but we can always trust Him. He specializes in
rebuilding projects.
God will one day restore all the beauty lost before.
Our
Daily Bread – May 4, 2016