I want you to imagine for a moment what it would be like if you could not worship.
This is a bit of a challenge for us because we know that because of what Jesus has done, we always have access to the throne of God!
But imagine, if you will, what would happen if you did not have access to God’s throne!
That’s what had happened in 586 BC – when the temple was destroyed – when joy and celebration ended, because there was no way to have peace with God. (Remember that prior to the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father, the only way to have peace with God was through the burnt offering and peace offering. If there is no altar, if there are no sacrifices, then there is no access to God.)
Indeed, the point of the NT is that we have a once-for-all sacrifice that opens the way into the heavenlies.
So there is a way in which the utter grief and hopelessness of Lamentations 3 cannot be found in the NT. And yet, there is also a sense in which the grief and despair of Lamentations 3 recognizes that same NT dynamic – because even though the temple is gone and there is no access to the heavenly throne, the poet still speaks directly to God!
In the first two poems in Lamentations, the poet has focused on the sorrows and troubles of Daughter Zion – Lady Jerusalem.
Now, in Lamentations 3, the poet uses himself as the example. “I am the man who has seen affliction.â€
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