HE HAS TURNED HIS HAND AGAINST ME

Passage: Lamentations 3:1-18

Key verse: 3

NIV

3 [a]I am the man who has seen affliction(A)
    by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.(B)
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
    in darkness(C) rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me(D)
    again and again, all day long.

4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old(E)
    and has broken my bones.(F)
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
    with bitterness(G) and hardship.(H)
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
    like those long dead.(I)

7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(J)
    he has weighed me down with chains.(K)
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,(L)
    he shuts out my prayer.(M)
9 He has barred(N) my way with blocks of stone;
    he has made my paths crooked.(O)

10 Like a bear lying in wait,
    like a lion(P) in hiding,(Q)
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled(R) me
    and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow(S)
    and made me the target(T) for his arrows.(U)

13 He pierced(V) my heart
    with arrows from his quiver.(W)
14 I became the laughingstock(X) of all my people;(Y)
    they mock me in song(Z) all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
    and given me gall to drink.(AA)

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;(AB)
    he has trampled me in the dust.(AC)
17 I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
    and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”(AD)

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Footnotes
  1. Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Great Is Your Faithfulness

3 (A)I am the man who has seen affliction
    under the (B)rod of his wrath;
2 he has driven and brought me
    (C)into darkness without any light;
3 surely against me he turns his hand
    again and again the whole day long.

4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;
    (D)he has broken my bones;
5 (E)he has besieged and enveloped me
    with (F)bitterness and tribulation;
6 (G)he has made me dwell in darkness
    like the dead of long ago.

7 (H)He has walled me about so that (I)I cannot escape;
    he has made my chains heavy;
8 though (J)I call and cry for help,
    he shuts out my prayer;
9 (K)he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;
    he has made my paths crooked.

10 (L)He is a bear lying in wait for me,
    a lion in hiding;
11 (M)he turned aside my steps and (N)tore me to pieces;
    (O)he has made me desolate;
12 (P)he bent his bow (Q)and set me
    as a target for his arrow.

13 He drove into my kidneys
    (R)the arrows of his quiver;
14 (S)I have become the laughingstock of all peoples,
    (T)the object of their taunts all day long.
15 (U)He has filled me with bitterness;
    he has sated me with (V)wormwood.

16 (W)He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
    and (X)made me cower in ashes;
17 my soul is bereft of peace;
    I have forgotten what happiness[a] is;
18 (Y)so I say, “My endurance has perished;
    so has my hope from the Lord.”

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Footnotes
  1. Lamentations 3:17 Hebrew good
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

The laments in this chapter are personal laments. The author has grieved for his city and his nation. Now he grieves for himself because of the Lord’s judgment. He has witnessed firsthand the Lord’s wrath. Evidence of the Lord’s wrath is all around him. Here the author speaks of his own affliction. He walks in darkness. The Lord’s hand is against him all day long. He is surrounded with bitterness and hardship. Try as he might, he cannot escape the misery of God’s judgment. He is walled in like a prison.

The author was once prosperous. Not so anymore. He was once at peace. Not so anymore (17). He is a laughingstock to his people. The author admits his heart has been pierced with the Lord’s arrows. What happens when a heart is pierced? It dies. When we don’t have God, we don’t have life. This is not just the sorrowful words of a man in sin. These are the words of a man who has been abandoned by God. When the Lord removes his blessing from us (his presence), our lives are utterly devoid of worth or pleasure. The only answer is to repent and come to Jesus. Our sins will be forgiven, and we will be restored.

Prayer: Father, how can we endure without your mercy? Have mercy on us and forgive us our sin.

One Word: No hope without the Lord