The time to lament

It’s time to lament. Grieve for what could have been. What should have been.

A time to be filled with great sadness. That life is not as it should be. To remember how good it was and how things have changed.

The lament in Ezekiel 19 describes the princes of Israel as lion cubs. Their mother as an impressive lioness among the lions, who raised a cub to be strong, a man-eater. So strong that the nations felt threatened and trapped him in a pit. And took him off to Egypt.

The lioness did not give up.

When she saw her hope unfulfilled,
her expectation gone,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a strong lion.  Ezekiel 19:5

The cub became strong, a man-eater. He destroyed towns. Everyone was terrified by his roaring. The nations gathered and trapped him in a pit and took him off again. This time to Babylon.

The the mother of the princes of Israel is likened to a strong vine. Planted by the water. Fruitful. Full of branches. Conspicuously tall.

But it was uprooted in fury
and thrown to the ground.
The east wind made it shrivel,
it was stripped of its fruit;
its strong branches withered
and fire consumed them.  Ezekiel 19:12

The vine has been replanted. This time in a dry and thirsty land.

It is right to lament. To feel sorrow that things are not as God ever intended them to be.

My sister was telling me yesterday that she feels sad every time she walks into the town in which she lives. She’s acutely aware of all the lost and lonely individuals, many of whom have serious mental health issues. She grieves for them, for the lives they once had. It is right to lament.

It is right to use poetry and images to express this lament. The arts are a great way to find a language for pain. A friend of mine who is going through a lot at the moment is finding great comfort in listening to songs and quoting the lyrics. They express his anguish in poetry and images that are helpful to him.

In the seventh year of the exile, some of the elders of Israel came to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord. God was having none of it. Instead, Ezekiel was to confront them with their wrongdoing. Remind them of how He brought the people out of Egypt all those years ago. How He made it clear how they should behave. How they rebelled. Rebelled time and time and time again.

God poured out His wrath on His people in the wilderness for what they had done, but He did not destroy them completely. He did not allow those that He brought out of Egypt ever to enter the Promised Land, but their descendants were spared. God had to restore His reputation before the surrounding nations, but He showed pity and make it clear again exactly was required.

And the people rebelled again.

For the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.  Ezekiel 20:22

God took action. He needed the people to be confronted with the reality of what they were doing. The horror of it all. The consequences. He needed to restore the honour of His name.

God gave His people endless opportunities to return to Him. To get it right. To turn over a new leaf. And yet they continued to turn away from Him and rebel and do it their own way.

But God will never give up on His people. He will never let them become like the surrounding nations. He will reign over them forever. His kingdom will outlast the years. He will judge them for what they have done and bring them back into relationship with Him. They will know that He is God. They will serve Him and He will accept them. And in this way, God will prove His holiness.

And as I read this passage, I was reminded of a song from my youth – anyone else remember Graham Kendrick’s ‘Restore, O Lord’? Inspired by a passage such as this and a great inspiration for our turbulent times.

Restore, O Lord,
The honour of Your name,
In works of sovereign power
Come shake the earth again;
That men may see
And come with reverent fear
To the living God,
Whose kingdom shall outlast the years.

Restore, O Lord,
In all the earth Your fame,
And in our time revive
The church that bears Your name.
And in Your anger,
Lord, remember mercy,
O living God,
Whose mercy shall outlast the years.

Bend us, O Lord,
Where we are hard and cold,
In Your refiner’s fire
Come purify the gold.
Though suffering comes
And evil crouches near,
Still our living God
Is reigning, He is reigning here.

A great reminder that there’s a reason for it all.