He Will Keep You In Exile No Longer

Lamentations 4:11-22
November 15, 2020
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

Christian life is hard. There are many reasons why. One is this. God disciplines his people. Our Father corrects us. He reprimands us. He puts us through moments in life that are painful and unpleasant. Our God disciplines us.

But he disciplines us because he loves us. He does this for your good. God’s discipline is meant to push your heart and mind to realize and wake up to the seriousness of your sins. God’s discipline is meant to lead you to repentance. God’s discipline is meant to teach you humility before him and dependence upon him. God’s discipline is mean to be training that will yield the fruit of righteousness in your life. God is treating you as a son. God is treating you as a daughter. This discipline is a part of all the spiritual blessings that you have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is therefore very important that we receive our Father’s discipline well. Many believers struggle with this. They grow weary and fainthearted and they do not endure the discipline of the Lord. This is sad.

And we see this sadness in the fall and exile of Jerusalem.

In today’s passage, much attention is given to the prophets and the priests of old who sinned against God. They were guilty of many things. They worshipped false gods. They burned children as offerings. They committed sexual immorality. They disgraced the Sabbath. Their sins were many.

But one particular category of their sins stuck out. In the book of Jeremiah, there are many stories about how these prophets and priests did not receive the discipline of the Lord well.

The fall and exile of Jerusalem was the Lord’s discipline upon his people. It was meant to teach God’s people about their need for Christ Jesus. It was meant to show to God’s people what was eternal and true.

But the prophets and priests did not like this discipline. And so they went against it. They told people that the fall and exile of Jerusalem would never happen. And then when the fall and exile of Jerusalem did happen, they told people that it would be short. This was their false teaching. They went against the discipline of the Lord.

So the Lord spoke against these prophets and priests through his prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah declared that the prophets and priests were false because they said “Peace, peace,” when there was actually no peace (Jeremiah 6). The prophets and priests threatened to kill Jeremiah because of that (Jeremiah 26). Jeremiah declared that the exile would last for seventy years, and he wore a wooden yoke over his neck and declared that all who did not put their neck under the yoke of the enemy would be punished by the Lord (Jeremiah 27). A false prophet named Hananiah broke the yoke that Jeremiah wore and declared that the exile would only last for two years. Jeremiah said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the LORD’” (Jeremiah 28). Jeremiah wrote a letter to the exiles that lived in the foreign lands of the enemy (Jeremiah 29). He told them to settle down for the long haul. He told them not to listen to the lies of these prophets and priests. He told them that after seventy years of exile, the Lord would bring them back home. And so he wrote these famous words: “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29). The Lord told Jeremiah that those who accepted his discipline and went off into exile in lands far from home would be like a basket of good figs that were ripe for eating. And the Lord told Jeremiah that those who rejected his discipline and stayed in the home city of Jerusalem would be like a basket of bad figs that could not be eaten (Jeremiah 24).

This is fascinating and profound. Why was it such a big deal to speak against the discipline of the Lord? Why was it such a sinful thing to reject the fall and exile of Jerusalem?

The answer is this. The prophets and priests of old forgot about their need for Jesus. And they forgot about what was eternal and true.

They forgot about their need for Jesus. They were in denial of the fall and exile of Jerusalem because they did not admit their problem of sin. For them, there was nothing to repent of. They did not take their sins seriously. But the whole point of discipline is repentance of sin. They forgot about their need for salvation from sin. They forgot about their need for the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It was therefore fitting and meaningful that the consequences of this was dishonor and uncleanness. They were so defiled with blood that no one was able to touch their garments. People cried at them, “Away! Unclean!” The Lord would regard them no more. And no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders. In other words, there was no heavenly relationship for them. This was a kind of poetic justice. If the prophets and priests did not think that they needed Jesus, then no relationship was needed.

They also forgot about what was eternal and true. They loved and cared more about their earthly city than their heavenly city. They drowned themselves in geopolitics as they looked vainly for help from other nations such as Edom for help. Like Esau, they walked by sight and not by faith. They lost sight of the big picture about God’s promise of salvation. They were worldly. They forgot about what was eternal and true.

It was therefore fitting and meaningful that the consequences of this was their homelessness and them seeing God’s judgment upon Edom. The cup of the God’s judgment also passed to the daughter of Edom. The nation of Edom came from Esau, who preferred an earthly bowl of stew over the heavenly blessings of God. And the Lord himself scattered them. They became fugitives and wanderers. In other words, there was no heavenly home for them. This was a kind of poetic justice. If the prophets and priests did not care about what was eternal and true, then no home was needed.

All of this showed the saints of old that it was very important that they receive the Father’s discipline well. God disciplined his people. The fall and exile of Jerusalem was a historic correction. Jeremiah was sent to declare a historic reprimand. The book of Lamentations shows us that it was all very painful and unpleasant.

But God disciplined them because he loved them. He did it for their good. And after seventy years, he ended the time of the exile and he brought his people back to Jerusalem. This is the glimmer of hope that is given at the end of today’s passage. Verse 22 says this: “The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished; he will keep you in exile no longer….”

Praise be to our God. It is true: God loved his people. Lamentations 3:22-23 says this: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” It is true: God’s loved and disciplined his people. Psalm 103:8-9 says this: “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.” It is true: God loved and disciplined and kept his people. Hebrews 12:5-6 says this: “Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son [and every daughter] whom he receives.”

And all of this is true because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The fire of hell was kindled in the Zion of old that consumed Jesus as he was crucified on the cross. Wrath and anger was poured out on him because of our sins. The blood of the one who was perfectly righteous was shed for our sins and our iniquities. Jesus is so wonderful and powerful and glorious that when the woman in Matthew 9 who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years - a woman who would have been unclean - came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of his garment, Jesus did not become defiled and unclean himself. Instead, Jesus turned and saw her and said to her, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. We are no longer like fugitives or wanderers. We are no longer blind. Before, the kings of the earth and the inhabitants of the world did not believe that foe or enemy could enter the gates of the earthly Jerusalem. Now, we cannot believe that we who were once foes and enemies of God could enter the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem. The Lord regards us now with honor and with favor. Jesus is the Anointed One, of whom we can say, “Under his shadow we shall live.”

And so, there is no eternal death in hell for us. There is no condemnation for us. But there is new life in the covenant of grace for us. And there is discipline for us.

Dear Highland, whenever you go through times of discipline from God our Father, please remember your need for Jesus. And please remember what is eternal and true. When he corrects you, think about your sins - think about what you must put off in your life before it is too late. When he reprimands you, consider all the ways in which you are worldly - consider how much you still love the things of this world. When he puts you through moments in life that are painful and unpleasant, repent and change and grow - repent and change and grow for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ, the Anointed One who is returning soon. Remember your need for Jesus. Remember what is eternal and true.

Dear Highland, when your heavenly Father disciplines you in your life, take the discipline. Remember that he disciplines you because he loves you. He does this for your good. God is treating you as a son. God is treating you as a daughter. This discipline is a part of all the spiritual blessings that you have in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is therefore very important that you receive your Father’s discipline well. Do not grow weary and fainthearted before the Lord. Take the discipline. Do not run away from him. Take the discipline. Do not try to be like the false prophets and priests who were against Jeremiah. Take the discipline. Test and examine your ways and return to the Lord. Take the discipline. Repent of your sins and repent of your worldliness. Take the discipline. You will grow. You will be more holy. You will have more wisdom. Take the discipline. God loves you. Take the discipline.

And one day, soon and very soon, the Lord will keep you in exile no longer.

Therefore, Highland, take the discipline.

Soli Deo Gloria