12 Princes were hung by their hands;
[h]Elders were not respected.
13 Young men [i]worked at the grinding mill,
And youths stumbled under loads of wood.
14 Elders [j]are gone from the gate,
Young men from their music.
15 The joy of our hearts has ceased;
Our dancing has been turned into mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head;
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our heart is faint,
Because of these things our eyes are dim;
18 Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate,
Foxes prowl in it.19 You, O Lord, [k]rule forever;
Your throne is from generation to generation.
20 Why do You forget us forever?
Why do You forsake us [l]so long?
21 Restore us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored;
Renew our days as of old,
22 Unless You have utterly rejected us
And are exceedingly angry with us.
As this chapter and the book of Lamentations concludes, it’s not a pretty sight. Unlike many of the psalms of David, there’s no silver lining presented as the cure for all their woes. Rightfully so, Jeremiah states that their joy has ceased and their dancing has turned into mourning. Zion lies desolate and it’s people all exiled–taken either forcefully to Babylon, or the remnant who fled voluntarily to Egypt.
So one last time, Jeremiah comes back to God, the one who rules forever, whose throne endures through all generations. Has God forgotten them? It certainly seemed that way, as they had been forsaken and the years dragged on. He makes one last petition for restoration, to be restored not just to their land, to prosperity, and to friends and family; instead Jeremiah asks to be restored to the Lord Himself.
That is, unless they have been utterly rejected due to God’s great anger and wrath… It’s a place of desperation that I think many of us can relate to, even if we aren’t in the same state as Israel was after the judgment of God had been poured out. Sometimes it seems like the heavens are silent, and God has forgotten what is going on. But God does not forget us, or this world, no more than He had forgotten Israel.
Though it was a long seventy years, God had preserved a remnant of His people to return to Him. He had a plan to fulfill then, and that plan has not ended. It includes you and I, no matter what we go through in this life. We also can take heart, even when it seems like God is not working, His hand is moving things we cannot see. As the song on the radio this morning said, “His love never fails or fades.” Just as His rule endures forever, so does His love, as He never changes–the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).