A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold is as pictures of silver.(Prov.25:11) It is so important to speak the right words to people at the right time to produce the right results. When you think of apples of gold in pictures of silver, then you are thinking of wealth and excellence. When we speak wisdom into the lives of others we are making them wealthy. Therefore we must seek God for He is the source of all wisdom and He will give us just the right words needed at the right time.
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#All her people sigh, they seek bread: they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see O LORD and consider; for I have become vile. Lamentations 1:11
The Hebrew word for pleasant is Machmad; meaning delightful, or object of affection. From Chamad; a delight, i.e. Object of love. and desire, Hosea 9:16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. The Hebrew word for vile is Zalal; meaning to shake, to be loose morally, and become a prodigal. Israel has become a prodigal and very loose morally causing everyone to delight in her affection. What a sad state this is just as Gomer was a prodigal to Hosea, whom God told to marry as a prostitute. This was so Hosea could see how Israel had forsaken the Jehovah God and played the harlot. Just as God had to say Ephraim is attached to idols, leave him alone. Isaiah 63:19 We are thine: thou never barest rule over them: they are called by thy name. O LORD, art thou our Father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. Let us return to the Lord the God of our fathers and remember not the sins of our youth. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation, renew a clean heart in me. Jeremiah wept sore and prayed in Jerimaih 29:11,12,13 For I know the thought that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me and ye shall search for me and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
#The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation. Lamentations 1:10
The Hebrew word for adversary is Tsar; meaning narrow, a tight place. From Tsarar; narrow (as a noun) a tight place (usually figuratively), i.e. Trouble, or an opponent. an enemy or foe. Proverbs 24:10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Jeremiah is saying the enemy has spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things and this enemy is the devil who comes as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. It is time for Israel to repent, seek the Lord wholeheartedly, and take back the sanctuary. Solomon has said if you faint in the day of adversity then your strength is small. Look to Jesus and live for He is our strength and our salvation.
#Her filthiness is in her skirts: she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. Lamentations 1:9
The Hebrew word for no comforter; is Nacham; meaning to sigh, breathe strongly, be sorry, console, and avenge..Genesis 6:6 And it repenteth the LORD that He had made man on the earth and it grieved Him at His heart. This is the state that Jeremiah is in weeping for Israel, as in the antediluvian generation when Jehovah God was grieved that He had made man on the earth in His heart. This tells us how much Jehovah loves man and Israel the apple of His eye. This is the same way we feel at the shooting at the Lakewood Church of the woman with a mental illness, who should have been in a mental Hospital, but instead was allowed to buy an AR-15 riffle, with a criminal past. We are praying for her son who was shot in the head. God is grieved at this wickedness as what was in the skirts of Israel. Jesus wept over Israel by saying Jerusalem, thou that kills the prophets and those sent to you, how often I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you would not behold your house is left desolate unto you. Israel cannot remember her last end and what a tragedy to forget Jehovah God who loves her with everlasting love, to forget the scope of her last end. May we not make that mistake and forget God who sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, so that we could have eternal life.
#Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honored her despise her because they have seen her nakedness; yea, she sigheth and turneth backward. Lamentations 1:8
Happy Valentine's Day and thank the Lord for loving us with everlasting love. Love is kind, love is good, and love is the only way we can have brotherhood. The Hebrew word for nakedness is Ervah; meaning shame. From Arab; nudity, literally (especially the pudenda) or figuratively (disgrace, blemish) Hosea 2:11 I will also cause her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths and all her solemn feasts. Jehovah God is married to Israel the apple of His eye and she has forsaken the Lord and turned to shame. Marriage is honorable in all, but the fornicator and adulterer will be judged. Let all married couples love one another, for love keeps no record of wrongs. Keep the marriage bed holy and husbands always be ravished over your wife as in her youth. Render due benevolence from one to the other and only come apart for fasting and prayer. Be kind one to another and tender-hearted forgiving just as God for Christ has forgiven you. If you will do this then every day will be a Valentine's Day. Be like God, who forgave Israel for her sins and gave her the Messiah to wipe away all of her shame. There will be a honeymoon in the Kingdom of God when the Church, the bride of Christ will come down to celebrate the feast of tabernacles. What a joy that will be and God will wipe away all tears, and then there will be peace in the valley.
#Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old when her people fell into the hand of the enemy and none did help her: the adversaries saw her and did mock at her sabbaths. Lamentations 1:7
Our prayers go out to Lakewood Church as the mystery of iniquity is at work in the children of disobedience. The shooter had a mental illness but was able to buy an AR-15 gun how we need to have better mental health laws to protect the mentally ill from hurting themselves and others. The Hebrew word for sabbaths is Mishbath; meaning cessation. From Shabath; cessation, i.e. Sabbath. Jerusalem is remembered in the days of her affliction and her miseries are there while her enemies mock at her sabbaths. Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. We need to rest in what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us at the cross and leave all our sorrows there for He cares for us. We need rest from mental illness, and from captivity. Jerusalem is remembered in the days of her afflictions. Thank God that weeping may be for the night, but joy comes in the morning. We used to sing the hymn "We will understand it better when the morning comes" God allows sorrows to come upon us so that we can rest in Him and the amazing grace that He has bestowed upon us. When our enemies mock our sabbaths we can rest in the Lord for He has given us the victory at Calvary. Let us sing Amazing Grace, for I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind, but now I see.
#And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes have become like harts that find no pasture and they are gone without strength before the pursuer. Lamentations 1:6
The Hebrew word for harts is Ayyal; meaning a deer. An intensive form of Avil ( in the sense of ram) a male deer. Song of Solomon 2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. Jeremiah is saying the beauty of Zion has departed and all her princes have become like young male deers and they are gone without strength before the pursuer. This is a sad state for Israel to be in because they have forgotten the Lord, the great lover of their souls. Daughters cannot find husbands due to being pursued by the enemy. The rod of the wicked will not touch the righteous if they put not their hand on iniquity. Just like Samson could not be defeated if he kept his Nazarite vow. But when he broke it he became weak like other men and his enemies pursued him and put out his eyes. Let him that hath ears hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches and him that hath eyes see what the Spirit wants us to see. We have forsaken the Lord for broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Return to the Lord the fountain of living waters and you will be restored to your fountain of youth.
#Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. Lamentations 1:5
The Hebrew word for chief is Rosh; meaning the head. or captain. From an unused root meaning to shake the head (as most easily shaken) whether literal or figurative Leviticus 13:45 And the Leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent and his head bare. He shall put a covering upon his upper lip and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. Jeremiah is weeping cause the head is bare and full of Leprosy the enemies prosper, for Jehovah God has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions.. It is time to put away the idols as this is Super Sunday because of the Superbowl, and not because of Church worship. People are gambling on who will win the game, and not concerned about worshipping the Lord. It is time to repent before God causes this affliction to come upon us, for not seeking His face early in the morning. We just went through the Covid 19 plague and that was a warning of something worse to come if we do not turn our eyes upon Jesus and look wonderfully at His beautiful face. We are saved by grace and not works, lest any man should boast.
#The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feast: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, the virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. Lamentations 1:4
The Hebrew word for bitterness is Marar; meaning to be moved with choler and have sorely grieved. A primitive root; properly to trickle (See Mar) but used only as a denominative from Mar; to be (causatively, make) bitter and provoke or vex. Isaiah 38:17, 18,19,20 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. We must find God while there is still hope, for it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day; the father to the children shall make known thy truth. The Lord was ready to save me; therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD. Jehovah God shall save Zion, for the Messiah shall come with healing in His wings. I will praise thee in the great sanctuary, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. It is good that we have been afflicted, for now I keep thy law.
#Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. Lamentations 1:3
The Hebrew word for straits is Metsar; meaning something tight, or trouble. From Qebah; distress, and pain. Psalm 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. The Hebrew word for hell is Sheol; meaning underworld (place to which people descend at death) From Shaal; Hades or the world of the dead, or grave. Jeremiah is describing the affliction and servitude that Judah had gone into captivity. Jeremiah 33:7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. This is the promise Jehovah God made when Judah and Israel returned to the Lord. Revelation 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Be not deceived God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. God will use our enemies to punish us when we go astray, and then when we repent, He will punish our enemies for hurting and killing us. Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore He saith, When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. This is what Jesus did for us on the cross He went into Sheol and took it captive and gave gifts unto men when He transferred Abraham's bosom.
#She weepeth sore in the night and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. Lamentations 1:2
The Hebrew word for treacherously is Bagad; meaning to cover, to act covertly, or to pillage. Jeremiah 3:20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. Jeremiah is telling it like it is just as a wife covertly leaves her husband, Israel has covertly left Jehovah God. Now the hand of God is no longer protecting them, and all her friends have pillaged her. Just like Gomer left Hosea and all her lovers left her naked and destitute. So Hosea redeems her for fifteen pieces of silver. It has been said tears are our language, God understands. Psalm 107 is one of the most encouraging Psalms, and it tells how we get ourselves into trouble, then we cry out to the Lord, and then He delivers us from all our troubles. Oh, that men would praise the Lord, for His wonderful works to the children of men. Jesus wept over Jerusalem by saying thou that kills the prophets, and those God has sent to you, How I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chickens, but you would not. Behold your house is left unto you desolate. Jeremiah is the weeping prophet, cause he warned the Israelites of the impending judgments for seventy years, but they would not listen. God will let us run from Him, but we cannot hide, for His everlasting arms are always there to save us. His arms are not too short to save. O let us magnify the Lord today, and praise His holy name. For God is good and His mercy endures for all generations. God places our tears in a bottle in heaven He will tell us how much He loves us, by sending His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die on the cross for all our sins, We will be trophies of His grace forever praising Him for His goodness and mercy towards usward.