Hundreds of generations of ancient Israelites grew up as children of Abraham, inheritors of the covenant—the promises of God. These promises were more than nice bumper stickers or framed photos to cover empty space in their homes–these promises were at the heart of their very identity–individually and collectively.
Genesis
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Deuteronomy
If you fully obey the Lord your God … All these blessings will come on you…3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock…the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated …9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord..
Seven times a year the Israelites would celebrate a festival designed to remind them of the promises of God. Once a year they would renew their vows. Every week the Sabbath would remind them of the ultimate rest promised by the faithfulness of God. Every day they would see the scrolls fixed to their doorframes and tassels sewn on their garments. The way they lived, the way they worked, the food they ate, all of it reminded them that they were the covenant people of God. The promises were theirs—God’s character demanded it.
But what happens when the crops fail? When thistles grow instead of grain? When the enemy comes? When disease breaks out?
Those of little faith appeal to grammar. They look to the conditional clause in Deuteronomy “if you keep the commands” They rationalize misfortune as the wages of sin and unbelief—they chastise themselves for lack of piety and move on with their lives. Those of little faith could never write the Psalms.
The other choice…the faithful choice…the audacious action, is Lament.
Those with radical faith take anger and grief and shout before the throne of God. They cry with the deep anguish of injustice entreating God to remember his covenant.
“How Long O Lord”.
“Deliver me O Lord”
“Help me my God”
“My God, My God why have you forsaken me”
Lament is no lack of faith; it is faiths greatest expression. When faced with a world of evil, lament is the audacious commitment to the promises of God. It is the dogmatic assertion that the world is what has gone astray.
Israel, as a people, understood this cry—Judah especially. A large portion of the Old Testament was either written or collected during the Babylonian exile. The 70 years of misery that followed the destruction of the city of God and the place of his dwelling. Normal people, religious people, good people would have seen the loss of the Temple as the loss of their god—the triumph of Marduk the god of Babylon. That very thing happened to Edom, Moab, Ammon, and the Philistines. But the Hebrews had the exact opposite response.
They cried out to God—again and again and again.
Remember your covenant O God!
Will your wrath last forever?
Where are you?
Through tears they cried their hearts out to God. And He answered:
‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
‘I will break the yoke off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;
no longer will foreigners enslave them.
9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
and David their king,
whom I will raise up for them.
10 “‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
11 I am with you and will save you,’
declares the Lord.
There would be no Bible without Lament. Had Judah responded “reasonably” their identity would have been lost. But it wasn’t—the people of God remembered the promises of God. They remembered that there was no condition to the promises of Abraham. That no matter what Israel would be blessed. So, they cried those scriptures again and again and the Lord answered.