GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LAMENTATIONS 3:13-15
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13 He shot me in the heart with arrows from his quiver.
14 I was the laughingstock of all my people;
they mock me in song all day long.
15 He made me eat my fill with bitter herbs
and forced me to drink gall.
The bow and arrow statement from verse 12 seems to drift over into this part of the lament. The word I’ve translated “heart” is anatomically the kidneys, but for the Israelites and many ancient peoples it meant the most sensitive and vital part of the body, and the seat of emotion– which is the way we talk about he heart.
It is not so hard to imagine how the suffering Jew would talk about eating his fill of bitter herbs or drinking gall. Bitter herbs were part of the Passover meal (Exodus 12:8; Numbers 9:11). But imagine the heartache of the man in exile who has been turned into the laughingstock of his own people, people who mock him all day long. David had written, “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads” (Psalm 22:7). These things seem far more prophetic than biographic, but we must allow for the bitter probability that some of the exiled Jews gave up on their faith, turned away from God forever, and mocked those who still trusted in the Lord. These verses tell a sad tale, that the first cross was too much for some. They lost their faith, and became enemies of God and of God’s people.
The second cross, the Great Cross of our Savior Jesus Christ, was itself an arrow to the heart, brought into focus through Jesus’ cry, “Why have you forsaken me?” He was offered gall but refused it, but the whole crucifixion was a kind of drink of gall; a very bitter herb to swallow. And the cup of his suffering was not withdrawn from him. He drank it down to its bitter dregs. We all know the mocking that was heaped upon him; mocking that came from his own people, inside and outside the walls of the City of David, Christ’s own footstool. Even today, there are so many of his creatures, people whose sins he died for, who reject him. Mock him. Make him into a laughingstock. But he no longer suffers. He will come again, rather, to judge the living and the dead.
The third cross, the cross of the Christian, can be hidden deep within. The cross we carry can, if the believer is not careful, become like a little idol, a little celebration of “O poor me, and what terrible things I’m going through!” We can be poked and prodded by the devil into doing what the Pharisees did, standing on the street corners to be seen by people (Matthew 6:5). Jesus invites us, advises us, and even warns us to go home, go into your room and shut the door, and then pray; then open your heart to your heavenly Father about what you’re going through. Sob if you need to. Cry right out loud. Let it all out, and finish by saying, “In Jesus’ name, Amen.” But then before you go anywhere, wash your face and clean your glasses. Before you lay yourself down to sleep, rejoice that you have a Savior from your sin. Before you join into a conversation, hold your tongue from telling a sad story of your own. Instead, cheer up the people around you. Be patient with them and love them. Yes, you might be shot right to the heart, or your heart may be breaking. Yes, you might be laughed at by some people, but monkeys laugh and kookaburras laugh without knowing why, and hyenas laugh only for sinister reasons, but you don’t need to care about their reasons. So it is with human enemies, or the sulfur cackles of Satan. If the troubles you carry are bitter herbs and gall, give thanks to God first for the gifts you are about to receive, and let him bless you. He only works for your good. A life of daily repentance, a life of faith, is a path that itself is a gift from God, every bit as much as your faith itself.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Archives at St Paul’s Lutheran Church https://splnewulm.org/daily-devotions/ and Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: www.wlchapel.org/connect-grow/ministries/adults/daily-devotions/gwfy-archive/2025
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Lamentations 3:13-15 Wash your face