GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LAMENTATIONS 4:19
Click to listen to this devotion.
19 Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky;
over the mountains they chased us,
in the desert they laid in wait for us.
The word I have translated “eagles” is the plural of nesher (נֶשֶׁר), which can mean either eagle or vulture. I have said “eagle” here because our readers will not associate speed or aggressiveness with American vultures, and that is the point of the verse. Some researchers have debated that it should almost always be vulture, and specifically the Griffon Vulture, which is a large, swift, and aggressive vulture common to Palestine. It has a wingspan of about eight feet, and its dark grey body contrasts sharply with the short white plumage of its head which makes it look bald. The Lord said to Micah, “Cut off your hair on account of the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the vulture, for they shall go from you into exile” (Micah 1:16). Hosea also said, “Set the trumpet to your lips, for a vulture is over the house of the Lord” (Hosea 8:1). There the fast-diving vulture symbolizes the fast approach of the Assyrians who were descending upon Israel. Here in Lamentations, the pursuers are the Babylonians (see Jeremiah 3:13 and Habakkuk 1:6,8), moving quickly to capture escaping fugitives.
No one can debate that the prophet has King Zedekiah in mind here. As we remembered when we read Lamentations 4:11-12, Zedekiah fled from the city with some of his noble advisors the night that the Babylonians breached the walls. Up, over the mountains he fled– probably over the southern peak of the ridge we know as the Mount of Olives. This place is just east of the gate where the king broke out, and is also known as the Mount of Corruption (2 Kings 23:13) where Solomon built pagan shrines for the gods his wives worshiped. From there, Zedekiah descended down toward Jericho and was caught there “in the desert” where the Babylonians were encamped in force. This, then, is the literal meaning of the verse and the first cross.
If we turn our thoughts to the second cross, the cross of Jesus our Redeemer, we see especially his capture in this verse, the capture that took place on the Mount of Olives. He was not running away. He was waiting for them, expecting them, and he had even prophesied that they would come. He knew his betrayer by name, and expected his treacherous kiss (Matthew 26:46). Did they have to chase him over that mountain like a soar of eagles? No, they just had to show up. When the word of his mouth, a simple “I am he” knocked them down (John 18:6), did they have to jump to their feet and chase him down or fight his army? No. He waited for them to stand and bind his hands and take him to a former high priest (John 18:12-13). When one of his disciples did draw a sword and strike, Jesus rebuked him. He ordered him to put his sword away, healed the man who had been struck, and asked, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11).
Jesus did not run away to Jericho, or to Bethlehem, or anywhere else, only to be caught by more soldiers lying in wait. As a baby, he had been taken away to Egypt to escape from King Herod’s threat, but that was before he had done his work. Now his preaching ministry was at an end. He had prayed for mankind (John 17:1-26). It was time to atone for sin. For these were the three actions of a priest: To teach the word of God, to pray for the people, and to offer sacrifices. Having completed the first two tasks perfectly and completely, he could turn to the third, and offer the one sacrifice that would do more than any Levitical priest could ever do, whether a high priest or a low. “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12), for “he had died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant,” which is the Ten Commandments and all the other Laws of Moses (Hebrews 9:15). That covenant was put into effect with blood, and by his own blood Christ completed it and brought it to an end. And while his blood atoned for the sins of all mankind, there are still those who reject him, so that their own punishment will be required of them.
But Christ cares for all who love him and put their trust in him. “He shielded them and cared for them; he guarded them as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. The LORD alone led them” (Deuteronomy 32:10-12).
We who are those young, carried on the pinions and feathers of his mighty wings, adore him and trust in him. Whatever crosses we carry there are forms of worship, however painful or sorrowful; they are blessings in every way. For Jesus said: “Blessed are those who are persecuted on account of their righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are you when men insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven!” (Matthew 5:10-12).
Luther helps us with his explanation to the Seventh Petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “In conclusion, we pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would deliver us from every evil that threatens body and soul, property and reputation, and finally when our last hour comes, grant us a blessed end and graciously take us from this world of sorrow to himself in heaven.” And he will do it more swiftly than eagles.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Listen or watch Bible classes online.
Archives at St Paul’s Lutheran Church and Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel:
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Lamentations 4:19 swifter than eagles