GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LAMENTATIONS 4:6
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6 The punishment of the daughter of my people
is greater than the sin of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment
without a hand to support her.
How could anything be a worse punishment than what was done to Sodom? Before we answer that, we should look carefully at the word avon (עֲוֹן, rhymes with “trombone”). Usually this noun means “sin,” and it is frequently paired with words for guilt or liability. But there are times where words for sin are also used for the punishment or even the sacrifice that made to atone for sin, such as the “sin offering” (Exodus 29:14). Here, either definition of avon could possibly be meant, either that the people’s sin was worse than Sodom’s sin, or that their punishment was worse. While all sins are wickedness before God and deserve eternal punishment, idolatry is special because it openly rejects God as God. In this sense, the adulterous sins of Sodom were overshadowed by the idolatrous sins of Judah. But the prophet compares the duration of the overthrow of Sodom, which happened “in a moment,” and therefore “punishment” is more clearly the intended meaning here, just as it is in Genesis 4:13, when (using the same word) Cain says, “My punishment is too great for me to bear” (EHV).
The Jews were driven out of the Jerusalem by the Babylonians, pulled out of the city against their will. The same thing happened to Lot and his family in the destruction of Sodom, when the angels who were sent for them had to grab them by the hands and pull them out (Genesis 19:16). The Lord was going to preserve his people in Babylon, even though it would be hard on them, and some of them would die there. And the Lord preserved Lot and his daughters when they fled from Sodom, although the men who planned to marry Lot’s daughters did not go and were killed (Genesis 19:14), and Lot’s wife also turned back to look, and was turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26).
So to return to our question, the punishment was greater and more severe because of its duration, lasting seventy years instead of a few hours (Genesis 19:23-25), and many of the Jews were treated brutally, and some starved, as we have seen. But this turns our thoughts from the exiles driven out of the ruins of Jerusalem to the one man driven like an exile from the same streets, but only as far as the hill known as The Skull (John 19:17).
Christ endured a punishment that was also greater than the sin of Sodom, for the punishment was for all sins. For it was fire and brimstone that fell from heaven upon Sodom and the other cities that the Lord destroyed, but it was all of the fury of hell that fell upon Christ as he was punished for our sins.
This was just as God had promised all along. The Father promised: “I will punish their rebellion with the rod; their guilt with whipping” (Psalm 89:32). And the Holy Spirit foresaw that Christ would be “scorned by men and despised by the people” (Psalm 22:6). But the Son of God himself even prophesied and promised that his punishment would be the most severe: “They will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, flog, and crucify him” (Matthew 20:19). As always, all three persons of the Holy Trinity are always in agreement, always with exactly the same will, the same desire: the will of God is one, and the desire of God is one, for God is One. And it was his will to crush the Son of God for the sins of mankind. What a punishment he bore for our sakes!
“Not a hand was raised,” the prophet says. Under the second cross we can see the fulfillment of this in the illegal trial that was held by the Sanhedrin, for they met in secret, without men like Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea, who would never have voted to crucify him and who would surely have stood to defend him, except that they were obviously not present. The references in the Gospels to “the whole Sanhedrin” being present are, I think, hyperbole (along with Mark 1:32; Matthew 8:3). Most of the Sanhedrin was there, enough for a vote, and enough for them to boast later on that they had been unanimous.
“Not a hand was raised” can also mean “No hands were wrung” (see ESV), meaning that no one was concerned or worried for the exiles, and no one among the Sanhedrin was concerned or worried about Jesus. Joseph and Nicodemus learned what had happened too late, and came only to claim his body and to bury it (John 19:38-39).
Let’s consider the third cross; the cross that the Christian carries as he or she follows Christ. This passage especially calls to mind the crosses of serious illnesses: cancers, amputations, dementia, terminal disease, and the like. God is gracious and only wants what is good for us, and he only allows such things into our lives to bring us to rethink our priorities, or to show us what we might have doubted, which is that our priorities really were in line with his will. At such times, we can be grateful to him for the tests he gives! But the devil tries to use these things to tempt us, to try to bully us into thinking that God is indifferent, or that he only hates us, or that he isn’t paying attention to us at all. Or the devil may try to drive us to despair: “I’m finally getting what my sins deserve.” But that isn’t how God works; that is never the point of a cross that we carry.
What’s really going on? We are led to think, “My punishment is greater than that of Sodom. I’m being crushed because I’m worse than those people of Gomorrah.” And worse: “There’s no hand to support me.” But there is. Jesus said it: “It anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The Christian finds that denying himself means acknowledging Jesus. Taking up his cross means setting aside other priorities; things that have been pushing God to the corners. Following means, well, following. Being a disciple of Jesus. There is the word “discipline” that’s there in “disciple.” As he leads us, he corrects us, tests us, and nudges us in the right direction. And he teaches us, too. Don’t forget to listen to his teaching! “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:47). “Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you” (John 8:10-11). “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). When he corrects and tests and nudges and teaches, it’s the best thing in the world. It’s the best thing for the Christian’s soul. It’s the hand of God himself in my life. His is the hand given to support his follower. Who could ask for anything more?
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Lamentations 4:6 The hand of God