The Failure of Spiritual Leaders

Lamentations 4 is another sad poem chronicling Israel's demise as she lies in exile. The passage gives far more clarity than others as to the people's perception of themselves before their defeat by the Babylonians. 

We find that people were unaware that anything like this could ever happen. First, Jeremiah laments the tarnish on her royalty by noting the gold is now diminished:

Lamentations 4:1–2 (ESV) How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter’s hands!

Riches blind a person and a country. They make you think you are impervious to disaster. But there are many ways to lose money. One of the consistent warnings in the Old and New Testaments is how unreliable wealth is to one's defense of life. 

Proverbs 23:4–5 (ESV) Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.

Proverbs 18:11 (ESV) A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination.

This was Israel's main problem. Their prosperity led to pride and a sense of invincibility. Notice what is said in Verses 11 and 12. 

Lamentations 4:11–12 (ESV) The LORD gave full vent to his wrath; he poured out his hot anger, and he kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its foundations. 12 The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world, that foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

No one saw the fall of Jerusalem coming! Think about that for a moment. For it is how we may see America and the West. Surely, their demise is impossible. After all, we have great wealth, great technology, and a powerful military structure. But again, history warns us there are many ways to lose what you have.

Then Jeremiah points to Israel's real problem. As a Pastor, I have to confess that this is a challenging text for me. 

Lamentations 4:13 (ESV) This was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in the midst of her the blood of the righteous.

Notice the target of Jeremiah's judgment. It was not first the kings and civil government. I was the corruption of Israel's religious class! The trained teachers and proginators of the law were at fault. You see, the role of prophets and priests was to course-correct the kings and the people. They were supposed to speak up for God despite what popular opinion held to be true. They were supposed to be unswerving in devotion to God's command. 

In the beginning, you had names like Samuel, Nathan, and Gad—prophets who spoke truth to power and called men like Saul and David to account. Later in the North, Elijah and Elisha stood in the gap. But in Israel's long history, those men were few and far between. For the greater portion of her history, the riches of the nation under Solomon silenced the convictions of her spiritual leaders. They grew comfortable and compromised. 

Jeremiah spoke of this earlier:

Lamentations 2:9 (ESV) Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has ruined and broken her bars; her king and princes are among the nations; the law is no more, and her prophets find no vision from the LORD.

Consequently, the people lost respect for both the elders and the priests. 

Lamentations 4:16 (NKJV) The face of the LORD scattered them; He no longer regards them. The people do not respect the priests Nor show favor to the elders.

You see in Lamentations 4 that what really destroys a nation is not the sins of her people but the silence of her spiritual leaders. When the prophets fail to challenge and correct, the nation casts off restrain in abomination. We need leaders in our countries, states, and towns who speak the truth without regard for what's popular. We need leaders who will stand up and stand out. 

Ultimately, even if the masses do not like what they say, those men will be respected, and the nation can avoid termination.