Lesson 10 on the Fall of the OT

This lesson will finish up the Book of Lamentations; but there will be other lessons on this subject. There are many good lessons of this in Jeremiah. We will cover some of this and maybe some other books. This will give you a good Bible study on this subject. This would be a good tool to help you in your personal ministry. We should all try to bring people out of the darkness of the law, into the light of Grace.

Chapter five:

Lam. 5:1Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us; consider, and behold our reproach.

This is their acknowledgment of their having been made a reproach by God.

V2- [important verse-]-Our Inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.

These ‘strangers’ are the New T. Ministers and Christians. So this shows that they are now the ones who have inherited the things of God. Their ‘houses’ means their places of ‘worship’; so now, that has gone over to the New T. Church = the body of Christ.

V3-We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.

This is spiritual talk--it is not speaking of them as natural widows and orphans; it is speaking of the fact that God has divorced and rejected them. Now, they are no longer His wife and His Children. They are no longer the PEOPLE OF GOD.

This is too much in the Word of God, for so many people to miss this.

Read Isaiah 47 in connection with this study; it is full of the same meanings. This is speaking of when God cut off mystery ‘Babylon’ = old Jerusalem. = Law = old covenant.

V1- tells how he put her into the dust = out of his presence = into being the serpent’s meat. = Cut off from God.

He speaks of her nakedness being uncovered. In our last study, it spoke of his destroying those who became naked. This is the one he speaks of.

V5--Sit thou SILENT, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, the lady of kingdoms.

Now, most people will miss that this speaks of old Jerusalem - they will place it on the Catholic Church [which is the same thing] -- but when you see that Jesus called Jerusalem the DESOLATE one who killed all the people of God --there can be no doubt that this is speaking of the old ‘wife’ of God being put away. She is told here to be SILENT -- in other words, do not TEACH anymore, OT.

Also God showed me that this is tied to the Scripture where Paul told them your women keep silence. See it was because those churches went back to the old covenant of law. Picking back up the law once again polluted them. So since this was the law, and they became again that old done away with covenant, which had been told to be silent, it truly means that none of them, men or women could speak, or do the teaching and preaching. Since they had gone back to law, they could not teach. They have been rejected by God and told to be silent. What a pity and shame that so many have misunderstood Paul’s words and meaning and forbid true Christian women from doing the ministry which God called them to do. In the Word ‘women’ represent the churches; the nations. So it is these ‘law churches’; women, which he said to keep silence. It is not referring to Christian Women. It means these law churches; these law nations.

V6 shows that God was angry with them; we have already proven this. Then look at verse nine-But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood:

Did we not just read that they were the orphans and widows? See, then that this is the same one being spoken of in Lam.

V4 of Lam. 5-- We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.

This shows they had been partaking of the mark of the beast in buying the word. In the OT they had been robbed by their leaders by having to pay for the things of God. Now again the church has polluted herself and began charging to give out the bread and water of the Word. This is your PAID preachers, or the hirelings. So those not knowing truth have fallen again into this trap of having to ‘buy’ their water and wood and bread.

V5- our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.

They ‘labor’ at the works of the law which God had done away with. But they refused to leave that and come into true rest, that of the Holy Ghost. So they have no ‘rest’. See, then that the OT did not give them a true REST?

V6-We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.

The Egyptians and the Assyrians always typed Satan and the world in the word. So here we have them going into the false churches for help; but to no avail. They helped these false churches prosper, but it did not feed them spiritually. Now I know some will say this is not in this verse; but you must see that these things are used in a symbolical sense; as is the rest of the Word of God.

V7- Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.

Their fathers started with Adam. They sinned against God and are not. But it came on down unto the fake church still clinging to the law. They are the children of the OT fathers. So they have born their iniquities because they are just as guilty as their fathers of sinning against God are. They tried to blame it on their fathers and thus accuse God of injustice. But see they bore their own sins. God had said everyone shall die for his or her own sins. So they are being punished for their own sins, which is the same sin as their fathers.

V8--Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.

This is great -- it shows the Servants of Jesus = the N.T. ministers, had the ruler ship over that old law group of people; and no one could deliver them out of their hand and take them back to their place with God under that old covenant.

V9--shows that those who tried to receive spiritual ‘bread’ out of that old way now, endanger their own lives. The ‘sword of the wilderness’ was the New Testament message.

V10--Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.

This shows there was nothing left in that Old Testament but spiritual starvation.

V11- they ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.

This is speaking of the NT ministers seeking to convert the people of the OT. They won many of them to Jesus and this is how they ‘ravished’ them.

V12-- Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.

They do not honour that OT group of leaders any longer.

V13--They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.

Grinding represents making bread, or teaching doctrine. Read in Is. 47. So this shows that the young men were taught to receive and teach the new truth of Grace. The ‘young’ ones means the ones who came into the ‘new’ covenant. New is ‘young’. So now only the ‘young’ or new ones can teach. The others are told to keep silence.

V14--The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.

This shows that those OT leaders are no longer the ‘gateway’ to God; and the joy of that old way is no longer. Read Rev. 18.

v15--The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. This fits the destruction of old Babylon in Rev. 18

V16-- [this is powerful to understanding this message]--The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!

And Rev. 18-that they are now no longer the ‘queen’ of God. Their ‘crown’, or place of ruler ship, has been taken away from them and given to a nation bearing the fruits thereof = the New Church. They came under this ‘woe’ because they sinned in rejecting the change from the OT to the NT.

V17--For this our heart is FAINT; for these things our EYES ARE DIM.

See, they ‘fainted’ = did not hold out spiritually - they did not wait upon the Lord and follow where He led. So, their spiritual ‘eyes were dim’; they cannot see or know spiritual truth. They do not ‘hear’ what the Spirit says to the Churches.

V18--Because of the mountain of Zion, which is DESOLATE, the foxes walk upon it.

This shows that old T. Zion is now the DESOLATE ONE. There can be no doubt that Jesus pronounced this as being Jerusalem or the OT law covenant. The foxes are that which spoils the vines; so they are now ‘spoiled’ or desolate.

V19--Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.

This is great: they have been told that their ‘crown’ has fallen; [they are no longer the ruler for God] - but they must acknowledge that His throne will never end. He is now king to the NT. He moved from that old generation ~ to the New Generation of Grace. Glory to God!

V20- [Please take special note of this verse] ~Wherefore dost thou forget usFOR EVER, and forsake us SO LONG TIME?

Here, they show that God forsook that old way FOR EVER. He has NOT ~AND WILL NOT EVER TURN BACK TO THAT WAY OR THEM ~ AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD! If so, this verse would not be right.

V21--Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.

See, they make one last attempt the get God to accept them back as the people of God; to take back that old way of law; but He rejects this attempt to change him from his determination to turn to Grace.

V22--But thou hast UTTERLY REJECTED US; thou art VERY WROTH AGAINST US.

Marvelous way for this book to end!

UTTERLY REJECTED THAT OLD COVENANT AS THE GATE TO HEAVEN ~ OR GOD ~ OR THE CITY OF GOD.

PEOPLE, YOU CANNOT GET TO GOD THROUGH THESE FORSAKEN GATES OF LAW AND OLD COVENANT; OLD JERUSALEM. IT IS ENDED. IT IS FORSAKEN FOREVER.

WHAT MORE NEED BE SAID?

He that hath ears to hear let him hear what the Spirit says to the CHURCHES.

This concludes our study in the Book of Lamentations. I do hope it has been a blessing to SOMEONE.

We will go into Jeremiah for our next study on this fall of the Old Testament.

By: Jo Smith