Mon.’s Devo - The Restoring Heart of God

Read: Lamentations 1:1-2:19; Philemon 1:1-25; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 26:20
Lamentations is written by Jeremiah after the death of Josiah. He is lamenting his death and the death of his nation, Judah. The first two chapters are 22 stanzas long with the first word of each stanza starting with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order. Verse 16 and 17 of chapter 2 are transposed but Jeremiah wrote it in order to help them memorize the verses easier.
Three lines caught my attention. The first was Lamentations 1:9 that says, “she did not consider her future”. The people lived their lives not thinking of the consequences of their actions. They thought they had gotten away with their sins this long, so maybe it didn’t matter and God was never going to do the things he said he would do.
Another line that stood out to me was Lamentations 2:2 “He has brought her kingdom and its princes down to the ground in dishonor.” They were so proud of their accomplishments and the fact that God was on their side. They never knew God as a father that loved them enough to discipline them.
The last line that I underlined was Lamentations 2:5 that says, “The Lord is like an enemy.” God was not their enemy but he had to act as one which was not fun as a father.
Jeremiah pleaded with them to cry out and pour out their hearts to the Lord for the lives of their children.
The letter by Paul to Philemon was delivered by Onesimus who had been a slave of Philemon’s who had ran away and ended up in Rome. In Rome, he had a divine encounter with Paul who led him to Christ. He repented and wanted to come back and ask Philemon forgiveness and serve him once again. Paul sent him with this letter we call the Book of Philemon. In the letter Paul commends the church for their faith in the Lord and their love of all the saints. He appealed to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus testifying of Onesimus’ change of heart. He tells Philemon how helpful he has been to Paul and of how he became like a son to Paul when he was in chains. He assures Philemon that Onesimus will now be an asset instead of a rebellious slave. He hopes that Philemon will send him back to him but it is Philemon’s decision since he is his owner. Paul offers to pay any cost Philemon owes him but Paul reminds Philemon that Philemon owes Paul his life. That adds some leverage for sure.
You can’t help but see Paul’s love for Onesimus. If Paul could get on his knees and beg for him, he would. That is the love of God for us, even when we have made huge mistakes. God doesn’t give revenge or pay back like we would. He offers forgiveness and restoration to those who are humble.
Lord, let this remind us that when you change a person, we should change our opinions of them also. We need to have the same mercy that God does because we would desire the same for ourselves.