S123P8 – A people’s lament: the dimming of the gold

Lam. 4:1‭-‬2

How the gold has become dim!  How changed the fine gold!  The stones of the sanctuary are scattered at the head of every street.  The precious sons of Zion, valuable as fine gold, how they are regarded as clay pots, the work of the hands of the potter!

I had built my life on what I thought would really make me happy.  I saw what others had, how fulfilled they appeared to be, and I chased after those things and more.  A shiny bauble here, the latest and greatest version of everything there.  I was propping myself up with things, using them as a sort of stage on which to present myself.  Then, I came to know the Lord, and the veil was lifted.  My collection of coveted goods was no longer enough to hold me up.  Instead, my superficial world collapsed under their weight, and the shiny baubles lost their luster.  The rusted pile of false fulfillment showed itself as the empty waste it was.

For a time, Jeremiah had seen his people enter a period of revival and rededication to the Lord under King Josiah.  Then, that phase passed, and the people returned to practicing evil.  Eschewing spiritual prosperity, they chased a counterfeit prosperity.  They began seeking what their enemies sought, because they wanted what their enemies had.  The illusion of worldly luster captivated not only their eyes but also their hearts, and that was the issue.  Those dark and hardened hearts took what was beautiful and defiled it.  Then, they tried to polish their evil deeds and present them as precious metal.  Eventually, the Lord would expose their fool’s gold for what it was and for all to see. 

Through this great faith, the Lord makes available to us an unlimited supply of shiny treasures.  Those treasures have actual value now and through the eternity to come.  The world, the enemy, and even sin within us will present us with pyrite that looks like the real thing but is only a counterfeit.  If we are wise, we will spot the difference and decline the offer.  Those who fall for the charade will be left empty-handed, their tarnished stones laid bare.  Their treasure will leave them poor and lacking on the day of the Lord, and that poverty only brings death.  Father, hone our discernment so that we would not be deceived by the fool’s gold that tries to tempt us.