I am the Man Who has seen Affliction

Sunday, 8 June 2025 by

Bernard Gabbott - Sunday, 8 June 2025

I am the Man Who has seen Affliction

‘I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath’ (Lam.3:1). In the third poem of lament, we hear from the poet himself – and his description is striking. He is a man. He is obviously in the middle of this tragedy. He has experienced it personally, and yet he also seems to speak representatively. Who is this man? I think it is most likely Jeremiah – the prophet who had laboured for 40 years calling God’s people back. And he did experience all this personally (just compare Jeremiah 38 with Lam.3:52-57) – and so, he can also speak representatively. As he experiences the immense dissonance of, for example, the ‘rod’ of God that guides him safely (remember Ps.23:4) through the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ which now brings affliction, where does he turn? What does he consider? Jeremiah turns to the bedrock theological truths of the LORD – and so, he waits patiently on Him, and trusts that His ‘faithful love’ will bring deliverance.

Scripture References: Lamentations 3:1-66, Jeremiah 38:1-13, Psalms 109:21-31

From Series: "Lamentations"

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I am the Man Who has seen Affliction
from Bernard Gabbott
‘I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath’ (Lam.3:1). In the third poem of lament, we hear from the poet himself – and his description is striking. He is a man. He is obviously in the middle of this tragedy. He has experienced it personally, and yet he also seems to speak representatively. Who is this man? I think it is most likely Jeremiah – the prophet who had laboured for 40 years calling God’s people back. And he did experience all this personally (just compare Jeremiah 38 with Lam.3:52-57) – and so, he can also speak representatively. As he experiences the immense dissonance of, for example, the ‘rod’ of God that guides him safely (remember Ps.23:4) through the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ which now brings affliction, where does he turn? What does he consider? Jeremiah turns to the bedrock theological truths of the LORD – and so, he waits patiently on Him, and trusts that His ‘faithful love’ will bring deliverance.