On Losing Goods and Finding Gods

The fourth and final acrostic poem describes many of the same events, but with diminishing energy and intensity. The poet's focus is on the degradation of the people of Jerusalem, the corruption of their religious leaders, and their final moments of defeat. Thematically, the poem mourns what was lost and holds up some candidates for the major idols they had embraced over against God himself. In this sermon, we consider the difference between goods and (lower case) gods—or between gifts from God and the idols we make of them... and when a situation calls primarily for righteous grief or broken repentance.