Lamentations 4:1-3

4 How the gold has grown dim;
how the pure gold is changed!
The sacred stones lie scattered
at the head of every street.

² The precious children of Zion,
worth their weight in fine gold—
how they are reckoned as earthen pots,
the work of a potter’s hands!

³ Even the jackals offer the breast
and nurse their young,
but my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness

Right now, most of what I know about an ostrich comes from a character in an insurance commercial on TV. (Oops, that’s an emu, so I know even less than I thought about ostriches.) A Google search yielded this:

ostriches may turn aggressive rather than run when threatened, especially when cornered, and may also attack when they feel the need to defend their offspring or territories.

So, when God is speaking in Lamentation about justification for the punishment of God’s people, they might have felt the condemnation of their behavior in the “ostrich in the wilderness” reference. The people of God had become cruel. That’s not a character trait God wishes for the members of God’s family.

Prayer

Wonderful God, help me to put away my behaviors and traits that hurt others. Help me to live with care for all those I encounter. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.