| Lamentations 2:15 15 All that pass by clap their hands at you to mock you; in disgust they wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, "Ha! Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?" [Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery.] | Luke 14:27-29 27 And whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.4 [The blind guides of Christendom ignore the cross and tell their followers that they are already saved just by believing in Jesus; but unless you carry the inward cross of self denial to crucify your selfish lusts, passions, and desires, you will be banned from heaven at death. To come after Christ you must wait in humble silence, listening for Him to speak to you from the Word within your heart; faith is to hear Him, and then you must obey Him. Self-denial occurs by obeying the Lord's spoken commands instead of your will, (His will, not your will); this is bearing the cross — the inward cross of self-denial.] 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost to see if he has the money to finish it?5 [Count the cost of forsaking all to be a disciple of Jesus and enter the kingdom, you must forsake all. He who loves his life shall lose it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life (of God) eternal. John 12:25. From the Word of the Lord within: "The sacrifice of life is given to those who can afford it. Thou art the sacrifice."] 29 Lest, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will mock him, [From the Word of the Lord within: I work with the blind; but if you think you can see, and you are not with me in heaven, I will make you a laughingstock.] | Ezekiel 22:4 4 You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and you have defiled yourself by your idols that you have made; and you have caused your days [of judgment] to draw near, and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a laughingstock to the heathen and a mocking to all the countries. | |||||||