Lamentations

We have just considered Jeremiah. And we noticed something about him. It was this. The opinions of other people affected him very much. (Read Jeremiah 4:19; 9:1-2 and13:17. Compare 2 Chronicles 35:25.) The book of Lamentations is a series of sad poems. They are called laments or lamentations. And Jeremiah wrote them. They are about Jerusalem city. God's judgement happened. The enemy defeated the city, just as God had said that they would.

The poems are in a special style. The first letter of each line forms the Hebrew alphabet. This happens in chapters 1-4. (But Chapter 5 is different. In this chapter, the number of verses is the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.) There is a possible reason for using this style. It could make it easier to learn. John Knox lived from 1505-1572. He made an English translation of the Bible. And it is the best example of this style. He showed it very clearly.

[Note: Hebrew is the language of the Jews.]

There are four subjects in this group of laments (sad poems).

The Pain and Despair of the People (Chapters 1-2)

The first two poems were about the nation and about the city. The nation was suffering. Jerusalem city was empty. This was because the enemy had ruined it. The Jews were very proud of their city (Psalm 48). So, now they felt very sad. Things were awful in a political way. But they were also bad in a spiritual way. God had said that Jerusalem city would be his special place. (Read Deuteronomy 12:21;16:2 and Jeremiah 6:1-8.)

Notice four things about the state of the Jews:

They lost precious things (1:7,10; 2:5-7). Gentiles could go into only one part of the Temple. A Gentile was anybody who was not a Jew. But foreign soldiers marched everywhere in the holy Temple (1:10).

They neglected holy things (1:8-9, 18; 2:14). ‘She did not think about the things that would happen to her’ (1:9). The prophets should have spoken against the people's sin. But they only said pleasant things (2:14. Compare Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11-12; 23:25-29; 29:8-9).

They needed essential things (1:11). Many people were starving in the city (Jeremiah 52:6). Lamentations 4 says more about this awful subject (4:4-5, 9-10).

They loved the wrong things. They were things of no value (1:19. The people were looking for human help). When we are in trouble, we often do the same thing. We ask for help from those who cannot help us. (Compare Lamentations 1:2; Jeremiah 2:25; 22:20-22; Hosea 2:5,7,10,12-13.) The false friends here were both religious friends and political friends. Priests and false prophets were the religious friends (1:19; 2:14). And foreign nations were their political friends (4:17).

The Hope of the Prophet (Chapter 3)

This sad poem is more personal. Jeremiah was speaking about his suffering and about his despair. Things were affecting:

• his spiritual state (that is, his relationship with God). Read 3:3, 8. He felt that God was against him. He said, ‘The Lord does not listen to my prayer’.
• his physical state (3:4).
• his social state (3:14. Compare 20:7).
• his emotional state. (He said, ‘I thought that I would never have peace again’; 3:17 and 18.)

Then, at 3:21, there is a wonderful change. ‘But then I remember something,’ he said.

We should remember some things in times of trouble and suffering:

• God's certain love (3:22. ‘The Lord's love never ends’).
• God's constant mercy (3:22. ‘The Lord's kindness never ends’).
• God's great loyalty (3:23). He will never disappoint us. (Compare Jeremiah 17:7.)
• God's promise to rescue (3:25-26). His help will come. But it will not always be when we want it.
• God's gentle sympathy (3:33. ‘He does not like to make people unhappy’).
• God's complete control (3:37. ‘Nobody can make anything happen, unless the Lord is willing’).

The Place of Their Difficulties (Chapter 4)

This poem seems to take the reader into the streets of the sad city. There are a series of word pictures. The writer saw Jerusalem as it had been, in the past. Then he saw it as it had become, in the present.

The beautiful Temple was a pile of stones. There was nothing of value left (4:1). Hungry animals were more kind to their babies than the sad people of this city (4:3-4). People who used to eat rich food now hunted for it in the rubbish (4:5). Wealthy princes now had nothing (4:7-8). It was better for those who died immediately than for those who starved slowly (4:9). Mothers even cooked and ate their own children (4:10). The safe city collapsed (4:12). And it happened because of the sins of the ‘holy’ prophets and priests (4:13-15).

The Prayer of the Person who is Sorry for his Sin (Chapter 5)

The final sad song is different. It was not just about the terrible events of Jerusalem's ruin. It was about the fact that God continues to rule. The people were very sad. But the awful events were not the only reason that they were sad. It was also because of the sin which had caused the events.

The guilty people were praying:

• Remember us (5:1).
• Forgive us. The person who was sorry for his sins confessed them. First he confessed the sins of his ancestors (relatives who lived long ago, 5:7). Then he confessed his own sins and his people's sins (5:16). Jeremiah (14:20) mentions both the ancestors’ sins and the people's sins.
• Comfort us (5:19). The great fact that God is in control could comfort them. God controls all of life. So, even this terrible event could bring good things.
• Bring us back to you (5:21).