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LAMENTATIONS
INTRODUCTION
When the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and deported much of its population, some residents were left behind in terrible conditions in and around the shattered city. To express their deep shame and grief over the destruction of their home, they wrote songs about its desolation and about the sufferings they were witnessing and experiencing. The book of Lamentations does not tell us who wrote these songs, although tradition ascribes them to Jeremiah. Here we witness people of faith putting into words their struggle to understand how God could have allowed the city they loved to be so devastated.
Each of the five songs preserved in the book has 22 stanzas. The first four songs begin with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet in consecutive order. In the third song the letters are repeated at the start of each of the three lines in the stanza. There are few expressions of hope, but they are placed in the center of the book to give them extra prominence in a situation where they are badly needed. Overall, this collection of laments reminds us that expressing anguish over a broken, fallen world is a legitimate part of the biblical drama.
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Lamentations 1 (ESV)
1 How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into exile because of affliction
and hard servitude;
she dwells now among the nations,
but finds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
in the midst of her distress.
4 The roads to Zion mourn,
for none come to the festival;
all her gates are desolate;
her priests groan;
her virgins have been afflicted,
and she herself suffers bitterly.
5 Her foes have become the head;
her enemies prosper,
because the Lord has afflicted her
for the multitude of her transgressions;
her children have gone away,
captives before the foe.
6 From the daughter of Zion
all her majesty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
before the pursuer.
7 Jerusalem remembers
in the days of her affliction and wandering
all the precious things
that were hers from days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
and there was none to help her,
her foes gloated over her;
they mocked at her downfall.
8 Jerusalem sinned grievously;
therefore she became filthy;
all who honored her despise her,
for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself groans
and turns her face away.
9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts;
she took no thought of her future;
therefore her fall is terrible;
she has no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
for the enemy has triumphed!”
10 The enemy has stretched out his hands
over all her precious things;
for she has seen the nations
enter her sanctuary,
those whom you forbade
to enter your congregation.
11 All her people groan
as they search for bread;
they trade their treasures for food
to revive their strength.
“Look, O Lord, and see,
for I am despised.”
REFLECTION:
This book is a lament written by Jeremiah for the destruction of Jerusalem. At that time, the entire kingdom of Judah was completely defeated, the temple was destroyed, and the people were taken captive by the Babylonians. Jeremiah wept for the suffering and humiliated people, and tears penetrated his heart. This lament is read aloud to all the Jews every year, reminding them that the destruction of Jerusalem that year was caused by people’s stubborn sins. “Lovers” in the second verse refers to some countries such as Egypt, because the kingdom of Judah has always hoped that they can help. When the Babylonian army approached Jerusalem, the kings of Judah not only did not pray for God’s protection, but turned away from God and asked for help from other nations. As a result, these so-called “friends” betrayed and even fell into trouble. The most important lesson of the subjugation of Judah is “took no thought of her future” (v9). They refuse to believe that an immoral life will lead to divine punishment, the ultimate price of which is playing with fire and self-immolation. Today, in a seemingly comfortable environment, we can choose to listen to God’s words vigilantly, or we can choose to turn a deaf ear to God’s teachings. The results may not be different for the time being, but just as the judgment will surely come to Jerusalem that year, it will also come to us today. May we learn from the history of the fall of Judah. Everyone will listen to God’s words vigilantly and be humble and obey God’s will.
PRAYER:
Come to God humbly, ask God to give you a heart that is always vigilant, and strive to live in God’s word every day; ask God to enlighten you so that you can confess your sins before God and be willing to repent completely; ask God to help you not to forget that His judgment has not yet come not because of delay, but because of forgiving us, not wanting one to perish, but for everyone to repent.
