Lamentations 1

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

1:1-22 Chapter 1 mourns the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem, recognizing that this was God’s well-deserved judgment on Israel’s sins.

Verse 2

1:2 The lovers were the fertility deities, Baal and Asherah, who were worshiped by most people in Judah. Her friends were her military allies, notably Egypt, who was no match for Babylon (Jer 37:5-11).

Verse 3

1:3 The woman of 1:1 is the nation of Judah. • led away into captivity: This happened four times: 605 BC (Dan 1:3-4); 597 BC (2 Kgs 24:12-16; Jer 52:28; Ezek 1:2-3); 586 BC (2 Kgs 25:5-7, 18-21; Jer 39:5-10; 52:29); and 581 BC (Jer 52:30).

Verse 4

1:4 Jerusalem (Hebrew Zion): In the Psalms and in the prophetic books, Zion represents the city of Jerusalem. In Lamentations, Zion is a poetic name for the city, even in ruins. Hebrews 12:22-24 speaks of the heavenly Zion (see also Rev 14:1-5). • The annual festivals in Jerusalem were the Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Harvest, Harvest (Pentecost), Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Shelters (Tabernacles). • The main duties of the priests were carried out in the Temple and its surrounding area. Since the Temple was in ruins, they had no jobs and hence no future.

Verse 5

1:5 for her many sins: Judah’s sins before the Babylonian invasion are outlined in 2 Kgs 21:1-9, 16; 24:3-4 (cp. 2 Chr 33:1-10, 22-23 and 2 Chr 36:11-16). Similarly, a list of Israel’s sins before Assyria destroyed it is found in 2 Kgs 17:14-23.

Verse 7

1:7 laughed as she fell: See also Jer 24:9; Ezek 22:5; 36:4.

Verse 8

1:8-9 Jerusalem was stripped of everything of physical and spiritual value that the people cherished.

Verse 10

1:10 For historical accounts of these events, see 2 Kgs 25:8-17; 2 Chr 36:13-21; Jer 52:4-30.

Verse 13

1:13 The destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians was like fire from heaven.

Verse 14

1:14 For their sins, the people of Judah were tied to one another with ropes and taken as captives into exile.

Verse 15

1:15 his beloved city: God had given special care to Jerusalem, like a father protecting his daughter. But her sins had been persistent, and her punishment was horrible. • like grapes . . . trampled in a winepress: This common procedure for extracting juice from grapes is used vividly in Isa 63:3 to show the horrors of punishment. In Rev 14:18-20; 19:15, the image graphically represents universal judgment.

Verse 19

1:19 I begged my allies: Egypt had a great deal of interest in Judah because Judah controlled the only good route to the north. However, Egypt turned her back on Judah when Babylon attacked Jerusalem (Jer 37:5-11). • When there was little rain in the fall and spring in Palestine, a summer without rain could destroy crops and cause a food shortage. The food supply also ran out under the prolonged siege of a city (Jan 588–July 586 BC), and many people starved to death (2 Kgs 25:2-3; cp. Jer 37:21).

Verse 20

1:20 The leaders and people of Judah had rebelled (Jer 2:17; 5:6, 23) by rejecting the one true God and his commandments and by resisting the invaders God had sent (2 Kgs 24:1, 20; 2 Chr 36:13).

Verse 21

1:21 the day you promised: The poet’s spirit was heartened by the belief that God would set up a day when everyone—oppressors and victims—would be judged justly (see Isa 13:6, 9; Jer 46:10-12, 27-28; Amos 5:18-20; Obad 1:15; 1 Thes 5:2-3; 2 Thes 2:2).