Lamentations 1
ZerrCBCA WIDOWED CITYLam_1:1-22 Chapter one of Lamentations has two major divisions. In Lamentations 1:1-11 the prophet laments the present condition of Zion. Twice in this unit the prophet alludes to his own personal agony over the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Lamentations 1:9; Lamentations 1:11). In Lamentations 1:12-22 the city itself laments over its condition. Both units end in prayers which call upon God to take note of the plight of Zion and to execute vengeance upon the enemies of Zion. The entire chapter is written in acrostic style, every fourth line beginning with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet.A LAMENT OVER THE CITY Lamentations 1:1-11 The prophet’s lament over the condition of Jerusalem moves through three stages. Lam_1:-7 contains a lengthy description of the present condition of Jerusalem and of her former inhabitants. This description is followed by an explanation of the present condition in Lamentations 1:8-9 b. The lament closes with a prayer which calls upon God to take note of the plight of His people.Description of the Present condition Lamentations 1:1-7 (Lamentations 1:1)How sad that the city, once filled with people, sits alone; that she who was great among the na tions has become like a widow; that she who was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal. (Lamentations 1:2)She weeps bitterly by night, tears on her cheek; she has no one to comfort her among all her lovers; all her friends have dealt treacherously against her, becoming her enemies.(Lamentations 1:3)Judah has gone captive out of affliction and great servitude; she dwells among the nations but finds no resting place; all her pursuers have overtaken her in the straits. (Lamentations 1:4) The roads to Zion mourn because no one comes to the appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate, her priests sigh continually, her maidens are sorrowful and she herself is in bitterness. (Lamentations 1:5)Her foes have become her head, her enemies are happy because the LORD has made her suffer because of the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone into captivity before the foe. (Lamentations 1:6)From the daughter of Zion all beauty has departed. Her princes have become like harts that cannot find a pasture; they have fled without strength before the pursuer. (Lamentations 1:7)In the days of her affliction and wanderings Jerusalem remembers all the precious things which were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe and there was no one to help her; the foe watched, gloating over her demise.
Jeremiah’s lament over Jerusalem begins with the exclamation “how” or “how sad,” a word frequently used to begin a funeral dirge.1 Jerusalem is personified as a widowed princess who sits alone in the night weeping over the loss of her husband and children. The loneliness of widowhood is emphasized in this lament. The once populous city is now empty. That city which had once enjoyed no small degree of notoriety among the nations is now obscure. The proud princess of provinces has been reduced to the state of abject poverty and slavery (Lamentations 1:1). Every night the widowed city weeps over her plight but she has no one to wipe the tears from her cheek.
Her “lovers” (political allies) and her “friends” (neighboring nations) have deserted her. Those who had once courted her assistance and who had so willingly offered themselves 1. See Lamentations 2:1; Lamentations 4:1; Isaiah 1:21 : Jeremiah 48:17. to her have now become her most bitter enemies (Lamentations 1:2). The children of Zion have been carried away captive by the Chaldeans and now dwell on foreign soil. Even though this deportation was in a sense a relief from “affliction” — the miseries of war, famine and pestilence— and “servitude”— the bitter bondage to cruel oppressors like Necho (2 Kings 23:33) and Nebuchadnezzar— still the children of Zion found no real rest. Living among Gentiles they find themselves plagued by worry and doubt, depressed by homesickness, surrounded by idolatry, tormented by the realization that their God has inflicted this great punishment upon them because of their spiritual rebellion. From this captivity there is no escape. This is the point of the figurative expression “all her pursuers have overtaken her in the straits.” Narrow mountain passes make it almost impossible for a fugitive to escape from those who would pursue him. So also is escape only a remote possibility for those living in foreign exile (Lamentations 1:3). In Lamentations 1:4-5 Jeremiah points to the fact that Zion exists in a widowed state spiritually. The roads leading to Zion are said to weep because pilgrims no longer travel them. The solemn festivals of the law of Moses were no longer observed for the city had been destroyed. The city gates, which formerly had bustled with business, now lie desolate. The priests mourn because they can no longer sing their beautiful hymns or play their instruments (Psalms 68:24-25) in the Temple (Lamentations 1:4). The enemies of Zion now have the upper hand.
They mockingly rejoice over the misfortune which Jerusalem has experienced. Even little children have suffered at the hands of the cruel oppressor as they have been forced to walk that long, weary road to exile. Why does Zion suffer and her enemies prosper? Jerusalem’s troubles are due to the multitude of her transgressions. Zion’s God in righteous indignation has inflicted these penalties upon His people.The widowed daughter of Zion is ugly, weak and helpless. All her beauty— that which made her the envy of other nations— is gone.
The princes of the nation are so destitute of strength that they are compared to wild harts which can find no pasture. Unable to withstand the pursuers the princes have fled (Lamentations 1:6). The weakened and widowed condition of Jerusalem is aggravated by the bitter recollections of past privileges. She remembers the “precious things,” the gracious gifts which the Lord had bestowed upon her when she dwelt within her own land. Since Jerusalem had despised both the gifts and the Giver she was forced to enter into a period of affliction and wanderings. But no one commiserates with her in her agony.
Her former friends, having become her foes, gloat over the demise and downfall of Zion (Lamentations 1:7). One of the miseries of sin in this world and hell in the next will be the constant recollection of the days when one enjoyed the blessings and graces of God.Explanation of the Present Condition of Zion Lamentations 1:8-9 a
(Lamentations 1:8)Jerusalem sinned grievously and therefore she has become filthy; all who once honored her now despise her, having seen her nakedness; even she herself sighs and turns away. (Lamentations 1:9) Her uncleanness was in her skirts! She did not remember her end and so her fall is terrible, she has no one to comfort her. Having hinted at the reason for Zion’s present misery in Lamentations 1:5, the poet now develops that theme. The root of Jerusalem’s trouble lay in the fact that she had sinned grievously against her God. Those who once honored Zion now have no respect for her. As God began to strip Zion of her splendor only filth could be seen, the filth of blatant sins and vices. An individual or nation that commits iniquity forfeits the respect of others. Sin results ultimately in contempt. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
Even Zion herself moans and turns away in shame as her filthiness comes into public view (Lamentations 1:8). When one begins to gain some insight into the true character of sin he is shocked and shamed. He cannot stand to face the gaze of others let alone the scrutiny of God. For a time Zion was able to conceal her filthiness beneath skirts of external prosperity. Her sin was an inward perversity. She was as morally unclean as a menstrous woman was ceremonially unclean under the law of Moses.
Yet during the period of her prosperity she gave no thought to her latter end i.e., the ultimate consequences of her evil ways. She lived only for the present and deceived herself into believing that God’s repeated threats of national destruction simply could not come to pass. This is what made her final fall so shocking, so inconceivable, so terrible. That plus the fact that she had no one to comfort her or extend sympathy to her (Lamentations 1:9). How much more bitter one’s grief and loss when no one else really cares!A Prayer Concerning the Present condition of Zion Lamentations 1:9-11
(Lamentations 1:9)Behold, O LORD, my affliction, for the enemy has exalted himself. (Lamentations 1:10)The foe has spread forth his hand over her precious things. She has even seen the Gentiles entering her sanctuary, those whom You have forbidden to enter Your congregation. (Lamentations 1:11)All of her people are sighing as they seek bread; they trade their precious things for bread. Behold, O LORD, and observe! For I am dismayed. Keenly feeling Judah’s affliction as his own Jeremiah cries out in desperation to God. In narrative prayer he summarizes the present plight of Zion. The enemy has become haughty and overbearing (Lamentations 1:9). All of the “precious things,” the gracious gifts that God had given Judah, had fallen into the hand of the enemy. Gentiles had even desecrated the sacred precincts of the Temple (Lamentations 1:10). The people of Jerusalem groveled for enough food to keep alive. They were forced to trade their most valuable possessions for their daily bread. As the spokesman for his people Jeremiah calls upon God to take note of the misery of His people and the dismay of His prophet (Lamentations 1:11).A LAMENT BY THE CITY Lamentations 1:12-22 In Lamentations 1:12-22 the lonely, tearful widow takes up her lament. She appeals to passers-by to take note of the incomparable agony of Zion (Lamentations 1:12-16). She appeals to neighboring nations to help her in her hour of need (Lamentations 1:17 -19). She then appeals to God to execute His vengeance upon the mocking enemies (Lamentations 1:20-22).The Appeal to Passers-by Lamentations 1:12-16 (Lamentations 1:12)Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see if there exists any sorrow comparable to that which has been brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted upon me in the day of his fierce anger. (Lamentations 1:13) From on high he has sent forth fire into my bones and it prevailed over them; He spread a net for my feet making me turn back; He has made me astonished with sorrow all the day. (Lamentations 1:14) The yoke of my transgression was bound by His hand; they were fastened together, placed upon my neck. He caused my strength to fail! The Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot resist. (Lamentations 1:15) The Lord has despised all my mighty men in the midst of me; He convoked a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord has trodden as a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. (Lamentations 1:16) Because of these things I weep, my eye, my eye flows with tears; for a comforter who can refresh my soul is far from me! My children are astonished because the enemy has prevailed. Unable to bear any longer the weight of her misery Zion cries out in desperation to the caravaneers and travelers who walk the busy trade routes near Jerusalem, “Is it nothing to you?” Do you not care what has happened to me? Have you no sympathy to offer me? Zion challenges the passers-by to name one city which they have observed in their wide travels whose sufferings are comparable to that of Jerusalem. Zion apparently feels that her suffering is unique and unparalleled. After all it is the Lord, Zion’s God, who has administered the painful and fatal stroke in the day of His fierce anger (Lamentations 1:12). The Lord has sent the fiery bolts of His wrath upon them from heaven.
The very bones of their body seem to burn within them. Perhaps the city’s misery is here being compared to a burning fever. The Lord has also spread nets for the feet of Zion causing them to fall into the hands of her enemies. Her sorrow is so great that she is astonished i.e., has entered into a state of stupefaction (Lamentations 1:13). God had taken all of their unforgiven sins and had woven them together in a yoke which was so heavy that the strength of the nation was dissipated in trying to bear it. Weak and weary from trying to bear the yoke of accumulated sins Judah was easy prey for her enemies (Lamentations 1:14).
At the appointed time the Lord had convoked a solemn assembly of foreign powers for the purpose of fighting against and destroying Jerusalem. Zion’s mighty men as well as the flower of her youth were cast into the winepress of God’s wrath. The once pure and undefiled virgin daughter who had been loved and treated so tenderly in the past now was trampled under foot by the Almighty (Lamentations 1:15). Because of these terrible blows Zion weeps with inconsolable sorrow. No one would even attempt to comfort her. Zion’s children, her inhabitants, have been thrown into a state of complete shock because the Chaldean enemy has prevailed over them (Lamentations 1:16).The Appeal to Neighboring Nations Lamentations 1:17-19 (Lamentations 1:17) Zion spreads forth her hands, but there is none to comfort her. The LORD has given commandment concerning Jacob that his neighbors are to be his foes. Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them. (Lamentations 1:18) Righteous is the LORD, for I have rebelled against His word! Hear now, all you peoples and behold my sorrow. My maidens and young men have gone into exile! (Lamentations 1:19) I called unto my lovers, but they have deceived me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they sought food for themselves that they might preserve their life.In Lamentations 1:17 Zion turns in desperation to the neighboring nations. She spreads forth her hands in a gesture that is an appeal for help. But no aid is forthcoming from the neighboring peoples, the reason being that the Lord has commanded them to be hostile toward Jacob i.e., the nation of Judah. Jerusalem is now regarded by these neighbors as a filthy thing, literally, a menstrous woman (Lamentations 1:17). Regaining some measure of composure Zion acknowledges that she has been justly punished for her sins against God.
But the very thought that she has rebelled against the word of God causes Zion again to burst forth into uncontrollable sobbing. In prayer-like fashion she calls upon the neighboring peoples to hear her wail and behold her sorrow. For their benefit Zion reviews a few of the more agonizing details of her misery: The young people of Zion have been carried off into exile (Lamentations 1:18). Zion’s lovers— the foreign nations and gods to whom she had turned— had not lived up to expectations. Zion’s priests and elders are perishing because they cannot find enough food for themselves (Lamentations 1:19). Thus does Zion earnestly appeal to her neighbors for sympathy and help but there is no answer.
Earthly friends often are unavailable just when they are needed most.The Appeal to God Lamentations 1:20-22 (Lamentations 1:20)Behold, O LORD, for I am in distress, my inward parts are troubled, my heart is turned within me because I have grievously rebelled. In the streets the sword has caused loss of life, in the house there is death. (Lamentations 1:21) They hear that I sigh, that I have no comforter. All of my foes have heard of my misfortune; they rejoice that You have done it, have brought the day You announced. But they shall be like me. (Lamentations 1:22) Let all of their evil come before You! Deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions! For my sorrow is great and my heart is sick. Finally the weeping widow turns her face heavenward and presents a petition before the Lord. In the hearing of God she reviews her predicament and acknowledges her sin. Zion turns to the Lord with a contrite heart because she now realizes that there is no one else to whom she can turn. She makes no attempt to excuse her sin. She accepts her punishment as just. The ruthless enemy had slain men in the streets and houses and then had rejoiced over the ruin which the Lord had sent upon Jerusalem.
Yet Zion still has confidence in divine justice. One day that enemy will experience a fate similar to that of Jerusalem (Lamentations 1:21). In a morally ordered universe no transgressor can go unpunished forever. The prayer “Let all their evil come before You” is a recognition of the fact that sin must be punished. Zion’s prayer is in harmony with what God had previously stated He would do to the nations (Isaiah 10:12-21; Habakkuk 2:5-17; Jeremiah 25:12-14). The execution of God’s wrath upon the enemies of Zion would in effect be an act of mercy on behalf of suffering Zion (Lamentations 1:22).
Thus the appeal to God is not so much vindictive imprecation as a plea for mercy. Questions For Lamentations Chapter One1. What are the two major divisions of the first poem? 2. What is the significance of the word “how” which begins chapter 1, 2 and 4? 3. How does memory play a part in the punishment for sin? See Lamentations 1:7. 4. What verses in chapter 1 indicate the poet’s awareness of the reason for Zion’s suffering? 5. What eternal lesson concerning the consequences of sin is found in Lamentations 1:8? 6. What was the crowning act of Humiliation for Zion? See Lamentations 1:10. 7. To whom does Zion tearfully appeal for aid and comfort in Lamentations 1:12-22? 8. Why is the yoke an appropriate symbol for sin? See Lamentations 1:4. 9. Did the poet feel that God had not dealt fairly with His people? Cite a verse which supports your answer. 10. Who are the “lovers” mentioned in this chapter and how had they deceived Zion? 11. What is the spirit in which Lamentations 1:22 was written?
AN ‘S SORROW OVER ‘S Lamentations 1:1-11 Jeremiah first viewed Jerusalem’s destruction as an outsider looking in. Verses 1-7 describe the extent of the desolation and verses 8-11 its cause.
The extent of the devastation Lamentations 1:1-7 Lamentations 1:1 –Jeremiah, speaking as a narrator, bewailed the abandoned city of Jerusalem that had once been so glorious and independent. This verse actually begins with the word “Alas” (Heb. ’eka), which is a cry of despair, horror, and lament often associated with funeral dirges (cf. Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 48:17; Ezekiel 26:17). Sitting alone is sometimes a picture of deep sorrow and mourning (cf. Lamentations 2:10; Ezra 9:3; Nehemiah 1:4). Now the city, personified as a woman, was as solitary as a widow and as servile as a forced laborer.
It had changed in three ways: numerically, economically, and socially. Jerusalem, a city which used to be close to God, has been changed by the choice of significant men. They have turned away from Him when they knew Him, and now their city is under siege. There is death in the city. The narrator is seeking to elicit the pity of the audience right from the start.
Lamentations 1:2 –The prophet personified Jerusalem as a young girl abandoned by her lovers and betrayed by her friends (cf. Jeremiah 4:30; Jeremiah 30:14). Normally weeping gives way to sleep at night, but when it does not, sorrow is very great indeed. “The first of the five Lamentations has one monotonous theme repeated five times: There is no one to comfort[’] (’en menahem—Lamentations 1:2; Lamentations 1:9; Lamentations 1:16-17; Lamentations 1:21). In this exceptionally vivid depiction of the desolation of Zion, the city of God, this one phrase rings like the heavy gong of a funeral bell
Lamentations 1:3 –The prophet then expounded on the calamity (Lamentations 1:3-6). Judah, the personified daughter of Jerusalem, had gone into exile because of the affliction and servitude that Yahweh had allowed Babylon to impose on her. She was out of the Promised Land, where God had said she would find rest (cf. Deuteronomy 12:10; Deuteronomy 25:19; Joshua 21:44; Joshua 23:1; 2 Samuel 7:1; 2 Samuel 7:11; 1 Kings 8:56; Psalms 95). Now there was no rest for her, but only distress, as the people lived among the Gentiles. “The reference to Judah . . . is hyperbolic: it means simply that a significant number of Judaeans went into exile. . . . Hyperbole is, indeed, a feature of the poem as a whole, a fact which must be borne in mind when the attempt is made to look behind the text to the historical circumstances which might have prompted its composition . . . The language is impressionistic rather than scientifically precise.
Lamentations 1:4 –“Zion” (possibly from the Heb. siyon, meaning “Castle”) is a poetic name for Jerusalem. No Judahites came to the feasts in Jerusalem because they were in exile. Consequently the roads mourned that pilgrims did not cover them with joyful song. Zion’s gates missed the constant flow of people in and out of the city. The gates were where people congregated to transact business, to carry out legal transactions, and to socialize. The few priests and virgins left there were lonely and miserable.
The name [Zion] itself is not simply a synonym for Jerusalem. It is a unique term, rather, for Jerusalem as the location of the cult, as the temple city, the dwelling place of YHWH. The city’s woes are emphasized more in the book’s early poems than in its later ones, when the people’s woes, confessions, and petitions take precedence.
Lamentations 1:5 Jerusalem’s enemies had become her masters and had humiliated her, since God had caused them to prevail because of Jerusalem’s many sins. At this point the author reveals one of the book’s most significant theological concepts: what has happened to Judah has occurred because of her sins [cf. Deuteronomy 28:52-63]. Over and over again he [Jeremiah] affirmed that the Lord Himself had decreed (Lamentations 1:17; Lamentations 2:17; Lamentations 3:37-38) and sent the calamity (Lamentations 1:5; Lamentations 1:12-15; Lamentations 2:1-8; Lamentations 3:1; Lamentations 3:43-45; Lamentations 4:11).“54 The city was devoid of children since they were in captivity.
Lamentations 1:6 –Once majestic, “daughter . . . Zion” (God’s daughter) now sat humiliated. But it is not Zion’s daughter who is being addressed (Zion has no daughter) but Zion herself, who is classified as a ‘daughter.’ Zion’s leaders (“her majesty”), including Zedekiah and his advisers, had fled like frightened stags that could find no pasture— even though they had been strong in the past (cf. 2 Kings 24:1; 2 Kings 24:12; 2 Kings 25:4-5; Jeremiah 39:4-5).
Lamentations 1:7 –Jerusalem looked back on better times, now that she was in exile. She remembered how no other nations came to help her— but mocked her— when the Babylonians besieged her (e.g., Ammon, Moab, and Edom). The heathen used to mock at the Jews’ Sabbath, as showing their idleness, and term them Sabbatarians . . . To this day in Bible lands laughter does not occupy the place it does in the West. . . . In the vast majority of cases, laughter is linked with scorn [cf. Genesis 17:17; Genesis 18:12; Job 8:21; Psalms 126:2]. Mental anguish accompanied physical hardship.
The cause of the desolation Lamentations 1:8-11 Lamentations 1:8 –Jerusalem’s great sinning had resulted in her becoming unclean and despised, like an overexposed woman. In the ancient world to have one’s naked body exposed, especially the genitals, was an utter disgrace. Jerusalem had embarrassed herself; her sins and vices had come to the light. Jeremiah began to explain why calamity had befallen Jerusalem. The theme of Jerusalem’s sin, introduced in Lamentations 1:5, is now examined more closely, and ultimately becomes one of the major theological emphases of the book.
Lamentations 1:9 –The city had fallen because it had not considered the consequences of its apostasy (cf. Deuteronomy 32:29; Isaiah 47:7). Sin had stuck to her like dirt to the hem of a garment (cf. Leviticus 5:3; Leviticus 7:21). Now the enemy had gained the upper hand and there was no one to comfort her.
Lamentations 1:10 –The Lord had allowed the Babylonians to force their way into the holy sanctuary and so desecrate it, and to steal its treasures. Gentiles and most Israelites were forbidden from entering the temple proper; only authorized Jewish priests could do so. The image is of her being raped; indeed the plural ’nations’ may suggest that she is gang-raped. If YHWH’s wife has been raped, then not only is she dishonored, he is also!
Lamentations 1:11 –The residents of the city did not have enough to eat, even though they had given their valuables for food. The city cried out to Yahweh to look on her despised condition.
‘S SORROW OVER HER OWN Lamentations 1:12-22 In contrast to the first half of the lament, these verses present the picture of an inside observer looking out. Lamentations 1:12-19 records Jerusalem’s call to people who had observed her desolation, and Lamentations 1:20-22 contains her call to the Lord. It would appear that emotional and psychological progress is realized in this poem as it moves from a more distant, descriptive third-person reporting in verses 1-11 to a more personal, private first-person speech in Lamentations 12-22.
Jerusalem’s call to onlookers Lamentations 1:12-19 Lamentations 1:12 –Jerusalem bewailed the lack of concern that her desolate condition drew from onlookers in this classic expression of grief. Her pain was uniquely great because the Lord had poured out His wrath on her. . . . real goodness is not indulgent of evil.
Lamentations 1:13 –The Lord had sent fire into the city’s bones when he allowed the Babylonians to burn it. He had captured Jerusalem as a prisoner in His net. “The ’net’ does not refer to a hunting implement, but to a military implement used to hold back captured men, preventing their escape. Such nets are pictured in ancient battle scenes, and are mentioned by other biblical writers, for example, Ezekiel 12:13 and Ezekiel 17:20 . . . The Lord had thoroughly desolated and demoralized Jerusalem by removing all sustenance from her. This is a picture of a thoroughly demoralized community.
Lamentations 1:14 –“The Lord” had put Jerusalem into a yoke like an ox. She had lost her freedom. Now others were controlling her, so that she could not stand by herself. “. . . this name for God [“the Lord,” adonai] signals the Lord’s punishing sovereignty instead of his congenial sovereignty. At the very least the use of this particular name indicates specific, not general, types of judgment. Unchecked sin can so bind its practitioners that all power to overcome it or the grip of those into whose hand such sinners eventually fall is spent and gone. Only by reducing sinners to such desperate straits will some eventually listen and turn. Thus grief may often work a very wonderful work that none of the goodness or blessings of God will ever effect.
Lamentations 1:15 –He had removed all the strong young men from the city, and He had trodden Jerusalem down as a virgin in a winepress. He had squeezed all the life out of her. “Instead of gathering Israel for one of their traditional festivals where the people would at least speak of God, the Lord has called for a new festival, one that destroys the nation’s choicest young men. Apparently this festival replaces those lost in 1:4!“68 Four metaphors describe God’s judgment of Jerusalem in the last four verses: fire (Lamentations 1:12), a net (Lamentations 1:13), a yoke (Lamentations 1:14), and a winepress (Lamentations 1:15).
Lamentations 1:16 –Jerusalem cried because of her condition and because no one sought to comfort or strengthen her (cf. Lamentations 1:12). The people were desolate because Jerusalem’s enemy had prevailed.
Lamentations 1:17 –Rather than comforting Zion, who appealed with outstretched hands, her neighbors had withdrawn from her as from an unclean thing. Stretching out the hands is also a posture in prayer, so the idea may be that there was no divine response when the people prayed. The reference to “Jacob” indicates that all of his descendants, not just the people of Judah, were the objects of “the LORD[’s]” chastening. From this point on the Lord [“Yahweh”] becomes a major topic of the book.
Lamentations 1:18 –The last part of the first acrostic poem, which begins here, records the city’s detailed prayer to Yahweh. By confessing that the Lord was right, the prophet expressed a most important truth (cf. Exodus 9:27; Deuteronomy 32:4; Ezra 9:15; Nehemiah 9:33). He also confessed for the city her rebellion against the Lord’s commands. The only reason men were in the place where they were in the days of Jeremiah, or are in our own post-Christian world, is that they have turned away from the propositional revelation of God and as such they are under the moral judgment of God. Man does not want to accept the fact that God is angry with sin.
Instead, the fact that God is love is played for all its worth. God is love, and the church certainly needs to learn to take the love of God into the marketplace of life. We have often failed to do that, but it has led to an over-emphasis on the love of God in this generation. God is righteous, and God is holy, and God is just in what He does. God’s punishment of Jerusalem had been just. She mourned the loss of her young citizens who were now in exile.
Lamentations 1:18 could be considered the focal point, for on this verse pivots not only this chapter but any use made of this chapter for teaching or preaching. This key verse in the Book of Lamentations [Lamentations 1:18] explains the reason Jerusalem lay in ruin . . .
Lamentations 1:19 –The city had called to its political allies (i.e., Egypt and other Gentile nations) and its own leaders for help, but even the priests and elders had been selfishly taking care of themselves rather than guarding the citizens. Another interpretation is that the priests and elders were not wrong in seeking their own welfare. The second and third lines then just describe another aspect of Jerusalem’s distress.
Jerusalem’s call to the Lord Lamentations 1:20-22 Lamentations 1:20 –The city was greatly distressed because of the calamity that had come upon it (though not because of the sin that caused it), due to its rebelliousness against Yahweh. The streets and houses had become places of death and now stood empty.
Lamentations 1:21 –Jerusalem’s enemies had heard of her calamity and had rejoiced over it. The city wished that God’s predicted judgment of these enemies would come soon and that they would become like Jerusalem.
Lamentations 1:22 –She asked God to consider the wickedness of these nations and to take vengeance on them for their treatment of Jerusalem— because she was weak and groaning under divine judgment for her transgressions. In a world filled with so much sorrow and pain men and women— especially believers— must cope with grief. But how? Jeremiah, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, would aid us in coping just as he aided himself and the grieving Jewish community on the heels of one of the greatest tragedies ever to befall Israel. In one of the most tear-filled chapters of the five in Lamentations, Israel (and the believing community through the centuries) was taught about coping with grief. There is nothing more affecting than the sentiments produced in the heart by the conviction that the subject of affliction is beloved of God, that He loves that which He is obliged to smite, and is obliged to smite that which He loves.
Lamentations Chapter One
Verse 1
; THE WIDOW,[1]THE THEME OF Lam_1:1-3"How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people!She has become as a widow, she that was great among the nations!
She that was a princess among the provinces is become tributary!
She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her:
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they are become her enemies.
Judah is gone into captivity,
because of affliction and because of great servitude;
She dwelleth among the nations, she findeth no rest.
All her persecutors overtook her within the straits.”
“How doth the city sit solitary” (Lamentations 1:1). “The word How' is the characteristic introduction to an elegy, or a dirge."[2] The Hebrew text used the word as the title of the book; and it carries the sense, "Behold, how great a tragedy!" There is no continuity of thought in Lamentations. "It repeats themes in various ways, with numerous descriptions of calamity, along with psychological and emotional reactions of the people."[3]"She is become as a widow" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/1/2" class="green-link">Lamentations 1:2</a>). "Many years later, a Roman coin struck by Titus (70 A.D.) depicted a woman sitting under a palm-tree with the inscription JUDEA CAPTA’ (as in Lamentations 1:3)."[4]A grief-stricken woman sitting in misery and poverty represented the common fate of countless widows in antiquity, and this was an apt portrayal of the humiliation of the Chosen People.
“Among all her lovers … none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:2). “These lovers were those nations such as Egypt who had wooed her into their alliance against Babylon (Jeremiah 27:3)."[5] Of course, they supported Judea only so long as it served their own selfish interests to do so; and Judah’s stupidity in this was most reprehensible because they ignored the urgent and repeated warnings of their holy prophets against such alliances with those false lovers.
“All her friends, … are become her enemies” (Lamentations 1:2). “The prophecy of Isaiah has come true (Isaiah 39:5-7; Isaiah 47:8-9)."[6] The mighty Jerusalem, once the great capital of Solomon’s extensive empire, to which many nations paid tribute, has now fallen to cruel and arrogant conquerors. Once respected and honored, now hated and despised; once flourishing and prosperous, now forsaken and deserted, her Temple looted and burned, her walls broken down, her population butchered or deported, except for the poorest of the land, her condition was pitiful indeed. “And her plight was made even worse by the pagan environment."[7]May this terrible disgrace and humiliation of the proudest nation of all antiquity be a lesson for those nations which today are called “super-powers.” Let them (including the U.S.A.) remember why it happened to Judea; and as Matthew Henry wrote, “Let no family, no state, no nation, no Babylon, nor any other, proudly boast of their security, saying, I sit as a queen and shall never sit as a widow' (<a href="/bible/parallel/ISA/47/8" class="green-link">Isaiah 47:8</a>; <a href="/bible/parallel/REV/17/7" class="green-link">Revelation 17:7</a>)."[8] "The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will" (<a href="/bible/parallel/DAN/4/25" class="green-link">Daniel 4:25</a>). "Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/1/3" class="green-link">Lamentations 1:3</a>). This was true in two ways. Judah had been forced into captivity by the military arm of Babylon, which resulted in captivity and servitude, but there was also a contingent of Judah, who attempted to escape their bondage by fleeing into Egypt. Jeremiah was probably taken against his will with that group. Cheyne wrote that, "Here the prophet is not thinking of the deportation of the captives, but of the Jews who sought refuge in foreign lands (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/40/11" class="green-link">Jeremiah 40:11</a>)."[9] Dummelow also favored this understanding of <a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/1/3" class="green-link">Lam 1:3</a>. "This means that the Jews sought exile in order to escape the sufferings to which they were exposed in their native land."[10]"Here persecutors overtook her within the straits" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/1/3" class="green-link">Lamentations 1:3</a>). This may very well be a reference to Nebuchadnezzar's capture of the fleeing Zedekiah who tried to escape the siege of Jerusalem. Jerusalem's doom was sealed in that capture. Verse 4 THE REASON FOR 'S "The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn assembly;All her gates are desolate, her priests do sigh; Her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness. Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies prosper; For Jehovah hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: Her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary. And from the daughter of Zion all her majesty is departed: Her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, And they are gone without strength before the pursuer. Jerusalem remembereth in the day of her affliction and of her miseries; all the pleasant things that were from the days of old: When her people fell into the hand of the adversary, and none did help her, The adversaries saw her, they did mock at her desolations." "The ways of Zion do mourn" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/1/4" class="green-link">Lamentations 1:4</a>). The ways’ were the roads leading to Jerusalem, which before the captivity were thronged with traffic as thousands made their way to the great annual festivals of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. No one attended any more. The inaccurate critical canard that, “The word Zion here was not a sanctuary name till after the exile,"[11] is disproved by the 43 times that Isaiah so used the term, plus the seventeen times Jeremiah used it, as well as many, many other times the term is found in Psalms, Amos, Joel and other prophets. Those who try to date Lamentations far later than the times of Jeremiah will need to come up with something a lot better than that.
“For the multitude of her transgressions” (Lamentations 1:5). There is a reason for the overwhelming destruction that befell Jerusalem, not merely in the instance of Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of it, but also again in 70 A.D. when Vespasian and Titus reduced it to rubble. The first destruction was due to the total apostasy of the wicked nation in their total departure from the Law of Moses, and the second was due to their consciousless rejection of the true Messiah the Son of God. Nations that today reject the Christian religion are asking for the same fate that again and again overwhelmed Jerusalem. The fact that evil men do not believe it is immaterial.
“Her young children are gone into captivity … before the adversary” (Lamentations 1:5;). “They went not as a flock of lambs that follow the shepherd, but as slaves driven like cattle before the army of the Chaldeans."[12]“The language of this verse may be drawn from Deuteronomy 28:24, which describes the judgment that would be visited upon a disobedient Israel."[13]“They are gone without strength before the pursuer” (Lamentations 1:6). “This refers to Zedekiah and the nobles who have turned tail and fled away."[14] Also, there appears here a possible excuse for their capture. They fled “without strength,” (a reference to the famine (2 Kings 25:4). From hunger and starvation they were weakened and easily outrun and captured by the Chaldeans.
“They did mock at her desolations” (Lamentations 1:7). The derision and mockery of God’s chosen people was perhaps the bitterest part of their punishment. They had forsaken the true God in order to revel in the lascivious worship of the gods of the pagans; and now the devotees of those pagan gods and goddesses were reveling in their mockery and taunting derisions of the Israel of God. It is little wonder that Israel, in this, forever rejected those pagan deities, never again stooping to honor their worship.
Verse 8
‘S RELATED TO HER SINS"Jerusalem hath grievously sinned;therefore she is become as an unclean thing;
All that honored her despise her,
because they have seen her nakedness:
Yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.
Her filthiness was in her skirts;
she remembered not her latter end;
Therefore is she come down wonderfully;
she hath no comforter.
Behold, O Jerusalem, my affliction;
for the enemy hath magnified himself.
The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things:
For she hath seen that the nations are entered into her sanctuary,
Concerning whom thou didst command
that they should not enter thine assembly.
All her people sigh, they seek bread;
They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul”
“They have seen her nakedness” (Lamentations 1:8). The wickedness of Israel was adultery, the taking of the worship which properly belonged to God alone (her husband) and the giving of it to the pagan gods and goddesses of the people, spiritual adultery, as it was called; however, it was the brazen immorality of that idol worship which constituted its principal offense; and that is what is meant by the reference inLamentations 1:9 that, “her filthiness was in her skirts.” In ancient times, the punishment of an immoral woman was a brutal public display of her naked body, in which her skirts were tied above her head and she was shamefully scourged out of society. (See our commentary under Nahum 3:5 for a further discussion of this type of humiliation.)
“She sigheth, and turneth backward” (Lamentations 1:8). “She turns her back upon her spectators in order to hide herself from their gaze."[15] We can understand why she would not face her tormenters. The gross and shameful humiliation of Jerusalem in the calamities which had befallen her were equivalent in every way to that ancient, shameless punishment of harlots. “The proud lady (Jerusalem) has become a fallen woman by participating in the demoralizing rites of the worship of Baal."[16] In consequence, she is suffering a similar shame and humiliation.
“She remembered not her latter end” (Lamentations 1:9). “She took no thought of her doom; she failed to consider the consequences of her actions until it was too late."[17]“The nations are entered into her sanctuary” (Lamentations 1:10). “The magnitude of this defilement of the Temple is seen in that it was the symbol of God’s presence and Israel’s privilege."[18] No Gentile was permitted to enter it; and only one Israelite could enter it, and he could do so only once in the year, namely, when the High Priest entered upon the day of Atonement. Now, the Chaldeans had not only entered and desecrated it; they had also looted its treasures.
“They have given their precious things for food” (Lamentations 1:11). Ash pointed out the gruesome truth that, “This may very well mean that they sold their children for food. The same word used here for precious things' means children’ in Hosea 9:16 and Ezekiel 24:16."[19]It should be noted that up through Lamentations 1:11 a, the perspective of the narrator is that of an onlooker, speaking of Jerusalem in the third person; but in Lamentations 1:11 b, there is a dramatic shift to the first person; and in the balance of the chapter, the ruined city herself speaks in the first person. This is why the versions divide the chapter into two paragraphs (1) Lamentations 1:1-11 a, and (2) Lamentations 1:11 b-22.[20]Verse 11
GOD HAS BOUND THE YOKE OF MY SINS UPON ME"See, O Jehovah, and Behold, for I am abject.Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow,
which is brought upon me,
Wherewith Jehovah hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.
From on high hath he sent fire into my bones,
and it prevaileth against them;
He hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back.
He hath made me desolate and faint all the day.
The yoke of my transgression is bound by his hand;
They are knit together, they are come upon my neck;
he hath made my strength to fail:
The Lord hath delivered me into their hands,
Against whom I am not able to stand.”
“From here to the end of the chapter the emphasis is upon God’s responsibility in the things that have happened to Jerusalem."[21]“In the day of his fierce anger” (Lamentations 1:12). This day had already arrived for Jerusalem, but there is also a consciousness here of a similar day that shall arrive for the pagan nations that have humiliated Jerusalem; and the last half of the chapter will also emphasize that fact. “Most modern commentators ignore the severity of the divine nature. They fail to see that real goodness does not indulge evil."[22]“The yoke of my transgressions … are come upon my neck” (Lamentations 1:14). “This is a powerful example of a people reaping what they have sown."[23] In the days of their kings, as for example in the case of Solomon, they had enslaved the residue of the peoples of Canaan; now they themselves were enslaved. The metaphor employed here is from the plowman. “As he binds the yoke upon the necks of the oxen, so God compels Judah (and all men) to bear the burden of their sins."[24]“These words are a torrential flood of pent-up emotions; but there is no resentment; she freely confesses that she has rebelled against God, allowing that he is in the right; and she appeals to him as her only hope."[25]Verse 15
IS UNDER GOD’S “The Lord hath set at naught all my mighty men in the midst of me;He hath called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men:
The Lord hath trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah.
For these things, I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water;
Because the comforter that should refresh my soul is far from me:
My children are desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed.
Zion spreadeth forth her hands; there is none to comfort her;
Jehovah hath commanded concerning Jacob,
that they that are round about him should be his adversaries:
Jerusalem is among them as an unclean thing.
Jehovah is righteous, for I have rebelled against his commandment:
Hear, I pray ye, all ye peoples, and behold my sorrow:
My virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.
I called for my lovers, but they deceived me:
My priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city,
While they sought them food to refresh their souls.”
These tragic lines hardly need any comment. They repeat in different words many of the thoughts already uttered.
“The assembly” (Lamentations 1:15) is probably a reference to the great army of Babylon."[26]“Mine eye, mine eye” (Lamentations 1:16). “This emphatic repetition reminds one of Jeremiah’s style elsewhere (Jeremiah 4:10; Jeremiah 6:14)."[27]“Jehovah hath commanded concerning Jacob” (Lamentations 1:17). “Jehovah had commanded that Jacob’s enemies should be about him (Isaiah 23:11)."[28]“I have rebelled against thy commandment” (Lamentations 1:18). This repeated confession emphasizes the repentance and godly sorrow of the Chosen People, that is, the true Israel of God, not the vast majority of the sinful nation.' "My priests ... and elders ... gave up the ghost ... while they sought for food" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/1/19" class="green-link">Lamentations 1:19</a>). "This simply means they died of hunger, and that the young men and maidens were taken away as captives."[29] "It was indeed a terrible famine when even the priests and elders starved to death."[30]Verse 20 PRAYS FOR GOD'S UPON HER ENEMIES"Behold, O Jehovah, for I am in distress; my heart is troubled;My heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is death. They have heard that I sigh; there is none to comfort me; All mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it: Thou wilt bring the day that thou hast proclaimed, and they shall be like unto me. Let all their wickedness come before thee; And do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: For my sighs are many, and my heart is faint." God indeed answered this prayer, in time, bringing an even more terrible judgment upon Babylon than upon Jerusalem. The awful destruction of Jerusalem actually made the destruction of all the pagan nations surrounding her an urgent necessity from God's viewpoint, because the ancient idea was that the defeat of any nation meant also the defeat of their God. Thus, the apostasy of God's people and the necessity of their destruction put the purpose of the Almighty absolutely back to square one as far as convincing all nations of his righteous reign among men was concerned. "At home there is death" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/1/20" class="green-link">Lamentations 1:20</a>). "Jeremiah spoke clearly of this: Death is come up into our windows; he hath entered our palaces, to cut off the infants without, and the young men in our streets’ (Jeremiah 9:21)."[31] “These terrible conditions were exactly what God through Moses had prophesied in case Israel rebelled against him (Deuteronomy 32:25)."[32]“This prayer amounts to a prophecy that God would indeed destroy the idolatrous nations of antiquity)."[33] It was a prayer; but it was also a prophecy which was most circumstantially fulfilled.
“Although this prayer falls far below the plane of the Sermon on the Mount, it is nevertheless justified upon the basis of the recognition within it that wickedness is offensive to God; and that God will most certainly punish it."[34]
Lamentations 1:1
Lamentations 1:1. This hook consists chiefly of the lamentations of Jeremiah over the sad condition of Jerusalem and the people for whom it was the capital. The book was written after the destruction of the city and thus after the “3rd captivity.” In view of this fact all of the statements regarding that event should be regarded as history. Other remarks will occur in course of the book that are mournful predictions of future sorrows in store for his beloved people. Some statements will be made concerning the future of Babylon, and still others will come of a favorable character pertaining to the return of Israel from captivity. City sit solitary refers to the desolated and isolated situation of Jerusalem.
This very condition was predicted in Isaiah 1:3. Become tributary means to become in subjection to another country.
Lamentations 1:2
Lamentations 1:2. Israel had doted on many nations but none of them stood by her now.
Lamentations 1:3
Lamentations 1:3. Because has no word in the original and If retained at all it should be understood in the light of the connection, The first clause should read, “Judah is gone into captivity to suffer affliction and servitude.” Overtook her between th-e straits means her enemies found her in trouble and took ad-vantage of it.
Lamentations 1:4
Lamentations 1:4. Ways of Zion means the roads leading to the city where the national feasts had been observed. They mourned (figuratively speaking) because no one was passing over them to attend the feasts. The rest of the verse is on the same subject.
Lamentations 1:5
Lamentations 1:5. Her adversaries means the Babylonians who had become chief or exalted above the people of Judah. But the prophet admits that such a sad state of affairs was just because it was from the Lord as a punishment for her many transgressions. Her children means the citizens of Judah who had gone into captivity.
Lamentations 1:6
Lamentations 1:6. The beauty referred to was the national and religious excellence of the city of Zion. The hart is of the deer family and is timid, especially when he is pursued in a wilderness in which he had become impoverished through the want of food. The princes or leaders are compared to this creature because they had been pursued by the enemies from a foreign land.
Lamentations 1:7
Lamentations 1:7. Jerusalem remembered means the people who had lived in that city but had been taken into a strange land. (See verse 8.) After they got to Babylon they fulfilled the statement of this verse, which was also prophesied in Psalms 137.
Lamentations 1:8
Lamentations 1:8. Jeremiah again admits that Ills people had sinned grievously and for that reason she had gone into captivity. To despise means to belittle or look upon with contempt. Jerusalem had heen so humiliated that her former admirers now considered her condition to be one of disgrace.
Lamentations 1:9
Lamentations 1:9. Filthiness is in her skirts is a figurative way of saying the guilt of Jerusalem is evident, referring to the religious corruptions of the nation as well as the personal iniquity of the leaders. Remembereth not her last end means that Jerusalem waa unthoughtful as to the outcome of her course. Came down wonderfully refers to the completeness of the fall of the City. The prophet then expresses his per;- aonal sense of affliction at the downfall of his countrymen.
Lamentations 1:10
Lamentations 1:10. This verse has direct ref-erence to the event of 2 Kings 24:13.
Lamentations 1:11
Lamentations 1:11. The invasion of Babylon into Judah resulted in conditions of famine in various places. This caused the people to offer their cherished personal belongings for food to relieve the soul, that is, to restore their vitality. And again the prophet “takes It to heart” and considers the condition of distress among his people as his own personal sorrow.
Lamentations 1:12
Lamentations 1:12. Jeremiah’s personal afflic-tion refers to the sympathy he has for hla beloved people, therefore the language of the verse is a reflection of patriotism.
Lamentations 1:13
Lamentations 1:13. We know that Jeremiah was a righteous man and was never the direct target of the Lord’s shafts Of anger. Hence, while he was personally affected by the situation, most or his remarks were made on behalf of the people.
Lamentations 1:14
Lamentations 1:14. Being a member of the nation of Judah, Jeremiah would have to share in the national disgrace. However, God never forsook him but bestowed upon him and other righteous individuals the personal favor that had been promised. It will be well here for the reader to see the note in connection with 2 Kings 22:17.
Lamentations 1:15
Lamentations 1:15. Mighty men refers to the princes and others who were leaders in the nation who had been taken into captivity (2 Kings 25:14-16). When Jeremiah says me he is impersonating the nation as a whole. The last part of the verse is a figurative description of the siege of Jerusalem and the downfall that followed.
Lamentations 1:16
Lamentations 1:16. This verse refers to the personal grief of Jeremiah over the distress of the people of Judah. He calls those people my children as an expression of the affection he has for his fellow countrymen.
Lamentations 1:17
Lamentations 1:17. The spreading forth of the hands is a gesture calling for help in distress. Zion (or Jerusalem) is represented as a woman in pain and sorrow but seeking In vain for assistance. This is because the Lord had forsaken his people and regarded them as unclean. The comparison to a woman in this condition was based on a law of Moses concerning such women (Leviticus 15:19-33). Of course we should understand that she was classed as unclean ceremonially and hence was required to submit to the ritualistic formula for cleansing.
And the chief uncieanness of Judah was ceremonial or spiritual in that idolatry was the outstanding evil. And in keeping with the procedure under the law, Judah was put away from God for a period of national cleansing in the land of her captivity which did completely cleanse her of this iniquity.
Lamentations 1:18
Lamentations 1:18. The pronoun I ia related to Jerusalem in the preceding verse. While Jeremiah is the framer of the language, he is speaking for the people who were guilty of the sins that have been the cause of God’s wrath. The virgins and young men are especially named in the complaint about the captivity. They were not any more guilty of sin than the elders, but the growth of a nation depends on the reproduction of the species and the young persona are the ones upon whom the increase of citizens generally depends. For this reason it would be more regrettable for them to be taken.
Lamentations 1:19
Lamentations 1:19. I still refers to Jerusalem (as representative of the nation of Judah) and she is complaining of the unfaithfulness of her lovers which is a figurative reference to the Idolatrous nations. In the Bible a comparison is made between spiritual and temporal love, and unfaithfulness in one is compared to that in the other. Judah had flirted with idolatrous nations and accepted them into her bosom (figuratively speaking), but now those nations had “jilted” her. They not only did that, but also took from her the necessities of life (had thrown the city into famine) which caused even the priests and elders to give up the ghost and die.
Lamentations 1:20
Lamentations 1:20. Bowels in the Bible means the affections when used figuratively. The sad experience that Judah was in was having a depressing effect on her affections and causing deep grief. But again the prophet makes her admit the rebellion that had provoked this punishment from God. Outside the city, abroad, the nation was suffering the effects of the sword, and In the capital the people were dying from famine.
Lamentations 1:21
Lamentations 1:21. The first half of this verse continues Judah’s complaint of her enemies, and she even mentions the attitude of the enemies who had been the instrument in God’s hand for the chastisement of His people. The rest of the verse is against that instrument because God never would tolerate any jubilant attitude from those whose services had been used for the punishment of the unfaithful nation.
Lamentations 1:22
Lamentations 1:22. The language truly repre-sents the feeling of Judah against the Babylonians, but the remarks are worded by the prophet and are an inspired prediction of the vengeance of God upon that heathen people. That vengeance was destined to come upon them after the nation of the Jews has been put through the treatment necessary for the complete cure from her national corruption of idolatry,