Commentary Notes - Lamentations

A. INTRODUCTION

1. This book is a revelation of the love and sorrow of God for the very people whom he is chastening

2. This sorrow was wrought in the heart of the prophet who sorrowed with a sorrowing God

3. The poetry of this book is unusually technical in that its five poems are divided into twenty-two parts regulated by the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet

B. FIRST LAMENTATION, 1:1-22

1. What, in general, is the subject of the first lamentation? The wail of distress over the awful tragedy which befell Jerusalem

2. Specifically, how is Jerusalem described in 1:1-11? As being desolate, widowed, humiliated, sorrowful, distressed, embittered, deserted by her friends and mocked by her enemies

3. What is Jeremiah doing in 1:12-22? He impersonates Jerusalem in her affliction

4. The cause of all this suffering was what, 1:18? Rebellion against God's commandments

C. SECOND LAMENTATION, 2:1-22

1. What, in general, is the subject of the second lamentation? The judgment of God as the cause of Jerusalem's fate

2. Note the difference between the "cloud" in 1 Kings 8:10-11 and the "cloud" in 2:1: Once it was the cloud of God's presence, now it is the cloud of God's judgment

3. What has God done in 2:6-7? He turned his back on the very things he himself instituted

4. Ascertain the meaning of "her prophets also find no vision from the Lord," 2:9: Having rebelled against God's word, there was no longer any further revelation from God (1 Sam. 3:1, 21)

5. Who shared in the responsibility for Jerusalem's fate and why, 2:14? The false prophets who aimed to please the people and did neither hear nor speak from God

D. THIRD LAMENTATION, 3:1-66

1. What, in general, is the subject of the third lamentation? Jeremiah's sufferings as a member of the Jewish commonwealth made worse by his additional sufferings as a prophet

2. What may be observed from:

(1) 3:1? Jeremiah's personal participation in the afflictions

of the wrath of God

(2) 3:14? The intensification of his afflictions by the attitude of his own people

3. To what does Jeremiah refer in:

(1) 3:1-20? To his intense emotional conflicts occasioned by God's seeming hostility

(2) 3:21-39? To the compassion, mercy, goodness and faithfulness of God, even in judgment

(3) 3:40-51? To the purpose of judgment, namely, to turn the people back to God

(4) 3:52-58? To his deliverance from the dungeon by providential intervention (Jer. 38:7-13)

(5) 3:59-66? To his enemies who made his life so bitter by their continued hostility

4. What do we note in:

(1) 3:27-30? The method of God in discipline

(2) 3:31-33? The motives of God in judgment

5. List the steps in turning to God as seen in:

(1) 3:40 - Changing the direction of our walk by turning away from sinful ways

(2) 3:41 - A change of attitude toward God by a change of heart

(3) 3:42 - Confession of sins

(4) 3:24 - Making God himself the object of our desire and pursuit

(5) 3:25 - An active waiting and diligent seeking of God. (Jer. 29:13-14; Heb. 11:6)

(6) 3:26 - Awaiting God's deliverance with patient expectancy, (Psa. 37:1-7)

E. FOURTH LAMENTATION, 4:1-22

1. What, in general, is the subject of the fourth lamentation? The extreme character of Jerusalem's sufferings at the hands of her enemies

2. What does Jeremiah describe in:

(1) 4:1-2? The great contrast between Jerusalem's former and present state

(2) 4:4-10? The dreadful famine which is the fulfillment of Deut. 28:15-62

3. Who must share in the responsibility for the fate of Jerusalem, 4:11-16? All classes of people

4. In vain Jerusalem looked for what, 4:17-20? For help from other nations, especially Egypt

5. Note the warning in 4:21-22: Against rejoicing when God disciplines his people

F. FIFTH LAMENTATION, 5:1-22

1. What, in general, is the subject of the fifth lamentation? Jerusalem's humiliation before her enemies upon whom she has become dependent

2. To whom is this lamentation addressed? To God, that he might look in pity upon their afflictions

3. What does Jeremiah affirm in 5:19? The eternal sovereignty of God evidenced in judgment

4. For what does Jeremiah pray in 5:21?

(1) For reconciliation between God and his people

(2) For restoration of their former prosperity

5. On what note does the book of Lamentations end and why, 5:27? On a note of utter dejection and despondency because it was too late to change events and to placate the wrath of of God