Book of Lamentations

Lamentations 3:1-66 (NASB)

Last week, we looked a little more at the book of Jeremiah and how God called him to be a prophet. I want to continue with Jeremiah’s life this week, but this time, looking at what he wrote in the Book of Lamentations. We see this book mentioned in 2 Chronicles 35:25, which says, “Then Jeremiah chanted a song of mourning for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their songs of mourning to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations.”

Another thing to note about Lamentations is that it is five chapters long, and each of the chapters is a poem. According to commentaries I read, in the original Hebrew, each verse starts with the successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In chapter 3, which is what we are reading today, the acrostic is a little different. The first three verses begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second three verses begin with the second, and so on. That’s pretty amazing! As a writer, I think that testifies to the supernatural authorship of the Bible, for that would be incredibly hard to do and still make your writing make sense.

Lamentations 3:1-18 says:

1 I am the man who has seen misery Because of the rod of His wrath. 2 He has driven me and made me walk In darkness and not in light. 3 Indeed, He has turned His hand against me Repeatedly all the day. 4 He has consumed my flesh and my skin, He has broken my bones. 5 He has besieged and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. 6 He has made me live in dark places, Like those who have long been dead. 7 He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy. 8 Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer. 9 He has blocked my ways with cut stone; He has twisted my paths. 10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in secret places. 11 He has made my ways deviate, and torn me to pieces; He has made me desolate. 12 He bent His bow And took aim at me as a target for the arrow. 13 He made the arrows of His quiver Enter my inward parts. 14 I have become a laughingstock to all my people, Their song of ridicule all the day. 15 He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink plenty of wormwood. 16 He has also made my teeth grind with gravel; He has made me cower in the dust. 17 My soul has been excluded from peace; I have forgotten happiness. 18 So I say, “My strength has failed, And so has my hope from the Lord.”

From reading this first part of this chapter, it seems clear why Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet.” There is so much despair and sorrow expressed in his words. It was no easy task that the Lord had called Jeremiah to. His entire life was given over to being God’s prophet. We see more evidence of this in Jeremiah 16:1-4, which says, “The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.’ For this is what the Lord says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who give birth to them, and their fathers who father them in this land: “They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”

God wanted to spare Jeremiah the pain that his family would endure if he were to marry and have children. I also think that Jeremiah would not have been able to do all the things he did if he had married and had children. By staying single, he stayed focused on doing all the things the Lord instructed him to do. It is a good reminder to us as believers that if we want to follow God faithfully, we must be willing to lay down our personal wants and desires. Jesus says in Luke 9:23b, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Sometimes this is radical by the world’s standards. Always, it is unique to each believer, as the Lord leads us individually to apply His Word and follow Him.

God had called Jeremiah to be a prophet who must deliver terrible news. God knew that would not be an easy task, and we see that it affected Jeremiah deeply. I really appreciate that we were given this book of Lamentations, for it allows us to see into Jeremiah’s thoughts. According to Charles H. Dyer in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, Lamentations was originally titled, “Alas!” or “How,” as the original name of the book in Hebrew, ekah, can be translated. It is a book expressing Jeremiah’s deep despair. In those first 18 verses, we get a glimpse of this sorrow. When we view the world through the lens that the Lord views the world, we will probably feel much like Jeremiah did a lot of the time.

Not only was his weeping because of the immense sorrow he felt for Jerusalem, but for all the pain and suffering he personally endured. Unpopular is the prophet who brings news of impending judgment. Even the people who were supposed to be following God rejected Jeremiah. Jeremiah 20:1-2 says, “When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief overseer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the Lord.”

That punishment wasn’t enough for them. They wanted to kill him as Jeremiah 26:11 says, “Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, ‘A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!’”

They fully rejected his words. Jeremiah 36:23 says, “And when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier.”

God would not allow the people to kill him, though. So they threw him in a pit to die. Jeremiah 38:6 says, “So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.”

When even that doesn’t deter Jeremiah, they accused him of being a liar. Jeremiah 43:1-2 says: But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the Lord their God had sent to them, had finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God—that is, all these words—Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’;”.

As bad as everything is, even in the midst of immense suffering and pain, we see hope. Back to the Book of Lamentations, verses 19-26 say:

19 Remember my misery and my homelessness, the wormwood and bitterness. 20 My soul certainly remembers, And is bent over within me. 21 I recall this to my mind, Therefore I wait. 22 The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, For His compassions do not fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I wait for Him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who await Him, To the person who seeks Him. 26 It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord.

Even in this book of Lamentations, we see some of the most beautiful words written to describe the faithfulness of God. I think it is profound that those words are written directly after all the sorrow is expressed. Jeremiah says “I recall this to my mind, therefore I wait.” He remembers who God is and so he contents himself to wait for the Lord. How might our perspectives change if we stopped and did the same? When we face trouble, hardship, suffering and pain, what if we stopped and recalled to our mind the goodness of God? We can go to the Lord in prayer and complain and cry and tell Him all about how we need Him to help us, but after we’ve done that, we should allow the Holy Spirit to remind us about His mercy, compassion, faithfulness and goodness. And then we should wait to see how He will help us.

Even though Jeremiah has remembered and said he would wait for the mercy and goodness of God to come and save him, he does not stop writing. His changed perspective, though, changes what he writes. Verses 27-39 say:

27 It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. 28 Let him sit alone and keep quiet, Since He has laid it on him. 29 Let him put his mouth in the dust; Perhaps there is hope. 30 Let him give his cheek to the one who is going to strike him; Let him be filled with shame. 31 For the Lord will not reject forever, 32 For if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion In proportion to His abundant mercy. 33 For He does not afflict willingly Or grieve the sons of mankind. 34 To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the land, 35 To deprive a man of justice In the presence of the Most High, 36 To defraud someone in his lawsuit— Of these things the Lord does not approve. 37 Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That both adversity and good proceed?

39 Of what can any living mortal, or any man, Complain in view of his sins?

Jeremiah sees that mankind has sinned and deserves judgment. He says it is good to surrender ourselves to the Lord, offering our cheek to Him, as a sign of submission to whatever He may bring. We all have sinned, and must do as Jeremiah says in verses 40-42: 40 Let’s examine and search out our ways, And let’s return to the Lord. 41 We raise our heart and hands Toward God in heaven;

42 We have done wrong and rebelled; You have not pardoned.

In Jeremiah’s prayer, he states that the Lord has not pardoned because the people of Judah had not repented. Jeremiah knew that they had sinned and rebelled, and he wanted them to repent, but they had not. And so he continues, in verses 43-51: 43 You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and have not spared. 44 You have veiled Yourself with a cloud So that no prayer can pass through. 45 You have made us mere refuse and rubbish In the midst of the peoples. 46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. 47 Panic and pitfall have come upon us, Devastation and destruction; 48 My eyes run down with streams of water Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 My eyes flow unceasingly, Without stopping, 50 Until the Lord looks down And sees from heaven. 51 My eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city.

Jeremiah is interceding on the people’s behalf. He’s burdened with a broken heart for the unrepentant people. He is pleading for them to repent and for God to bring mercy. Then he speaks about himself again, and the trouble he has endured for the people. He says in verses 52-58: 52 My enemies without reason Hunted me down like a bird; 53 They have silenced me in the pit And have thrown stones on me. 54 Waters flowed over my head; I said, “I am cut off!” 55 I called on Your name, Lord, Out of the lowest pit. 56 You have heard my voice, “Do not cover Your ear from my plea for relief, From my cry for help.” 57 You came near on the day I called to You; You said, “Do not fear!”

All of those things literally happened to him. He was thrown into a pit. Yet, the Lord was near to him and saved his life. He continues to the end of this poem, starting in verse 58-66:

58 Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause; You have redeemed my life. 59 Lord, You have seen my oppression; Judge my case. 60 You have seen all their vengeance, All their schemes against me. 61 You have heard their reproach, Lord, All their schemes against me. 62 The lips of my assailants and their talk Are against me all day long. 63 Look at their sitting and their rising; I am their mocking song. 64 You will repay them, Lord, In accordance with the work of their hands. 65 You will give them shamelessness of heart, Your curse will be on them. 66 You will pursue them in anger and eliminate them From under the heavens of the Lord!

Jeremiah sees that the Lord’s judgment on the people is just. For they have sinned against not only Jeremiah, but against God, and that is why God’s judgment was a fair response. Lamentations goes on and he details the cruelty and depravity of the people. He ends in the fifth chapter on a note of uncertainty. He says, in Lamentations 5:21-22, “Restore us to You, Lord, so that we may be restored; renew our days as of old, unless You have utterly rejected us and are exceedingly angry with us.”

If we only read Lamentations, we might be left with the question: will God show mercy and restore the people? We know from reading the Book of Jeremiah that was not the end. God did indeed show mercy. He brought the people back from exile.

Jeremiah is called the “weeping prophet” because, all throughout the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations, he writes about his immense sorrow and tears for Judah. He sees the impending judgement of his people and it grieves him deeply. Jeremiah 9:1 says, “Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for those slain of the daughter of my people!”

Jeremiah’s response of weeping is the correct response to have. It is the same response Jesus had in Luke 19:41-42, which says, “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.’”

It is a correct response for us to have today, as well, when we consider the impending judgment of the people of our nations who do not follow the Lord. It is hard not to feel hopeless and disillusioned if you stop for a moment and consider the state of the world and the judgement that awaits them if they do not turn and repent. Jesus said in John 3:18-19, “The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil.”

Those words of Jesus apply today just as accurately as they applied then. People do not want to follow Jesus because they love the darkness. We should not read those words and shrug our shoulders, though. We should respond as Jeremiah, and as our Savior Jesus did: we should allow the Holy Spirit to grieve us, so we share God’s message of hope and pray for the world to repent.

The end result of Jeremiah weeping while he delivered the messages God gave to him to give was that he interceded for the people. He asked God to be merciful, and according to God’s plan, God was merciful. Jeremiah 31:16 says, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; for your work will be rewarded,’ declares the Lord, ‘and they will return from the land of the enemy.’”

There was still hope for the future. The Lord was going to bring a remnant of His people back. Jeremiah interceding and weeping over the people is exactly what Psalm 126:1,5-6 (ESV) is talking about, for it is even about the return of the exiles from Babylon. It says, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

God’s Word is the seed that is sown. The harvest is those who hear God’s Word and believe. Oftentimes, this sharing of the word is done at great cost; there is weeping and sorrow. Then there is joy when the people receive God’s Word. Also, when people repent, there is conviction of sin which brings weeping and sorrow over that sin. But then there is great joy at receiving forgiveness. That pattern of weeping followed by joy repeats. For the people of Judah, they were being rightfully judged and sent into exile. But a remnant of those people would return. They would be the people who, through weeping and sorrow, would turn and follow God.

I think this remnant of the Israelites who were brought back from exile- they are a picture of the total body of Christ who, when compared to the total number of people who have ever lived throughout history, will be only a remnant. Jesus said this in Matthew 7:13-14, which says, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Those of who will be part of that remnant will enter eternity with unimaginably great joy. Any righteous weeping and sorrow that following God cost us will be nothing compared to the glory that awaits us. It is as Romans 8:18 says: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

I am certain that Jeremiah would agree with those words of Paul. And I am certain all of us who are part of this remnant will agree with them too when we see Jesus face to face.

So let us not grow weary in sharing God’s Word, planting seeds into the hearts of people. Let us pray and intercede for our world, in the hope that many more will come to repentance and find salvation, so they too may become part of the returning exiles.

Pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your great love for us. Thank You for calling us out of darkness into relationship with You. Thank You for Jesus and His sacrificial love which offers us forgiveness. We pray that You would touch our hearts for the lost so that we share Your message of hope and intercede for the world to repent. Please remind us and help us to remember that the suffering we endure today is nothing compared to the glory we will witness when we see You. We love You and praise You and in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.