Introduction: Lamentations consists of five Elegies or Lamentations on the destruction of Jerusalem. The great historian Josephus believed Lamentations was written upon the death of King Josiah basing his entire opinion on 2 Chronicles 35:25, "And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations." I believe Josephus was wrong in that the entire book was written about Jerusalem.
The book of Lamentations is still read on the Fast of the ninth day of the fifth month (called "Ab," which corresponds with our August). On that day, the Jews commemorate the five great calamities which befell Israel:
1. The return of the 12 spies and the decree of the 40 years' wanderings because of the rebellion of God's people.
2. The destruction of the first Temple by Nebuchadnezzar.
3. The destruction of the second Temple by the Romans under Titus.
4. The taking of Bether by the Romans under Hadrian when 580,000 people were slain.
5. The plowing of Zion like a field in fulfillment of Jeremiah 26:18 and Micah 3:12.* "Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest." (Jeremiah 26:18)
* "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest." (Micah 3:12)
The five Elegies or Lamentations are arranged quite remarkably.
- The first two (chapters 1-2) are made up of 22 long verses of three lines each. Each verse begins with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
- The third (chapter 3) consists of 66 verses (3 X 22), each triad of verses begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The first three lines begin with the letter Aleph, the next three with Beth, and so on through the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
- The fourth (chapter 4) is arranged in 22 long verses of two lines each, also arranged acrostically.
- The fifth (chapter 5) is a prayer. The only connection with the alphabet that it has is the number of verses in the chapter corresponds with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, 22.
It will be interesting to note here that, in the Septuagint (the copy of Scripture Jesus quoted most often), the following words are used to preface the book of Lamentations, "It came to pass that after Israel was taken captive and Jerusalem was made desolate, Jeremiah sat weeping and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem and said..." At this point, chapter one begins.
In chapter one, Jeremiah describes Jerusalem's great sins and the suffering that resulted from it.
1. Her sins. - Lamentations 1:8-9
"Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward. Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself."
- Jerusalem truly has sinned a great sin and defiled herself with the immorality committed with Asherah.
* Jeremiah 2:20, "For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot."
* Jeremiah 3:6, "The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot."
2. Her suffering.
- Jerusalem sits alone like a grief-stricken widow, "How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!...The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness." (Lamentations 1:1&4)
- She weeps throughout the night with no one to comfort her, "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." (Lamentations 1:2)
- Judah has been taken into exile, "Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits...Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy." (Lamentations 1:3&5)
- Note the phrase in verse 3, "...between the straits." It means that Judah was like a hunted animal driven where there is no escape. This phrase appears in only three places.* Psalm 116:3, "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow."
* Psalm 118:5, "I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place."
* Lamentations 1:3, "Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits."- Her former beauty and majesty are gone, "And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer." (Lamentations 1:6) This verse also bears out the fact that Judah was trapped like a hunted animal and could find no escape.
- The enemy laughs as she falls, "Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths." (Lamentations 1:7)* Note here that the enemy specifically mocked her sabbaths or "sabbath keepings." This is ironic in that God's people had neglected their sabbath for nearly 500 years.
- She was looted and violated by her enemies, "The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation." (Lamentations 1:10)
- Her people are starving, "All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile." (Lamentations 1:11)
3. Her speech.
- The punishment: she is treated with contempt, "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From above 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 transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up. The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress." (Lamentations 1:12-15)
- The pain: she weeps uncontrollably over her people's condition, "For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed. Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them. The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, 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 their meat to relieve their souls. Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as 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 called, and they shall be like unto me." (Lamentations 1:16-21)
- The prayer: she prays for God to do justly and punish the enemy just as He punished His own people, "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." (Lamentations 1:22)
Conclusion: When I think of the book of Lamentations, I picture Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, looking over the city just as Jesus looked over Jerusalem. I see his great compassion, and I hear his sobs of grief.
This should teach us a great lesson concerning the destruction of those who sin against God. The mighty prophet did not rejoice in their fall, rather he wept at their condition, their rebellion, and, finally, their judgment. Jeremiah was a straight-shooter and never changed his message, no matter what the enemy did to him. This did not mean he was unkind, nor did it mean he was vindictive. I'm sure every time Jeremiah preached, there was a tear in his eye for the people he loved with all of his heart.