This week, we shall study of the book of Lamentations in the Old Testament.
The Book of Lamentations
There is little doubt that Jeremiah is the author of this book and “Ancient tradition…is unanimous in ascribing it to the prophet Jeremiah” (NCBC, 6). Concerning the setting, the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) has an introduction added before Lamentations 1:1 which says, “And it came to pass, after Israel was taken captive, and Jerusalem made desolate that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said…”
The literary form of this book is quite unique in that:
Chapters 1 and 2 are written as acrostic poems (kind of like Psalm 119) using a new Hebrew alphabet to begin each of the 22 verses.
Chapter 3, with 66 verses, has three verses for each letter of the alphabet.
Chapter 4, like chapters 1 and 2, is also an acrostic poem of 22 verses. It might be worth-noting that while the Hebrew letters in chapter 1 are arranged according to the normal sequence of the Hebrew alphabet, chapters 2-4 reverse the order of the 16th and 17th letters, placing “’peh” in front of “’ayin” (NCBC, 4).
Chapter 5 is not an acrostic poem, but it also has 22 verses with the 2nd half of each verse shorter than the first, hence conveying “a somber effect of diminuendo” (Scofield).
1:1-6—The Lament Over the Desolation of Zion and Judah
(1) With the last chapter of Jeremiah (ch. 52) still fresh in your mind, if you were Jeremiah sitting, say on the Mount of Olives and looking at the Jerusalem, as LXX suggests, what might you see?
(2) In these opening verses, Jeremiah not only looks at the present desolation but remembers the former days of the city and the nation:
a. What contrasts does he employ in v. 1?
b. What has added to her bitterness? (v. 2)
(3) What insight does Jeremiah 52:6-8 provide in your understanding of his lament in v. 3?
(4) In depicting their demise, Jeremiah mentions priests, young women, children and princes (vv. 4-6) to indicate that all have met with the same fate:
a. What reason does he give for their collective demise? (v. 5)
b. What does he mourns over particularly in v. 4a?
1:7-11—The Affliction of Jerusalem—The focus is on Jerusalem as the capital where the treasures and the temple were.
(5) In depicting the scorn of Jerusalem by her enemies:
a. What imagery was used for the shame that fell upon her? (vv. 8b-9)
b. How appropriate was this considering the sin that she has committed? (v. 8a)
(6) What has her shame and insult extended to? (v. 10)
1:12-20—Jeremiah Personalizing His Lament
(7) In the midst of his lamentation for the city, why does Jeremiah change to first person?
(8) “Look, LORD and consider, for I am despised” (1:11b-14)
a. Why does Jeremiah call on the passers-by to look and see? (v. 12)
b. He uses several imageries to depict the pouring out of God’s anger.
- What does the imagery of fire serve to portray? (v. 13a)
- What about the spreading of a net? (v. 13b)
- What does the imagery of the yoke depict? (v. 14)
(9) No one to comfort (1:15-21)
a. Jeremiah describes their crushing defeat (v. 15)
- Why does Jeremiah call Judah the “Virgin Daughter”?
- Why does he liken their defeat as the Lord trampling on a winepress?
b. What is the thing that causes him to weep and overflow with tears? (vv. 16-17)
c. What should all the peoples who care to look and listen learn from the demise of Jerusalem? (vv. 18-19)
d. Since the rebellious ones are Jerusalem and her people, why should the prophet feel such a deep torment himself? (v. 20)
1:21-22—Calling for Vengeance
(10) On what basis does Jeremiah call upon God to punish the enemies of God’s people?
(11) What judgment has God already announced on the enemies of His people? (see Jeremiah 25:12ff)
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
2:1-10—God’s Fierce Anger—Note how the motif of God’s anger is being emphasized in these lines and the three-fold Hebraic parallelism used in each verse, one reinforcing or deepening the idea of the foregoing line:
(1) Jeremiah describes the fierce anger of
the Lord (vv. 1-3)
a. How does Jeremiah speak of the former glory of Israel (v. 1)?
b. How does the imagery of a “cloud” serve to depict the anger of God?
c. In the first three verses, what are the verbs used by Jeremiah? How do they collectively depict the “fierce anger” of the Lord?
(2) God as their enemy (vv. 4-7)
a. How does v. 5 sum up the result of God turning into their enemy?
b. Why has God even laid waste His own dwelling place and His altar? (vv. 6-7)
(3) God’s determination to destroy (vv. 8-10)
a. How does v. 8 depict God’s resolve to destroy?
b. What is the respective fate of their king, princes, prophets, elders and young women?
c. What does Jeremiah seek to depict with describing each of their fates?
(4) Jeremiah’s weeping for Jerusalem (vv. 11-17)
a. How does Jeremiah describe his own weeping for Jerusalem? (v. 11)
b. What is the scene that causes him to grieve the most? (vv. 11-12)
c. In seeking to comfort Zion, can the prophet find any events or examples in history that was worse than what happened to Zion? (v. 13) Why or why not?
d. Could their captivity be avoided? (v. 14) Why or why not?
e. As it is, what have they become in the eyes of the world? (vv. 15-16)
f. Do you think calling Jerusalem, “the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth” is an exaggeration? Why or why not? (v. 15)
(5) Calling for Petition (vv. 18-22)
a. In calling the people (both the exiles and the remnant) to petition to the Lord, what does the prophet ask the people to do? (vv. 18-19)
b. Do you think it is “too little, too late”? Why or why not?
c. Now, the prophet pleads with the Lord as well (vv. 20-22).
- What do the three rhetorical questions in v. 20 seek to do?
- Why does the prophet take the judgment of the Lord so personally? (v. 22)
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Jeremiah’s lament for Jerusalem and Judah is now turned into a lament of personal suffering:
(1) When Jeremiah says, “I am a man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord's staff”, is he thinking of the suffering of Jerusalem or his own sufferings as they relate to the fate of Jerusalem? (You may want to consult today’s Meditative Article.)
Now, he details the rod of God’s wrath, using “He has” to describe his own affliction:
(2) Vv. 2-3: What has God “indeed” done to him emotionally?
(3) V. 4: What have all these afflictions done to his body?
(4) Vv. 5-9: Being hemmed in by God — Jeremiah has been put into a dungeon or prison at least twice (Jer. 37:15; 38:13) and for a long time:
a. Is he referring to his experience in prison only? Why or why not?
b. What is the difference between being “walled in” by men and by God?
c. To those who belong to God, how can we find a way out?
d. Does it work for Jeremiah? (v. 8)
(5) Vv. 10-13: Being hunted by God
a. To be walled in or to be hunted by God—What is worse? Why?
b. The first imagery used is that of a bear or lion lying in wait (vv. 10-11).
- What does this imagery serve to depict?
c. The next imagery is that of an archer (vv. 12-13)
- What does this imagery serve to depict?
(6) Vv. 14-18: Down and out — He ends his personal lament feeling insulted (v. 14), bitter (v. 15) and trampled (v. 16).
a. How does he sum up his condition? (v. 17)
b. What prosperity and splendor is he referring to? His or Jerusalem's?
c. What hope (for Jerusalem and for himself) had he had all along from the Lord all these years as a prophet? (v. 18)
d. Why does he think that all hopes are gone now?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
3:19-39—God’s Compassion
(1) As Jeremiah remembers his affliction and his wandering, how downcast is he? (3:18)
(2) Yet, he also remembers something that brings him hope (vv. 22-24):
a. What does he remember that assures him of God’s great love and concludes that His compassions never fail? (v. 22)
b. What makes him understand that His faithfulness is great? (v. 23)
c. What causes him, in spite of all his afflictions and bitterness, to continue to wait for God? (v. 24)
(3) God is good and so is affliction (3:25-36)
a. Jeremiah poetically speaks of three things that are “good” in vv. 25-27.
- What are they?
- Why are they so “good”?
b. What are the three things that one should do in bearing his yoke (or burden) before the Lord? (vv. 28-30)
c. What three reasons does Jeremiah give to support his advice? (vv. 31-33)
(4) As if he senses that the hearers may not agree with his advice, what additional three reasons does he give in telling us to submit to God through three rhetorical questions in vv. 37-39?
(5) Do you agree with Jeremiah? Why or why not?
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
3:40-47—Call to Repentance—Having affirmed God’s sovereignty and their sinfulness, Jeremiah now calls them to repentance:
(1) What is the three-step process to repentance that he calls them to? (v. 40)
a. What does “examination” entail?
b. How should we test our ways?
c. How then should we repent? (vv. 41-42)
(2) In the process of genuine repentance, Jeremiah urges them to recall the severe consequences of their sins (vv. 43-47).
a. What has God covered Himself with and what are the consequences? (vv. 43-44)
b. What have they become today? (vv. 45-47)
c. How does such a recollection and recognition have to do with their process of repentance? (v. 40)
3:48-66—Personal Lament—Now the prophet once more reverts to “his own weeping and groaning and tears even that he might arouse himself to prayer, and lead others also” (Calvin, 441):
(3) The recollection and recognition of the fate of Jerusalem has caused the prophet once again to weep (vv. 48-51).
a. What does he see in particular that makes him weep? (v. 51)
b. Why won’t he stop weeping? (v. 50)
(4) The recollection of his own sufferings, especially while in prison (vv. 52-58):
a. How horrible was his experience in prison? (vv. 52-54; see Jer. 37:20)
b. How did he plead with God? (vv. 55-56)
c. How did the Lord respond to his prayer? (vv. 57-58; Jer. 38:11-13)
3:59-66—Praying for Vengeance—His past deliverance by the Lord becomes the basis of his confidence to pray for the present:
(5) Since God has taken his cause and redeemed his life (v. 58), do you think vv. 59-63 is still a description of himself or of Jerusalem (and the people of God)?
a. Where are his former enemies now? (Jer. 52:10)
b. What does he ask the Lord to do to his enemies? (vv. 64-66)
c. Should he seek revenge either for himself or Jerusalem?
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
In this acrostic poem, Jeremiahs laments the punishment that has befallen his people which they fully deserve:
4:1-11—Punishment Worse than That of Sodom
(1) In what way(s) were the children of Zion like gold and sacred gems before? (vv. 1-2)
(2) In what way(s) are they like pots of clay now? (vv. 1-2)
(3) What is the sin highlighted here? (v. 3)
(4) In what ways are they more heartless than jackals? (v. 3)
(5) Presumably the rich and royal were especially guilty of this sin: What punishment have they suffered? (v. 5)
(6) The instant punishment of Zion is now compared to that of Sodom (vv. 6-11).
a. What was the punishment of Sodom marked by? (v. 6, see Gen. 19:24-25)
b. How does Jeremiah contrast the former glory of the princes with what they have become? (vv. 7-8)
c. Why does he say that those killed by the sword are better off? (vv. 9-10)
d. In what way(s) is the punishment of his people greater than that of Sodom?
(7) The sin of the prophets and priests (vv. 12-16)
a. What should the prophets and priests be to the people and to the Lord?
b. What have they done instead? (v. 13)
c. In describing the judgment they now receive, what does Jeremiah liken them to? (vv. 14-15)
d. What consequences have the sins of these clergies led to? (v. 12)
e. Why does Jeremiah single out their sins?
(8) Futility of trusting in men (vv. 17-20) — one nation and one individual are cited:
a. Which is the nation that they put their trust in?
b. Why couldn’t this nation save them? (Jer. 44:30; 46:1-2)
c. Which one individual did they put their trust in?
d. What was his fate? (v. 20; Jer. 52:9-11)
(9) Hope of Return (vv. 21-22)
a. Of all the foreign nations, why does Jeremiah single Edom out for judgment? (see Jer. 49:1-22, Meditative Reflection of Year 4 Week 45 Day 309)
b. What is the hope that accompanies the punishment of Edom?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Corporate Petition to the Lord: This final poem is entirely spoken with the corporate “we”.
5:1-16—Asking God to Look at Their Disgrace—Of course the Lord knows of their pitiful state; therefore by asking the Lord to look, they are hoping to get His sympathy:
(1) The list of disgraces (5:2-10): What kind of disgrace was involved in the following situations (a-d)?
a. the loss of their land and homes (v. 2; see Deut. 6:23)
b. becoming fatherless and widows (v. 3)
c. those depicted by vv. 4, 6, 9-10
d. those depicted by v. 8
e. What have all these punishments done to them physically and emotionally? (v. 5)
f. Can they really blame their fathers for their punishment? (v. 7) Why or why not? (Jer. 16:12)
(2) More than disgrace (5:11-18)
a. What is the picture depicted by vv. 11-14?
b. How does Jeremiah sum up their current physical, emotional and spiritual conditions in vv. 15-18?
(3) Final plea on behalf of Israel (5:19-22)
a. What does his acknowledgment of God’s eternity signify?
b. Are his two questions in v. 20 valid? Why or why not?
c. What is his final plea for his people? (vv. 21-22)
- Which should come first: God’s restoration or their return? Why?
- Do you think that God has utterly rejected them and that His anger is beyond measure?
- What is God’s answer to Jeremiah’s plea? (see Rom. 11:1, 25-27)
(4) As we conclude the study of the book of Lamentations, can you pause to consider and list three major lessons that this Book has impressed upon you?