Lamentations - Introduction

INTRODUCTION

The book of Lamentations was written shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The author is unknown, although traditionally Jeremiah is thought to have been the author.

The book consists of five laments relating to the destruction of Jerusalem. The author obviously was an eyewitness of that destruction. The laments express the terrible loss and sorrow felt by the JEWS, as they watched their city, their temple and their religious traditions come to an end.

Jeremiah had set a time limit on the rule of Babylon (Jeremiah 25:11–12) and he had repeatedly prophesied that after the Exile the Jews would return to their city and prosper (see Jeremiah 31:38–40; 32:36–44). But so overwhelming was the terror and bewilderment of the people after Jerusalem fell that they could not remember Jeremiah’s promises; there is no mention of these promises in the book of Lamentations. Instead, the book is really a “funeral poem” about a loss that, in the author’s mind, would never be replaced.

And yet all is not lost! In the middle of the book the author expresses his hope in God (Lamentations 3:19–27). Furthermore, he is aware that the catastrophe experienced by the Jews has come about according to God’s own purpose, and that Babylon was only an agent which God used to punish His people for their sins. Indeed, the terrible sorrow felt by the surviving Jews has a redeeming purpose: it brings repentance that leads to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10). And that is where this book does lead; having begun in sorrow, the book ends in REPENTANCE with the author’s prayer: Restore us to yourself, o LORD, that we may return (Lamentations 5:21). That is a prayer that God is always waiting to hear.