Lamentations 1 Footnotes

1:10 Unauthorized persons were not to enter the sanctuary, under penalty of death (Nm 3:10). The god of a shrine was expected to defend that shrine (Jdg 6:32), so, for example, when Uzzah touched the ark of the covenant, he died instantly (2Sm 6:6-7). But this passage referred to non-Israelites entering the temple with impunity because the Lord was no longer defending his city and sanctuary (Lm 2:7; 4:12-13). Jeremiah told the people that they could not depend on the Lord defending Jerusalem just because his temple was there; instead, they needed to show by their actions that they trusted in God (Jr 7:3-8). Ezekiel saw in his visions that the glory of God had abandoned the temple (Jr 12:7; Ezk 10:18-19; 11:23).