Lamentations

Prayer for Vindication (3:43-66). After once more describing the horrible effects of the Lord's judgment, the author prayed for divine vengeance upon the nation's gloating enemies. During Judah's abandonment by God, these enemies had taunted and abused God's people. Confessing that God had intervened for him in the past, the author asked that the Lord might pay back these enemies for their misdeeds and cruelty.

Jerusalem's Glory (4:1-20). The description of Jerusalem's downfall continues, with emphasis being placed on the contrast between its former condition and present humiliation. The city's children, once considered as precious as gold, were now treated like mere clay pots. As they cried out in hunger and thirst, no one took pity upon them. The once robust princes were shriveled up from lack of food. Starving mothers who used to be filled with compassion even ate their own children. Because of its slow, painful death, Jerusalem's fate was even worse than that of Sodom, which had been destroyed in an instant. Many had thought the city could never fall. But the Lord allowed its enemies to invade it because of the sins of its unjust and corrupt religious leaders. As the people waited in vain for help from Egypt, their enemies scattered them and even captured their king.

Retribution upon Edom (4:21-22). Having described the nation's conquest of the city, the author issued a warning to Edom, one of the nations that participated in and profited from Jerusalem's fall. The tables would someday be turned. Jerusalem's time of trouble and exile would come to an end, but Edom would experience humiliation at the Lord's hands.

Heap of Ruin (5:1-18). After asking the Lord to take note of His people's disgrace, the author described their plight in detail to motivate God to respond in mercy. Foreigners now controlled the promised land, while God's people were as poverty-stricken and helpless as orphans and widows. The people were deprived of life's necessities and suffered horrible atrocities and oppression. Their sin had turned their joy into sorrow and reduced Jerusalem to a heap of ruins.

Concluding Petition (5:19-22). In a final burst of energy, the author praised God as the eternal King, asked how long they had to suffer rejection, and prayed that God might restore and renew His relationship with His people.

Theological and Ethical Significance. Lamentations says that there is no place like home, especially when it is gone. It shows the honest face of prayer in the midst of tragedy. It frees God's people to question and still experience His presence. It shows that the road to hope is paved with honesty and questioning, mixed with praise. Faith grows in the midst of crisis when God's people take their troubles to Him.

Gordis, Robert. The Song of Songs and Lamentations: A Study, Modern Translation and Commentary. New York: KTAV, 1974.

Harrison, Roland K. Jeremiah and Lamentations. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1973.

Hillers, Delbert S. Lamentations. Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 1972.

Huey, F. B., Jr. Jeremiah, Lamentations. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1993.

Kasier, Walter. Lamentations. Chicago: Moody, 1981.