V. The Prayer of Judah’s People (Lamentations 5:1-22)

V. The Prayer of Judah’s People (5:1-22)

5:1-8 Now that the worst has happened, the people of Judah finally began looking up and acknowledging that their condition is the result of both their own sin and the ungodly actions of their ancestors in failing to trust God. Their lives are so miserable they even have to pay for water and the wood they need for cooking and warmth (5:4). The real tragedy of their foreign alliances was that in turning to nations like Egypt and Assyria for help, their fathers had disobeyed God and put his people at the mercy of the ungodly (5:6-8).

5:9-18 Every segment of society had been devastated by Judah’s sin and judgment. Jeremiah had already told of the incredible suffering Judah’s children underwent (4:4). But the women . . . princes . . . elders . . . and young men suffered terrible fates as well (5:11-13). It took all of this suffering for the people to utter the confession God had been waiting to hear: Woe to us, for we have sinned (5:16).

5:19-22 God had been waiting for his people to admit their sin so he could act on their behalf. Their confession was the first step in their restoration.

Verse 20, Why do you continually forget us, abandon us for our entire lives?, is a plea for God to remember his covenant. And importantly, the only way God would turn away from them forever was if he completely rejected them (5:22). That, however, would have required God to be unfaithful to his promises. And since that could never happen—see 3:23—the book of Lamentations ends with hope that God will bring them back and renew their days (5:21).