Lamentations 2:7

Zayin

7 The Lord has rejected His altar, repudiated His sanctuary;^[a] He has handed the walls of her palaces over to the enemy. They have raised a shout in the house of the Lord as on the day of an appointed festival.

Lamentations 2:7 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 2:7

The Lord hath cast off his altar
Whether of incense, or of burnt offerings; the sacrifices of which used to be acceptable to him; but now the altar being cast down and demolished, there were no more offerings; nor did he show any desire of them, but the reverse: he hath abhorred his sanctuary;
the temple; by suffering it to be profaned, pulled down, and burnt, it looked as if he had an abhorrence of it, and the service in it; as he had, as it was performed without faith in Christ, love to him, or any view to his glory; see ( Isaiah 1:13 Isaiah 1:14 ) ; he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces;
both the walls of the sanctuary, and the walls of the houses of the kin, and princes; especially thee former are meant, both by what goes before and follows: they have made a noise in the house of the Lord, as in the day of a
solemn feast;
that is the enemy, the Chaldeans, made a noise in the temple, blaspheming God, that had dwelt in it; insulting over the people of God, that had worshipped there; rejoicing in their victories over them; singing their "paeans" to their gods, and other profane songs; indulging themselves in revelling and rioting; making as great a noise with their shouts and songs as the priests, Levites, and people of Israel did, when they sung the songs of Zion on a festival day. The Targum is,

``as the voice of the people of the house of Israel, that prayed in the midst of it in the day of the passover.''

Lamentations 2:7 In-Context

5 The Lord is like an enemy; He has swallowed up Israel. He swallowed up all its palaces and destroyed its fortified cities. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation within Daughter Judah.

6 He has done violence to His temple as if [it were] a garden [booth], destroying His place of meeting. The Lord has abolished appointed festivals and Sabbaths in Zion. He has despised king and priest in His fierce anger.

7 The Lord has rejected His altar, repudiated His sanctuary; He has handed the walls of her palaces over to the enemy. They have raised a shout in the house of the Lord as on the day of an appointed festival.

8 The Lord determined to destroy the wall of Daughter Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not restrain Himself from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls grieve; together they waste away.

9 Zion's gates have fallen to the ground; He has destroyed and shattered the bars on her [gates]. Her king and her leaders [live] among the nations, instruction is no more, and even her prophets receive no vision from the Lord.

Footnotes

• [a] Ps 89:39