Study Lamentations 3

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Lamentations 3: 19-26

NIV   19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

 

The Message 19-21I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lost-ness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: 22-24God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left. 25-27God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times.

 

     To study anything out of Lamentations we MUST know context and genre here, or misinterpretation can happen easily! I will be using information from Discovering the Old Testament Story and Faith, Edited by Alex Varughese (who was one of Pastor Steve’s professors at Mt. Vernon). This is a great  easy to read book and I highly recommend it for anyone who teaches, preaches or studies the Old Testament. What I would like to do is simply give an over view of the entire book then the passage itself can be properly understood.

     Lamentations is part of the Writings in the Hebrew Canon. As I researched this book it came to my attention that the title in the Hebrew is “How” – I wonder if the writer was thinking, “how did we get here?” or maybe “how did it come to this?” Many scholars regard this book as the work of a writer who was an eyewitness of the tragic fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC. Tradition holds it was Jeremiah and this is perfectly possible, for that was in his lifetime and he was part of the fall of the nation.

     We must understand this is not biblical law, story or lists, this particular book is poetry or poetic song. Each of the five poems (chapters), except the last one, is constructed as an acrostic, using the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. These are also to be read as funeral dirges. We don’t often hear dirges, or at least not on a regular basis. Even at funerals we often hear happy or hopeful songs, which is fine but the author of Lamentations is unafraid to cry out. Then through poetry/song express the deep emotional distress over death and destruction, as always we could learn from this open honesty.

     This little book reminds us of the tragic consequence of breaking covenant with God. Though suffering is a major issue in this book, we MUST place it in context, God’s wrath is poured out upon those who have been unfaithful to him. This book is very different from Job, where he suffers even though he hasn’t sinned. The Bible is really does address situations all around us, even today. There will be times when we suffer because of choices to sin. Then there will be times we suffer by no choice of our own, suffering simply because we live in a fallen, broken world. There may even be times when we suffer, not because we’ve made sinful decisions but because someone else does. God doesn’t shy away from pain and we should not either. Grief is not a personal matter. Lamentations challenges us to speak openly about our agony, pain and the chaos that surrounds our human existence. We must also take time to examine, reflect, and come to grips with our pain. We must take time pray, confess, and seek God’s forgiveness if it comes due to bad choices. In the end, what sustains us regardless of life’s circumstances is God’s faithfulness and love, which surrounds us no matter what we are going through.

     Let’s look at each poem just a little… (1: 1-22) The author laments over the desolation of Jerusalem and recognized the truth that the desecration of the Temple was the direct consequence of the sins of God’s people. God had withdrawn His presence, which left Israel with no rest or comfort. The poet invited the nation to admit that God is righteous in all that He does, and to confess their rebellion against Him. (2: 1-22) The author saw the destruction of the Temple and other symbols of God’s holiness as the sign of God’s anger against sin. God withdrew His communication through the Law and prophetic visions. However, God would have pity for them if they would come into His presence with a broken heart. (3: 1-66) Like Job, the author complained to God about his suffering. But unlike Job, the writer was convinced that he and his nation were suffering because of their sins. Nonetheless, he maintained hope in God’s great love, compassion, and faithfulness. In the midst of suffering, even suffering from the consequence of choices made by ourselves or others around us, this person proclaims God GOOD! The poet challenges the people to confess their sin and acknowledge their guilt before God so they would once again experience unbroken relationship with him. (4: 1-22) The poet reminds the people they were paying a terrible price for their sins. This situation was as bad as it gets. During this time of Babylonian siege, even mothers lost compassion for their starving children. The responsibility for this tragedy was on the prophets and priests, who failed to give proper spiritual direction. Those of us in leadership need to take notice.

(5: 1-22) The writer emphasizes in this particular tragedy it is all because of the sin of the people. The song ends with an appeal for restoration of God’s people. He understands God will not reject or be angry forever with a repentant sinner.

    Last spring this book was part of my own personal devotion time, I found it to be rich and meaningful. One reason was because it’s real, it is not at all “pie in the sky and the sweet by and by.” Jesus was real when He walked this earth, He was honest, He cried at death, He hated it when people mistreated each other, He died to defeat death and reconcile us with to Himself. Our walk with God is not based on circumstance (good or bad) it is based on our relationship with the One in who’s “great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”