THE THEOLOGY OF LAMENTATIONS

    Personal responsibility. There is, at least that is put into practice, little knowledge of the meaning of this phrase in our contemporary society. We, especially in the United States, take the things that have been handed down to us from successive generations past for granted, even to the point of squandering them away. We, however, are not the first to do so and most likely will not be the last. Part of the lost state of mankind, because of our broken relationship with God, due to sin, is that instinct to rebel. Whether it be to resist the teachings of our parents, our leaders, or our God or a more common combination of the three, each generation deals with this urge and many generations have succumb.

    For Israel, the manifestation of the consequences of rebellion can be found in the words of Lamentations as Jeremiah reflects back on the circumstances that Israel now finds itself in and their causes. There has been debate in recent decades about the theological meaning of these consequences and how they relate back to the connection between God's punishment as the nation is destroyed and the Covenant promises of the Pentateuch. Norman K. Gottwald in his book Studies in the Book of Lamentations stated:

It is no wonder, then, that orthodox rationalism and moralism, whether Jewish or Christian, continue to be nourished by the Deuteronomic outlook. And so the lines were drawn, from which there could be no retreat: Yahweh and his faithful people Israel would be tangibly vindicated in history. Such a conviction, so neatly stated, is obviously open to empirical testing.

    But how did history treat this deep conviction? Young Josiah, the finest king Judah ever had, was killed by Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo (600); his son Jehoahaz was deposed and the latter's servile elder brother Jehoiakim was set on the throne as an Egyptian puppet ruler. With the shift of the ancient Near Eastern balance of power to Babylon, Jehoiakim became the subject of Nebuchadnezzar, and after an abortive rebellion in 598, his son, Jehioachin, then reigning, and several thousand citizens suspected as politically dangerous, were deported to Mesopotamia. In 587, after another revolt, Jerusalem we besieged and starved into submission, King Zedekiah and the leaders were killed or exiled, and Judah was organized as a Babylonian province. Imagine the discrepancy between the historical optimism of the Deuteronomic Reform and the cynicism and despondency evoked by these reversals of national fortune!

    This analysis however seems to overlook the Biblical record which states about Jehoiakim, "he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God" and Jehoiachin though he was only eight years old, "he did evil in the sight of the LORD" and Zedekiah, "did evil in the sight of the LORD his God." Josiah and his son Jehoahaz do find their reigns both short and abruptly ended but this is foretold to Josiah when he has Hilkiah the priest to inquire of the LORD through Huldah, the prophetess about the fate of Israel and Judah. The LORD tells him,

Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place and it shall not be quenched. But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD God of Israel regarding the words which you have heard, "Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you," declares the LORD. "Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants."

    This should give some clarity to this surface discrepancy, once Lamentations is put into its historical context there is little doubt that God is still honoring his part of the vassal-lord treaty of Deuteronomy. As Tremper Dillard and Raymond Longman state,

…this judgment, (the destruction of Jerusalem) which is due to the sin of the people, is God himself. It is not the Babylonians, but God himself who will destroy them, specifically, God the Warrior. Normally, of course, God fought on behalf of his obedient people, but at times of judgment he fought against the, as we see in Lamentations 2:4-5.

This leads to the question then, why would it matter either way in respect to the theological view of Lamentations? The reading of Lamentations is changed if the reader is unaware of the historical background of the book and the Covenantal relationship between God and His people. It is easy to make the assumption that somehow the covenantal relationship between Israel and Yahweh has changed because Yahweh has allowed them to be destroyed. This in mind, the theological lesson of Lamentations becomes much less complex, pointing back to the promise made to Abraham, Moses, and to each generation of God's people and can be broken down into two parts which are not mutually exclusive, but are rather circular in nature and reverse in order compared to the Deuteronomical Covenant. Looking a the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy the LORD says if He is obeyed then there would be blessings, but if the people of Israel failed to keep their portion of the covenant, primarily not keeping His commandments, then everything He was going to bless, He would curse. Lamentations is, however, laid out in the opposite order and reveals first the consequences of sin and then the hope that can be found, despite of the sins of the people, in the LORD.

THE CONSEQUNCES OF SIN

The Septuagint calls it "Lamentations," from which we derive the name. It refers not merely to the events which occurred at the capture of the city, but to the sufferings of the citizens (the penalty of national sin) from the very beginning of the siege; and perhaps from before it, under Manasseh and Josiah (2Ch 33:11; 2Ch 35:20-25); under Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah (2Ch 36:3, 2Ch 36:4, 2Ch 36:6, 2Ch 36:7, 2Ch 36:10, 2Ch 36:11, etc.).

    If a reader were to stop after only the first few chapters of the book of Lamentations, which as depressing as they are would seem common, their reading coupled with the title of the twenty-fifth book in the Bible may lead to the assumption that it contains nothing but doom and gloom. There would be some validity to that assumption as verse one states, "How lonely sits the city that was full of people! She has become like a widow who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer!" and the concluding verse reads, "Unless you have utterly rejected us and are exceedingly angry with us." This is fundamental to the theology found in Lamentations, a truth that is often left out of contemporary teaching about the personality of the LORD. God has and does release judgment when sin prevails over holiness, both in the lives of God's children and in the lives of those who do not follow Him. Jeremiah is lamenting what has happened to his beloved homeland and he, rightly so, blames it on the LORD. He is not, however, blaming the LORD by means of anger toward God, but rather simply He points out the historical promise made in Deuteronomy 28 and elsewhere in Scripture. This reveals the consequences of sin. It could not be expected that the LORD would withhold judgment on the nation when they had fallen into sin, considering He had always delt harshly when evil was done in His sight. Jeremiah is clear that this is the cause of the calamity. He writes, "Enemies now rule the city and live as they please. The LORD has punished Jerusalem because of her awful sins; he has let her people be dragged away" and "All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. Look, O LORD, and see, for I am despised. 'Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.'" It is important to remember that God's punishment for sin comes to His children on both an individual level and as a national display of His sovereignty. It wasn't just a nation carried into captivity, but real people and real families. This is, however, in keeping with the Deuteronomical Covenant but should not be lost on the contemporary reader. Even now, in the time after Christ, when salvation is a personal relationship and judgment leading to punishment, at least in the afterlife, can be avoided despite a lack of national faith, it is still obvious that God judges sin on a national level and will treat a nation accordingly.

    The five poems found in Lamentations are not however simply about the consequences of sin. Considering God always provides a way for His people to overcome the consequences of disobedience, this book is no exception, Jeremiah lays out why God is both still in control and the hope of the nation should abide in Him even in the midst of destruction.

THE HOPE FOUND IN THE LORD

We now in a measure understand for what purpose this Book was written by JEREMIAH: his object was to shew that though nothing in the land appeared but desolation, and the Temple being destroyed, the Covenant of God appeared as made void, and thus all hope of salvation had been cut off, yet hope still remained, provided the people sought God in true repentance and faith; and he thus proceeded in the course of his calling, and made it evident that his doctrine would not be without benefit.

    The book of Lamentations takes a shift in chapter 3 verse twenty-one. Up until this point there is a sorrowful outpouring that sees little hope in the situation the nation is currently in. They are in captivity. Their city has been decimated. The temple lay in ruin. Joy is gone from Israel. But Jeremiah is not convinced that all is lost and God has abandoned them outright. With what little optimism a person in his situation can muster, Jeremiah reflects on God's sovereignty and understands that while it was God who has brought down judgment on them as the consequence of their sins; it is also God who will raise them up again. "For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies."

    Jeremiah could reflect both on the past and the future to draw this hope. He could see those times when the nation had turned back to God and had been forgiven, receiving again those blessings which the LORD had promised them. He also could rest in the message that God had given him, "for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end."
It would have been hard to see where there was going to be hope, but Jeremiah had faith enough to know that it would reveal itself.

    His hope did not have to be completely in the future either. He didn't say that he would have hope, but rather had it now. This is important because it speaks to God's abiding love toward His people regardless of their circumstances. John Darby writes regarding this theme in Lamentations: "the affliction of His people does not escape the eye of God. He is afflicted in their affliction: His Spirit takes knowledge of it; and, acting in the heart of those whose mouth He uses, gives expression to the feelings He has produced there." The hope found in the words of Lamentations is not simply a lofty idea of what the future might bring for those who are to come, but Jeremiah believes that there is hope now, if for no other reason than his being a child of God.

CONCLUSION

Personal Responsibility. Each citizen in a nation is responsible for the success or failure of their county. For the Jewish faith, the book of Lamentations is still read to remember the time when the nation suffered greatly both then and in recent history. Dr. Edward R. Dalglish reflects on the importance of the events leading up to Lamentations, saying,

The momentous events that surrounded the Babylonian capture of Judah furnished the themes and the calendar for the Exilic fasts: the siege of Jerusalem, observed on the tenth day of the tenth month (2 Kings 25:1; Jer. 52:4; Zech. 8:19; the breach of the walls of Jerusalem, celebrated on the ninth day of the fourth month (Zech 8:19; compare Jer. 52:6-8; 2 Kings 25:3-5); the burning of the city, observed on the tenth day of the fifth month (2 Kings 25:8; Zech 7:3 ff.; 8:19); and the assassination of Gedaliah, observed on the third or the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month (2 Kings 25:23 ff.; Jer. 41 ff.). In the Jewish community the Book of Lamentations has been read in observance of the destruction of Jerusalem, no doubt beginning in the Exilic period and continuing to the present on the ninth day of the fifth month. After the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, the Jews observed both destruction of the city on the ninth day of the fifth month and read the book of Lamentations as a fitting Scripture for the occasion. All this indicates how deep an impression was made up the Judeans by this mind-shattering disaster, and the reading of the Lamentations reprints on the Jewish consciousness the solemn lessons so tragically depicted therein. The book added a significant dimension and contributions to the liturgy of Judaism.

In remembering these events they are in fact remembering the faithfulness of God to His promises. He had promised them that if they failed to obey His statues and commands that not only would he cease to watch over them, but they would in fact be subject to His punishment. This had come to fruition in a way that the nation had never seen before, but as previous shown, it was not something that they had not been warned time and time again to be prepared for.

    However, there is hope. Jeremiah knew God had made a way for previous generations who had fallen away from Him and He would again. While Lamentations is not foretelling the coming Messiah by directly pointing toward the time where He will bring hope and peace, we can see the consistency of God's grace and mercy by His provision of One who would come and put an end to the suffering that sin had brought into the world.

God has not changed from the laments of Jeremiah until today and applying that truth shows us why it is dangerous to look at the New Testament and say that somehow God has had a complete reversal on His holiness causing Him to stop carrying about sin. There is a tendency among many today to stray from the truth of scripture and substitute in political correctness because it makes people more comfortable. That is not the teaching in Lamentations, as well as the whole of scripture, which shows that there are consequences for sin. There is pain and suffering because of man's fallen state, but God is faithful, and there is hope in the LORD regardless of what we see around us.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Barnes, Albert. Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2005.

Calvin, John. Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah and the Lamentations. Grand Rapids: Bakers Book House Company, 1984.

Clarke, Adam. Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 1983.

Dalglish, Edward R. Jeremiah, Lamentations in volume 11 of Layman's Bible Book Commentary. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1983.

Darby, John Nelson. Synopsis of the Old and New Testaments

Faussett, A.R. The Lamentations of Jeremiah Commentary in A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments.

Gottwald, Norman K. Studies in the Book of Lamentations. London: SCM Press LTD, 1954.

Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary: In One Volume Genesis to Revelation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1961.

Keil, C.F. and Delitzsch, F. Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 1996.

Longman III, Tremper and Dillard, Raymond B. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

Wenham, G.J., Motyer, J.A., Caron, D.A., France, R.T., ed. New Bible Commentary. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1994.